The herbal liqueur is bittersweet and crafted using 25 different botanicals that are macerated in a bourbon mash spirit (produced with 100% Virginia grain), and aged in used Virginia bourbon barrels for a few months. The Amaro is then finished in used Virginia wine barrels infused with chestnut wood, local honey, agave, and cane sugar.
The cherry color masks a plethora of flavors: orange, honey, cinnamon, herbs. The finish is pleasantly lasting with a complex and bittersweet backbone.
When is an Amaro not bitter? That was the question that Jon Arroyo and Bob VanLancker wanted to answer as part of the Washington D.C. farm to table kitchen and distillery: Founding Spirits Distillery. This Italian liqueur literally translates to "bitter" and is usually consumed as a cocktail ingredient or an after-dinner digestif. Instead the Founding Spirits Arroyo’s "Never Bitter" Amaro is intended to be more approachable and consumed both as an aperitif and digestif as well as in cocktails. It is distilled onsite using their Founding Spirits Vodka as a base and then infused with multiple herbs, roots, spices, and botanicals. The vodka is in itself very clean and distilled from North Dakota Hard Red Spring Wheat and Virginia rye and barley.
On a recent visit, I was able to sample the Amaro neat and in two interesting cocktails - all during a delicious family meal. Sipping neat, the liqueur is slightly sweet and savory towards the front, with the finish introducing a somewhat bitter experience. But much more approachable than most bitters. For cocktails, the Amaro was an interesting ingredient in a Piña Colada -- providing a balance with the sweet pineapple and coconut milk. Even better was the How Jefferson Woulda Liked It -- a concoction of Founding Farmers Rye Whisky, Founding Spirits Amaro, lemon, brandied cherry, and an orange slice. This was brilliant, with the Amaro contrasting with the sweet and spicy rye whiskey. In fact, the whiskey was has been produced for the past decade as a partnership between Arroyo and Rick Wasmund of Copper Fox Distillery. In traditional Copper Fox style, the barley and rye were malted using apple and cherrywood. Excellent.Whiskey is a distinct spirit—it is science, chance, time, risk, ingenuity, love, intensity—all in a glass, when it’s done right. And like America itself, whiskey is equally known and appreciated for its diversity and individual expression. The story of whiskey is a story of entrepreneurs, scientists, and bootleggers and the whiskey they produce—a rebel spirit renowned for its individuality and colorful history. I, Whiskey is the story of the human spirit, ingenuity, and the forces that have shaped whiskey and society for ages.I love the quote at the end by Scottish poet Robert Burns, "Freedom and Whiskey Go Together". Cheers and make sure you also view our interview with Catoctin Creek's Scott Harris.
Well, the unofficial Route 211 wine way is now "official." The web site for the Rt 211 Scenic Vino Wine Trail is up and running, even though some of the wineries are not.
Members of the 211 Wine Trail are Unicorn, Magnolia (open Summer 2013), Gray Ghost, Narmada, Gadino Cellars, Little Washington Winery, Quievremont, and the Copper Fox Distillery.
While most of the wineries should be familiar to regular readers of this blog, there are two new names in the member winery list of the RT 211 Wine Trail. Magnolia Vineyards facilities are currently under construction, but they are now on their 5th season of growing vines on their property and they are currently making wines at other wineries. Their 2011 vintage wines will be available for sale available in their tasting room once they are licensed and open.
Quievremont is located at the center of center of Reality Farm. Their website says that their 2012 wines should be ready in May 2013. I noticed in an add that they will be at Vintage Virginia this year.
