Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/818616
may 2017 / the tasting panel / 95 It's around 600 miles from New York's Wall Street to Detroit, Michigan, but Rifino Valentine's journey was much longer. A former trader, Valentine became disillusioned with cor- poratization; according to him, "The main goal of a public corporation is profit, and the quality of the product inevitably suffers." He most clearly saw it in the Dirty Martinis that he favored: "When I would order a Martini with the bar's best vodka, all I got was mass-produced, mass-marketed, imported vodka." This revelation inspired Valentine to leave behind the banks of Wall Street and head towards Detroit, the former heart of American manufacturing. "It was impor- tant to me to show that the best products are still made in the U.S.—in particular, Detroit," Valentine explains. In 2007, Valentine started Valentine Distilling Co., at a time when microdistilling wasn't the industry it is today—in fact, there were only around 15–20 microdistilleries in the U.S. at the time. The spirits are made using Old World techniques: "Nothing that we do wouldn't have been done hundreds of years ago," notes Valentine. Valentine Vodka was the first spirit that Valentine launched using a recipe he spent three years developing. The finished product uses a triple-grain mash bill of barley, wheat and corn and was named the World's Best Vodka by the World Vodka Awards in London in 2016. Liberator Gin followed, using botanicals including juniper, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, bitter orange, grains of paradise and green licorice root sourced from around the world. Valentine is particularly proud of the Mayor Pingree line of whiskey that includes triple-pot-distilled bourbon and rye. Adds Valentine, "Our youngest bourbon is four years, and we go up to ten years. All our bourbons are aged in 53-gallon barrels. If we used smaller barrels it would speed up the aging process, but we feel the best product comes from full barrels." Last year Valentine Distilling moved to a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Ferndale, Michigan, with a new bottling line and room for the 53-gallon barrels Valentine's bourbon is aged in. Despite the space upgrade, Valentine Distilling con- tinues to use the traditional methods that helped them create their innovative spirits ten years ago. —Jesse Hom-Dawson Going the Distance with Valentine Distilling Co. Valentine Vodka (SRP $29.99) It has a sensational nose of roses and vanilla—a romantic combination. Its silky texture dissolves on the tongue, but flavors of caraway and mocha linger. 94 —Meridith May Valentine Distilling Co. Old Tom "Liberator" Gin (SRP $47.99) Combines the scents of juniper, coffee, caramel and black tea for an experience in gin aged in American oak. On the palate, cinnamon reigns, but does not mask the floral essence of sandalwood and pine. Cedar spice and orange-lime accentuate more virtues from this well-framed spirit. 94 —M. M. Valentine "Mayor Pingree" 10-Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey (SRP $89.99) is a powerful 113.8-proof spirit that sends out a perfumed calling of spiced nutmeg-oak, saddle leather and tangerine. A distinct wash of satin carries an array of notes—from spiced orange peel to a spellbinding toffee latte. 95 —M. M. Valentine "Mayor Pingree" 10-Year Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey (SRP $89.99) At 108.2 proof, it has a luxuriously entic- ing nose of magnolia blossom and brown-buttered apples. The warmth spreads across the mouth, with savory tea tannins alight with mango, Asian pear and a thread of toffee. 96 —M. M.