Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/413994
Pennywise 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, California ($12) Dried plums and herbs (sage and mountain brush) are user-friendly in this juicy, youthful red. Rich berry and blue flowers add an edge as well as aromat- ics to a toasty, brown sugared middle. Unique ladder of complexity for such a value-driven wine! 90 TOG WINES Carmen Gran Reserva 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile ($15) Big, broad strokes of black fruit sizzles on the palate with spice and pepper. Dry tannins keep you thirsty for that next sip. This red delivers rich, sturdy, earthy depth, covering the globe with New and Old World characteristics. 91 TFE WINES SPIRITS Global Vodka, Italy ($30) "Everything that comes out of Italy is about fashion," says Levon Mgrdichian, President of Global Vodka. "Whether it's their cars, their food, lifestyle . . . it has style and a freshness to it." Made with no additives, Global is three-times- distilled and five-times-filtered, using organic wheat, distilled and bottled in Northern Italy. On the nose, peach tones meld with honeyed floral notes. On the palate, a soft warm wheat weightiness is pleasant, dotted with peach pit and toasted marshmallow. Charming. 92 GLOBAL VODKA IMPORTING COMPANY Michter's Unblended American Whiskey, USA ($45) Rich, smooth and peach-scented, this alluring 83.4 proofer is awash with texture and flavor. I couldn't keep from nosing it twice before each sip, with that same heady feeling one gets when sniffing a perfumed rose. The flavors intensify as they cross the palate: peppered peaches and orange rind dipped in honey. 97 CHATHAM IMPORTS Angel's Envy Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels, Kentucky ($169) Orange caramel is a wonderful first impression on the nose of this cask-strength bourbon (119.3 proof). Its limited release of 6,500 bottles tells a tale, but the unctuous nature of this copper cherub sings the song of white flowers, honey and freshly-made pancakes. The fruit components are a hybrid of orange-cherry. Heavenly. 96 LOUISVILLE DISTILLING COMPANY "Everything that comes out of Italy is about fashion," says Levon Mgrdichian, President of Global Vodka. "Whether it's their cars, . it has style and a freshness to distilled and five-times-filtered, using organic wheat, distilled and bottled in Northern Italy. On the nose, peach tones meld with honeyed floral notes. On the palate, a soft warm wheat weightiness is pleasant, dotted with peach pit and toasted GLOBAL VODKA IMPORTING COMPANY pleasant, dotted with peach pit and toasted marshmallow. Charming. Angel's Envy Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey TR_LimitedSplash_TastingPanel_HP4C_v01.indd 1 3/3/14 2:03 PM november 2014 / the tasting panel / 77