Pisco, for those not in the know, is essentially an unaged brandy, and it’s available in nearly as many styles as whiskey is. Kappa is its own monster — made by Grand Marnier not from the traditional grapes of Peru but from Muscat. So far so good: Some of the best grappas tend to be Muscat-based, so why not Pisco?

You catch that unmistakeable citrus on the nose, plus Pisco’s equally unmistakeable funkiness. From there, the body takes you toward flowers — strong honeysuckle and a little rose petal, almost like a gin. That menthol, wood oil, and petrol character pervades, however, marring some of Kappa’s natural delicacy. The finish is pungent, and a bit rustic, a weird counterbalance to some of the lighter notes in the mid-palate.

Interesting stuff, but the crazy bottle design is more of a conversation piece.

85 proof.

B+ / $34 / kappapisco.com

If you’re expecting something rough and hoary, think again. This is a lively and fresh Cognac, easy drinking and full of fruit. One of the big differences between other Cognacs is that it is bottled at 90 proof instead of the usual 80. You won’t notice the change, but I think the extra alcohol smooths out the brandy’s rough spots, since this after all a relatively young, VS-class spirit, as you can probably tell by the very pale gold color.

The brandy is very mild and quite sweet, with lots of apple and vanilla flavor on the nose and body. The finish offers wood character, some cinnamon and caramel notes. This tastes both young and refined at the same time, without a hint of that raw alcohol flavor that is so pungent in many younger Cognacs. It doesn’t offer a ton of complexity, but overall it’s a bargain for a spirit of this quality.

A- / $45 / cognacferrand.com

Also check out our 2010, 2009, and 2008 holiday guides.

Bourbon – Big Bottom Whiskey 2 Years Old Port Cask Finish ($40) – Technically not a Bourbon, but close enough. I gave only two A+ grades (outside of event coverage) all year, and this was one of them. Finding this now will be tough (we’ll have a review of the 3 Years Old version shortly), so if this doesn’t pan out try Parker’s Heritage Collection Cognac Finished 10 Years Old ($80) or Col. E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon ($70). You can also try Angel’s Envy ($45), technically a 2010 release but also Port-finished and about as good as Big Bottom.

Scotch – The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve ($375) – This is my “go-to” whisky right now, though it’s rapidly depleting, and the price may make it a big much for anyone short of a spouse. If you can find  Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix ($95) or Laphroaig Cairdeas ($60), both make outstanding gifts. And MacKinlay’s “Shackleton” ($150) is worth the price alone for the conversation value.

Gin – Bloom Gin ($29) – No question on this one. The floral but not perfumy Bloom is one of my favorite gins today. It may be made for a woman, but it’s powerful enough for a man.

Vodka – Russian Standard Gold Vodka – At $45, it’s pushing the boundaries of what anyone should pay for a neutral spirit, but it’s good and the package is striking enough to require no wrapping paper, saving you a few bucks. For your more avant-garde friends, check out Sub Rosa’s Flavored Vodkas ($30) or a bottle of Skyy Blood Orange ($18).

Rum – Montanya Platino Rum ($30) – So much good rum came out this year, but Montanya’s simple, pure, and bracing white rum is my winner for what you should give a loved one. Bottled in Colorado, not Latin America, they’ll immediately want to know more. For more traditional gifts, I also loved Berrys’ Own Panama Rum 10 Years Old ($80) and Brugal Extra Viejo ($27).

Brandy – “Original Gangster” XO Brandy ($25) – This gift works on a couple of levels. First, the packaging and name are so ridiculous that your hipster friends will get a solid, 25 dollar laugh out of it. Second, the brandy is actually pretty good, so you can actually drink it when you’re done giggling.

Tequila – Casa Dragones ($275) – The other A+ I gave this year, but considering the price of this. Tequila is still on the rise, and lots of good stuff is on the market, including Gran Dovejo Blanco ($47), El Gran Jubileo Extra Anejo ($65), and Excellia Blanco ($50), among many others.

Liqueur – Tatratea (up to $60) - A collection of five tea-flavored liqueurs, each increasing in proof level. Exotic and bizarre, and totally worthwhile for the liquor snob who has everything. Home cocktail enthusiasts would also love a little Pimento Dram ($28) or the all-new Drambuie 15 ($56).

Need another custom gift idea? Drop me a line or leave a comment here and I’ll offer my best advice!

