Alcademics.com

New Booze for January 2012

As you may know, I have been blogging over at ShakeStir.com, an online community for bartenders. I write the New Booze blog posts, which describe new spirits launching as they happen.

I wrote about following new products in January:

• John B. Stetson Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Patron XO Cafe Dark Cocoa
• Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao Ancienne Methode
• Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
• Concannon Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast 12 Cask Strength
• Monkey Shoulder Scotch
• Absolut Miami
• Absolut Grapevine
• EH Taylor, Jr. Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Bourbon
• Mandarine Napoleon XO

To read all the write-ups, go to ShakeStir.com. 

 

New Booze: A New Blog on ShakeStir.com

As of last week I am also blogging on ShakeStir.com. You'll recall that I do their daily booze trivia tweets as well. 

The blog over there is called New Booze, and it's a place for announcements about new spirits hitting the market and also spirits with newly expanded distribution. ShakeStir is a community for bartenders and I hope they'll find this information relevant.  

 

I don't think there is a way to subscribe via RSS feed just yet but I'll work on it. 

The blog entries are now available by RSS! Get them here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/NewBooze

I put up a backlog of new spirits for November. They are:

• CLIX vodka
• Hine Antique XO Cognac
• Smirnoff Whipped Cream and Marshmallow Flavors
• Bruichladdich Botanist Gin
• Bittermens Spirits
• Ocean Vodka expands to mainland
• The Glenrothes 1995 Vintage
• Tullibardine Aged Oak Whisky
• Alchemia Flavored Vodka

Go here to start reading. 

Seven Newish Gins

I have vast amounts of un-tested booze piling up in my apartment #firstworldproblems and there was an overwhelming amount of gin so I decided to do a category tasting. 

These gins have been building up ever since last fall so a few of them are hardly new, but they're all new to me. 

I smelled and tasted these gins with and without water added, but not in any cocktails. 

Roxor Gin

I wrote about this one before but didn't taste it until now. This gin is grapefruit, grapefruit, grapefruit on the nose, mouth, and finish. I thought I tasted something berry-like as possible pomegranate, but I think that's the hibiscus that's in the gin. The finish on this is crazy - spicy hot. I believe it's the cinnamon in the gin - I couldn't so much taste it as feel it, like the pin pricks you get on your tongue when eating Red Hots or an Atomic Fireball. 

Nolet Silver Gin

This gin is creamy, like a banana-lime-rhubarb-Orange Julius. On the palate the floral aspects come out lilac/lavender and more lime. It has so much flower power to it that it's a bit overwhelming; approaching perfumy. I don't think I'd like it on its own in a Martini but I actually have tried it in cocktails and it's nuts. I think it has huge consumer potential. 

No. 3 Gin

This gin is a cardamonster. I think they should call it No. 13 because it's like they took the cardamom-dominant Tanqueray No 10 and turned it up a few notches.  It is a London dry-style gin, still, with juniper coming in just under the cardamom with a dry, peppery finish. 

Darnley's View Gin

Apparently this gin is made with six botanicals including elderflower. Well I had a hard time tasting much of anything. I got alcohol first, then after a long smell the juniper and lemon zest. The cardamom came out a little on the palate but instead of tasting flowery, I tasted hay or grass. A big part of this may be the gin's relatively low 40% ABV. More on that later in the post.

DOSA Blade Gin

San Francisco Indian restaurant DOSA had a gin made for them at the nearby Old World Spirits. The gin is initially creamy with soft vanilla, but then quickly spicy - the regular Blade gin has cayenne pepper but I was getting crushed red chili peppers (aka pizza flakes). The gin is dusty yet creamy and a touch of spicy. It's kind of crazy, and I think all in a good way. I look forward to trying it in cocktails at the bar.  

Fifty Pounds Gin

The most classic of this bunch, Fifty Pounds Gin tastes of juniper, dry lemon, cardamom something spicy that I guessed was ginger but is probably the grains of paradise in the recipe. (Turns out grains of paradise are a relative of ginger.) With added water this gin became surprisingly sweet and reminded me of the flavor of powdered orange/lime candy. Would be interesting to taste it in cocktails.

Edinburgh Gin

I think I got this gin at last year's Tales of the Cocktail, which means I'm really far behind in tasting products as that was nearly a year ago. The juniper in this gin tastes fresh, bordering on blueberries or plums rather than dry pine. That said I get a lot of dry, baked spices on the palate (along with coriander) and something that reminds me of curry. I like the combination of fresh and dry in this gin. 

And now, something interesting. These gins' alcoholic content (except DOSA's, I don't know it). 

