Spirits Archives - Page 14 of 16 - First Pour Cocktails

Oligan Vodka

Posted on June 2, 2020June 21, 2020 by Nick

It seems like not all that long ago that I was learning to drive in Albany, NY. I still remember not having a great grasp of where the right side of the car was. Well – at 16 – I really didn’t understand where most of the car was. Even so, I remember driving nervously up and down Albany-Shaker road regularly (living not far off it). On Saturdays, we’d go to Wendy’s, turning on to British-American Boulevard. Driving past the nondescript buildings that made up the business park was more entertaining than continuing down Albany-Shaker, evoking memories of when my mother once ran over a planter in a Cadillac teaching me to drive in the snow. While it’s been years, it seems like Oligan Distillery (who makes Oligan Vodka), might be changing my mind about where the entertainment on Albany Shaker Rd lies.

Oligan Distilling is new – like just barely a year old new. Despite this, it hasn’t stopped them from offering not only Oligan Vodka, but also a couple of different gins. After trying a few samples I purchased, one of the co-owner was nice enough to show me around the distillery. Even though Oligan is small, it’s one of the few distilleries to have semi-automated continuous feed. That said, the still is operating at nowhere near capacity, and at the time I visited – it was suggested it was barely at 35% capacity. Expansion is implied, if not planned.

Still, you have to start somewhere – and somewhere is with a corn based vodka. The corn is local – grown in Schaghticoke – which should help to give a slightly sweeter flavor. The owner suggested part of the plan was to get to 100% corn vodka, allowing Oligan to move toward gluten free – like another big vodka we’ve talked about. Still, the bottle I received isn’t quite there – but is it good?

Oligan Vodka

Sight: Clear – with some really long legs.

Smell: It’s clean with a slight vanilla odor, and a little bit of burn. Later, a waft of spiciness comes through and wraps with a subtle fruitiness. There’s a tiny kick of almost creaminess.

Sip: The body is light, and dances easily across the palate. It gets a little thin through the mid palate, but smooth. There’s the subtle fruitiness again and it’s complimented with a spicy nature.

Savor: The ending is palate coating, and somewhat spicy with a bit of minerality and grain. A touch of bitterness rounds things out.

Oligan Vodka is a very pleasant addition to the vodka scene. It has a very smooth and light body for what it is, but doesn’t compromise flavor. Price wise, you will pay a little bit more here, as there’s some economics of scale in play. That said though, if you’re looking for a new vodka to try in Albany, Oligan Vodka certainly fits that bill and has some surprises that make it worth the while.

In Cocktails

Oligan plays well with other ingredients – and that lightest little tingle of spice stands out. It gives it an edge that helps play against the warmth of ginger in a mule or the bite of lime. While it’s not the smoothest – it plays well, not overtly accentuating any bitter flavors. In a martini, it bends towards the minerality side a little, but gives this subtle kind of almost of creamy weight.

Oligan Vodka Overall

You always root for the home team right? You have to. Even when you move away. Oligan is putting out a nice product for a distillery starting out, and it’s got a nice streak of uniqueness thanks to the rye. I think Oligan is off to a promising start, their vodka is certainly interesting, and I can’t wait to see what they do next. Check them out if you’re in Latham, NY.

Other’s Share Their Thoughts on Oligan Vodka

Leblon Cachaça

Posted on May 18, 2020June 21, 2020 by Nick

When you look at most menu’s, you’re libel to find the usual suspects as bases for drinks. You’ll definitely see your gin, whiskey, tequila, rum, and vodka. You might see wine or even an amaro based drink. Yet, unless you’re in a Brazilian restaurant or in Brazil, you’re unlikely to see one of the most consumed spirits in the world. Cachaça.

If you’re familiar with rum, and you open a bottle of silver Cachaça, you might feel like you’re drinking a rhum agricole. This is no accident, as both rhum agricole and Cachaça utilize fermented sugar cane juice in their creation. These of course aren’t the only regulations – as the TTB points out in their release, there’s a whole host of things that make Cachaça tick – including a regulation keep alcohol content between 38 and 48%. By the same release – it’s worth noting that Cachaça is also technically a rum.

In this case, you can think of Cachaça as an elevated subcategory of rum – like Cognac is to brandy.

Speaking of Cognac, Leblon Cachaça takes a bit of a different path to your shelf than Novo Fogo. Instead of being rested in stainless steel, Leblon ends up taking a trip to France via brandy cured casks that it’s aged in. So does this give it an edge?

