Tasting an Expanded Spirits Portfolio at Mt. Defiance Distillery

The Middleburg AVA is a popular destination in Virginia wine country and a couple years ago Mt. Defiance Cidery augmented the area wine offerings with craft cider. Soon afterwards the distillery section of the operation came online providing visitors an opportunity to sample classic spirits. And in past year Mt. Defiance Distillery has expanded their portfolio to now include three Rum offerings, Apple Brandy & Liqueur, Cassis, and Absinthe.

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 Andalucía, 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.

Virginia Cider Tasting at Corcoran Vineyards & Ciders

Yesterday several cider enthusiasts met at Loudoun County's Corcoran Vineyards & Cider in order to sample most of their cider portfolio as well as several ciders from across the Commonwealth. I also threw in a Maryland cider from Millstone Cellars that I thought our group would find interesting.  Jim Corcoran asked us to access the ciders not only in relation to each other but which styles would attract the broadest audience. In answering the last question, there was a general consensus that the off-dry Corcoran Sinful and Blue Bee Aragon 1904 were not only the group's favorite but would also have the largest appeal.  Both ciders shared a full apple profile with refreshing acidity.  As for the group, I was impressed by the diversity of styles and thought all the ciders enjoyable and worthy purchases. 

Blue Bee Cider Aragon 1904  - An off dry cider from a blend of modern and heirloom apples. Full of flavor, slightly tart - nice acids.

Castle Hill Cider Terrestrial - Lighter dry cider made from Winesap and Albermarle Pippen apples. Tart acids on the tail.

Courtesy of MyVineSpot

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider Sinful - Off dry, full of apple flavors, nice acids. 

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider PoPo Peach - The cider is fermented in barrels that previously housed peaches, imparting a very subtle peach character. This cider grew on me after subsequent sips.

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider Knot Head - A “secret” blend of seven locally grown apples aged a few weeks in Bourbon barrels. The smoothest of the ciders.

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider Hop n' Pop - Dry hopped hard cider that possesses a slight oily - yet very clean finish.

Foggy Ridge Cider Handmade - Dry cider made from predominately Newtown Pippin apples with some Gold Rush. Softer style.

Millstone Cellars Sidra Americana - Rustic Basque style cider made from Stayman Winesap and Jonathan apples fermented using native yeast and then oak aged sur lie in oak. Funky and sour - lactobacillus sour.

Mt. Defiance Cidery General's Reserve Hard Cider - The cider house's Farmhouse Style cider aged in an bourbon barrels. Very dry lighter profile with a touch of caramel.