New York Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon

Posted on August 9, 2023August 7, 2023 by Nick

Sometimes the hype train gets you going. People review things that they can find in their local area, that you have no way to obtain where you live, and you think, ‘I have to try that’. A few years back, when I was falling down the Bourbon rabbit hole, that same thing happened to me, and when I saw a bottle of Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon, I just had to buy it! So did I make a good decision on this New York maple finished bourbon?

Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon

Made from Duchess Private Reserve Bourbon, this bourbon starts life in new oak barrels. The Duchess is aged, then removed. The barrel is then filled with maple syrup and aged. The maple syrup is then removed, and the Duchess is finished again. No age statement is provided.

Age: No Age Statement
Finish: Maple Syrup Barrels
Batch: 7
Proof: 90 (45% A.B.V.)

Sight: Russet Muscat

Smell: Maple and pecans / peanuts waft out with notes of evergreens. An earthiness runs through the giving a forest floor, fresh softwood, and a subtle caramelization. Fruits hang around toward the background, but are light and a hint of alcohol follows.

Sip: The start is sweet and soft with a moderate weight. The maple notes are in full effect to lead off, while a nuttiness and earthiness joins in. The evergreen notes and slight resin character is prevalent but not overwhelming. There’s a little spice, and plenty of wood toward the end. Characteristic vanilla like notes are present, but not powerful. A little heat is present.

Savor: The ending is more earthy and peppery, with forest floor and evergreen notes. Little maple sweetness helps accentuate with a little nuttiness.

Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon is maple and forest fresh with a bit of nuttiness. Overall, the flavor profile is kind of one dimensional, slightly sweet, and strongly earthy. These notes are also intriguing if you’re feeling the need to try something that isn’t quite a standard offering. While it’s fun, it also is definitely more of a targeted bourbon, and not everyone will want to crush a glass.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon works surprisingly well, although again leads to a floral / earthy undertoned Manhattan. The start is sweet, rich, and the maple-walnut notes come out in spades. These give way to an evergreen herbal mix that’s subtle with some berry notes and spice. The finish is slightly evergreen with a dry maple character. As a Manhattan goes, it’s tasty if unusual, and devilishly complex as it keeps opening. This gives an intriguing prospect as an ingredient for extended bars.

In Review – Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon

Taconic Double Barrel Maple Bourbon is unusual, but has some flavors to expand your perception of how finished bourbon can land. The flavors are similar when drinking neat, and can like they need another dimension. In cocktails, it feels incredibly entertaining, and seems to work better than it would drink straight. Overall, the uniqueness here make it a try it before you buy it, and not a recommendation for stocking in your bar unless you have a love of the flavor or a drink that requires it.

Averell Damson Gin Liqueur

Posted on January 20, 2023January 9, 2023 by Nick

While almost all gin is clear (or lightly colored if aged), there are a handful of exceptions. Amongst them is damson / sloe gin. This variant is made with a variety of native plums, known as sloes or damsons (Prunus Damascena). While these are technically related to plums, they fell out of popularity compared to the varieties you find in stores. While less common, they’re often made into delicious, spicy products like jams or damson gins (such as Averell Damson Gin Liqueur).

Averell Damson Gin*

Sight: An opaque, slightly burnt, caramelly brown with a tint of brick.

Smell: Deep notes of dried plum macerated in caramel and herbs drift out to lead things off. A bit of spice joins in, giving an almost holiday like spicing to the mix. As it builds, herbal notes begin to try to even things out with bit of bay leaf and ginger, before the fresh brightness of plum comes through.

Sip: The flavor is sweet and caramelized with plenty of Christmas like spicing. Notes of cinnamon, clove, and allspice compliment dried plum notes and pops of fresh plum skin. An acidity carries throughout, giving it a beautiful character.

Savor: The ending is full of bright fruit, but it lingers with a slightly bitter spice and plum skin notes.

Averell Damson Gin is not the kind of thing you would typically drink on it’s own, although in sips it isn’t bad. The complex plum flavor mixed with the botanicals of the gin and the spicing lead to a unique flavor that begs to be used a modifier. The autumnal and holiday spice is simply lovely, and the ginger gives a good kick.

