Focusing on the world of wines, beer, and spirits that we experience through our travels at WineCompass.com and theCompass Craft Beverage Finder.
Friday, October 20, 2023
East Tennessee History at Old Tennessee Distilling Company
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Grappa, Brandy, Vidal, and Sangiovese at Maryland's Fiore Winery & Distillery
During the visit, we learned more about the area and hope to return soon to visit the neighboring breweries (in both PA and MD) and hike to Kilgore Falls -- Maryland’s second-highest free-falling waterfall. See what other craft beverage operations are in the area using theCompass Craft Beverage Finder. Cheers.
Thursday, July 14, 2022
The Virginia Cider Trail Coincides with the BevFluence Cider: New Perspectives on Cider, Perry, and Brandy Campaign
And as most Virginia cider lovers know, the Albemarle Pippin is still one of the signature Virginia apple varieties and was even exported to England throughout the 1800s. Castle Hill Cider was founded in 2020 and the estate is planted with 6,500 trees featuring more than 30 apple varieties including Albemarle Pippin, Black Twig, Harrison, Burford Red Fresh, GoldRush, Dabinett, Hewes Crab, and Wickson Crab. The ciders are bottled in either 750ml or 375ml bottles and range from sweet to dry.Colonel Thomas Walker, the original owner of Castle Hill Estate, was the first to bring Newtown Pippin apple scions to Central Virginia following his return from the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. The variety was planted at Castle Hill and became known as the Albemarle Pippin apple.
During our visit, we choose a Classic flight and a Barrel aged flight. The majority of the group preferred the Terrestrial 2020 where the tannins and slight RS are balanced. It's also an interesting blend that includes Black Twig, Winesap, and Ashmead's Kernel. Personally, I preferred the funky, dry, and naturally fermented in quevri Levity 2020. Is this the only American cider fermented and aged in Georgian quevri?
For the barrel-aged ciders, the Hewes Pommeau Reserve is fascinating with complexity created by four years of aging in Woodford Reserve barrels and Keswick Winery wine puncheons. I also enjoyed the Silver Bough where Dabinett and Golden Hornet ciders were aged over a year in rum barrels.
Sage Bird Ciderworks is located in downtown Harrisonburg and opened a couple years ago after the persistently hard work of Zach and Amberlee Carlson. This is the first cidery in the home of the Dukes and they offer an excellent array of various styles. I settled on a flight of five ciders - slightly more than the paddle size. The clear favorite was the Dry River Reserve -- their flagship brut cider made from a blend of Virginia-grown apples. The Peaches For Me fits perfectly into the upcoming BevFluence campaign since the cider was aged in used apple brandy barrels. The oak treatment is noticeable -- providing a peaches and cream feel with a boost of apple flavors. Finally, an interesting geographic cider is their Stay Gold, a dry cider inspired by West Virginia's official state fruit, the famed Golden Delicious apple. Ciders from Mars is located about 30 miles south in downtown Stanton across the street from both Ox Eye Vineyards and Redbeard Brewing Company. So no excuses for not visiting. The cidery was founded by Virginia natives and science-minded Nikki West and Jeremy Wimpey. And Nikki improved her cidermaking through courses at the Cider Institute of North America -> a partner of the American Cider Association. Over a burger from 1Tribe Farm, I sampled six ciders through a standard flight. The Helles Dry is a solid representation of a brut cider and on the other side of the spectrum, the Pink Oceans was interesting with a subtle strawberry profile. However, the most impressive cider was easily the Liquid Gang, made from foraged apples and fermented using native yeast. The tannic structure mimics biting into an apple. Could be my favorite cider made in Virginia and is on par with the excellent cider from New York's Aaron Burr Cidery.Monday, July 11, 2022
Brandy, Gin and More from Croatia's First Craft Distillery: Brigljević Distillery
This brandy is doubled distilled from local apple cider made from four apple varieties, including Pink Lady and Granny Smith, and aged 18 months in American oak barrels. Distilled in 2017 and bottled in 2020. Very harmonious between the apple aroma and flavors combined with the oak-driven vanilla and honey..
Barrelina Apple Brandy Teatro Vaniglia (55.1%)
This brandy is doubled distilled from local apple cider and aged for 24 months in barrique barrels made from American oak by an Italian cooperage. Distilled in 2018 and bottled in 2021. This brandy sizzles with apple aromas and flavors with notes of vanilla throughout. Very smooth at cask strength.
