Tag: spirits

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Portland 2024 Cocktail & Spirits Report

First non-beer stop was Freeland Spirits in NW Portland near the towering Montgomery Ward blocks.

Lovely spot with nibbles and seasonal cocktails and mocktails and a little shop too with their signature bottle shape and an RTD Gin Rose and Tonic.

I sampled the “whole flight” which had three gins and three bourbons. The gins were each distinct from the previous one and I quite liked them all. The flagship gin had a mint top note. The Forest Gin despite the presence of chanterelles was very spring day in Oregon. The Navy Strength had a real punch to it and would be a boon to the G&T.  The bourbons were less impressive in contrast. I found the standard bourbon a little weak and the rye was extra malty and cereal laden.  The Cask strength was my favorite of those three.

Next stop (not the same day, don’t worry) was a trip to the Alberta bar and restaurant, the Radio Room.  A multi-level and multi-room experience with a fun cocktail list filled with creative new cocktails as well as reimagined old standbys.

Last, but not least was my first visit to Aviation Gin HQ. Since they only have a distillery license, they can only serve so much gin per person but you can get a flight of special monthly cocktails or classic Ryan Reynolds choices or just a G&T.

The candy Valentine cocktails was my choice and all but the last one was really good. The presentation was excellent and the setting and staff was really cool. Did not see any Wrexham gear though.

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Beaumont

I am all for more beverage websites and I have found another one for us to bookmark, Beaumont Drinks leans into the review side of drinks which is a good thing, most beer sites have more news and event coverage (myself included), so a resource of strong reviews is certainly needed.  Check the website out HERE.

(there are also non-review pieces as well)

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Wilderton

Tucked between Ferment and pFriem on the Hood River waterfront is Wilderton Botanical Spirits. The Non-Alcoholic distiller opened their tasting room at the beginning of July with three products, Lustre (gin), Earthen (whiskey) and Bittersweet Apertivo.

I had both a taster of the three as well as one of their two seasonal mocktails to see what was what.

The Apertivo was my least favorite but I am not on the bandwagon for the spirit in either version. Weirdly bitter and tasted of beets. Earthen seemed a really pale comparison to whiskey. No oak or vanilla or coconut, it just sort of sat there. The faux gin was easily the best of the bunch. Botanicals just fit with gin.

The genius bit of the tasting was that each of the three N/A spirits had a sample cocktail. Tonic for Lustre, ginger ale for Earthen both really worked because the Fever Tree drinks are top notch. The G&T could have fooled people.

It is a small but welcoming space and a fantastic diversion from the beer and cider in Hood River.

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1st Visit – Broken Barrel Whiskey Co.

I returned from Kentucky with an increased knowledge and excitement about bourbon. While on the trip, I nailed down a visit to Broken Barrel Whiskey Company right here in Los Angeles.

Here are highlights from my interview with Benhaim….

It is not often that you get offered the chance to take an ax to a bourbon barrel but Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. is shaking the spirit game up, in more ways than one.

You have to start with the barrel staves.  It is the logical next step from Benhaim’s first spirit venture, Infused Vodkas just taken to the next, grander level.  Swapping fruit and vodka for wood and whiskey.  The staves are not limited to former Bourbon barrels but include rum, mezcal, sherry, Armagnac and even Amburana just to name a few.  And it is not chips or chunks, it is the whole stave.

It is so integral to the product that when Benhaim first coined the name Oak Bill, his teams first response was, trademark that.  Which he did.  The Oak Bill is now as prominent on the labels as the malt bill and Benhaim envisions the term being used far into whiskeys future.

Another shake to the status quo is that the finishing is done here in Los Angeles and not in Kentucky (Owensboro to be specific).  My big question was, why not a location in Kentucky, or a distillery here.  Bring the “juice” closer, as it were.  The answer was a bit of a wistful, maybe in the future.  The business is in that small “for now” phase where everyone pitches in on bottling day.  

I should pause here to talk about the whiskey that I tasted in Benhaim’s office which is stacked floor to ceiling with bourbons, gins, rums and vodkas.  So many that a computerized inventory is needed lest you forget a bottle in the back of a shelf.

I started light then moved up to cask strength before sampling two other smaller batch offerings.  California Oak has an Oak Bill of 80% Cabernet cask and 20% French Oak. It is 88 Proof and super easy to drink and a great vehicle to show off the wood notes.  Next was the Small Batch which used 40% Ex Bourbon, 40% New French Oak and 20% Sherry cask.  I tend to gravitate to whiskey that doesn’t Kentucky Hug you real hard so the slight wine note from the sherry helped cut the increased proof.

