Spain’s Albarino grape continues to make great strides as an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. Martin Codax’s Rias Baixas Albarino is another great and classic example of what this grape can be: Bright yellow in color, with fresh herbs and light fruit notes on the nose. In the mouth it explodes with lemon, grapefruit, and a little fig flavor. Lots of bright acidity and a clean, refreshing finish. Simple, but quite enjoyable.
A- / $16 / martincodaxwines.com
Benromach isn’t a major name in Scotch whisky, but it’s doing some exciting things nonetheless. Its Origins series is designed to measure what happens to malt whisky not when you upend the entire production process but rather when you make relatively small changes.
With its second experiment, Benromach has fully matured an 11 year old whisky (distilled in 1999) in Port pipes instead of Bourbon or other barrels.
The results are impressive. There’s intense dark chocolate on the nose — the strongest contribution of the Port pipes — followed up with earth and grain. The body is malty, with rich cereal notes and a lot of wood. The chocolate comes back in the finish but only in moderation, leaving you with the impression of a dusting of cocoa powder, like the sprinkling on top of a latte or a rich dessert. It’s got a nice balance while remaining startlingly unusual and affordable. Give it a try!
100 proof.
A- / $50 / benromach.com
As cream liqueurs go — this world is wholly dominated by whiskey, coffee, and simple milk flavors — RumChata is nothing if not unique. Instead of whiskey, RumChata uses (obviously) rum as the base booze. Then, it’s not straight up cream but horchata that supplies the milky whiteness. Horchata, if you don’t frequent your local taqueria, is a very sweet, rice-based beverage flavored with cinnamon and other ingredients (recipes vary widely).
These are less natural compatriots than you’d think: Rum is from the Caribbean. Horchata is from Mexico. (RumChata is from Wisconsin, while we’re at it.)
And yet, all are friendly in this creamy conglomeration. The light beige color is reminiscent of almond milk or eggnog, but one whiff and the sense fill with cinnamon and vanilla character. On the tongue, the body is thinner than you’d expect and less mouth-coating than I’d wanted. The cinnamon overload continues, with vanilla and gingerbread notes coming up the rear. But most of all, RumChata is sweet. Very sweet, and perhaps one of the most sugary cream liqueurs I’ve ever tried. That effectively masks the alcohol — a mere 27.5 proof — completely, making RumChata a little dangerous in the easy-drinking department.
For me, RumChata’s sweetness is a little off-putting, but I don’t like horchata either, really. I’m a tamarindo man. That said, RumChata does exactly what it sets out to do: It’s an authentic, alcoholic version of horchata, with a touch of rum, as promised. Bueno trabajo.
No refrigeration required.
B+ / $20 / rumchata.com
It’s hard to find an extra anejo tequila that isn’t any good, and Don Elias proves that you can make a really solid one — even if you don’t charge an arm and a leg.
At just $75 a bottle, Don Elias Extra Anejo is the least expensive Extra I’ve ever tried, and yet the quality is right up there with pricier brands.
The mild agave on the nose lets you know you’re drinking tequila, but the body is lush, sweet, and full of whiskey flavors. The mind-meld with the agave nose is enticing: Don Elias has an earthy and herbal edge, balanced with sweet flavors of honey, caramel, and vanilla. Some extra anejos can go a bit too far, drowning out the agave altogether, but Don Elias keeps those barrel flavors in check.
What Don Elias lacks in complexity and depth it makes up for in simple enjoyment. At this price, it’s hard not to be taken in.
By the way, that bottle stopper is not actually a shot glass: It’s permanently filled halfway with a tequila-like liquid, lending the decanter an intriguing optical effect. 80 proof, 100 percent agave.
A- / $75 / tequiladonelias.com
Michael-David’s 7 Deadly Zins is a staple of every Supermarket in America. But it is also endeavoring to bottle individual “Zins,” with three serious vices — lust, gluttony, and sloth — now available. Personally, I’m holding out for greed, but meanwhile we tried the three current editions, each a Zin from a different part of California.
2008 Michael-David Lust Zinfandel Lodi – Good balance, a bracing herbal core with plum, blueberry, and cocoa notes. A little sweet and heavy, but drinkable and pleasant, if big. Probably may favorite in the bunch, by a hair. B+ / $55
2007 Michael-David Gluttony Zinfandel Amador – Big, smoky, and hugely fruit-forward. Blueberry notes again, with a clear tobacco character on the finish. Classic Zinfandel with a twist. B+ / $55
2007 Michael-David Sloth Zinfandel Mendocino -The fruitiest of the bunch, with blueberry again the highlight. For a wine called “Sloth” it’s got an awful lot of life to it. Enormously jammy, though, which makes it a tad cloying. B / $55
Nothing if not a unique spirit, Esprit de June is crafted from the vine flowers of a variety of grapes, primarily Ugni Blanc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The French company would love for you to believe that the flowers on each grapevine contribute different flavor characteristics to the liqueur, but with something this sweet, picking out nuance is a fool’s errand at best.
The nose is incredibly sweet, marshmallow and burnt sugar notes, with strawberry candy on the side. The body kicks in with more strawberry and cherry fruit, not quite medicinal but definitely candy-coated. The finish coats your mouth and leaves a lingering aftertaste — and here you can almost get a sense of wine, or at least wine grapes. Not much of it, though: Ultimately Esprit de June has all the dazzle of a Jolly Rancher. Surprisingly, there’s very little floral character here, which is odd for something made out of flowers.