• Dornley's View 40%
• Edinburgh 43%
• Fifty Pounds 43.5%
• Roxor 45%
• No. 3 46%
• Nolet 47.6% 

Those are some boozy gins! No wonder the highest proof ones were so flavorful. 

Absolut SF: A First Look

*Update* The full info on Absolut SF is here. 

The latest in the city series of Absolut Vodka is Absolut SF. The flavor is grape, dragon fruit, and papaya.  

(Photo: Russell Yip/SF Chronicle.)

I was given the exclusive to write this first ever announcement in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday May 29th, 2011. It was very hard to keep this secret, because I like sharing secrets. (It's not gossip; it's journalism.)

As you can see, the text of the story is embargoed for a  couple of days so if you want to know more you'll have to pick up the physical paper today or wait until the embargo is lifted. You can also buy a digital copy of the newspaper to read the story at this link. 

The official press release from Absolut will follow on Tuesday. 

The New ZU Review

Just kidding, it's not a review. So there is a new bison grass vodka called ZU on the market from the people who make Zubrowka bison grass vodka. It has a similar name and similar bottle so I asked what is the difference? 

They responded:

ZU is produced for the US market specifically by the only authorized creator of Poland’s internationally renowned Żubrówka: Polmos Bialystock.  Żubrówka in Europe is made with bison grass, which contains high levels of coumarin –  a natural substance that is banned by the FDA (though it is actually found in many foods like celery, vanilla, etc). Because it is deemed as toxic when consumed in large doses, ZU does not contain coumarin.  It is flavored with a proprietary all-natural blend of ingredients assembled by the distillers at Polmos Bialystock in Poland to identically replicate the flavors of bison grass.  ŻU’s rich heritage and meticulous production process attests to its integrity, and ensures the bison grass flavor profile is intact. 

Thus it's bison grass-flavored vodka. The more you know. 

Good Info on Pineau des Charentes

Importer Nicolas Palazzi brought in a delicious barrel of cognac that I sampled earlier this year. Soon to arrive on US shores is another import project, a long-aged Pineau des Charentes. 

In announcing the new bottling, Nicolas sent a great and very practical description of pineau, how it is made, and why we don't see too much of it outside of France and Belgium. I have pasted it below.

After the general description I've pasted specifics as to the bottling that he is importing. 

If you are not familiar with what Pineau des Charentes is, no worries, no-one is; only two areas in the Galaxy consume Pineau in quantities: the Cognac region itself and....Belgium (I have always found mind-bending how such a small country could absorb that much alcohol...). Anyway, Pineau des Charentes - we will call it simply "Pineau",  "des Charentes" simply pointing to its provenance, from the Charentes Departments of France - is a sweet wine that can be white, red or rose and made in the Cognac region, using cognac as one of its components.

Indeed when making cognac, once the grapes are harvested in late September, they are destemmed then pressed to extract the juice. This juice will ferment (the sugar of the grapes being converted into alcohol thanks to the presence of yeasts) into a dry wine which is distilled twice in copper pot stills. The unaged eau-de-vie (water of life) is put in oak casks made of french wood; only after having spent at least two years in barrels can this spirit legally be called cognac.

Now what about Pineau? A few artisan distillers take some of this fermenting grape must and, before fermentation is over and all the sugar has been converted into alcohol, simply add cognac to it. The addition of eau-de-vie stops the fermentation immediately, the alcohol killing the yeasts.Part of the sugar is still present making for a sweet dessert wine, technically belonging to the Fortified Wine category like Port, Sherry, Madeira etc... The alcohol content of the resulting wine is usually between 17% Alc./Vol (34 % ABV) and 20% Alc./Vol (40 % ABV). Pineau is then aged in casks, usually on its lies to give it more complexity.

So why do only very few people know about Pineau? Well, in France most Pineaux available in the marketplace are young (have not been aged for a long time) therefore lacking complexity; as a result they do not attract the attention of wine or liquor enthusiasts. Because it is unrecognized, most connoisseurs never had the opportunity to taste how complex and refined a very old Pineau can be.Of course the absence of marketing make the export market completely inexistent. Thank God for Belgium and it's consumption of more than 2/3 of the Pineau output...

The provenance of the cognac used is another factor that plays an important role in the very average quality of the Pineau out there:Pineau from the Grande and Petite Champagnes can age longer and get more complexity over time than the ones made in the Bois areas of the Cognac region.Now because the demand for Pineau is small, Cognac's first and second growth - respectively the Grande and Petite Champagnes areas - rather than using part of their cognacs to make Pineau, prefer selling all of their eaux-de-vie as straight cognac which will command a higher price tag. As a consequence, makers from the Fin Bois, Bon Bois and Bois Ordinaires are the source of the majority of the Pineau production, their cognacs being less susceptible to age, therefore more affordable an ingredient to use.

