spirits

Citadelle Gin Creates Oak Aged Vintage

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Well this is different. France's Cognac Ferrand house (who has experimented with aging their Citadelle label before) will release their first vintage gin, distilled exclusively for oak aging, this October.

While oak aging is standard for everything from wine to whiskey, it's a rarity in the gin world. Cellar master Frederic Gilbert, along with owner Alexandre Gabriel, decided to challenge that with a specific combination of additional botanicals-violet, iris and grains of paradise (part of the 19 used in Citadelle)-designed for optimal oak barrel aging. The idea is that violet and iris provide more floral aromatics, while the grains of paradise contribute a hint of spice. The distillate was then aged for 6 months in lightly charred, 12-year-old reused oak casks. Cognac Ferrand has a bit of history with this kind of creative recycling, as the house also produces rums that receive further aging in former cognac casks. In the case of Citadelle, the oak works its magic to round off the flavor profile with an aromatic crispness and notes of cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, and of course, wood. The vintage will have a production run of 11,250 numbered bottles, worldwide.

Wine Enthusiast named Citadelle's 2009 release one of its "Top 50 Spirits of the Year," so we'll see if aging makes a good thing even better.

(750ml., $40.00)

Tags: CitadelleGin, cognac ferrand, gin, oak, reserve, spirits, vintage

Tequila Avion, New for the Private Jet Set

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Ken Austin, Executive Vice Chairman of Marquis Jet, is launching a new ultra premium spirit called Tequila Avion for the private jet set. Austin attracted several million dollars in funding from investors including notables from the worlds of art and culture, business, technology, sports, lifestyle and luxury goods to get the new venture off the ground. Produced by fifth generation agave growers from among the finest Blue Weber agave found in the highest regions of Jalisco, Mexico, the tequila's distinct flavors are achieved through a combination of slow-roasting at lower temperatures to protect the natural flavors of the agave and an ultra-slow filtration process which creates an ultra-smooth taste profile. It's available in Silver, Reposado and Anejo varietals.

"I've always experimented and searched for a tequila that is smooth and has great character, whether I drink it neat or in a cocktail," Austin notes. "Over the years, close friends and business associates who were also passionate about tequila have joined me in this pursuit. We came to realize that if we wanted the ideal tequila – balancing exceptional taste, character and smoothness - we would have to create it ourselves. With the help of experts that understood our quest, that is exactly what we have achieved in Tequila Avion, a distinctive and defining new standard of quality and taste in tequila, or 'Taste Elevated' as we refer to it." Tequila Avion is now available at select locations including New York's Park Avenue Liquor Shop.

Tags: agave, Marquis Jet, Mexico, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, private aviation, private jet, spirits, tequila, Tequila Avion

Kanon Organic Vodka from the King of Sweden's Distillery

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Green

New to these shores, Kanon Organic Vodka is a Swedish spirit from Gripsholm Distillery, founded by King Karl IX of Sweden, which has been producing organic vodka for over 400 years. Forsaking charcoal filtering and multiple distillation, the distillery uses local organic wheat and untouched spring water for a subtle, natural flavor without the usual vodka burn.

Gripsholm is the only EU and US certified organic distillery in Sweden. Once the king's cannon maker in the late 16th century (hence the vodka's name), Gripsholm started supplying vodka to the foundry workers and people in the surrounding area. With its 29 pot-still pans, 280 workers and a production of over a million liters of vodka annually, Gripsholm was once the largest distillery in Sweden.

Kanon is distilled from locally grown organic wheat in a continuous process without the use of environmentally harmful or genetically modified additives. The whole setup is eco-friendly; the distillery is run on wind and water power and all by-products are renewed. Even the attractive bottle is made from 60% recycled glass. Now available in New York at Morgan's hotels, Kanon will be launching in Los Angeles in January 2011.

Gallery: Kanon Organic Vodka

Tags: distillery, eco-friendly, organic, organic spirits, organic vodka, royalty, spirits, Sweden, vodka

Chase Vodka Heads To The U.S.

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

An English vodka favorite is making its way to the U.S. Chase Distillery is an English artisan spirits company founded by UK Entrepreneur William Chase in 2007. The brand won the "World's Best Vodka" award as voted by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2010. The potato vodka will be represented by Pelican brands. "Success in the US is the benchmark for all spirit brands and businesses like ours and as such it is a fiercely competitive market. It is critical that we enter the US with the right partner and we have been extremely impressed by Pelican Brands' people, processes and ambitions," said Will Chase, Founder and CEO Chase Distillery. Pelican Brands will launch Chase Distillery's flagship brand Chase Vodka and Chase Elderflower Liqueur in key markets in the US in September.

