Jack Daniel’s Winter Jack Tennessee Cider

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winter jack daniel's

Arriving for winter is a seasonal version of Jack Daniel’s that’s meant to be drunk hot: Winter Jack Tennessee Cider. Wrapped in a snowy-white label, Winter Jack is lighter in color than it’s namesake, and considerably lighter in alcohol: just 15% vs. Jack’s usual 40%.

Depending on where you are in the world, this will either be called Tennessee Cider or Tennessee Apple Whiskey Punch, but it’s the same Winter Jack regardless of the subtitle. It’s described on the label as “a seasonal blend of apple cider liqueur & Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey,” and it ends up taking just like that: a little Jack, a little apple, some cinnamon and spice.

Really, Winter Jack is made to be an easy cider for a snowy day: pour it in a coffee mug, heat it up, drink and repeat. Winter Jack will run you $15-20 a bottle, and there are 30 states that it’ll be distributed to in the U.S., though the list excludes my home state of New Mexico, so we’ll have to take a road trip to Colorado or Texas to get some.

Devil’s Snare Cocktail

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devils snare cocktail

“Stop moving! I know what this is — it’s Devil’s Snare!”

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this year’s Halloween cocktail: a Devil’s Snare. Green and wicked just like the fictional plants themselves, this cocktail is not for those who are easily frightened!

…or for those who hate licorice flavor.

One thing that makes the presentation so cool with this drink is you get to make your own Halloween sugar using Angostura bitters. White sugar and several dashes of Angostura makes for the perfect orange sugar rim.

orange rimming sugar

Devil’s Snare (by Greg Mays)

  • 1 1/5 oz Agwa de Bolivia
  • 1 oz Absinthe
  • shake on ice,
  • strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with orange sugar

Cathead Fall Vodkas

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cathead pumpkin spice and pecan vodkas

Cathead Vodka out of Mississippi has released 2 seasonal flavored vodkas to go along with their year-round vodka and honeysuckle vodka. While flavored vodkas often border on insanity, Cathead Pumpkin Spice and Cathead Pecan are a bit more calm and noble.

Cathead on it’s own is a very good vodka, so these flavors have a quality backbone to build on. Of these two, pecan is more subtle and natural-tasting – the pumpkin spice variety makes a great cocktail, but on its own, the flavor is a little overwhelming and maybe a little imitation.

Here are two great cocktails to use your Cathead seasonals in:

Fall On Me (by Greg Mays)

  • 1 1/2 oz Cathead Pumpkin Spice
  • 1 1/2 oz Art in the Age Snap
  • 1 oz cream
  • shake on ice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with nutmeg

Summer’s Gone Soda (by Greg Mays)

  • 2 oz Cathead Pecan
  • 1 oz caramel liqueur (like Lovoka or Godiva)
  • serve on the rocks and top with club soda
  • garnish with a cherry

Bees vs Trees: Maple Whiskey

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maple whiskies

This week we’re doing a two-part series called Bees vs. Trees, in which I taste a bunch of honey whiskies (the Bees) and maple whiskies (the Trees). Today, the Trees get the spotlight as maple is a fairly new whiskey flavor that’s gaining popularity. Just as an educational note, there is a very blurry line between whether these are, by definition, flavored whiskies or strong liqueurs, since they usually have added sugars as well.

I imagine you’ve experienced the fact that the smell of maple really dominates the air when you’ve got some out. These whiskeys are no different: just an open bottle of one of these is enough to fill your entire house with the smell of maple. Surprisingly, though, while maple gets all up in your senses, the flavor that gets delivered to your tongue is much more tame, which may also be because most of these (unlike their Bee brethren) are 40% ABV or higher.

Cabin Fever Maple 

  • Cost: $20
  • Description: “A 3 year old whisky that is infused with real grade B dark maple.”
  • Alcohol: 40%
  • The flavor experience with Cabin Fever can be summed up in one word: butterscotch. It dominates your palate, it’s creamy, it’s rich, and from start to finish, this is a butterscotch experience. It seems like a great fit in a hot, boozy tea this winter – I’m working on a recipe right now.