Leblon Cachaça

Sight: Essentially colorless.

Smell: Fresh grass, ripe bananas, lightly press herbs, and a touch of vanilla raft out. There’s a slightly pithy citrus note present as well.

Sip: The body is light to moderate, and the texture is slightly viscous. There’s very little perceivable sweetness, but there are herbal and citrus notes that begin almost immediately, if faintly. There’s a defined funkiness here that’s decidedly green and herbal – but it also tightly binds notes of vanilla and light wood into it.

Savor: The finish is smooth, and prolonged. If you’re not a fan of the grassy, herbal, raw cane flavor – then you’re going to find this finish unpleasant. Notes of citrus and a touch of vanilla show up as it goes.

Let’s just be clear – I’d be hard pressed to sit down and enjoy consuming Leblon Cachaça neat. In fairness to Leblon Cachaça, that’s not really the point here. Rather – the flavors extract themselves well in cocktails, but maintain enough character to have a presence. This makes it a great choice when looking to try to craft new drinks or make classics like the Caipirinha.

For this reason, we keep Leblon as our go to crafting Cachaça.

In Caipirinhas

Leblon is very much citrus and sweetness forward in a classic Caipirinha preparation. Notes of vanilla and ripe banana come forward rounding out notes of lime sorbet and gently pressed herbs. The finish is brief, but carries a sweetness and pleasantly lime and vanilla ending.

Our Final Thoughts – Lebelon Cachaça

There’s nothing wrong with Novo Fogo, in fact, depending on the day – I can probably suggest either. That said, I’ve found that Leblon tends to have broader distribution, and more reliable to keep on hand, and comparable in quality.

Others Share Their Thoughts on Leblon Cachaça:

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac

Posted on April 5, 2020June 21, 2020 by Nick

It would not be unexpected for visions of brown leather furniture and crystal decanters to go through ones head at the mention of Cognac. Exuding an old world luxury, you might imagine a snifter cradling a pretty dark liquor held by men in their finest clothes puffing on cigars in a wood paneled room. While this doubtlessly still happens, Cognac’s markets and demographics have changed, leading to products with different intentions, like Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac.

Wait – what is Cognac?

Before we get into Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, let’s first talk a little about what Cognac is. Cognac is specific form of Brandy from the Cognac region of France. You can think of this as how bourbon is whiskey – except made to exacting specifications of the law. Cognacs are distilled from wines made from Ugni Blanc (or occasionally two other varietals that make up 2% of Cognac production). These wines are distilled twice under specific restricted processes that end up making eau de vie. These eau de vie are then blended to make Cognac.

The process of blending the aged eau de vies is critical. Wine is a natural product, and therefore changes from year to year. The blending process of taking multiple eau de vies helps to ensure a consistency in the product.

Eau de vie are aged in barrels that can be reused as many times desired (as long as they never contain a non-wine product ie. Bourbon). These ages of these blended eau de vie then help to designate the Cognac’s classificaton. As Cognacs do not wear age statements, these are the classifications to help you understand the product:

V.S. (Very Special) – A minimum of 2 years in oak (sometimes known as three star)
V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) – A minimum of 4 years in oak.
Napoleon – A minimum of 6 years in oak.
X.O. (Extra Old) – A minimum of 10 years in oak.
Hors d’âge (Beyond Age) – Equal to X.O. by years – a marketing term to designate a higher quality.

These are really the basics of Cognac – but far from the full trip you could take down the rabbit hole. For a great in-depth read – check out this guide from Eater.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac represents one of the new style of V.S. cognacs on the market. Specifically designated for mixing, these Cognac’s seek to have a more robust profile to help shine in cocktails. Pierre Ferrand 1840 is made in the Grande Champagne region of Cognac, and is distilled on the lees. The eau de vie are then aged in multiple environments ranging from humid to dry across an unspecified variety of casks. So does Pierre Ferrand 1840 have the right setup to work in cocktails?

Sight: A delightfully rich amber, boarding onto orange.

Smell: Raisins, dried apricot, violets and other flowers wrap with hints of ester and poached pears. Orange marmalade and notes of caramel join in, and hints of leather and tobacco peak around.

Sip: The start is interestingly sweet, and beautifully viscous, almost lanolin like on the tongue. The profile changes gradually, moving from sweet, caramel like and floral with hints of pear and fruit toward something more dense. The transition moves toward oak with a spiced cigar box – and there’s a touch of tannin here from a strong woodsy finish.