Tags: chase vodka, distillery, spirits, vodka

Father's Day Favorite: Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

When selecting a Father's Day gift of high-end spirits – so much more appealing than the old necktie standby – for the dad with discerning tastes, single malt Scotch or small batch bourbon is perceived to be the safer choice, while for some Cognac implies a prescribed level of connoisseurship which the paterfamilias may not possess. Cognac appeals precisely because it's a bit different however, and a special bottling connotes extra thought on the part of the giver. No father who favors a glass of something good could fail to appreciate Rémy Martin's 1738 Accord Royal. The name is a nod to King Louis XV's decree of that year rewarding Rémy Martin's excellence. The 1738 Accord Royal is a Fine Champagne Cognac blended from nearly 240 eaux-de-vie aged between 4 - 20 years in Limousin oak barrels, producing a smooth, rich and mellow spirit with notes of oak, chocolate, cinnamon and ginger.

Tags: brandy, Cognac, Fathers Day, France, King Louis XV, oak, Rémy Martin, spirits

Hopquila, A New Way To Drink Hops And Barley

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Hopquila? The last liquor mash up comes from New Holland Brewing of Holland Michigan, a company that makes craft whiskey, rum, gin, vodka and now, Hatter Royale Hopquila. The bottle is adorned with a Mad Hatter-like figure and the creation itself was a bit of an experiment. The Chicago Tribune reports that the beverage is bit of a coss between a beer and a spirit. The product website says that the Hopquila is a fermented wash of 100% barley is twice distilled, then steeped with Centennial hops. The resulting beverage is actually an un-aged whiskey but has the hoppy notes of a beer with some of the citrusy and floral notes of a tequila. So far it sells in just a few states and costs $35.

Tags: hopquila, hops, spirits, tequila, whisky

Beefeater Summer Gin

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Gin is already a summer beverage, the gin and tonic is a warm weather classic but Beefeater has made gin even more summer friendly with the release of the limited Beefeater Summer Edition Gin. It's a lighter style gin with a more muted flavor. The juniper is still here but it's softened by elderflower, black currant and hibiscus. These additions help make it play more nicely with fruit juices so you can use it instead of vodka to make a new version of the Cape Codder or mix it with lemonade. It's also distilled to a lighter 40 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) compared to Beefeater's standard 47 percent ABV something that might come in handy on long summer afternoons. It retails for around $20.

Tags: beefeater, beefeater summer gin, gin, spirits

Belvedere Introduces Pink Grapefruit

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

The latest wave of flavored vodkas continues to swell with the release of Belvedere's Pink Grapefruit.

A recent launch party in Manhattan's Meat Packing District included a blending session, food pairings, giant photos of hipster queen Leigh Lezark (the model and Misshapes DJ) and enough pink lighting to rival a "Sex and the City" premiere. It was here that Claire Smith, Belvedere's Head of Spirit Creation & Mixology, led us through a blending tutorial whose purpose was to illustrate the various notes found in Pink Grapefruit, including ginger and lemon, and to dissuade us from thinking that a bottle of vodka and grapefruit is all it takes to replicate. Afterward, we were presented several sweet and savory food pairings with Pink Grapefruit-based cocktails, most of which were so chockablock with mixers as to obscure the spirit itself.

Which brings up a good point: if you're going to choose a vodka for its flavor, a typically ironic proposition, let that flavor express itself. For this Belvedere release those flavors came from Argentinian grapefruit, ginger and Spanish spring lemons. The Polish spirit maker is quick to point out that these are arrived at by means of a maceration process, which removes essences from natural ingredients and blends them back into the vodka, rather than via an injection of sugar or glycerin. The raw ingredients spend four to six weeks soaking in vodka baths before being distilled again to avoid oxidation when put into bottle.

Thankfully the result is a balanced spirit, ideal for sipping or (restrained) mixing, with nary a candy aisle flavor present. Pink Grapefruit is light and citrusy to the nose with hints of vanilla; ginger is noticeable mainly on the finish, and is present on the palate to push the notes of lemon and grapefruit forward. There's even a bit of a creamy texture going down.

