Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/221505
DEPARTMENT HEADER Best Dressed Most Competitive London 40 Dry Gin, United Kingdom ($25) Luna Malvada Reposado Tequila, Mexico ($50) This is a gin to get dressed up for, so put on your bestpressed tweeds and find a fine and deep leather chair to sink into—glass in hand. Distilled by Old St. Andrews, one of the largest and oldest traditional producers in the U.K., this gin is four times distilled and includes 12 botanicals from around the world—making it the perfect gin for juniper lovers to enjoy over ice with a generous twist of lime. For many consumers, tequila represents an exotic spirit reserved for celebratory Cinco de Mayo imbibing, but with the rise of boutique distillers, tequila is fast becoming a drink for more reserved connoisseurs. And Luna Malvada is one to drink all year round, especially during the full moon cycle, which happens to coincide with the harvests of this tropical dry forest–grown agave from southern Jalisco. People in the jungles of Mexico say the moon brings out nutrients and improves plant vitality . . . and Luna Malvada expresses this beautifully. With a 96-point rating, Luna Malvada Reposado is set to compete with any other sipping spirit. Lush juniper nose; smooth and creamy with sweet vanilla, bright juniper and notes of lush botanicals and spice; silky, seamless and luscious; rich, mellow and very sleek; long and rich. NICHE IMPORT CO. The beckoning call of the ripe agave nose is accented by a desirous apricot nectar—not unlike a full-bodied, viscous late-harvest Riesling. This tequila is truly memorable: Its fully developed mouthfeel features the lingering sweet caramelized sap of the apricot-peach nectar, seasoned with a dash of salt, a kiss of white pepper and a wash of tarragon basil. EVIL MOON SPIRITS Most Polite Most Likely To Get Rich Masterson's Straight Barley Whiskey, Canada ($79) Richland Artisan Georgia Rum, USA ($50) Bartenders love a good story, and Masteron's 10 Year Old Straight Barley Whiskey has a great one. It's named after the mustached Canadian-born gunfighter William Barclay "Bat" Masterson. A deputy to Wyatt Earp, Masterson was also a buffalo hunter, a gambler and a prize fight promoter. He later became a celebrated sportswriter and columnist for the New York Daily Telegraph. Made from choice Canadian barley and mineral-rich glacial water, 92-proof Masterson's Barley Whiskey (sibling to exceptional Masterson's Rye and Wheat) is double-distilled and mellowed in white oak casks for ten years. This polite Canadian-born spirit mixes well in lighter whisky cocktails. Woodsy and citrusy on the nose, the palate sensation is lean and sharp with a briny start. It mellows to a tangerine creamy sweetness that melts with a purr of peach on the tongue. Sensational. Drive a couple hours south of Atlanta, Georgia, and make your way to the Richland Distilling Company, a family owned craft distillery solely dedicated to producing rum made entirely from a base of premium sugarcane as opposed to molasses. For bartenders who value locally-sourced ingredients, those in the South have a new reason to whip up a classic Daiquiri—Hemingway would have it no other way. Only 4,500 cases were produced in 2013. Copper pot–distilled in small batches and aged in American oak barrels, this stunningly hued 86-proof brasscolored rum has flavors of seared orange skins and buttered, burnt sugar. Warming the palate and actually heating the back of the throat with a most soothing slide, the handcrafted spirit is mature and regal. RICHLAND RUM 35 MAPLE STREET december 2013 / the tasting panel / 147 the tasting panel TP1213_104-148.indd 147 11/23/13 8:38 PM