Savor: The ending maintains a burnt marshmallow, baked fruits, and strong finish of oak. The ending lingers with abundant spice tannin.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac is designed for mixing, and has a suitably complex character to justify it’s reasonable price tag. The character is quite good, and the texture is delightful. While one wouldn’t sit back and sip this on it’s own, it plays well in classics like the sidecar. Overall, for the price Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac is well crafted and flavorful.

Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac is our go to bottle in our home bar, and our recommendation to you. If you’re beginning a home bar, check out our Beginning Bottles for a Home Bar for more recommendations.

For more info – check our Pierre Ferrand’s Website.

Beefeater London Dry Gin

Posted on March 25, 2020June 21, 2020 by Nick

Perhaps there is no Gin that’s bottle and brand so stands out to decidedly stands out to me as both British and cosmopolitan as Beefeater. The Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters) are of course the ceremonial guards of the Tower of London, and Beefeater Gin prominently features one on the label. The brand has been around since 1876 – and not for nothing. Beefeater London Dry Gin has won multiple awards from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition between 2006 and 2012, as well as high ratings from spirit reviewers.

So with all that said, does Beefeater deserve a place on your bar?

Beefeater London Dry Gin

Sight: Clear.

Smell: Juniper comes to a head from the start – it’s accented by notes of lemon peel, touches of spice, citrus, and angelica.

Sip: The mouthfeel leads with citrus peel, but moves into juniper fairly freely. There are notes of coriander and angelica root that pop out over time. There’s a hint of sweetness as well, but the overall profile is clean and light with just a touch of heat.

Savor: The ending emphasizes juniper, citrus pith, and spicing with a hint of bitterness.

Beefeater London Dry Gin is clean, simple, and straightforward. The complexity is enough to lend itself well to cocktails, but strong enough to emphasize itself in cocktails. It particularly goes well in a martini, where it shows off the ability to smooth, while bringing out the best in the vermouth. For this same reason – we like crafting with Beefeater. It plays well in both classics and tiki cocktails, without getting lost. For this reason, we recommend Beefeater as your entry gin.

Looking for more?

El Dorado 3

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Nick

A couple years ago, I bought Ann Marie a copy of Smuggler’s Cove Tiki* cocktail manual. The result of this was two fold. First, it energized Ann Marie to branch out into a whole new area, and one that she arguably ended up being quite passionate about – Tiki drinks. The second result was the exponential growth of our rum collection, swelling from 2 – 4 bottles to over 20. Even with all those rums, we still find there to be something special about El Dorado 3.

El Dorado 3

We didn’t originally pick up a bottle of El Dorado 3 (we actually ended up with the 8), but we ended up being curious enough about their line up that we also ended up tasting not only the 8, but the 3, 5, and 12. As previously mentioned in our review of El Dorado 12, Demerara Distilling Limited (DDL) is home to some of the oldest operating stills in the world. While demerara and Guyana rums are known for the caramel (something that Matt Pietrek of Cocktail Wonk dug into with Sharon Sue-Hang of DDL), you won’t see any of that here thanks to the charcoal filtering process. Techniques like charcoal filtering, and their use of wooden stills, demonstrate the experience that DDL has. Experience that shows through in their rums, like their youngest, El Dorado 3.

Sight: Clear – thanks to charcoal filtering

Smell: Vanilla and powdered sugar with hints of banana and cotton candy are layered over by an ethanol layer. The nose is sugary, with hints of nougat and a little nuttiness.

Sip: The mouthfeel is moderate and there’s a fun salted caramel like note that quickly vanishes into large quantities of raw sugar and nougat. There’s a sweetness as well. A touch of banana and macaroon hides there as well.

Savor: The ending has a touch of rum funk and cotton candy with hints of nuts. Finish has a moderate length.

El Dorado 3 is our go to lightly aged rum thanks to it’s very well balanced character and playful flavors. The vanilla and caramel notes provide strong backbones for everything ranging from eloquent daiquiri’s to imaginative and elaborate Tiki drinks. In fact, our biggest regret regarding El Dorado 3 is that it isn’t more readily available everywhere.

If you are going to stock a lightly aged rum in your bar, El Dorado 3 is our top recommendation. For more recommendations, and to see other bottles for starting your home bar, check out our Beginner Home Bar Bottles list.

