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 12 bottle picks of the month
RUM
Dakabend Pot Still Rum
Hand-harvested from cane grown in the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, Dakabend Rum (49% ABV) is produced at the Tosba Mezcal distillery near San Cristóbal Lachirioag. Tosba’s brothers Edgar and Elisandro Gonzales oversee the process at the distillery where the cane is brought, crushed, juiced, boiled into piloncillo sugar, then undergoes open-air fermentation over a week in wooden vats with wild yeasts, before being twice distilled in a copper pot still. Known as aguardiente de caña in Mexico, this is for the fresh cane, r(h)um agricole lovers among us — and those of us smitten with grassy, estery Mexican rums, increasingly coming to the States. Dakabend is grassy, yes, but it’s also got strong black olive, earth and herbaceousness salinity, ideal in a classic Ti Punch or Daiquiri. Taste Rating: 4.5
SPIRITS
Empirical Spirits
https://empirical.co
Copenhagen’s Empirical Spirits — founded by alums of Noma and Nordic Food Lab, chef/distiller Lars Williams and CEO Mark Emil Hermansen — continues to experiment with out-of-the-box spirits. SOKA (43% ABV; $50) is not for everyone, given its intense, funky, fiery Wisconsin sorghum juice and Kentucky sorghum syrup base, although it lingers with green apple, barnyard elements, highlighting its eco-friendly crop base (sorghum has strong drought resistance and contributes nitrogen back to the soil). But I’m more drawn to their smoky, intriguing AYUUK (43% ABV), distilled from purple wheat and pilsner malt with Belgian saison yeasts, aged in sherry casks. It’s also not for everyone, but it’s the addition of pasilla pepper confirms the intrigue with earthy peppery notes. Likewise, The Plum, I Suppose (32% ABV) wins with its hit of plum, marzipan and nutty almond, drinking like a plum eaux de vie but with a pearled barley and pilsner malt base enhanced with plum kernel and marigold flower botanicals. Thankfully the brand sends out targeted cocktail recipes tailored to these unique spirits, as it’s trickier figuring out multiple ways to drink them. Taste Rating SOKA: 3.5; AYUUK: 4; The Plum, I Suppose: 4.5
PISCO
Lapostolle Pisco
https://lapostollewines.com/pisco
Lapostolle Pisco ($34.99) is produced in Chile’s Valle de Limarí, a blend of Moscatel Rosada y Moscatel de Alejandría grapes, tributing Lapostolle founder Jean Baptiste Lapostolle. Leading with Muscat grapes, this twice distilled pisco is aromatic, herbal and floral, unfolding with lemongrass and green apple notes. It’s a great value pisco that makes lush Pisco Sours, Pisco Punch and the like, as it drinks nicely neat as an unaged brandy/eau de vie. Taste Rating: 4
RTDs (Ready-to-Drink/Canned Cocktails/Drinks)
Siren Shrub Co.
https://sirenshrubs.com
Wisconsin-based, women owned, Siren Shrub Co. co-founders Layne Cozzolino and Mindy McCord met in 2010 working at a coffee shop and started playing with shrub recipes in 2015. I love their choice of flavors, like basil and rhubarb, although on the bottled shrub front, I’ve only had the chance to try their tart cherry. It is robustly tart, cherry and vinegar-y, not at all sweet, so wisely allowing (home) bartenders the freedom to mix as they wish in cocktails. I also tried the canned sparkling shrubs (basil, rhubarb and tart cherry), each nicely balanced and refreshing. Taste Rating: 4-4.5
GIN
Gracias a Dios Receta Oaxaqueña Gin
https://www.thankgad.com/tienda/es/p/agave-gin-receta-oaxaquena/
Gracias a Dios Receta Oaxaqueña Gin ($60; 45% ABV) is another in the growing category of mezcal-esque gins and in Mexican gins overall. Seven local botanicals are used in the distillate, produced by 4th generation mezcalero Oscar Hernandez Santiago, who learned how to make mezcal from his mother when he was 14 years old growing up in Matatlan. Chocolate, chili pepper, orange peel, avocado leaf, yerba santa and, of course, juniper, weave together in an intriguingly earthy palate, finishing strong with spice and roasted agave, exemplifying the marriage between mezcal and gin with its agave base, if not as elegant and gin-forward as early imports in the category, like Pierde Almas. Taste Rating: 4
Himbrimi Winterbird London Dry Gin
www.himbrimi.com
Himbrimi Winterbird London Dry Gin (40% ABV; $39.99 SRP) just started being imported to the U.S. in September 2022, created by Icelandic artist and entrepreneur Óskar Ericsson for his fly fishing trips along Iceland’s eastern coastline of the Westfjords. With that inspiration, the gin is made with mineral-free Icelandic spring water (containing atypically high PH levels) and Icelandic botanicals, including organic juniper berries, handpicked angelica flowers, wild Arctic thyme and citrus (which is tough to detect), going through the bain-marie distilling method with a gin basket. Arctic thyme exhibits lavender-like notes and overall Himbrimi is a more herbaceous, clean gin, if not overly distinctive, with some silkiness on the palate and lingering finish. Taste Rating: 3.5
MEZCAL
Convite Una’
https://en.convitemezcal.com/product/una
