Wine and Spirits - December 2011 - (Page 16)

spirits By Lou Bustamante The Balvenie ST. GEORGE SPIRITS distiller Lance Winters has gone to great lengths to capture the essence of place in the new Mt. Tam edition of his gin, harvesting wild juniper berries, California bay laurel, coastal sage and Douglas ﬁr tips from the forests of Marin. The addition of wok-roasted spices and citrus peels serves to establish a traditional gin foundation for what drinks and feels like a foggy stroll through the redwood groves. If you're feeling rugged, add some ice and nothing more; if not, enjoy it with seltzer or ginger ale to avoid clear-cutting the ﬂavors. St. George Spirits, Alameda, CA, $49/750ml TUN 1401 Batch 3 St. George TERROIR GIN (Mt. Tam edition) PREVIOUSLY ONLY AVAILABLE at The Balvenie Distillery in Speyside, Scotland, Tun 1401 Single Malt Whisky by master blender David Stewart has made it way to the US in limited quantities. The hand-picked selection of The Balvenie rarest whiskies—some going as far back as the 1960s—are combined and rested for four months in the wooden blending tank named Tun 1401. The resulting single-malt whisky is deeply spiced with plenty of brown sugar flavor, menthol-like salinity and a richness that makes it smooth straight out of the bottle despite the high alcohol (50% alcohol by volume). William Grant & Sons USA, NY, $250/750ml Suntory Hakushu Japanese Whisky WITH A TRIO OF WHISKIES already available in the US—the Yamazaki 12 and 18 years, and the blended Hibiki—Suntory’s fourth release is the ﬁrst single malt made entirely from the company’s Hakushu distillery. Located deep in the forests of Mt. Kaikomagatake, in southern Japan, the distillery ages this 12-year-old whisky in a combination of used American oak barrels, Sherry butts and Japanese oak barrels. The ﬁnished product is distinctively crisp and lightly smoky, with a pleasant fragrance from the Japanese wood. Skyy Spirits, NY, $65/750ml Great King St. WHEN FIFTH GENERATION distiller Gustavo Ortega Zeller set out to create an elegant expression of his family’s rum, he took a page from Scotch producers and used a combination of American oak and Sherry barrels to age the molasses-based spirit. Blended from 5- to 14-year-old casks, the 1888 is almost ruby amber in color and ﬁlled with caramel, dried fruit, spice and toasty ﬂavors that make this drink like a ﬁne brandy. Rémy Cointreau USA, New York, NY $49/750ml Artist’s Blend SINGLE MALT DRINKERS OFTEN FROWN on blended Scotch whiskies, but Master blender John Glaser of Compass Box aims to change that with Great King St., a new series of blended Scotch whiskies. His first release, Artist’s Blend, is about half Highland and Speyside single malts combined with aged Lowland grain whisky; then it settles into an array of new French oak casks, first-fill American barrels and ex-Sherry butts before going into the bottle at a potent 43 percent ABV. The end result is rich, round and fruity with hints of toasty oak, vanilla and spice. It’s designed to be enjoyed straight, but it also works well with a little sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters for a classic Rob Roy. Compass Box USA, Manhasset, NY, $45/750ml Brugal RUM 1888 2 0 1 1 16 W I N E & S P I R I T S D E C E M B E R

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine and Spirits - December 2011

Wine and Spirits - December 2011
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered Luke Sykora on Napa's Latest Vintages; Wine Manga Hits Our Stores
Spirits: Winter's New Must-Haves from Lou Bustamante
Bordeaux on the Down Low
Post-Modern Barolo
Coombsville Rising
Breaking the Mold
Where’s the Beef?
Extreme Values
Tastings Overview
Champagne
American Cabernet & Blends
Barolo & Barbaresco
Rioja
German Riesling
American Wines
Imported Wines
Champagne’s Warming Trend

Wine and Spirits - December 2011