* – First Pour Cocktails may get a portion of a commision from purchases made through affiliate links. These help build your home bar, and help us pay for this wonderful site!

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Nick

Back when I lived in Kentucky, I had fond memories of Jameson during Saint Patrick’s day celebrations. It was smooth, caramel like, and viscous – almost oily. Jameson played some interesting roles in my life at that point, being shots for both celebrating getting a date with a girl I fancied, and also as book ends when I relocated my shoulder myself. So as we looked to stock our home bar, I couldn’t help wondering, is Jameson Irish Whiskey as good as I remember?

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Jameson Irish Whiskey is triple distilled of malt and grain using a pot still. It’s then aged in oak for a minimum of 4 years.

Sight: A moderate deep orange like gold.

Smell: A hint of ethanol laces with a touch of salinity and lightly caramelized sugar. Green apple skin and grain notes run through the background.

Sip: The palate is light to medium, but gets somewhat oily. There’s more burn that might be expected. There are notes of wood and salted caramel, mixing with touches of baked apple, vanilla, and acetate. There’s a touch of astringency to it.

Savor: The ending maintains a bit of astringency and light salinity. There are again bitter alcohol, caramelized sugar, and woodsy notes on the finish.

Jameson is merely acceptable, and I don’t think it’s worth going out of the way to look for. Perhaps it’s the nostalgia of the flavor of victory, but time and an evolving palate have led me to question the endearing love of Jameson shared by so many. Is it bad? No, certainly not, the flavor is a touch unrefined, but thankfully cheap.

Next year, I’ll buy a different Irish whiskey. Until then, please my Irish whiskey drinking friends, chime in with your favorite Irish whiskey.

For more ideas on Jameson:

Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

Posted on March 3, 2020June 9, 2020 by Nick

One of the most flummoxing things about starting to make certain cocktails was that ingredients have a way of sounding like one another. After all, whiskey is also whisky, bourbon is whiskey, and scotch is whisky. Much like Scotch isn’t Bourbon though, not all curaçao are equivalent – well not exactly anyway. So when you think about orange liqueurs, where does Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao fit?

What is Curaçao?

To start – let’s just establish what curaçao is. Historically speaking, curacao was a liqueur made from the Laraha orange’s extract. This bitter orange wasn’t much for eating, but the peels were aromatic. Figuring out this could be made into liqueur with neutral spirits or brandy, curaçao was born. Supposedly seeking to help give some mystique, Bols is said to have added the blue coloring to the concoction.

In addition to Bols adding blue coloring, there’s some debate as to who exactly started the name Triple Sec (which in this case, you can use synonymously with curacao). Some claim it came from Cointreau, who went through multiple iterations of branding – and ultimately removed it once a flood of cheap triple sec hit the market. Others claim it was a label for the distillation process. Regardless of where it started, Triple Sec supplanted Curaçao in some name conventions, and you can now swap the names interchangeably.

But what about the ingredients? While you’ve probably experienced blue curacao at one point or another it would be a mistake to think that it was identical to other curaçaos – like Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao. The magic in this starts with the base, and develops from there through the addition of spices and the orange used. Some ingredients, like your Mr. Boston Triple Sec are low level, orange flavored neutral spirits gussied up with sugar. Others, like Grand Marnier, are brandy based and intrinsically have underlying notes of oakiness and grape brandy.

Depending on the other flavors in your drink, sometimes you can get away with this. A bold or aged tequila might play well with brandy based curacao like Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao in a Margarita. While something more subtle though, might require the use of a neutral spirit like Cointreau – which is our go to recommendation as it will work regardless.

As a note: While some will probably fight me on this, not all Blue Curaçao are bad, notably Giffard makes a lovely one.

On It’s Own: Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao is modeled after classic early 20th century French orange. It features Laraha oranges infused in grape brandy, combined with a distillate of walnut skins and prunes aged in brandy and cognac, and toasted sugar aged in barrels.

Sight: A beautiful golden color with hints of orange

Smell: Macerated orange peels float out on the nose and mix with various orange notes. Candied characteristics layer with touches of pith and notes of nuttiness and grapes build around the edges.

Sip: The body starts out round and quickly shows it sweetness. A good amount of brightness keeps things level. The orange is front and center, bringing a mix of orange flavors out. There’s a bit of the pith and a strong backbone of woodsy, nutty, sweet caramelized sugar.

