Category Archives: whiskey

Non-Alcoholic Whiskies: Ritual and Monday

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The past year or two, I’ve begun to see non-alcoholic versions of popular liquors appear on store shelves and in social media advertisements. There are NA versions of every major base spirit that are made by one or both of the brands in this post, but today we’re going to focus on Ritual and Monday’s Whiskeys.

Whether you bill it as “Zero Proof” (Ritual) or “Zero Alcohol” (Monday), the effect is the same. These are whiskey-flavored whiskey substitutes without a drop of alcohol. There are, of course, several reasons for such a thing, and with the 2020 pandemic increasing many people’s alcohol intake, there may not be a better time to introduce these. They each make for a good cocktail whiskey substitute as well.

Both Ritual and Monday seem to base their flavor profiles on American whiskeys, the bourbons or Tennessee whiskeys we’re familiar with. Scotch drinkers may need to look for other brands to fit their bill.

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The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey

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the sexton irish whiskey

In the past few months, you may have noticed a new Irish whiskey on the shelves: The Sexton Single Malt. Introduced in early 2019 to the North American market, The Sexton comes in a stunning near-black hexagonal bottle with a dapper skeleton insignia. More attractive than that may be The Sexton’s price, though, at only $25 per bottle.

Made from 100% malted Irish barley and distilled in copper pots, The Sexton is aged 4 years in sherry casks. Often, Irish whiskey has a sweeter profile than the neighboring whisky from Scotland, but in this particular case The Sexton offers a surprising and slightly unfamiliar profile: spices and anise. So while there is a familiar Irish-ness in the initial sip of The Sexton, the back of the palate feels the warmth from the anise, while the tip of your tongue tingles from other spices as well.

Any time an “imported” whiskey is available at a decent age (remember this is 4 years old), and with a good price point, it’s a no-brainer to pick up a bottle to try. The Sexton can be used in cocktails where Rye is normally called for, which should add an interesting twist and character. At a relatively tame 40% ABV, I prefer sipping The Sexton neat or in an Old Fashioned, and often enjoy it with a cigar.

Walk the Line: Maker’s Mark

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walk the line makers mark

Walk the Line is a series we do at Simple Cocktails where we take all the various bottlings from one brand, then differentiate them all. Today we explore a small brand with a huge name in the whiskey space. Actually I need to correct that to whisky as the Samuels family has tapped their Scottish heritage to name Maker’s without the traditional American “e” on the bottle, setting them part even more in the bourbon space.

Starting production in 1954, Maker’s is a relatively “new” brand of bourbon. It’s currently owned by Beam-Suntory and packaged in distinctive, trademarked),dripping-red-wax bottles. Here’s the line that’s available from Marker’s now:

Maker’s Mark ($30). The core brand of the line, Maker’s contains a higher amount of wheat in its ingredients, which makes for a sweeter, smooth sipping whiskey. It’s sold at 45% ABV.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength ($50). Using a bottle with a similar shape as the core whisky, Cask Strength is exactly what it sounds like: Maker’s at the strength it comes out of the barrel. Introduced in 2014, it’s similarly sweet, though a tad spicier than the core Maker’s. This one packs a punch at 56.6% ABV.

Maker’s 46 ($30). 46 starts as Maker’s, but is put through a special aging process in which additional charred wood staves are inserted into its casks as it ages. This produces a bourbon that’s spicer than Maker’s. It’s different enough that Fred Minnick, in his book “Bourbon Curious,” separates it from the “caramel-forward” Maker’s Mark and Cask Strength and moves Maker’s 46 into his “cinnamon-forward” bourbon category. Maker’s 46 was introduced in 2010.

Roaming Man Whiskey

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roaming man rye whiskey

Sugarlands Distilling has done a pretty great job of carving a space in the moonshine category with dozens of moonshine flavors, but expanding into rum and liqueurs as well. One of their big multi-year projects, however, has been Roaming man Straight rye Tennessee Whiskey, an aged rye that they release specially for the past 3 years.

