I always seem to have a bottle of Port open and at the ready… but never get around to drinking it. Memo to self: Drink more Porto.

Sandeman’s 20 Year Tawny is a nicely mellowed tawny, not too rich or sweet (which I know turns many Port drinkers off), but still bearing some nice complexity.

The Sandeman is a deep orange, reminiscent of a good brandy. The flavor is lightly sweet but still unmistakably Port, balancing out its jammy notes and a distinct honey laciness with an intriguing, orange finish.

Sandeman obviously recognizes the lighter structure of this Port and is pitching it as a unique ingredient in making cocktails. Here are two, courtesy of Philip Ward at New York’s Death + Co. bar. (Updates below from Ward.)

The Baltasar and Blimunda
1/2 oz. Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny Port
2 oz. Beefeater Gin
1/2 oz. bitters
1/2 oz. vermouth (Punt e Mes recommended)

Stir. Serve up and garnish with flamed orange twist.

The Dahlgren
1 oz. Sandeman 20 Years Old Tawny Port
2 oz. tequila (blanco)
1 oz. ginger beer
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
dash of bitters (Angostura)

Shake well and serve in a highball glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

I tried the Dahlgren (with the guesses as noted above; picture at right)… not a bad concoction, definitely turns a light style Port into something pretty heavy. The tequila (use something good) plays intriguingly with the citrus character in the Port (and I love the ginger beer element… never woulda thought of that), but I think this might be better with the proportions of Port vs. tequila reversed.

A- / $40 / sandeman.eu

With its squat bottle reminiscent of those they sell iced tea in and an almost gaudy black-and-gold label (yeah, that’s a golden potato instead of an O), Karlsson’s Gold Vodka won’t be easily missed in a sea of etched-label, oversized bottles of the stuff. But Karlsson’s isn’t bottom-shelf swill. Created by Börje Karlsson, the “Father of Absolut,” this 80-proof Swedish potato vodka is one of the most unusual I’ve tasted in recent memory.

The flavor isn’t so much medicinal as it is minty, and there’s curious butterscotch character to it as well. I was expected strong flavors of smoke and charcoal, hallmarks of Absolut, but these vodkas are about as different as you could imagine. Curiously, it’s fairly smooth yet it is distilled just one time, a testament to quality in an era of five-, six-, or seven-times distilled spirits.

As for the bottle, it’s not a tea container but one inspired by a laboratory bottle, and it even has graduated volume levels right in the glass. (The label on the bottle sent to me looks a bit different than the one shown here, also; perhaps it’s an older version?)

The price, well, that’s another issue. At $40 a bottle, Karlsson’s is one of the priciest vodkas on the market. That puts it quite a bit out of range as a novelty item, but if you’re a die-hard vodka lover, it might just have enough nuance to merit an investment.

B+ / $40 / karlssonsvodka.com

The tassels. All month long they’ve been talking about the tassels, the ones that adorn the three bottles of Cielo tequila that have been anxiously awaiting review on the bar.

But there’s more to Cielo than just a pretty face. This is good tequila across the line. All 80 proof and, of course, 100 percent agave, comments on each variety follow.

Cielo Blanco -This blanco is triple distilled and crystal clear. (Cielo says it discards both the head and tail of every batch it makes, leaving only the best for the bottle.) As silver tequilas go, Cielo Blanco is extremely creamy, well-rounded with both traditional (but not overpowering) agave flavor and plenty of pepper and herbal notes. The Blanco works well in a variety of cocktails or for sipping. I’m a big fan. A- / $40

Cielo Reposado - Cielo’s reposado is considerably darker than most reposados: It’s as dark as most anejos in my stock, actually. (The picture below doesn’t do it justice.) Cielo ages its reposado for the maximum amount of time allowed by Mexican law: 364 days. That extra time in the barrel makes for a much better reposado than most of the pathetically weak, yellow reposados out there, which just come across like Anejo Lite.  Cielo’s version is brilliant: Still bearing nice agave character but tempered with sweetness, spice, and a surprising nuttiness (hazelnut and almond). It’s complex and delicious. A grand sipper. A / $50

Cielo Anejo - With up to four years in the barrel, Cielo’s Anejo technically qualifies as an “Extra Anejo,” the new category legally created for tequila in 2006. (Regular anejo must, by law, be aged from one to three years in oak.) Cielo’s anejo is complex like bourbon, heavily vanilla scented and lightly smoky. Fans of Scotch and better domestic whiskies will find this an intriguing counterpoint to grain-based spirits. And yet something about the reposado keeps drawing me back… it does wonders while still keeping its roots in agave, while the anejo really only hints at tequila. Hey, it’s complicated. A / $65

handcraftedtequila.com

The charms of Lillet Blanc have been adequately covered in this blog. But there’s another Lillet — Lillet Rouge — which is considerably harder to find even though it’s been on the marketsince 1962, 24 years longer than Lillet Blanc.

There’s not a lot of mystery to what Lillet Rouge is: As the name implies, it’s pretty much the same deal as Lillet Blanc, but with a red wine base instead of white. As with Lillet Blanc, it’s meant to be consumed ice cold, but anyone who’s ever had a chilled red wine knows how strange this can be. Adding in the bittersweet herbs that go into Lillet just makes it all the weirder.

In the right frame of mind, Lillet Rouge can be refreshing, and it does make for some curious cocktails (the company’s first recommendation is Lillet Glogg, which I’m sure you’ll dive right into). But all in all, it’s easy to see why the Blanc is more popular.