Of course, a few passionate artisan cognac distillers do not follow the rule.

And now, information about the bottle Nicolas is bringing in to the US:

Case in point, my friend Dominique in the Grande Champagne; as a total Pineau geek, he has been putting as much care in his sweet wines as he does in his cognacs, aging both for decades the way his family has been doing for generations.

After tasting through Dominique's oldest barrels, I have decided to bottle one fabulous cask that has been seating in his cellar for longer than my adult life. This white Pineau took on an almost pinkish hue due to both the slow maturation in barrels (oxydation) as well as the prolonged contact with its lies; at 17.5 % Alc./Vol (35% ABV), it's residual sweetness is perfectly balanced by a high acidity that makes it one of the best sweet wines I have had the chance to taste in a long time. I have bottled a bit over 600 bottles - 679 to be precise.Let's see how it goes, those bottles are somewhere on the Atlantic ocean as I write and should arrive in NY by mid October...

Check the website for further details on this bottling. 

The 21 Tequila Taste-Off

You know how it is. You're waiting to taste all the booze that comes in the mail before you file it into its appropriate liquor cabinet, and then suddenly you have 21 bottles of tequila sitting there staring you in the mouth. 

Something had to be done about it.

I try not to do tasting notes on Alcademics anymore but it was hard to deny the theme building up on my kitchen counter. So I'll do this in the form of quick notes.

These are all 100% agave tequilas, because really. I am tasting them all neat in Riedel tequila tasting glasses. 

General Notes:

• Just because the distillery is located somewhere, it doesn't mean the agave is from there. 
• "American oak" probably means ex-bourbon barrels. "New American oak" = new barrels
• Take note of the range of prices. 100% agave tequila no longer has to start at $40.
• I don't expect my tasting notes to agree with yours.
• Especially near the end of the list. I'd had a lot of tequila then. 
• That said, I double checked the Riazul the next day to be sure I agreed with my notes and I do. Wacky. 

901 Tequila

•  This is the Justin Timblerlake tequila. 
• NOM 1173
• Triple distilled
• Highland agave
• There is only a silver (blanco)
• website
• Tasting notes Blanco: very mineral-heavy (slate, granite) with light creamy agave undertones. Not robustly flavored by a long shot, with only a small mint/pepper aftertaste.
• Price: $40 (SRP), available in 31 states

Tres Agaves

• Made for the Tres Agaves restaurants but available everywhere
• NOM 1109 (Arette)
• website
• "Estate produced" in the town of Tequila (Lowlands)
• Price blanco $28 retail, repo $34 retail, anejo $38 retail
• Tasting notes Blanco: Creamy nose and rich initial mouthfeel with soft green pepper notes. Pleasant but soft finish.
• Tasting notes Reposado: Cinnamon butter toast, slightly reminiscent of the flavor of bison grass vodka, peppery finish. Dreamy.
• Tasting notes Anejo: More briney flavor, green and peppery, slightly spicy, not as woody as expected given the buttery reposado.

Tequila Semental

• New American oak barrels for reposado aging; American barrel staves with French oak caps for anejo aging. 
• Triple distilled, autoclave ovens
• Agave from Tequila and Amatitan valleys (Lowlands)
• NOM 1522
• Price blanco $39, repo $48, anejo $59 (SRP)
• Tasting notes Blanco: Funky, vegetal nose, less aggressively flavored in the mouth, a little hot on the tongue, limp finish. (On second taste after anejo, picking up the strawberry juice notes.)
• Tasting notes Reposado: Tamed funk on nose but something slightly chemical like a salty olive mousepad, nice brined green pepper flavor, restrained finish. Much better than it smells.
• Tasting notes Anejo: Nice butterscotch water and strawberry Starburst flower nose, light body with similar flavors plus tanins in mouth, scented green velour finish. Good weird.

1921 Tequila

• Highland agave, distillery in Arandas
• NOM 1535
• Master Distiller Lorena Arriaga, only female tequila master distiller
• Stone ovens
• Undergoes a second, malolactic fermentation 
• Repo 4 months in new American oak, Anejo new American oak also 
• website
• Price $38 blanco, $40 repo, $49 anejo (SRP)
• Tasting notes Blanco: Mineral nose and mouth, more creamy agave taste in mouth but not robustly flavored.
• Tasting notes Reposado: Similar in aroma and flavor, just a little more egg cream/buttery from the wood.
• Tasting notes Anejo: Slightly pickle briney nose, pleasant buttery nuttiness in mouth. My favorite of the three.