Here’s the fun part, though: it’s available in cask-strength, 375 ml bottles and is VERY limited edition: one release per year and then it’s gone. I’d joked with Sugarlands’ distiller Greg Eidam on a recent podcast that I didn’t know whether to drink mine immediately or save it forever.

It was too tempting. I cracked my bottle of their second-year release, from 2016, and it’s an extremely tasty rye with a great amount of spice and a nice amount of age. Often, if a rye is too young, it’s a bit sour and not as balanced as the older ones, but Roaming Man is balanced and drinkable.

And now, there’s a chance to get your own bottle of 2017 Roaming Man. Preorders are open  October 20, 2017 – get your bottle here.

Special thanks to our sponsor Sugarlands Distilling.

Piña Colada Fizz

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pina colada fizz cocktail

One of the more exciting jars I found when I opened my Sugarlands sponsorship shipment was their Piña Colada Moonshine. I’ve been thinking for a few weeks about a great cocktail to make with it, and one day I discovered a new Trader Joe’s product that I figured would really make it shine (pun intended): “Island Colada” Mineral Water, a fizzy, sugarless water that I knew would work well with this moonshine.

So I developed a recipe for what I call a Piña Colada Fizz using Sugarlands’ Piña Colada Moonshine, Island Colada Mineral Water, and a splash of banana liqueur. It’s an AMAZING warm-weather cocktail:

Piña Colada Fizz (by Greg Mays)

  • in a collins glass filled with ice, add:
  • 2 oz Sugarlands Piña Colada Moonshine
  • 1/4 oz banana liqueur (creme de banane)
  • top with Trader Joe’s Island Colada Mineral Water (plain mineral water will do, too)
  • stir briefly
  • garnish with cherries
Special thanks to our sponsor, Sugarlands Distilling Co.

Moonshine Collins

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moonshine collins sugarlands

Sugarlands Distilling Co. has been sponsoring the podcast for the last few episodes or so, and I have been thinking of creative ways to use moonshine in cocktails.

Tequila cocktails are usually a very good fit, as blanco tequilas and moonshine are most similar in their flavor palates, and I’ve made Moonshine Margaritas pretty often. I started to think about the classic cocktail recipes, too, and test out drinks that would be a good fit for moonshine as well, and recently on the podcast, we made a Mooonshine Collins that was awesome. Here’s how you do it:

Moonshine Collins

  • in a collins glass filled with ice, add:
  • 2 oz Sugarlands Silver Cloud Moonshine
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup
  • stir well, add more ice to top off, then top with club soda and stir briefly
  • garnish with a cherry and a lemon wedge
Special thanks to our sponsor, Sugarlands Distilling Co.

Walk the Line: Evan Williams

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evan williams bourbon family

Evan Williams is, by design, a bargain bourbon brand operating under the umbrella of the Heaven Hill family of brands (whose brands also include Elijah Craig, Larceny, McKenna and many more). Ranging from $10 on the low end to $25 for top-of-the-line, Evan Williams’ bourbons have a spicy bite to them and a familiar flavor profile from the top to the bottom of the line. Here’s a comparison of their regular 5-bottle lineup:

Evan Williams Green Label. 80 proof, about $10. The “bargain priced” Evan is really a value bourbon like no other. Distilled by Heaven Hill, who is one of the only remaining family-owner bourbon distillers in the country, Green Label may not be considered as sophisticated as some of the higher end bourbons out there, it has a balanced yet spicy flavor profile. Because of the proof of Green Label, even though I usually like by bourbon with a lot of ice, I drink this one neat or in cocktails only.

Evan Williams Black Label. 86 proof, about $11. Black Label is our Simple Cocktails “well” bourbon. I always have a bottle on hand as I find it’s got the cinnamon-spice-zing that I love in whiskey. For $11 a bottle, it’s value is excellent, and it’s higher proof than Green Label, so I can ice it up when I sip it straight.