Barrelina Pear Brandy Quarter Cask (50%)
The double-distilled perry is aged four years in American oak quarter casks. Distilled in 2018 and bottled in 2022. This is a lengthy brandy with vibrant fruit and slight spices.
Dark Forest 8-Year Pomace Brandy (44.1%)
This grape brandy was made by double-distilling four varieties of grapes grown in Baranja, Slavonia. The brandy was first aged for two years in a Slavonian oak barrel and then six years in a Bordeaux wine barrel. Distilled in 2013 and bottled in 2021. Expect complexity. Baked raisins and fig on the nose and then earthiness, raisins, honey, and more throughout the long finish.
I also tasted several upcoming attractions of malt whisky and brandies aged in unique barrel sources such as Laphroaig and Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Innovation and experimentation are continual processes at Brigljević Distillery.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Tenth Ward Distilling Company and Christmas in Frederick
This woman-owned distillery - thanks to Monica Pearce -- produces an interesting range of spirits like Smoked Corn Whiskey, Caraway Rye, Genever Style Gin, Applejack, and Absinthe. This last shows its quality by turning cloudy and releasing aromatic while using the French method of a water drip with a sugar cube. The Smoke Corn Whiskey was polarizing with most overwhelmed by the firepit flavor, yet I thought it had an interesting Mezcal feel. Its main focus seems to be as a cocktail ingredient like the Perfect Penicillin and Triple Smoked Toddy.
Like our previous post on The Albeisa Bottle, in this age of global conglomerates dominating the inputs to the craft beverage industries, Tenth Ward support local farmers and industries. All the grain is grown and malted at Ripon Lodge Farm in Ripon West Virginia. The apples are sourced from local McCutcheon’s Apple Products. Other local sources are Orchid Cellar for mead and Hay’s Apiary for honey. Used barrels are obtained from Fredericksburg's A. Smith Bowman Distillery whereas new barrels are derived from Michigan's The Barrel Mill. And finally, as most craft beverage bottles are produced by three international conglomerates, Tenth Ward sources their bottles from Piramal Glass out of the Park Hills, MO manufacturing plant.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and cheers to a safe and healthy New Year.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
#BevFluenceExperience Denver: Golden Moon Distillery
A dozen spirits and a smiling tasting room manager (Kayla) greeted us on arrival and we immediately dove into samples. Two facts became immediately clear; first that Golden Moon produces high-quality spirits and second, there is a nice cross-pollination between Colorado craft beverage industries. The latter is evident by the Golden Moon Apple Jack ($56) and Golden Moon Grappa ($56). The Apple Jack starts with Colorado-grown apples that Denver's Stem Ciders crushes and during fermentation, the cider is transferred to the distillery where it is soon distilled, then lightly oak-aged and bottled. This is a voluminous cider - full of apple funky apple flavor and a smooth - slight burn.
Even more intriguing and adding to the cross-pollination is their line of grappas produced from grape must from BookCliff Vineyard. Each year brings not only a new vintage but also a different grape variety and in this case, we sampled three versions: a Riesling, Viognier, and a Chardonnay. The final version was the clear preference. It provided a fuller profile both in body and fruit flavors with a more wine sensation. I'm sipping a glass as I type.
The other spirit I purchased was the Golden Moon Kümmel ($32) - a spirit initially developed by assistant distiller Robbie Cunningham based on a Scottish recipe. The base alcohol is flavored with caraway and fennel and on its own is an interesting spirit. But Kayla, who is also the bar manager at the Golden Moon Speakeasy, recommended this as an alternative to vodka in a Bloody Mary. As fate intervenes, two of our party had already ventured to The Real Dill, Denver's source for pickles and bloody mary mix. Kayla was correct. We started with the Real Dill Bloody Mary mix and rimming spice, then the Golden Moon Kümmel, a dash of Celery Horseradish or Smoked Salt and Pepper bitters from Monarch Bitters and topped with a Real Dill Habanero Pickle. Great success.
