This week’s edition of Spirit’s We Love! spans the gambit from an austere single malt to a rambunctious Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin. Enjoy!
The Balvenie Stories: The Sweet Toast of American Oak (Dufftown, Scotland)
Vitals: 80 Proof (40% ABV); Price $80
The first whisky in The Balvenie Stories Collection series by malt master David Stewart is “my kind of scotch!” This “gorgeous and layered” age stated 12-year-old classic Balvenie single malt was aged in a heavily toasted Virgin American Oak, resulting in a “fruit forward,” whisky with a “round sweet nose and long, winding finish that transitions from citrus to spice with great precision.”
Uncle Nearest 1856 Tennessee Whiskey (Shelbyville, Tennessee)
Vitals: 100 Proof (50% ABV); $55
The whiskey world is abuzz with the amazing history of Nathan “Nearest” Green, a slave who was Jack Daniel’s first distiller in 1856. While everybody loves a great story, its ultimately what’s in the bottle that matters, and this “rich and rewarding” Tennessee Whiskey by blender Victoria Eady Butler, a direct descendent of Uncle Nearest himself, does not disappoint. Expect “a spicy nose with toasty hints of grain” and “fudgy layers of vanilla and a nutmeg crescendo” on the palate, and a “slow, caramel fade out.”
Red Bordner South Carolina Gold Rum (Boiling Springs, South Carolina)
86.6 proof (43.3% ABV); $36
Local legend Red Bordner fired up his first still at just 12 years old, and half a century later the distiller’s passion for creating excellent spirits is still burning bright. Case-in-point is Bordner’s South Carolina Gold Rum, distilled from cane honey and aged in local South Carolina oak. Look for a “bold, warm nose that smacks of ripe banana” followed by “bright bourbon cask notes like vanilla” on the palate, making this a “buttery sweet rum with layers of caramel” that finishes with rich notes of “banana foster.”
Cart/Horse Distilling Root Digger Artisan Root Beer Spirit (Erie, Pennsylvania)
50 Proof (ABV 25%); $35
Married couple and Cart/Horse Founders Jessica Lemmon and John Fetzner are all about both traditional and experimental spirits, and this unique Root Digger Artisan Root Beer, a “nicely designed liqueur,” is a perfect example of the latter. Made with real birch and sarsaparilla, this interesting liquid delivers an expected “punch of root beer” on the nose, which combines with aromas of “pumpkin pie and fruit cake.” Root Digger’s “interesting recipe of botanicals” results in a “pleasant balance of sweetness and herbaceousness” that would “rock in a boozy root beer float.”
All Points West Distillery Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin (Newark, New Jersey)
Vitals: 92 Proof (46 ABV); $32
Former architect Gil Spaier’s traded a life of restoring townhouses in New York City for distilling when he founded All Points West in the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin is made with classic distilled botanicals and boosted with hibiscus and spicy pink peppercorn imparts a “Lovely rose color with cinnamon, rosemary and a hint of juniper on the nose.” On the palate, “aromatic, lively floral notes grow dry and herbal” with a “long, refreshing minty finish.” Overall “a lovely gin.”
This week’s edition of Spirit’s We Love! spans the gambit from an austere single malt to a rambunctious Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin. Enjoy!
The Balvenie Stories: The Sweet Toast of American Oak
Dufftown, Scotland
Vitals: 80 Proof (40% ABV); Price $80
The first whisky in The Balvenie Stories Collection series by malt master David Stewart is “my kind of scotch!” This “gorgeous and layered” age stated 12-year-old classic Balvenie single malt was aged in a heavily toasted Virgin American Oak, resulting in a “fruit forward,” whisky with a “round sweet nose and long, winding finish that transitions from citrus to spice with great precision.”
Uncle Nearest 1856 Tennessee Whiskey
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Vitals: 100 Proof (50% ABV); $55
The whiskey world is abuzz with the amazing history of Nathan “Nearest” Green, a slave who was Jack Daniel’s first distiller in 1856. While everybody loves a great story, its ultimately what’s in the bottle that matters, and this “rich and rewarding” Tennessee Whiskey by blender Victoria Eady Butler, a direct descendent of Uncle Nearest himself, does not disappoint. Expect “a spicy nose with toasty hints of grain” and “fudgy layers of vanilla and a nutmeg crescendo” on the palate, and a “slow, caramel fade out.”
Red Bordner South Carolina Gold Rum
Boiling Springs, South Carolina
86.6 proof (43.3% ABV); $36
Local legend Red Bordner fired up his first still at just 12 years old, and half a century later the distiller’s passion for creating excellent spirits is still burning bright. Case-in-point is Bordner’s South Carolina Gold Rum, distilled from cane honey and aged in local South Carolina oak. Look for a “bold, warm nose that smacks of ripe banana” followed by “bright bourbon cask notes like vanilla” on the palate, making this a “buttery sweet rum with layers of caramel” that finishes with rich notes of “banana foster.”
Cart/Horse Distilling Root Digger Artisan Root Beer Spirit
Erie, Pennsylvania
50 Proof (ABV 25%); $35
Married couple and Cart/Horse Founders Jessica Lemmon and John Fetzner are all about both traditional and experimental spirits, and this unique Root Digger Artisan Root Beer, a “nicely designed liqueur,” is a perfect example of the latter. Made with real birch and sarsaparilla, this interesting liquid delivers an expected “punch of root beer” on the nose, which combines with aromas of “pumpkin pie and fruit cake.” Root Digger’s “intriguing recipe of botanicals” results in a “pleasant balance of sweetness and herbaceousness” that would “rock in a boozy root beer float.”
All Points West Distillery Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin
Newark, New Jersey
Vitals: 92 Proof (46 ABV); $32
Former architect Gil Spaier traded a life of restoring townhouses in New York City for distilling when he founded All Points West in the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin is made with classic distilled botanicals and boosted with hibiscus and spicy pink peppercorn, imparting a “lovely rose color with cinnamon, rosemary and a hint of juniper on the nose.” On the palate, “aromatic, lively floral notes grow dry and herbal” with a “long, refreshing minty finish.” Overall, “a lovely gin.”
Spirits writers, marketers and designers are among the most influential forces in the spirits industry. Their opinions, ideas and creative talents inform and influence consumer perceptions and buying decisions. The John Barleycorn Society was started by a group of spirits journalists seeking to honor excellence in all facets of the industry. The journalists spent several years creating a comprehensive competition that became the John Barleycorn Awards. An elite team of authoritative and influential spirits journalists was selected to administer the flagship component of the Awards, a blind tasting competition destined to become the preeminent arbitrator of spirits taste, quality and character.