Tequila El Gran Jubileo

• Distilled in the town of Tequila (Lowlands)
• NOM 1445
• New American white oak barrels for all aging, brick ovens for cooking agave
• Reposado aged 10 months, anejo 5 years
• website
• Retail prices $31.99 blanco, $34.99 reposado, $64.99 anejo
• Tasting notes Reposado: Only a soft aroma, cinnamon salty butter mouth with slight nutty (similar to Don Julio) undertones, something strawberry/purple grape juicy in there too. Unexpected nuances.
• Tasting notes Anejo: Briney raw artichoke nose, very sweet in mouth (candied rhubarb) but thankfully not super buttery, powdered cherries and violet aftertaste. A lot more interesting than I'd initially given it credit for being.

Tequila Avion

• Apparently was featured on the TV show Entourage, because my Google alerts keeps bringing it up
• Highland agave, brick ovens, copper pot stills, filtered through activated carbon
• Reposado aged 6 months; Anejo 2 years
• NOM 1416 (Clase Azul)
• website (launches new window, resizes browser)
• Price blanco $45, repo $50, anejo $55 (SRP), available in NY, CA, NJ
• Tasting notes Blanco: Mexican vanilla and asparagus nose with mineral undernotes, weighty mouthfeel with granite, citrus, and sweet milk showing, ashy finish. I think I like this best of the three.
• Tasting notes Reposado: Subdued but similar aromatics, more lively and bright in the mouth but sweeter and maybe saltier
• Tasting notes Anejo: Slightly overripe and salty aspect to nose, chewy mouthfeel and sweet finish

Espolon

• Brand owned by Skyy Spirits. Initial launch in 2000, off market for a few years and reintroduced
• Distillery in Highlands
• NOM 1440
• Only blanco and reposado. Repo aged in American oak for 6 months
• Price $24.99 (SRP) for both blanco and reposado
• website
• Tasting notes Blanco: Overripe vegetal aroma, rusty minerals in mouth with more vegetables, ashy finish
• Tasting notes Reposado: Hot olive brine and orange flower nose, creamy dusty black pepper mouth, sandalwood finish. These are both a little odd to drink solo but may be good mixing tequilas. 

Cabo Wabo 

• This is the Sammy Hagar brand
• NOM 1440 on my bottle (same as above, and this brand is partially owned by Skyy Spirits), but Tequila.net lists it as 1467, so it appears the distillery has changed. Not sure if I have an old or a new bottle- got it a few months ago. 
• website
• price blanco $37.99 SRP, $28.99 at BevMo
• Tasting Notes Blanco: brined olive-limes, slippery mouthfeel with lime custard cream and citrus flower notes, quickly dissipating finish. Subtle but nice.

Riazul

• Highland agave, reposado American oak 9 months; Anejo ex-brandy French oak 2 years 
• NOM 1460 (El Charro)
• website
• Available in 4 states. 
• Retail prices $45 blanco, $50 reposado, $55 anejo
• Tasting notes Blanco: Mineral with light agave notes and citrus nose, edible iron,  creamed orange and blue corn chip mouth (what?) , chocolate finish. Fascinating.
• Tasting notes Reposado: Limestone and soft orange-vanilla nose, similar mouth to the blanco but darker- more chocolaty and stiff leathery.
• Tasting notes Anejo: Jasmine flowers in cinnamon butter, astringent-in-a-good-way mouthfeel with the same cinnamon butter (similar to Tres Agaves reposado) aspects and white flower and dill flavors, sweet, leathery finish. Wow.

The New Remy V: Unaged Cognac or French Pisco?

I finally got the press release for Remy V, the new product debuting in September in two trial markets- the San Francisco Bay Area and Atlanta. I'd heard the word on the street about this and posted a couple hints to my Twitter feed and Facebook page last and this week, but this was the first I got an actual press release on it. 

 

Remy V is not a cognac because it is unaged- just double-distilled on the lees like cognac, chill-filtered, and rested before bottling. They're releasing the product with cocktail recipes from mixologist Charles Hardwick. 

I guess the proper name for this product would be a grape eau de vie or grape brandy. It's not a cognac since it's not aged long enough. It's not a marc (which is French grappa) because that is made from the leftovers of wine production rather than with the whole grape. 

It might be close to Peruvian pisco in that it is distilled from grapes in pot stills. Pisco comes from Peru or Chile, though (in Chile pisco can be column-distilled and slightly aged), so obviously this product won't be billing itself as a pisco. Furthermore, pisco is distilled only one time in a pot still and it is distilled to proof, meaning no water is added before bottling. Cognac is distilled twice and usually watered to bottling proof. One would expect Remy V to be more neutral and less grapey than pisco, but it's impossible to say at this point. 

So the big question is how the product tastes. I don't know yet, but I can't wait to find out.