Favorites were unilaterally from the private bottling companies, including Duncan Taylor’s killer 36 Year Old Lonach Blend, Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 21 Years Old — all that time in ex-sherry butts — and maybe by new favorite whisky ever, Samaroli Evolution 2011. Notes on all of these follow, plus comments (however brief) on everything else I sampled during the evening.

Thanks again to Whisky Advocate (nee Malt Advocate) for putting on such a terrific show (and inviting me).

Scotland

Samaroli Evolution 2011 / A+ / this Rome-based private whisky bottler was a fave at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, and this bottling was a revelation; a vatting of whisky stocks dating back to 1957, it is incredibly supple, complex, and impossible to put down

Samaroli Glenlivet Top Class 1977 / A- / amazing elegance

Samaroli Linkwood Top Class 1983 / B+ / bit tougher

Samaroli Glenburgie 1989 / B+ / rich and chewy

Samaroli Highland Park 1989 / B+ / has an edge to it

Samaroli Bunnahabhain 1990 / B+ / surprising sweetness

Auchentoshan Valinch / B / hard finish

Auchentoshan Bordeaux 1999 / B+ / sweetness up front leads to a rough finish

Auchentoshan 21 Year Old / B+ / my fave of the Auch line, better balance

Glen Garioch Founder’s Reserve / B

Glen Garioch 1994 Vintage / B / big nougat notes lead to a strange, funky finish

Tomatin Highland Single Malt 25 Year Old / B+ / almost American in styling, sweet finish

Tomatin Highland Single Malt Decades / A- / a vatting of 5 decades’ worth of whisky; complex and lots of fun

Isle of Jura Superstition / A- / nice balance with the peat here

Isle of Jura 16 Year Old / B / big grain notes, exotic

Laphroaig Triple Wood / B+ / finished in sherry, which adds just a touch of citrus to standard Laphroaig’s peat and iodine; interesting but could go farther

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach 10 Year Old / B / young but charming

Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila Port Finish 10 Year Old / B+ / nice mix of smoke and sweet, needs more aging

Gordon & MacPhail Linkwood 15 Year Old / A-

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 21 Years Old / A / spends all 21 years in sherry casks, an amazing whisky, deep and rich (by far the darkest Scotch I saw all night)

Gordon & MacPhail Tamdhu 30 Years Old / B+ / a bit over the hill, wood-wise

Compass Box Great King Street / A- / a masterful blended whisky

Springbank 14 Year Old Manzanilla Cask / B+ / big olive notes

Springbank 18 Year Old / B+ / not feeling it tonight; too much of a coal character

Kilkerran WIP 3rd Release / B+ / like Kilbeggan, Kilkerran is doing releases as its whisky ages; at 3 years old it is young but exciting, lots of promise ahead

Duncan Taylor Banff 35 Year Rich and Rare / A / amazing fruit and wood here, lovely finish

Duncan Taylor Lonach Blend 36 Year / A / cinnamon and apple pie, all sorts of fun

GlenDronach 21 Year Old Parliament / B+ / curious wood and spice notes

GlenDronach 15 Year Old 1995 Pedro Ximenez Cask #2045 / B

Tequila Corrido Extra Anejo Barrel #2 / A / a smooth operator, lovely chocolate finish

Macallan 18 Year Old / A-

Highland Park 25 Year Old / A- / musky finish

Bruichladdich Black Art 2 / B+ / finish delves deep into grain character

Bruichladdich Octomore 3/152 / A- / the new “most peated” whisky in the world, actually quite pleasant and not the bowl-you-over dram I was expecting; more like a barbecue than a smoke bomb

Ardbeg Corryvreckan / A

Ardbeg Alligator / A- / Ardbeg’s latest, aged in ultra-charred oak barrels; the wood really does battle with the peat here, giving it a curious but less enthralling character, I think

Ireland

Redbreast 12 Years Old / B+ / really woody kick; the reputation exceeds the whisky

Redbreast 15 Years Old / B+ / not terribly different

United States

Bardstown Riverboat Rye Whiskey / B / a younger version of Redemption Rye

Bardstown Temptation Bourbon / A- / good sweetness, balance

Bardstown Barrel Proof High Rye Bourbon / A / intensely rye-focused, and intensely alcoholic; not released (the company is hoping for 2012)

Koval Lion’s Pride Spelt Whiskey / B+ / aged 2 years; not bad, lots of grain character

Wild Turkey Russell’s Reserve 10 Years Old / A- / love the rye kick; probably better since it was poured by Jimmy Russell himself (picture below!)