Yes, Convite Una’ mezcal is pink, in keeping with trending pink gins and rosa tequilas. But it’s still a good mezcal and for a great cause. Una’ means woman in Zapotec, and this mezcal honors women with breast cancer, donating 10% of each bottle sold to raise awareness on timely diagnosis. Convite already generally supports environmental sustainability, fair trade and community development in Oaxaca’s Zapotec mountains of San Baltazar Guelavila. Made with wild Espadin agave crushed by a horse-drawn tahona wheel, Una’ is a softer mezcal than some, making it a good entry level mezcal ideal for cocktails, though a touch of smoke comes through the dominant herbal and citrus notes. It’s organically coloured with a cochineal tint. Taste Rating: 3.5
AMERICAN WHISKEY
Spirit Works Distillery 8 year aged Rye Whiskey
www.spiritworksdistillery.com
Released September 2022, husband-wife team, co-founders Timo and head distiller Ashby Marshall, did it again at now 10-year-old Spirit Works Distillery — one of the U.S.’ great craft distilleries for a decade — with the release of their oldest whiskey yet: an 8 year aged rye. This Exclusive “Founder’s Reserve” Tier Rye ($90) is from hand-selected barrels that highlight the complexity yet roundness of age with rye spice, apple, pear, mint, cedar and even pumpernickel notes. This kicks off the launch of their new “Founder’s Reserve” line of whiskies, with upcoming Bottled-in-Bond whiskies (including a wheat) and Private Barrel/“Distiller’s Select” bottlings for retail outlets. Only at their distillery and tasting room this fall (also for Club members), they’ve released a line of house bitters, a Sloe Amaro (yes, sloe gin amaro with their superb sloe gin) and Hyper-Local Rye Vodka, sourced from grain grown within 5 miles of the distillery’s Sebastopol (Sonoma County) home. Taste Rating: 4.5
Michter’s Shenk’s 2022 Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey
https://michters.com/shenks-homestead
https://michters.com/bombergers-declaration
Michter’s latest editions of Michter’s Legacy Series (launched in 2018) — Bomberger’s and Shenk’s (both 108 proof) — are (again) highly limited releases that immediately sell out and get harder to come by each year. Shenk’s 2022 Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey ($100 if you can find an original release anymore vs. resell bottle) is rye-forward sour mash whiskey, partly aged in toasted French barrels. Heavy rye spice plays with bold cherry notes, tasting almost like a perfect Old Fashioned all by itself. Bomberger’s Declaration 2022 108 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon ($110) is likewise bold, bracing yet in its way, elegant with chocolate, toffee, wood and dried fruit, matured in Chinquapin oak and French barrels. Taste Rating: 4.5
Redemption Sur Lee Straight Rye Whiskey
www.redemptionwhiskey.com/whiskeys/sur-lee-rye
Redemption Sur Lee Straight Rye Whiskey ($59.99) is a limited Redemption release (available only in CA, NY, DE, FL, TX, MA) since October 1, 2022. The striking storytelling bottle label (with silkscreen label and metallic accents) outlines the production process. Attempting a first-of-its-kind whiskey inspired by French sur lie winemaking, they take Redemption’s classic rye mashbill and add “whiskey lees” to the barrels pre-aging, then periodically rotate the barrels so the “lees” and whiskey naturally flow and meld together. While it doesn’t make a dramatic taste difference compared to some ryes, it imparts a bit more texture and buttery notes, still rolling out with rye spice and woody nuttiness, then toasted marshmallow, baked apples and a fig sweetness. The barrel/wood tannins threaten to overwhelm for a moment, then roll out in a fairly balanced finish. Taste Rating: 4
VODKA
VUSA Vodka
www.vusavodka.com
Last year I reviewed Midlands Distillery’s Bayab African Grown Gin from South Africa. From the same distillery, I recently tried their VUSA sugarcane-based vodka. I’ve certainly tasted and blind-judged many sugarcane-based spirits and vodkas, this one distilled with African sugarcane from the coastal province of KwaZulu Natal — and this is better than most. Triple distilled is good for smoothness, but not for flavor, as each distillation filters out source flavors. Thankfully, VUSA is only filtered once and being distilled in a copper pot still maintains some robustness and sweetness, finishing elegantly neutral. Taste Rating: 4.5
NA: NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS
Spiritless 55 and 74 and Spiced
https://spiritless.com
Spiritless is one of the latest and popular non-alcoholic lines, distilled as spirits initially, then dealcoholized on second distillation in Louisville, KY. Produced in the heart of bourbon country, their 74 is an NA whiskey-esque spirit that evokes woody-sweet bourbon properties but also a strong hit of Cola. Jalisco 55 is their tequila substitute, definitely recalling agave spirits but as many NA spirits struggle with, lacking body, a bit thin in cocktails, though it makes a solid NA margarita. Their new, limited edition Kentucky 74 Spiced works the best of the three, particularly in NA whiskey cocktails with its woodsy-dry hit of baking spices and baked apples, a bit more distinctive in a drink. Their RTDs (canned Old Fashioneds and Whiskey Sours) also have that strong Cola, brown sugar note. My favorite product in their line is actually their Horse’s Kick ginger syrup. Strong/heavily spiced ginger as I love it, it adds a great kick to any ginger cocktail, NA or otherwise. Taste Rating: 3 to 4
Ready for another round? Visit Virginia’s website for last month’s edition, plus personal recommendations on the best spots in cities around the world.
