Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/31323
SPIRITS Bootlegger 21 Vodka, USA ($28) A warm rush of blackberry on the nose. The palate is peppered, savory and beguilingly broad. It fi nishes sweet and briny. 91 PROHIBITION DISTILLERY Swan’s Neck Vodka, France ($30) Vodka shines when it offers a nice, clean entry like this. Tobacco and cherries on the mid-palate make it more interesting and a dash of pepper and a splash of jalapeño gives it esprit, lifting the fl avor profi le. 91 L & P SPIRITS IMPORTS Firefl y Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka, USA ($19) Direct from a Carolina plantation, the taste is authentic black tea. On all lev- els, this is a trend-setter—the thin-dustry should love it! The sugared middle is my favorite new natural sweetener, Truvia, made from the stevia plant. 91 GEMINI SPIRITS & WINE/ SAZERAC CO. Cielo Rojo Bacanora Blanco, Mexico ($39.50) Bacanora, the traditional agave spirit from the state of Sonora, could be the next tequila. Smoke wafts from the glass in a haze of peaches, pears and ripe cactus. Reminiscent of a southwest culinary adventure: mole sauce with black beans—and that’s just the nose. The palate holds pleasurable butternut cream streaked with that wonderful tinge of burnt marshmallow. 93 PUEBLO PARTNERS TRADING CO. Revel Stoke Spiced Whisky, USA ($17) The sweet cola and maple nose fl irts with your senses. A hint of pepper ramps up to a more upfront spice that makes its way to the back palate. A char-and-cherrywood fi nish ends the savory seduction. 89 PHILLIPS DISTILLING COMPANY TY KU Silver Saké, Japan ($15) A delicate fl ower petal appeal on the nose and palate, gently opening to pear and lychee notes. Pretty on its own, and has the ability to come through to enhance a mixed drink. 90 TY KU INTERNATIONAL Becherovka Original Liqueur, Czech Republic ($24) Honeyed clove drapes across the tongue, edged by black pepper and maple. On the second pass, wintergreen surges to the top of the mouth and spreads warmly on a cinnamon and bitterroot note. 92 PERNOD RICARD USA Introducing The Tasting Panel’s SEAL OF EXCELLENCE Our new Seal of Excellence will be awarded to products that we feel deserve special merit. When a brand breaks a category barrier, offers a novel fl avor profi le or is just a stand-out character, THE TASTING PANEL will distinguish it with our new honor. This award is our acknowledgement of excellence. We’re proud to present our fi rst Seal of Excellence to American Harvest Organic Spirit, an American-made organic vodka to which a proprietary blend of organic ingredients has been added. Handcrafted in small batches from organic winter wheat grown on a family-owned and sustainably-managed American farm, it is distilled and bottled in Rigby, Idaho using water from aquifers deep beneath the Snake River plain. American Harvest takes a silk road on the entry—a gliding convergence of cocoa powder, heather, anisette and almond pastry. But the true highlight of this new spirit is its pleasurable mouthfeel sensation. It’s a groundbreaking way to look at vodka—a wake-up call to the category. With its proprietary blend of organic ingredients, the addition of which does not actually add fl avor to the vodka, a distinctively, smooth and crisp character emerges into the spotlight. American Harvest is a revolutionary new vodka and richly deserves our Seal of Excellence. AVAILABLE THROUGH SIDNEY FRANK IMPORTING CO.; SRP $23.99.