Evan Williams White Label Bottled-In-Bond. 100 proof, about $13. With the price and favor profile of White Label considered, I feel comfortable saying this is my favorite bourbon. I’ve not tried another in this price range that had the flavor profile I seek after (higher rye, higher spice) like this one. There’s a touch more burn with White Label as it’s higher proof than anything else Evan Williams produces. Like it’s little brothers, this bourbon serves a spice-forward balanced profile of cinnamon, caramel, clove and nutmeg.

Evan Williams 1783. 86 proof, about $15. As you can see, you can explore almost the entire line of Evan Williams bottles for less than $15 apiece. 1783 is a more specialized and, dare I say, delicate bourbon than the value line, though. While I’m not sure of the mashbill (the grains making up the bourbon), I suspect a little less rye and a little more wheat or barley in this one. It’s subtler and I found this is a better fit for drinking neat. I found the flavor set too delicate to pair with most cigars, too, which often pair better with a bolder whiskey.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage. 86 proof, about $25. This is the best-of-the-best in Evan’s world. It’s a bottle at a price that you can easily keep 2 or 3 around to serve to guests and it’s quality is definitely good enough to sip alone, but the price won’t prevent you from considering it in a cocktail either (Old Fashioned, anyone?). It’s flavor profile is more in line with the colored-label brethren above, so a bit more spice and sizzle than the cool sweetness of 1783.

anCnoc Blas

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anCnoc Blas

anCnoc is not a scotch I’ve had before, and I recently had an opportunity to pair their Blas bottling with a Hiram and Solomon Traveling Man cigar.

Blas is a collaboration between anCnoc (pronounced uh-knock) and Scottish fashion designer Patrick Grant, which is why the label is so stunningly designed, plus you may get a bonus pocket-hankie as I did, too (pictured above).

Make no mistake, this is a sweet and balanced scotch. A straw-colored highland whisky, Blas is caramely with a potent ABV of 54%. It has notes of vanilla bean and custard a slight rear palate barley-beer tang.  It’s an excellent after-dinner drink and it’s a surprisingly sipper even at 54%. I’ve been taking mine with a single small ice cube to add just the right about of cool water. As expected, its a great couple for a cigar, too.

anCnoc Blas retails for $80.

Swift Single Malt Texas Whiskey

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swift single malt texas whiskey

Swift Distillery in Dripping Springs, Texas started with a very noble (and maybe a little expensive) undertaking: to distill scotch-quality single malt whiskey.

Here’s the thing: then a distillery starts, it makes the most financial sense to distill stuff that you can sell right away, like vodka or gin, while your whiskey ages. Swift has not done that, though, choosing laser-focus on the whiskey alone. Founders Amanda and Nick Swift traveled to Scotland, Ireland, Japan and Kentucky for research, then came home to Texas to work on their single malt.

Swift Single Malt is on its way, too: a floral, mild, orange-forward flavor profile that’s balanced and very drinkable. In fact, the only thing you’ll likely struggle with is getting a bottle as it’s only available in the Austin, TX area now.

For a passion-induced, quality American single malt, Swift is a great addition to your whiskey collection.

Dalmore 18

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dalmore 18

Dalmore is a highland distillery in Scotland and has been distilling since 1839. The highlands are the largest whisky-producing region of the isle and boast and of the biggest names in the country. Highland whisky is generally very mild and accessible, and The Dalmore is no exception.

At about $100, The Dalmore 18 is one of the older malts in Dalmore’s regular range and is aged in American ex-bourbon casks for 14 years, then 4 more years in sherry butts. As a result, this malt is fruity and sweet with a mild palate and long, pleasant finish. Compared to bolder scotches, this malt is quite mild and is great sipped neat after dinner as a digestif. Cigar pairings are a good fit, of course, but choose a milder Dominican stick so you don’t overpower the subtleties of the whisky.

The flavor and cost are in line with each other, offering a complex and cool profile at a price range that’s to be expected from a distiller of this caliber and a scotch of this age.

Here’s our Dalmore 18 tasting on the podcast.