Looking for a new flavor? Need a little help making your next choice at your local bar or bottle shop? Dining and drinks writer and judge Virginia Miller combs through new craft spirits releases to taste, review, and recommend. Here are her top 12 picks of the month, rated on a scale of one to five.
My bottle review column (last month’s edition here) is about what is unique, standout, new and/or trending in spirits with my review ratings on a 1-5 rating scale. My 10 bottle reviews of the month:
VERMOUTH
Accompani Dry Vermouth
https://straightawaycocktails.com/products/dry-vermouth
Appreciating some of what I’ve tried of the Accompani line, the Accompani Dry vermouth (17% ABV; $24.95) is far from one of my favorite dry vermouths, which I regularly sip on the rocks. But it’s pleasant enough, even if the finish falls a bit flat. Its key botanicals of tarragon, thyme, sweet woodruff, citrus and rose come together nicely in the glass. Taste Rating: 3
RUM
Crossfire Hurricane Rum by The Rolling Stones
www.crossfirehurricane.com
Celebrity-backed spirits roll out relentlessly, but at least The Rolling Stones went for a less common rum collaboration vs. an umpteenth celebrity whiskey or tequila. November 2023 saw the release of Crossfire Hurricane Rum ($37) in partnership with Universal Music Group and Socio Ventures as their first studio album in 18 years was just released, Hackney Diamonds. A blend of Caribbean rums from Jamaica, Barbados and the Dominican Republic. aged up to five years in charred oak barrels, details of where the rums were distilled are scant (minimal details in Food & Wine). The rum hits a bit too sweet and hot at first, but unfolds with caramelized bananas and a subtle funk that works nicely as a cocktail rum. It won’t change the rum game, but is enjoyable. Taste Rating: 3.5
ABSINTHE
Jetty Wave Absinthe
www.jettywave.com/product-page/absinthe
Distilled close to my San Francisco home in the charming coastal farming town of Half Moon Bay, CA, there is never enough absinthe or anise liqueurs in my book. Jetty Wave Absinthe is a bold winner that shows off the distillery’s own garden, from traditional wormwood to spinach, lemongrass and orris root. Its salty licorice vibe and silky texture makes it sing. More, please. Taste Rating: 4.5
RTDs (Ready-to-Drink/Canned or Bottled Drinks)
High Rise Cannabis Seltzers
https://highrisebev.com
Charleston-based High Rise Cannabis Seltzers are clean and crisp, although if, like me, you’re not ecstatic about CBD’s skunky notes, they do come through strongly on the nose and the finish. If you’re chasing that, these seltzers should please. They’re subtle, not too sweet and created with real fruit extracts, from a bright grapefruit to very subtle blood orange. Taste Rating: 3-3.5
GIN
• Jetty Wave Coastal Gin
www.jettywave.com/distillates
Distilled close to my San Francisco home in the charming coastal farming town of Half Moon Bay, CA, Jetty Wave Coastal Gin — both California Botanical Gin ($45) and Barrel Aged Gin — are distilled from organic American corn. The California Botanical Gin is blessedly juniper-forward, featuring California botanicals in a unique pistachio corn mash, enhanced by thyme, coriander seed, cardamom, ginger root, black pepper, meyer lemon, shiso and nasturtium blossoms. It’s an herbaceous beauty and shines in cocktails. The same mashbill aged in American oak, the barrel aged dominates with cardamom, so lets less of the gin’s nuance and freshness through. It will please barrel aged gin fans.
Taste Rating Botanical Gin: 4.5
Taste Rating Barrel Aged Gin: 3.5
• Inverroche Gins
www.inverroche.com
Female-founded by Lorna Scott, Inverroche Gin is a South African gin line that employs local women at its distillery, recently imported to the States via Sazerac’s 375 Park Avenue Spirits. All three gins showcase native South African fynbos, a shrubland or heath vegetation that grows naturally around the country’s Western and Eastern Cape, imparting an almost chamomile-esque floralness. Inverroche Gin Classic is the most clean but more citrus-forward than juniper, with echoes of rose petals and chamomile. Inverroche Gin Verdant is golden green, hitting floral and sweet with elderflower, peach pie spice and a welcome hit of silky liquorice. Inverroche Gin Amber may be my least favorite with its apple-floral-wood notes and hibiscus-spice finish and dark color. It’s the least gin-like, though still interesting with that consistent fynbos floral profile.
Taste Rating Verdant: 4
Taste Rating Classic and Amber: 3.5
INDIAN WHISKY
Indri Dru Single Malt Indian Whisky
www.piccadily.com/dru
Piccadily Distilleries’ Indri Dru Single Malt Indian Whisky ($80 SRP) was just released in the United States in November 2023. Master blender, Mr. Surrinder Kumar, blended this cask strength, 57.2% ABV whisky, which is named after Indian mythology’s “Dru” vessel used to offer the divine drink “soma” to the gods. Aged in ex-bourbon casks, it’s got body and restrained vanillans from the oak, but recalls a beautifully balanced Scotch as it unfolds with spice, dried fruits, chocolate and whispers of honey. Taste Rating: 4.5
TEQUILA
El Tequileño Limited Edition Extra Añejo Tequila
www.tequileno.com
El Tequileño is long a go-to tequila line for me, founded in 1959 by Don Jorge Salles Cuevo, currently under third generation master distiller Jorge Antonio “Tony” Salles. In time for the holidays, they just released their Añejo Gran Reserva Tequila ($800) in collaboration with Kendall-Jackson’s Randy Ullom. It’s aged two years in American and French Oak, then blended with six year-old Extra Añejo tequila aged in American Oak. The price is immense and will obviously only work for a small number. But it’s the kind of extra anejo that is blessedly first and foremost a tequila. Cooked agave notes and a light body make it tequila, while balanced oak, vanilla, spices, orange and pepper notes roll out. It’s a beauty. Taste Rating: 5
SCOTCH WHISKY
Nc’nean Distillery Organic Single Malt Whisky
https://ncnean.com/pages/north-america
Female-founded by Annabel Thomas, Nc’nean Distillery’s Organic Single Malt Whisky ($70-$95) is a new, sustainable, organic single malt Scotch whisky produced on Scotland’s west coast. It’s bright and stone fruit-dominant with a touch of citrus and spice. Not overly complex but not dumbed down either. Pleasant and approachable. Besides the organic certification, other admirable qualities are bottles made from 100% recycled glass, a first in Scotch whisky. Their second limited edition Quiet Rebels whisky will soon be imported to the U.S. Taste Rating: 4
AMERICAN WHISKEY
Clyde May’s Conecuh Ridge Straight Bourbon Whiskey
www.conecuhbrands.com
Conecuh Ridge Straight Bourbon Whiskey (100.6-proof; $49.99 SRP) celebrating the future home of Clyde May’s Conecuh Ridge Distillery in Troy, Alabama. Aged in charred white American oak barrels for 4 to 5 years, it’s bold with stone fruit, baked apples and thankfully balanced oak tannins. It’s a strong cocktail bourbon, holding up to some dilution. Taste Rating: 4
Ready for another round? Visit Virginia’s website http://www.theperfectspotsf.com/wp02/for last month’s edition, plus personal recommendations on the best spots in cities around the world.