Savor: The ending rounds out sweet – but slowly turns pithy. The flavor of candied oranges and slightly nutty cognac lingers.

I’d be remiss to tell you that Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao was anything other than luscious and delectable. The subtle complexity wafting up on the nose, and the well rounded palate make it a pleasure to sip. Thanks to its sizable character, it also plays great in cocktails, and is an ingredient that shows up in the world of Tiki cocktails. On of the most notable of which is the classic El Presidente highlighted in Smuggler’s Cove*, featuring a solid mix of grenadine, dry vermouth, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao, and Lightly Aged Rum.

Final Thoughts:

Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao is a wonderful orange liqueur that’s well worth the price. Check it out if you’re into Tiki or want a new orange liqueur experience with an extra French historical flare.

If Pierre Ferrand seems familiar, or you want to try something else by them, check out our past reviews of Plantation 20th Anniversary and O.F.T.D for some of their excellent rums. For even more info, check out Pierre Ferrand’s Site.

* – Contains an affiliate link that may result in First Pour Cocktails receiving a portion of the sale.

Stolichnaya “Stoli Vanil” Vanilla

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Nick

As a general rule, flavored vodka’s (and other spirits) are an anomaly in our collection. It’s not that people don’t enjoy the flavors that manufactures can infuse into their product, but rather that we prefer our ability to use natural ingredients or other modifiers to achieve similar results. Even so, we keep a bottle of Stolichnaya “Stoli Vanil” Vanilla around – because my mother likes it for her chocolate martinis.

Stolichnaya “Stoli Vanil” Vanilla

Stoli Vanil is made from a mix of wheat and rye. To make it vanilla they use a mix of natural vanilla flavors.

Sight: Clear

Smell: There’s a subtly ethanol note and plenty of cake like vanilla / frosting that pulls through.

Sip: The body is syrupy yet thin, while pulling in plenty of vanilla and mild grain / grape ethanol notes.

Savor: The ending lingers with a touch of creamy character and a more bitter ethanol component, while the vanilla hangs out – heading toward extract.

Stoli Vanil ends up being something of a simplistic vodka – heavy on the vanilla and cake like notes. The slight ethanol characteristic isn’t the nicest counterpoint against the sweetness of the vodka. It’s not really great for sipping on, but fortunately – that’s not the point.

Stoli Vanil In Cocktails

That said, for making certain dessert cocktails – it gives a nice little bump to other flavors like chocolate and nuts. It really downplays the sharper notes in a chocolate martini, playing more background. To see how it behaved in a more vodka forward application, I made a simple play on a creamsicle. The combination of Stoli Vanil, orange bitters, simple syrup, and club ends up feeling like more than the sum of it’s parts. A creamy body with subtle bubbliness plays off the vanilla notes and opens up lightly floral with a touch of orange. The richness is palpable, but somehow also feels refreshing.

Final Thoughts

Stoli Vanil is a good vodka to craft cocktails with. While you can create similar flavors with a vanilla syrup and vodka, Stoli Vanil provides a solid creaminess in it’s character that elevates it. It’s certainly not a must have, but there’s no shame in keeping it in your bar.

For more information, head over to Stoli’s Website.

Laird’s Blended Applejack

Posted on February 18, 2020September 10, 2023 by Nick

When the original settlers came to America, there wasn’t a lot of options to quench their thirst. Vineyards tended not to do well (thanks to climate and soil), barley and hops hadn’t been mastered in the new world, and imported spirits were wildly comparative when available. What was available though, was apples. Always the resourceful settlers, colonial American’s soon realized that apples could be frozen, leaving behind an unrefined but highly alcoholic residue. Soon after the discovery, a Scottish immigrant by the name of William Laird began refining the substance and aging it in oak to create an apple brandy. Enter Laird’s Blended Applejack.

Applejack was big in the United States for years, and resulted in the creation of several cocktails, notably the Jack Rose and Pink Lady. One of the things that first drew me to Applejack and the Jack Rose was the delightful book Boozehound by Jason Wilson. In it, Wilson describes the Jack Mauve (named due to the homemade grenadine on a Jack Rose), which left me hooked on the idea of homemade grenadine, lime, and applejack.

I only had one problem with finding all these things. I was flying every week and living out of a suitcase. If you want to torture yourself while flying, reading a book about obscure cocktail ingredients on an airplane. Nevertheless, I made a bee line for the liquor store and found a bottle of Laird’s Blended Applejack so I could make my own.

