Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017 - 12

BEST NEW

SPIRITS
of
2017

VICTORIA DISTILLERS
EMPRESS 1908 GIN

PARANUBES RUM

Let's not beat around the bush: This
gin is blue. But before you slam it as a
gimmick, taste it. It's a precisely formulated beauty, balanced elegantly
between the crispness of a London
Dry and the botanical exoticism of
the New Western style. Made on Vancouver Island in British Columbia,
this gin was created specifically for the
grandiose Fairmont Empress hotel,
one of Victoria's attractions, whose
Victorian high-tea tradition carries
into this gin, which incorporates the
Empress's signature tea blend. The
blue hue comes from butterfly pea
blossoms steeped post-distillation; they
also provide a subtle earthy note to ground
the juniper and grapefruit high tones. In a G&T, the blue
fades into a gentle pink, which somehow contributes to
the delight of the drink. Its vibrant color aside, this is
one of the tastiest gins of the year.
Imported by Azzurre Spirits, Las Vegas, NV; 42.5% abc,
$40/750 ml

From the misty Mazateca mountains of Oaxaca
comes a rum so beautifully expressive of sugar
cane that it might just make people forget about
agave. Paranubes is made in a high-altitude
"cloud forest" about six hours by car from
Oaxaca City. Four varieties of cane are harvested
in the forested hills, transported out by burro,
then driven to the distillery. The fresh-pressed
cane juice is fermented naturally in pine vats,
then moved to a copper column-still fired by
spent cane fiber. The rum is distilled to proof:
nothing added or removed. The result is smooth,
round and sweet-not as funky as rhum agricole
and more elegant than cachaça. It's complex and
smooth enough to sip neat, but the silky texture
makes for an irresistibly sleek daiquiri.
Imported by Montanero Mezcal, Ophir, CO; 54%
abv, $40/1L

BOZAL COYOTE WILD MEZCAL
C3 CARCIOFO
Founded by Francesco
Amodeo in Washington,
DC, Don Ciccio & Figli
produces an astonishing
line of amari, aperitivi
and licori based on recipes
Amodeo has adapted from
his grandfather and greatgrandfather, both distillers
on the Amalfi Coast. The
line is now distributed
nationally (by Domaine
Select), including the newest product, C3 Carciofo.
Based on three varieties of
artichoke, cardoons and
grapefruit, it's full of baking spice and sarsaparilla notes, with the slightly bitter, slightly
sweet flavor of roasted artichoke brightened
by a flash of citrusy zest. It's a natural for an
aperitivo with soda and an orange slice or a
satisfying post-meal corrective.
Don Ciccio & Figli, Washington, DC; 23%
abv, $38/750 ml

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2018

Mezcal continues to be the nation's most exciting spirit category.
Bozal bottles intriguing mezcals made from Castilla, Borrego and
Cuixe-wild agave varieties hand harvested from often precarious sites on remote mountainsides-but I was particularly smitten by the Coyote variety, harvested from Villa Sola de Vega in
Oaxaca. A nuanced smokiness takes a backseat to potent flavors
of pear, green herbs, dried earth and dark chocolate. It's full bodied and rich, perfect for slow sipping under the stars.
Imported by 3 Badge Beverage Corp., Sonoma, CA; 40% abv,
$120/750 ml

ROCHELT SCHNAPPS
If you have never tried Rochelt, you don't know schnapps. Like any
great eau-de-vie, these Tyrolean treasures rely on fruit meticulously
selected and harvested, carefully fermented and distilled to create
a perfect snapshot of a fruit at ideal ripeness. But these spirits are
aged an average of a decade in small glass demijohns to coalesce,
mellow and concentrate. Most eau-de-vies are like perfume-
you can only consume them in dabs. Rochelt's schnapps, which
come in a signature green-glass crystal bottle, are perfumes you
can quaff. Balanced, flavorful and smooth even at a whopping
100 proof, the risk is drinking them too fast, which would be a
mistake: Only eight bottles of each flavor- apple, morello cherry,
muscat, black elderberry and apricot-entered the US this year.
Imported by PM Spirits, Brooklyn, NY; 50% abv, $250 to $500/375ml

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017