B- / $16 / lillet.fr

Brancaia (sometimes indexed as “La Brancaia”) is regularly touted as one of the great Super-Tuscan wineries, yet the wines, while expensive, are generally in reach of the average wine buyer.

Though in production for only a few years, the $70 Ilatraia is already one of Brancaia’s signature bottlings, a 60-30-10 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and, intriguingly, Petit Verdot. In the glass it’s unmistakably Cab at heart, lacking that greenish bite typical of so much Chianti and nicely mellowed by 18 months of oak.

It’s definitely a food wine but works well on its own. When you’re not sucking down a steak you can catch the raspberry and spice notes here that you might otherwise miss. The bottle went down all too quickly, a testament to its easy-drinking nature. Love the mod label, too.

A / $75 / brancaia.com

Cachaça continues its run for the It Spirit of the ’00s. Here’s another contestant: Água Luca, an otherwise standard cachaça with the distinction of being filtered twelve times en route to the bottle.

Maybe that filtering robs Água Luca of some of its character? Água Luca has a very typical cachaça profile, with a strong industrial, alcoholic edge that’s cut with the sweetness of sugar cane and a nod at citrus notes.

Straight, Água Luca wasn’t a hit. I found it too plain. My wife curiously said it reminded her of tequila, probably because she’s used to smoother cachaças that have hit the market recently.

In a caipirinha, Água Luca shined brightly. It’s a natural with lime and sugar, though even at 40 proof it comes on strong. Looking to pack a punch in your cocktail while using less liquor? Maybe Água Luca’s your man.

B- / $31 / agualuca.com

Robert Craig has been making wine on Mount Veeder for 30 years.

Exactly.

This year, Craig celebrates its 30th anniversary as a creator of “mountain Cabernets.” In honor, here comes his 2005 Affinity, a Bordeaux-style blend from Howell Mountain, on the other side of the valley.

Affinity is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 1% each Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine is lush but still quite young, it needs several years of bottle time to mellow its tannins a bit further, though it’s still approachable now. Currant is the dominant character: The palate offers an interesting and spicy complexity, but it doesn’t quite come across in the nose. The finish is on the thin side, which is sad because the wine otherwise comes on quite strong.

Not bad, but try it again in 2010.

B+ / $45 / robertcraigwine.com

Looking for a solid Zinfandel at a good price? Check out Rancho Zabaco’s Dry Creek Valley Reserve.

Rancho Zabaco’s wines are classic, old-school zins, less blatantly jammy and fruity than most modern Zinfandels. The Dry Creek Valley Reserve has an earthy, plum character, with hints of smoke and tar. On the nose this is still unmistakably Zinfandel, but it’s more complex than your typical bottle. It lists for $24 but can be found for $17 or even less. A-

If you’re looking for an even more challenging Zin, check out Zabaco’s Monte Rosso Vineyard (pictured below), a $55 single vineyard bottling that is reminiscent of Pinot Noir at its earthy best. With only 300 cases made, good luck finding it, but Zin fans should jump for it despite the inflated price. A

ranchozabaco.com

Organic spirits continue to swing as a trend: Tru was the first USDA-certified organic brand of vodka in the U.S. Made by Modern Spirits in Monrovia, California, these high-end spirits don’t just pay lip service to social consciousness. The bottle uses 25% less glass, the label’s made from corn fiber and soy-based ink, and even the shrinkwrap is recyclable. Buy a Tru cocktail at a bar and you’ll likely be given a card noting that Modern Spirits has planted a tree on your behalf. They’ll do the same thing if you buy a bottle at retail.

Good news: These vodkas — one standard, two infused, all three totally organic — are all pretty good. Some tasting notes follow.

Tru Organic Vodka is an 80-proof vodka distilled from American wheat. It’s clearly a wheat-based spirit, with a crisp medicinal character, but one that fades quickly from the palate. A very traditional and largely neutral vodka, it’s extremely clean and works fine in a variety of cocktails or straight. A-

Tru Organic Lemon - This 70-proof infusion (with hand zested organic California lemons) offers very bright lemon flavor, one that almost tastes of orange-like Meyer lemon. Splendid in a Cosmo or other citrus/juice-based cocktail. A-

Tru Organic Vanilla - Considerably complex, this 70-proof vodka is infused with “hand scraped organic Bourbon vanilla beans.” The vanilla flavor is powerful, almost too much so. I got a bit of bitterness from this one alongside the sweetness, but it wouldn’t be readily noticeable in a complex cocktail or a coffee drink. As good a vanilla vodka as you’re likely to find. B+

$33 each / truvodka.com

Diddy knows what’s up.

Ciroc (or more properly Cîroc) is a high-end vodka, one of the earlier grape-based vodkas, and now that Puff Daddy is behind it as a promoter, it’s probably sky’s-the-limit for the brand.

This French vodka is not just made from grapes but from “snap frost” grapes, which (I guess) means the grapes are harvested immediately after the first frost. (Search for “snap frost grapes” online and all you’ll come up with are stories about Ciroc vodka.) Distilled five times and bottled at 80 proof, it goes into a fancy bottle and then on to your stomach.

This is indeed a pretty good vodka, about on par with other grape-based vodkas though somewhat more medicinal than most. There’s a strong lemon tone after you cut through the antiseptic character, and some herbal, almost licorice, undertones in the glass, too. This is an interesting vodka for drinking straight, though ultimately I have a few other brands I prefer a little better; Ciroc’s oddly bitter finish makes it a little tricky.

B+ / $26 / cirocvodka.com (note: doesn’t work with Firefox)