Laird’s Blended Applejack

Laird’s Blended Applejack is not straight applejack. Instead it’s blended with neutral grain spirits. This isn’t designed to be a straight sipping applejack. So how is Laird’s Blended Applejack?

Sight: An amber-brown hue in the glass.

Smell: The nose is full of apples with hints of caramel and oak. The apple notes range between cider like and freshly peeled. There’s a certain tartness as well.

Sip: The palate carries a smooth baked apple flavor that’s heavily influenced by oak notes and hints of vanilla and caramel. There’s a certain tea / tannic like note on the finish that pulls in additional cigar box like spicing. It also burns a bit.

Savor: The ending is more apple skin like and carries through oak and spice with a hint of bitterness.

The overall impression of Laird’s Blended Applejack is enjoyable and tasty, if unrefined. It’s far from perfect, but certainly more than serviceable for cocktails.

Laird’s Blended Applejack in Cocktails

Come fall and early winter, few spirits play as well with fresh apple as Laird’s Applejack. Unsurprisingly the apple notes tend to amplify, and work well as a canvas for warm sugars – like maple syrup or cinnamon simple. Due to this, it also plays well mixing with rum, and can cross the link into the tiki world – pulling on allspice and ginger to move in a baked pie direction. From a classic perspective, it’s the default in the Jack Rose and Pink Lady cocktails.

In a Jack Rose it gives a warm background to the fruitiness of the grenadine and the brightness of the lime. The subtly apple like flavor gives a bit of savor. The biggest downside is it gets lost in the cocktail.

Final Thoughts:

Applejack is a great choice when you’d like to impart a subtle hint of apple into a brandy or cognac based cocktail. While Laird’s Blended Applejack is one of the most basic on the market, it also works quite well in cocktails. The apple carries through along with some of the warm baking spice notes. Thanks to it’s aging in oak, it also can act like a whiskey or rum. While it’s not the smoothest, and you won’t be dying to drink it straight, but it will work well when you try to tiki or blend up a Jack Rose.

Cardamaro

Posted on January 27, 2020August 10, 2020 by Nick

You’d be forgiven for seeing Cardamaro and assuming it was a cardamom flavored liqueur. In fact, this wine based amaro is based off relatives of the artichoke (cardoon and blessed thistle). This gives it an herbal background and plenty of spicing rounds it out. As it’s wine based, it’s more acidity forward, making it a great option for cocktails that traditionally use amaro or vermouth. Be aware, as Cardamaro is a wine based Amaro, it will last 4-6 weeks in your fridge after you open it.

Cardamaro

Sight: A walnut like brown, a solid core and lighter cherry wood notes around the edges.

Smell: Dates and cardamom lead the way with touches of brown sugar, caramel, and herbal components come through. The nose is sweet and soft, with a vermouth like quality.

Sip: Spicy notes bursts forth with plenty of cinnamon and herbal notes with hints of cardamom. Brown sugar notes fill in the gaps and touches of dates, orange pith, golden raisins, and tea.

Savor: The finish disappears quite quickly, but the hints of spice and tannin linger.

Cardamaro is a beautiful, sweet, herbal, subtly earthy and well balanced amaro. The flavors here aren’t as bold as a Cynar or Ramazzotti, making it more accessible to those with more bitter sensitive palates. The subtle sweetness make it a decent sipper, and a the wine based acidity makes it good for cocktails that might be stirred and don’t benefit from lemon or lime.

In Cocktails

Making a Midnight Mass from Death & Co’s wonderful cocktail book, I was able to see how Cardamaro played with rum and Benedictine. The fruitiness of the rum was toned down as the brown sugar and spice notes of the Cardamaro came forward. A touch of heat but the herbal flavors and spice from the benedictine allowed the Cardamaro to play a solid background role. Overall it was pleasant, and the orange helped accentuate it.

Cardamaro Cocktails:

The Card Trick

*Please note – this is an affiliate link that helps us keep running First Pour Cocktails! We hope you enjoy the book, we know we have, and appreciate your support!

Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Nick

When it comes to bourbon over the past year – there’s been no substitute on our bar for Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon. This no age statement bourbon delivers solid bourbon for a good price. In the mid-$20 price point, Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon comes from Heaven Hill Distillery. This same group also makes the wonderful Rittenhouse Rye we covered not to long ago.