In Cocktails

In a Sloe Gin Fizz it delivers a bright and spicy pop of plum flavor. While the lemon seems like it would tip the brightness over the edge, it actually helps add a different form of acidity that adds levity. The richness of the sugary notes and the bubbles of club work well, and it feels like a great seasonal transition cocktail. We also call for Averell Damson Gin in our I Am Dracula, I Bid You Welcome, where it adds spicing and compliments the fruitiness of port.

In Review – Averell Damson Gin

Averell Damson Gin is a unique and distinctly un-gin like flavor. The spice and fruitiness of the liqueur means that it delivers massive amounts of holiday like spicing with a pop of bright plum in every sip. This lends it well to a lot of intriguing propositions when trying to craft new cocktails. There are however a few downsides. First, after opening it won’t last indefinitely like normal gin. You can expect that after a year the oxidation will significantly impact flavors. Secondly, there aren’t a ton of cocktails that call for Sloe / Damson gin, meaning you’ll be trying to work through a bottle for a while depending on your usage rate. That said, Averill’s version is very reasonably priced in the mid $20 range.

*Note – this bottle has undergone a packaging change since taking and reviewing our bottle. We have no reason to believe the contents of the bottle have changed.

Flower City Gin

Posted on December 10, 2021December 1, 2021 by Nick

I went to school in Rochester, NY and as a result have fond memories of my days living there. Going back and forth to Albany, NY, I frequently make stops to explore what’s available in the local market that I can’t find in Ohio. Among the products I brought back with me, is Flower City Gin.

Made by the now defunct Honeoye Falls Distillery, Flower City Gin was a well received gin in reviews. Reviewers enjoyed the emphasis on floral notes and praised the price. Sadly this praise never seems to have translated into success for the distillery, and what’s left is a handful of bottles, including this one in my collection from back when they were operating. So it is worth trying to seek out?

Flower City Gin

Sight: Clear

Smell: The nose is as implied, very floral, with notes of violets, roses, and honeysuckle. Beyond the veritable florist’s shop of flowers begin notes of exotic spice, a touch of cassia bark, and juniper notes. The nose clearly demonstrates a more contemporary approach. A hint of citrus pith or greenery finishes things off.

Sip: The start is smooth, and then unexpectedly quite spicy. There’s a fair amount of cassia bark, grains of paradise, and other exotic notes that take over the palate. These remain balanced with a surprising amount of sweetness to counterbalance. As the spice fades, violets, carnations, and roses come into the picture with a juniper backbone.

Savor: Transitioning to the finish it picks up an almost pink peppercorn like character which balances against a juniper and floral profile. The finish is relatively short lived, but lingers with some spice.

Flower City Gin is surprisingly floral and complicated for its price point. The flavor of juniper reminds you that this is in fact gin, but the floral and spice notes drag it far away from traditional London Dry territory. The result is a slightly sweet, floral, and spicy gin that’s pleasant to sip, but also seems ready to play well with other ingredients.

In Cocktails

In a Martini Flower City Gin does exactly what it does on its own, it brings the spice. The same exotic spices punch out against the back drop of the herbal character of vermouth. The vermouth herbal notes also give room to amplify with the floral elements. The overall drink is smooth, but it feels as though this would work better in a Negroni. Trying it in s Negroni leads to a more amplified spice and bitter profile, but it works well with the warm flavors of the sweet vermouth. The only slight issue is that the naturally sweet nature of the gin doubles down here, making the Negroni a bit sweeter than usual.

In Review – Flower City Gin

Flower City Gin is a particularly interesting gin, but one that lends its own character to the drinks you make with it. The biggest struggle here is that it would alienate traditional gin drinkers. The balance is also slightly sweet. Given the price point of $20 or under, Flower City Gin is certainly worth a flyer for fans of Aviation Gin. That said, it’s no where near as composed as Aviation, and will take some balancing for crafting with. Combined with Honeoye Falls Distillery closing, Flower City Gin is now a discontinued bottle, we recommend you try a bottle if you find it on clearance, but don’t go out of your way to try to find one.

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