Crown Royal Maple Finished

  • Cost: $25
  • Description: “Fine DeLuxe Maple Flavored Whisky.”
  • Alcohol: 40%
  • Truthfully, I am not a fan of Crown Royal and generally don’t have it in my home bar. This variety is nice and strong, and sweet maple is all in the smell. The whiskey itself is more of a drier, nuttier experience, and does not align with the initial smell, since it’s much more subtle and strong. We liked it better than “regular” Crown, and I imagine this pairing well with a cigar. The bottle comes is a cool brown version of the iconic Crown bag, too. #bonus

Knob Creek Smoked Maple

  • Cost: $30
  • Description: “Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey with natural flavors.”
  • Alcohol: 45%
  • Alright, tell the kids to leave the room, because it’s serious whiskey time. Knob Creek is the highest % alcohol of any of the Bees or Trees, and it delivers. While there is certainly the maple smell wandering out of the bottle, this is a serious whiskey at a serious alcohol level. There is only the faintest trace of maple on the finish, and drinking this reminded me some of my Maple Old Fashioned: good whiskey, a little maple. Knob Creek may be the only option from this whole series for stuffy or serious whiskey sippers.

Jim Beam Maple

  • Cost: $16
  • Description: “Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey infused with natural flavors.”
  • Alcohol: 35%
  • The only brand in this series to play for both teams, Beam delivers a maple version of their classic bourbon. While the label says maple, we found it carried more of a toasted marshmallow experience through the senses – less maple, and more…..just sweet. I imagine there will be several appearances of Beam Maple in Fall cocktails, and it’s probably a better fit as a mixer than a sipper.

Bees vs Trees: Honey Whiskey

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honey whiskies

This week we’ll have a two-part series called Bees vs. Trees, in which I taste a bunch of honey whiskies (the Bees) and maple whiskies (the Trees). Today, the Bees get the spotlight as honey has become a very popular additive to a wide variety of whiskeys. Just as an educational note, there is a very blurry line between whether these are, by definition, flavored whiskies or strong liqueurs, since they usually have added sugars as well.

After tasting this lot, I found that overall, honey whiskies have a much less-pronounced scent than maple, but the sweetness comes through stronger as you taste them, plus the honey whiskies are mostly lower in alcohol % than the maple varieties that you’ll see in the next part, too.

Let’s get tasting!

Evan Williams Honey Reserve

  • Cost: $15
  • Description: “The smoothness of Evan Williams with a sweet honey taste.”
  • Alcohol: 35%
  • Evan’s take on honey whiskey is pretty interesting, and overall, we found it to be the least honey-tasting of the bunch. It’s got a more dry, almost medicinal, flavor that finished very fruity, almost like cherry cough syrup. This might be a good fit for a cocktail with some fruit ingredients, particularly cherry or berries.

Jim Beam Honey

  • Cost: $16
  • Description: “Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey infused with real honey and liqueur.”
  • Alcohol: 35%
  • Beam is the only brand you’ll see playing for both teams in the Bees/Trees series. We found it to be the sweetest-tasting of the bunch, with a strong flavor of root beer, even licorice. The honey flavor is present and does contribute to the overall sweetness of the drink. This might be a fun liquor to mix with Root or even Absinthe to help complement it’s flavors. Actually a splash on your ice cream would be pretty great, too.

Bushmills Irish Honey

  • Cost: $25
  • Description: “A blend of triple distilled Irish whiskey, real Irish honey, and other natural flavors.”
  • Alcohol: 35%
  • This may not be a surprise, but Bushmills is the more serious honey whiskey in this list. It tastes like an Irish whiskey, even a Scotch, as you can totally detect the barley base it’s made with, which is a very different experience from the bourbons and Tennessee whiskies in this list. Just as it finishes, there’s a touch of what seems like a cool, natural, sweetness. We found it tasted stronger than the others, and it would be a perfectly respectable sipper. If you’re a Scotch noob, this and Dewar’s Highlander Honey would make some good entries to start with.

Jack Daniel’s American Honey

  • Cost: $20
  • Description: “Honey liqueur blended with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey.”
  • Alcohol: 35%
  • I am consistently surprised by the quality of the various Jack Daniel’s whiskies I try. American Honey smells mostly like whiskey, and it’s not syrupy or sticky. The honey flavor delivers a substantial helping of sweetness, though the Jack Daniel’s base turns this into a more nutty/buttery experience, ultimately tasting something like pecan pie. Sipping this neat with a spicy, earthy cigar would be a good fit.

Clique Vodka

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clique vodka

Clique Vodka is a newer brand that’s really embraced the times it’s in. Their Twitter handle @cliquevodka is printed right on the black bottle, and they’re promoting a hashtag of #cliqueshots to feature folks drinking Clique or holding their bottles of Clique.

All that considered, it’d be easy point to Clique as all style and no substance, a marketing plan in high gear. The biggest question to ask about Clique, then, is “how does it taste?”