Elijah Craig Small Batch has a nose of caramel, dried apricots, pecan, and oak. The palate is woodsy, but reveals baking spices, toffee nut, and more vanilla like oak. Just a hint of burn, a mild finish that layers out with oak, caramel, and spice. While it’s not unbelievably special, it also not unbelievably expensive – and delivers a solid bourbon to make a cocktail with.

So How Does Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon Play In Cocktails?

Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon shows up – bringing a nice healthy dose of toasted oak and spice box. The rye notes and hints of dried fruits emphasis well with other liqueurs. In a Manhattan, the rye notes and the spice notes in the sweet vermouth work well together, and give a nice bit of spice to the underlying vanilla and caramel flavors. Ultimately, it has a stronger presence than a softer whiskies – like the wheated Weller Special Reserve. This dominance can make it a bit more unruly when crafting new flavors – so balance of sweetness and acidity are more crucial, but the base canvas is pliable.

Final Thoughts

There are fewer and fewer bourbons sitting in the $20-$30 price point, and among them Elijah Craig is quite solid. If you’re looking for a bourbon that’s stereo typically bourbon-esque, then Elijah Craig will easily fit your home bar and serve as a work horse, even in a Glencairns glass or on a giant ice sphere.

Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon Raw Tasting Notes

Nose of caramel, dried apricots, pecan, oak, and minerality. Woodsy palate, oak, hints of cigar box, and baking spices. With water – it opens up revealing toffeenut, cinnamon, spice, and honey.

Distillery: Elijah Craig Distillery Co. – Kentucky

Website: Elijah Craig on Heaven Hill

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Nick

From the first episode, I was hooked. It was late into the night, after midnight, but Anthony Bourdain was gracing my television from Ireland. He talked of the food, the culture, and the people. He talked of how Dublin was growing, and dined with famous chefs. Wanting nothing more than to find amazing food and understand famous chefs better – I couldn’t stop watching. Then in 2007 Anthony Bourdain visited São Paulo on No Reservations, and I learned about cachaça and the beautiful Caipirinha.

Cachaça is a liquor distilled from raw fermented sugarcane juice liquor from Brazil. This differs from rum, in that rum can be produced from molasses or other sugar by products. While it possible to make rum from raw sugarcane juice, such as a rhum agricole, it’s not possible to produce Cachaça from molasses. At one point in it’s history, cachaça was also labeled as Brazilian Rum, but don’t be confused. Compared to traditional rums, cachaça is far closer to a rhum agricole (think more grassy / earthy) than anything you’ll see from Bacardi or Captain Morgan. (To point out how different cachaça really is: When I finally got my hands on a bottle in my younger days, I compared it like a novice to a bastard child of white rum and tequila)

Just like rum, cachaça breaks down into 2 categories, silver (sometimes blanco or white) and gold (or ouro / amarela). Just like rum, silver cachaça is usually bottled immediately, where as the gold are aged (sometimes in native wood). While there are many producers of cachaça in Brazil, finding cachaça in the US can still be a challenge. Among those you might see is Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Sight: Essentially colorless.

Smell: A funky mix of fermented sugar cane juice and ethanol float out of the ether mixing with a grassy note. Touches of pithy citrus, green banana and raw sugar come through.

Sip: A medium weight with a slightly woodsy-grassy like start. A fermented sugar flavor with hints of plantain, tropical fruit, and pepper comes through next while touches of salinity and coconut water lining the background.

Savor: The finish lingers with a sugarcane and woodsy-cask like note. The finish lingers giving a touch of the fermented sugar flavor and plantain chip like flavor.

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça is a clean, straightforward representation that can function like a workhorse in a cocktail. The sugar cane notes have a hint of tropical to them, and the mild salinity accentuates the flavor. With no oak aging, the spirit is allowed to shine – and you’ll find little trace of vanilla here.

In Caipirinhas

As a result of only being rested in stainless steel Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça ends up being on the savory side of thing. Plantain chips and earthy vegetal notes come forward complimenting the limes. The herbal character crosses with the lime to create a complexity reminiscent of pastis or chartreuse. There’s a balanced sweetness to compliment the savory notes and it lingers in an green, grassy, salinic way. Touches of mushroom flirt around the edges.

While it’s certainly interesting, those predisposed to tropical or vanilla flavors may not find that this is the bottle they reach for. That said, it’s certainly tasty, if not our number one cachaça.