(750ml, $39.99)

Tags: belevedere vodka, cocktails, flavored vodka, pink grapefruit, spirits, vodka

Bacardi Debuts Torched Cherry Rum for Summer

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Bacardi flavored rums are unlike any other. In a lineup of unmarked bottles, Bacardi blends always stand out as being the most fragrant. Whether you're a Limon or a Dragon Berry type of rum drinker, your preferred flavor will fill the room with aroma. I attended a Bacardi-hosted event to determine just how they make their varietals so intensely flavorful. In correlation with the summer launch of their latest flavor, Torched Cherry, Barcardi invited journalists to come and mix their own cherry rums.

After learning about each of the various flavors that go into Torched Cherry, we were given a selection of infusions to experiment making our own. While we were given five flavors to come close to the Bacardi original, we weren't given the entire lot of flavors in the mix, thus protecting the prized recipe.

Tags: alcohol, bacardi, bacardi rum, cocktails, rum, spirits, torched cherry

Continue reading “Bacardi Debuts Torched Cherry Rum for Summer”

BIO Attitude Certified Organic Cognac

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Green

Preiss Imports, one of the nation's leading importers of specialty spirits and craft beer, has announced the impending release of BIO Attitude, Léopold Gourmel's new 100% certified organic cognac.

Gourmel is the creator of this new cognac category and aims to set a benchmark in terms of naturally-produced cognac. BIO Attitude received an approval from ECOCERT, France's organic certification agency, on the full process from the vineyard, wine cellar, distillation and aging to bottling.

Gourmel's process completely excludes the use of chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers, other than natural ones; in effect a return to the way cognac was made centuries ago before the advent of the machine age.

Gourmel's objective is to develop micro organic activity in the soil with green fertilizer, natural predators, and compost all working together. BIO Attitude is a young, refreshing cognac with a hue of cherry flowers during the April blossom. The delicate fresh notes offer a lingering finish of vanilla and fresh nuts.

Since its creation in 1972, Léopold Gourmel has chosen to respect the natural link between the roots and the bottle, and offers a non-standardized product; in their words, a cognac that is "alive". BIO Attitude is a fitting extension of this admirable philosophy.

Gourmel's vineyards maintain deep roots revealing a vertical minerality, absolute respect of each vintage, careful selection of extra fine grain un-toasted French oak casks, and absolutely no additives or artificial coloring. The BIO Attitude bottling is priced at $59.99 per 750 ml.

Tags: brandy, cognac, France, organic, spirits

Park Avenue Whiskey by NY's Tuthilltown Spirits

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

New York's storied Park Avenue Liquor Shop, established in 1934, is releasing new limited edition whiskey bottlings made exclusively for them by the artisanal Tuthilltown Spirits distillery in New York's Hudson River Valley. Priced at $45 per bottle, the Park Avenue Whiskey collection features 375 ml bottlings of bourbon, rye and a special new "BouRye", each 46% alcohol by volume. The first is dubbed "Baby Bourbon" because it is made using very small barrels, the whole grain rye is aged in oak, and the "BouRye" is a 50/50 blend of bourbon and rye, a combination requested specifically by the shop's owner and whisky expert Jonathan Goldstein. Goldstein also selected the specific barrels at Tuthilltown from which the exclusive whiskies were bottled to produce a truly unique set of spirits, presented in hand-numbered, wax-sealed bottles.

Tags: bourbon, distillery, Hudson River, Hudson River Valley, liquor store, New York, Park Avenue, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, rye, spirits, Tuthilltown Spirits, whiskey, whisky

Rosangel Hibiscus-Flavored Tequila, A Cinco de Mayo Treat

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Sipping a margarita made with the hibiscus-infused Gran Centenario's Rosangel's Tequila took me back several decades to when I tasted my first flavored spirit. It was a Buffalo vodka and appropriately enough, it was served to me in the former USSR on the eve of May Day.

So here on the eve of celebrating Cinco de Mayo, it seemed only appropriate to try the fanciful combination of an hibiscus-infused tequila that debuted to market about a year ago. While not a frequent tequila drinker, I was curious about the hibiscus, which as a tea drink is consumed hot or cold all over the world. In Mexico, the hibiscus is known for its mild flavor, tanginess and color.

Rosangel is made of the "finest, sweetest, highest quality" 100% Highland blue agave, and only harvested after a decade or more. The hearts of the agave are baked for up to 72 hours in traditional clay ovens to "guarantee that even the subtlest flavors of the agave remain." After the resulting spirit is fermented and distilled, it rests in new French Limousin white oak barrels for a minimum of 10 months, then blended with a small amount of older tequila reserves for balance and character and then set to rest for another two months in port barrels.