At 56 proof it’s relatively easy on the alcohol, but you’ll have to use it in moderation — as a sweetener, probably, where I could see this working out OK — unless you want to kill off everything else in your cocktail.
Brought to you by the same people who make the top-notch (but hard to find) G’Vine gin.
B- / $28 / juneliqueur.com
I’ve learned more about pisco in the last 48 hours than I’ve ever wanted to know. In a nutshell, pisco is the Peruvian or Chilean take on brandy (the two countries are virtually over war over which pisco is “real”): Made by distilling wine then bottling it without aging, pisco is a white spirit that last had its heyday on these shores in the years before Prohibition.
Now pisco is attempting a comeback, and numerous brands are winding their way to the market. Pisco Portón is one of them, and it’s so new that it doesn’t even have a bottle design we can share with you yet. A “mosto verde” pisco, Portón is made using wine that is not fully fermented, which leaves a bit of sugar in the spirit and, ostensibly, a smoother, silkier body.
Pisco Portón is rougher than I’d thought it would be. At 86 proof that might be expected, but I imagined it would be balanced by the sugar content. Not so: Portón is hot and spicy, complex with a mix of wood, phenol, smoke, and then a finish that offers the sweetness that Portón promises: honey, lemon, and fresh satsuma. (Yeah, I just wrote “satsuma” in a review. Sorry.)
In today’s world of ultra-smooth spirits, the invariably funky pisco is an incredibly tough sell. That said, Portón is about as good as any I’ve tried to date.
B / $TBD (arrives April 2011) / no web site yet
Just because New Year’s Eve has come and gone doesn’t mean you can’t keep drinking sparkling wines. (Remember, Valentine’s Day is just weeks away!) Here are four affordable and widely available non-vintage sparklers from our friends in Italy and Spain.
Get more easy-to-find sparkling reviews here!
NV Lamberti Prosecco Extra Dry – (Italy) – A very easy drinking Prosecco. Just the right amount of fizz, good acidity in the body, and lots of fruit flavor. Maybe a little heavy in the apple department — which lends it more sweetness than you might like — but perfectly drinkable nonetheless. B+ / $11
NV Freixenet Elyssia Cava Gran Cuvee Brut – (Spain, pictured) – The cork exploding out of this one nearly took off my girlfriend’s head, but we won’t hold that against the wine. Bright and citrus-infused, and a bit fizzier than the Lamberti Prosecco, giving it more of a creamy body. Simple, but quite pleasant. B+ / $15
NV Valdo Prosecco Brut – (Italy, pictured) – More melon on the nose and body here than the Lamberti, and a bit more fizz in it, too. A stronger overall flavor — including a tart finish — gives this Valdo more heft, but a little less finesse. Again, perfectly acceptable but not spectacular. B+ / $11
NV Valdo Nerello Mascalese Brut Rose – (Italy) – The only pink wine in this roundup (the grapes are Sicilian/Sardinian) and my least favorite of the bunch. Heavy rose petal notes on the nose are at first intriguing, but then turn a bit cloying. The finish is what kills it, though, a saccharine jamminess that is at odds with the floral character in the rest of the wine. B- / $13
(both Valdos are also reviewed here)
Cockspur isn’t a new name in the rum business, but corporate changes have led to Cockspur recently updating the way it sells its product in the U.S. Most notably, for the first time in decades, Cockspur’s U.S.-sold bottlings will be bottled in Barbados, where all the rum is made. Previously, Cockspur you purchased here was made on the island but bottled here.
We had a chance to taste two of the new, bottled-in-Barbados offerings from the company. Both are 80 proof.
Cockspur Fine Rum “Aged Reserve” - This is Cockspur’s entry-level rum, aged in oak (how long is unclear) and blended to a moderate gold color. A perfectly palatable mixing rum, Cockspur Fine isn’t much of a sipper — it’s got a roughness that isn’t easy to shake. But at its core it offers good, sweet vanilla notes, some herbal character, and light menthol notes. I’d happily pair this with Coke, particularly considering the price, but it’s lacking the complexity to be much more. B / $19
Cockspur Bajan Crafted Rum 12 Years Old – Containing “the oldest rums kept on reserve” at the Cockspur distillery — and Cockspur dates back to 1884 — Cockspur’s higher-end offering is considerably more advanced. Deep orange/amber color, a nutty character, and a sherry, citrus, and minty finish that offers deep complexity and richness. Great balance here, and while the denouement has a touch of rockiness, it’s quite a compelling rum. Great price for the quality. A- / $34
Good armagnac can be elusive, but Single de Samalens makes a compelling case for its revival.
This armagnac is “single distillery, single grape” — Samalens is 100% ugni blanc, aged 8 years — and is designed to be dry (like whisky) instead of sweet.
Sure enough, Single de Samalens has an intensely woody character, not cloying like so much younger brandy. It’s not so much “dry” — it still has a light sweetness to it — but it has a drying finish that makes it more complex than most armagnac. Maybe that’s because it’s missing the funk of most young armagnac, offering a creamy attack and austerity that is surprising for an 8 year old, intense with notes of brandied pastry, butterscotch, cedar and leather, and dried apricots.
I have mixed feelings about the spirit: I like the intensity but it lacks gravitas. For your typical brandy drinker, though, it’s certainly worth exploring as an alternative to everything else out there.
80 proof.
B+ / $40 / singledesamalens.com