George Dickel Barrel Select / A- / nice rye going on here

Not Whiskey

Frapin Cognac VS / A- / 4 years old; surprisingly clean for a $49 Cognac

Frapin Cognaac Chateau de Fontpinot XO / A- / big nose on it, great citrus and sherry finish

Frapin Cognac  VIP XO / A- / quite similar to the Fontpinot

Frapin Cognac Extra / A / 75 years old, extremely complex, mellow, and lingering

Pierre Ferrand Cognac Selection des Anges / A- / beautiful, smooth

Pierre Ferrand Cognac Cigare / A / not smoky, and in fact not as big a body as you’d expect with a name like that; very well crafted and lush; drink with or without a cigar

Tequila Corrido Extra Anejo Barrel #2 / A / a killer, and the only tequila here; lovely chocolate finish

Recently I gathered with friends to sample and compare a host of grappas from all around our fair country, along with a few Old World ones, too. This wasn’t a formal review — and I’m not grading the spirits discussed here — mainly because you’ll probably never see any of these in the wild.

Our adventure covered the following territories:

Brandy Peaks — Oregon Marc Brandy Muscat

Brandy Peaks — Grappa

Amalgamated Distilling — Vita di Saint Louis, Blanca (OH)

Amalgamated Distilling — Vita di Saint Louis, Giallo

Flag Hill Winery and Distillery — Graham’s Grappa (NH)

Peach Street Distillers — Muscat Grappa (CO)

Peach Street Distillers — Viognier Grappa

Forks of Cheat Winery — West Virginia Grappa

Stillwater Spirits — Cole Ranch, Cabernet Sauvignon Grappa (CA)

…plus a pair of Italian grappas

Favorites? Stillwater’s Cabernet Grappa was traditional in the nose — with olive pit and nut aromas — but proved complex, with a burnt caramel saltiness and sweetness on the tongue. Fans of traditional Italian grappa will likely enjoy this one.

Peach Street’s Viognier grappa was also a winner, fruity with apple notes and a fun chocolate finish; oddly, the Muscat grappa from the same distiller was too overpowering with citrus notes and an astringent body.

Still, nothing really compared to La Grappa di Pino Zardetto, a grappa made from Prosecco, vibrant with aromatics, honey, flower, and fruits, but all perfectly balanced. It’s a grappa for the both the grappa novice and the pro, and a winning example of how great good grappa can be.

What of the rest? As with all sorts of spirits, these grappas occupied a range between passable to awful, the worst coming off like nail polish remover and the better ones offering some nuance, but often drifting back into grappa’s old habits: fuel overtones and overpowering earth character.

All told? A really informative tasting that proved to me that you don’t have to be Italian to make good grappa… but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Samogon is actually the Russian term for moonshine, so using it as a brand name is a little confusing. Samogon, from Phenix Brands, is also not really moonshine (in Russia, it’s typically a sugar-based spirit), but rather a grappa, made from grape stems and seeds left over from the winemaking process.

It’s unclear what grape varietal is used in the making of Samogon, but as grappa goes, this is pretty straightforward stuff. The nose is filled with fuel-like characteristics, an astringency common with simpler grappas. The palate is about the same: Tough as nails and heavy on the funk. There’s not a lot of nuance in Samogon, which perhaps explains how they came up with the name: In a world of ultra-smooth premium vodkas, Samogon tries to go the other way. For those of you who like a lot of character in your liquor, well, you found it — for better or worse.

B- / x / phenixspirits.co

Initially mild, as the cognac character is at the forefront of the spirit. But give it just a couple of minutes and, wham, the vanilla takes hold. It’s hugely sweet and dessert-like, almost like a big vanilla milkshake. While reasonably authentic in flavor, it’s ultimately just too much. As any baker knows, a little vanilla goes a very long way in a dish, especially in liquid form. Here it completely overpowers the cognac character, especially on the finish, where the vanilla becomes cloying and uninviting. One is not encouraged to take sip after sip but rather to switch to a straight, unflavored brandy in short order. Likely better as a mixer or, come to think of it, as a substitute for vanilla in your favorite baking recipes.