Tags: alcohol, cinco de mayo, Gran Centenario, Gran Centenario Rosangel, spirits, tequila, tequila recipes, tequila tasting

Continue reading “Rosangel Hibiscus-Flavored Tequila, A Cinco de Mayo Treat”

Glenfiddich "Rich Oak" Released

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Glenfiddich has released a new expression, Glenfiddich Rich Oak 14-Year Old. Priced at around $50, the whiskey has been aged in second fill Bourbon barrels for more than 13 years, and finished in new American and Spanish oak.

The effect, as one would expect, is higher vanilla notes than is found normally in Glenfiddich, the number-one single-malt Scotch whiskey in the world. The notes of dried fruit and walnuts shine through as is the case with any Glenfiddich pour.

Tags: alcohol, Glenfiddich, liquor, new spirits, scotch, Scotch whiskey, single-malt whiskey, Speyside whiskey, spirits, whisky

Surrey Hotel Rolls Out Bar Cart Service

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services, Spirits

In an ingenious twist on the classic cocktail craze, the recently reopened Surrey hotel in Manhattan is now offering in-room bar cart service for its guests.

While missing the modern Art Deco splendor of the hotel's Bar Pleiades is not recommended, neither is spending too much time away from the rooms' Duxiana beds. The logical compromise is the Surrey's cocktail program. "The inspiration came when I was at Dukes in London," says Director of Restaurants and Bars, Sims Foster. "They go through this very simple, but classic, way that they pour their martinis."

Here's how it works: guests first order whichever base spirit is to their liking, whether it's Hudson Baby Bourbon, Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose vodka, Patrón Silver tequila or Gosling's Dark Rum. Then, your personal Surrey bartender will arrive accompanied by a fully stocked bar cart-modeled after an Italian mid-century original-and its attendant supplies, among them bitters, fresh fruit, ice and the implements of the trade. He'll demonstrate for you the proper way to make classic cocktails with your chosen spirit, say a Moscow Mule (vodka) or a Vanilla Old Fashioned (bourbon). And then, he'll leave.

From there you can pretend you're Nick and Nora, using the vintage Boston shaker glasses to mix, muddle and strain your day away. With several rounds of ammunition in you it's only a brief sway to the Whitney Museum of American Art, Central Park or Daniel Boulud's Café Boulud (the chef also operates Bar Pleiades). But now that you're so close to figuring out the elusive tequila-bourbon cocktail combination, there isn't much of a reason to decamp. Especially when a fresh cart rolls in so easily.

Tags: bar cart, bar ware, BarCart, BarWare, classic cocktails, ClassicCocktails, hotel, hotels, new york city, NewYorkCity, shakers, spirits, surrey hotel, SurreyHotel

Ketel One Debuts Oranje

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Ketel One, the Dutch distillery and premium vodka market contender, has expanded its portfolio with Oranje, a new orange-infused vodka.

Arriving at Manhattan's M Studio for the release, it was clear that Ketel One was looking to lure consumers back to into the vodka fold, the erstwhile drink of choice that quickly became the Merlot, post-Sideways, of the spirits world. A specialty ice carving station had been set up for the showcased cocktails, along with an aroma profile booth and lots and lots of decorative citrus accents, including several precariously stacked orange fruit sculptures. The branding was clear, but how was the spirit?

If you're like me, your nose retreats and your palate recoils a bit at the phrase "flavored vodka." Everyone who remembers vodka's heyday probably still can't get the syrupy, cloying sweetness of those bottles out of their mouths. Let's face it: most taste like they were infused with a Jolly Rancher.

It's refreshing to report that this is not the case with Oranje. Ketel One, an 11th generation family business, took their time with this release, 10 years in fact, as told to me by distiller Carl Nolet Jr. Sourcing Mandarin oranges from Italy and Valencia oranges from Florida and Brazil, the resulting extracts are then shipped to the perfume capital of the world, Grasse, France. There they are refined and blended, finally arriving at the Notel Distillery in Schiedam, Holland. The oils are then infused into the spirit over several days.

On the nose, Oranje produces pleasant citrus and wildflower notes, along with a slight undercurrent of essential oil. The palate is a pleasantly refreshing orange, bright and fruity with the right balance of sweetness and no bitter or burnt finish. This is truly a vodka that can be sipped, as I did initially, although the Oranje Dutch Greyhound and Fizz made for good summer drink fodder.

Who knows, when vodka makes its inevitable return into the cocktail world's good graces, we might actually be asking for flavored.

Price: $25 for 750ml.

Tags: flavored vodka, ketel one oranje, KetelOne, oranges, premium vodka, spirits, vodka

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