In addition to the Kümmel, Golden Moon produces several other unique spirits and liqueurs. One is an aperitif resurrected in stature, the REDUX Absinthe ($86) where just water, and not sugar, brings out the milky and cloudy character. A sure sign of quality. The Golden Moon Crème de Violette ($32), Golden Moon Dry Curacao ($32), and Golden Moon Ex Gratia ($56) are liqueurs worth sampling neat and mixologists can envision imaginative cocktails. However, be aware of sampling the Golden Moon Amer dit Picon ($56) neat. It is based on the original recipes and ingredients used by "legendary distiller Gaetan Picon to create his amer (bitters) in the 1830’s". And it is bitter, very bitter. Get the Picon Punch ready for this one.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Visiting Tall Pines Distillery in Pennsylvania Ski Country
In the distillation area, the process looks as if it was run out of a barn - albeit with modern equipment - but with a thump keg (which enables a second distillation) and a worm box filled with cool water. In general the moonshine in sells for $34 per 750ml bottle or $18 for a 375ml bottle. The Cafe Mocha was a nice take on coffee liqueur but I opted for the Peach and Lumberjacked Apple brandies. The Peach is a little heavier than my preferred Eastern European palinka, but lighter than schnapps. Savor that peach flavor. The Lumberjacked Apple is made from distilled apple cider and the apple flavor lives long past the slight burn. Besides neat, I envision the apple brandy mixed with hard cider and a shot of rum. Looking forward to our next ski trip and as always you can locate Tall Pines Distillery using theCompass Craft Beverage Finder. Cheers.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Virginia's Falls Church Distillers Opens With Bourbon and Vodka
When I visited Falls Church Distillers last month I also had to navigate the ludicrous Virginia ABC regulations inflicted on distilleries. These regulations allow distilleries to serve generous four half-ounce tastings of their product - usually in cocktail form. The regulations also require separate seating when sampling the distilled products from the wine and beer bar that Falls Church Distillers provides. My rant over, the Church Bourbon recipe includes Virginia wheat that assists the medium bodied whiskey to obtain a very smooth character. They were also pouring two vodkas: Frozen Falls Vodka & Frozen Falls Pepper Flavored Vodka. These spirits have interesting pedigrees - based on a combination of distilled cane sugar and wheat that is "processed through a uniquely designed filtration system". I sampled both in cocktails which were tasty but unfortunately hid the unique flavor profiles of each vodka. Keep focused on Falls Church Distillers because there are bright clouds on the horizon as they plan to release a barrel aged Rum and Apple Brandy. As always, theCompass Craft Beverage Finder will guide you to this destination. Cheers.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Tasting an Expanded Spirits Portfolio at Mt. Defiance Distillery
Because of the screwy Virginia ABC regulations, cider is sampled in Mt. Defiance's tasting room and the spirits nearer to the distillery. Visitors are allowed four one ounce pours of spirits per day. The distillery, like others in the Commonwealth, provide a range of cocktails so visitors aren't forced to sample neat. However, neat was my preference and so between two of us we chose the Amber Rum, Dark Rum, Apple Liqueur, Cassis, and Absinthe.
According to Distiller Peter Ahlf, previously the Amber and Dark rums were both aged for 6 - 8 months in small (15 gal) used rye barrels. The difference is that Ahlf adds caramelized sugar to the Dark Rum just before bottling. Check your bottle label because Batch 12 was aged for 14 months in a 55 gallon used bourbon barrel and Batch 13 was a blend of 12 and previous methods. I don't know which version I sampled but the Dark Rum does have a pronounced honey-caramel profile when compared to the Amber - which is very smooth with a lighter honey accent. Both are very nice, but I preferred the lighter Amber style.
The Apple Liqueur is produced using a mash of sweet cider with crushed apples which is mixed with their Apple Brandy and additional sugar for sweetening. (The Brandy is produced by aging distilled hard cider and hen cutting to 80 proof). Thus, the liqueur is lower in alcohol at 50 proof / 25% alcohol and a bit on the sweeter side.
Cassis is a liqueur made from blackcurrants and Mt. Defiance's version is excellent. Ahlf says that his goal was to emphasize the liqueur's bright fruit flavor over sweetness and he succeeded. There's no syrupy or gritty sugar texture and the blackcurrant flavors are prevalent. Ahlf also mentioned that beet sugar worked much better than cane sugar as a sweetener. Interesting.
The final spirit we sampled was the much anticipated Absinthe as Mt. Defiance utilizes the traditional brouilleur (water dripper) and sugar cube to prepare the spirit. They also use traditional ingredients such as Virginia grown Grand Wormwood, Lemon Balm and Hyssop; Aniseed from AndalucÃa, Spain; and Fennel Doux from Provence, France. In general I'm not a great fan of Anise based spirits, but this Absinthe was rock solid - not overly liquorish - but relatively smooth. I was pleasantly surprised on this one.
To help navigate to Mt. Defiance or any of the Middleburg area wineries check out theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App. Cheers.