C+ / $22 / ahardyusa.com

Metaxa is a Greek spirit dating back to 1888 and is, as the company promises, “completely different” from any other brown spirit. Greek Savatiano, Sultaniana, and Black Corinth grapes are dried in the sun and fermented to produce a sort of wine. The wine is distilled twice and put into Limousin oak barrels to rest. So far, it’s basically brandy. But at the end of the process, Metaxa is blended with Greek Muscat wine plus an infusion of botanicals, including rose petals. The mixture is left to age again for at least half a year.

As with brandy, there are numerous ages of Metaxa available, from three years to 30. It doesn’t indicate this on the label — typically indicating a number of “stars” instead — but those stars do correspond to the number of years the initial brandy is kept in cask. The reserve bottlings offer a little more info (and higher price tags) as they get older and older.

Metaxa sent us the 5 Star and 7 Star bottlings — leaving the entry-level 3 Star behind — for us to kick the tires on. Just remember, if you’re in Greece, no matter what, it beats drinking ouzo.

Metaxa Greek Spirit 5 Stars – The nose is indescribable, a mix of perfume and brandy that is indeed unlike anything else I’ve ever consumed. The rose petals are distinct, but they are balanced by modest vanilla, citrus peel, and lemon notes. The body is on the thin side — this is a 78 proof spirit — which leaves plenty of room for those rose petals to come on strong again on the finish. Fun for one glass. Then your palate is ready for something else. B- / $20

Metaxa Greek Spirit 7 Stars – Still flowery, but more complex, with cinnamon and coffee notes on the front of the palate. A lot closer to straight brandy than Metaxa 5, and the roses take a bit of a back seat to the burlier, vanilla-laced body. Much more enjoyable as a sipper, and worth the few extra bucks. 80 proof. B / $23

metaxa.com

80 proof.

A- / $62 / germain-robin.com

With some wildly rare and expensive wines, this was certainly an event not to miss, but there was nothing here to compare with Prunotto’s northern Italian lineup, a range of outstanding Brunellos and Barbarescos where each seemed to be better than the last. Tasting notes follow: First wines, then grappa. Prices noted are wholesale list price per bottle.

Tasting Report: Winebow’s Vini D’Italia, June 2011

2007 Allegrini Amarone Classico / $67 / A- / approachable

2004 Allegrini La Poja / $67 / A- / fruitier

2009 Allegrini Soave / $13 / A-

2006 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino / $65 / A-

2004 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli / $111 / B+ / very dried fruit character

2004 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino / $59 / B+ / herbal

2006 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino / $55 / A

2006 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico / $16 / B- / heavy tannin

2007 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico / $16 / C+

2006 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo / $29 / B-

2003 Castello di Bossi Garolamo / $52 / B-

2004 Castello di Bossi Corbaia / $52 / B

2005 Falesco Marciliano Cabernet Sauvignon / $40 / B+ / big herbs, especially on the nose

2006 Falesco Sagrantino di Montefalco / $42 / B- / nose is off

2010 Falesco Est! Est!! Est!!! Di Montefiascone / $8 / B

2009 Franz Haas Pinot Nero / $42 / B

2009 Kris Pinot Noir / $11 / B-

2004 Leone de Castris Donna Lisa Salice Salentino Riserva / $40 / B+

2005 Leone de Castris Donna Lisa Salice Salentino Riserva / $40 / A / great balance

2008 Maculan Palazzotto Cabernet Sauvignon / $26 / A- / very soft

2007 Maculan Fratta / $83 / A / lush, intense

2004 Prunotto Barolo Bussia / $73 / A-

2005 Prunotto Barolo Bussia / $85 / A

2006 Prunotto Barbaresco Bric Turot / $63 / A-

2006 Prunotto Barbaresco Classico / $42 / A-

2005 Prunotto Barolo / $46 / B+ / strawberry notes

2006 Prunotto Barolo / $46 / B / sunny

2006 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico / $55 / B+ / huge fruit

2005 Zenato Cresasso / $63 / A- / sweet licorice notes, fun

2005 Tasca D’Almerita Rosso del Conte / $56 / B+ / over-jammed

2005 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri / $77 / C+ / tight

2006 Tua Rita Perlato del Bosco / $39 / B

2007 Tua Rita Syrah / $188 / A- / great balance

2007 Tua Rita Redigaffi / $260 / A

Grappa

Poli Jacopo Moscato / $60 (375ml) / B+

Poli Jacopo Torcolato / $60 (375ml) / A-

Poli Po Moscato / $48 / B-

Poli Po Pino / $48 / B+

Poli Po Traminer / $48 / B

Poli Sarpa / $48 / B+