It’s actually quite good – a touch fruity with traces of berries, and minimal alcohol burn. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely worth $16. Try Clique in this pleasantly sweet vodka cocktail:

Kamikaze

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka
  • 1 oz triple sec
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • shake with ice, then serve on rocks
  • garnish with a lime wedge

Bourbon Heritage Month 2013

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bourbon heritage month

Bourbon Heritage Month is built on 2 congressional declarations: in 1964, Congress declared bourbon America’s Native Spirit, then in 2007,  Congress named September National Bourbon Heritage Month.

Last year, I talked you though 6 of the most popular brands of bourbon. This year, I grabbed some less familiar bourbon brands and tasted them throughout September. Remember that to be legally called bourbon, a spirit must be:

  • Distilled from a grain mash that’s at least 51% corn.
  • Aged in new, charred, oak barrels for a period of time (not specified).
  • Distilled and aged in the United States.

Here were the sippers that I enjoyed in September 2013 for Bourbon Heritage Month:

Peach Street Colorado ($66): Aged 9 years and bottled at 92 proof. This is an amazing bourbon – complex, strong, spicy, and a tad sweet. If you pressed me and the mood was right, I might tell you that this is the best bourbon I’ve ever had. I’ve become a big fan of Colorado whiskey.

Col. E. H. Taylor Small Batch ($45):Aged 7 years and bottled at 100 proof. A great, balanced bourbon with a bunch of history distilled in the bottle. There’s a good, sweet, and almost fruity, flavor to this bourbon.

McAfee’s Benchmark No. 8 ($12): No age statement, bottled at 80 proof. You will discover online that many claim this as the best bourbon you can buy for $12. I made a Manhattan with it, and it is a very good bourbon, though compared to pricier offerings, McAfee’s tastes a little bit young and hot.

Chartreuse

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20130907-142821.jpg

Liquor in general is a pretty colorful industry and the players involved can be quite fascinating on their own. Chartreuse stands as one of the most fascinating and legendary liquors ever, and I’m really excited to feature it for you. Here is the Chartreuse story:

In 1605, at the Chartreuse monastery in France, the monks received a gift from an agent of the king: an aged manuscript for an “Elixir of Long Life” that was thought to be the work of a 16th century alchemist with a unparalleled knowledge of herbs. This manuscript included detailed instructions for blending, infusing, and macerating 130 herbs to form the perfect tonic.

100 years later, the manuscript was sent into the mountains of the Mother House of the Order of La Grande Chartreuse. The Apothecary of the monastery studied the manuscript in detail and, in 1737, drew up a formula for the actual preparation of the Elixir.

Since 1737, this green liqueur has been made by Chartreuse Monks, who use the money they raise from the liqueur to enable them to dedicate their lives to prayer and meditation. Only two brothers know the Chartreuse recipe at any time.

The most fascinating thing about Chartreuse is that its legends are true, unlike the “deer blood” Jagermeister story or the “fly wings” Fernet Branca legend. The two most common varieties of Chartreuse, both of which will run you about $55, are:

Green Chartreuse (55% alcohol) is the original 1737 green liqueur, made from the 1605 recipe by Chartreuse Monks even today. The color chartreuse is named after this liqueur.

Yellow Chartreuse (40% alcohol) was introduced in the 1800’s and is a milder, sweeter flavor and aroma than it’s older brother.

Here’s a common Yellow Chartreuse cocktail (pictured above):

Alaska Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 1/2 ounce yellow Chartreuse
  • 1 dash orange bitters
  • stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with a lemon peel

Real McCoy Rum

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real mccoy rum

I’ve started to realize that aged rum may just be my favorite drink to pair with a quality cigar. A quality aged rum delivers a flavorful sweetness that complements the warm spiciness that cigars bring to the palate.

Real McCoy Rum is currently only available in Connecticut (where it’s distilled), Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. This is a sipping rum, just like a quality bourbon or whisky, and while you could mix it in a cocktail, it’s probably best enjoyed neat or on the rocks.

In a matter of perfect timing, Real McCoy arrived a few days before a big local cigar event (see my photos here), so I took it there to get some opinions from people. Smooth was first word everyone said after sipping Real McCoy, and everyone seemed really fond of it, including a self-proclaimed Puerto Rican rum lover. It’s got a good flavor with basically no alcohol burn and a mild spiciness from the barrel aging. Ice is an optional addition, but because of the low alcohol (40% ABV), I ended up preferring to drink it neat.

If you’re near the 3 states that carry Real McCoy 5 Year Old at this point, it’s definitely a good buy at $29. You may also find 3-year-old and 12-year-old varieties as well.