Next was the rye, which is another pull for me.  I find the spice a big plus in creating a balanced drink.  Broken Barrel’s Heresy Rye was my favorite of the tasting with another super small batch rye that was entered into competition, code name Magic Rye.

Both the Rye and the cask strength have the same Oak Bill as the Small Batch.  But I found the Cask Strength to be a bit too burly at 115 Proof. By that point in the tasting my mind starting wandering to what beer barrels would be great to splinter and add.  Perhaps a Pastry Stout or a Baltic Porter.  Or go big and age a Triple IPA in wood and then see if the hops pulled into the whiskey.

Purists may scoff but I see a blank canvas where creativity can flourish.  There will be some weird or wrong tastes along the way, Benhaim pointed out that Scotch staves do not work at all, but when a combination clicks.  It could be magic just with a few swings of an ax.

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Spirited Brewery # 3 – Scout & Scholar

Our last stop is in the Capital of Bourbon, Bardstown, Kentucky and to a brewery that honors the Bard brothers, William aka Scout and David the Scholar.

Scout & Scholar is just off the main street in a very frontiersy building with a large outdoor seating area as well as indoor seating on two floors. The beer list is quite long. So long that they have multiple personalized flights to order, like the collaboration flight that I tried first.

Got You Fam – “This Beer Was Brewed In Collaboration With Marker 48 Brewing Out Of Weeki Wachee, Florida. This Beer Is Know As An ErntBier Or A Harvest Beer. The Grain Bill Consists Of Mostly Vienna Malt Providing A Nice Bready Malt Forward Backbone. Using A Kolsch Yeast Strain And Noble Hops Helps to Cut The Sweetness Of The Vienna Malt For A Dry And Crisp Finish. Never Had An ErntBier? We Got You Fam.”

Post-Boredom Kolsch – “A collaboration between Country Boy and Scout & Scholar, Post-Boredom is our take on a refreshing German-style Kolsch with a heavy-handed dry hop pushing notes of tangerine and strawberry. This is the official beer of putting the past in the rear view and moving on. Tasting Notes: Bread dough, light cereal, slight mineral, strawberry, honeydew, gooseberry, hint of passion fruit.”

Stick and Poke – “Rum Runner Inspired Kettle Sour. Conditioned On Pineapple, Blackberry, Banana, And Key Lime. Then Aged To Perfection In Rum Barrels. Collaboration With Our Friends At Atrium Brewing In Louisville.”

Sage, Scout and Spirit – “This KristallWeizen Was Brewed In Collaboration With Our Great Friends At Log Still Distillery And Against The Grain. Aged In A Monk Road Gin Barrel This Beer Has A Unique Botanical Vibe From Start To Finish.”

I also had their Treading Paper IPA and their Miranda Belgian Dark Strong. Of the six, the Stick and Poke was my winner followed by the Miranda.

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Spirited Brewery # 1 – Fermentery Form

This month I am going to highlight breweries in towns rich in distilled history as well as breweries, we start in Pennsylvania where Rye is king at Fermentery Form.

Slo Mo 2020 – “blended from 2 year old barrels from our Solera, and aged on cherry and blackberry purée. It tastes of bright, lush cherries, with just a touch of blackberry jam, finishing light and refreshing.”

Carménère – “a blend of 5 barrels that refermented on whole Carménère wine grapes for around 3 months. The resulting beer has a beautiful purple color, a lovely barrel aroma, and drinks like a wonderful marriage of the grape and the selected beer.”

Vieux Selection – “culmination of 3 years of careful beer preservation and maturation in oak barrels. We’ve been inspired to do much of what we do, but the tradition of Belgian Lambic. Our favorite being Geuze, the blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old barrel aged beers. While our process differs from traditional Lambic in significant ways, the inspiration still comes through in the bottle. This beer has complex layers of flavor that come from the careful selection of barrels to blend. The aroma is earthy, minerally and spicy, the taste is a balance of tart fruits, woody resinous sweetness, and pithy bitterness. While being one of the most complex beers we have ever made, it’s still easy to drink.”

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Beer Into Spirit

Thumbing through a copy of Whiskey Advocate, I came across the above article about beers being made into whiskey including notable breweries with a distillery like Rogue but also the Craft Brewers Whiskey Project. Which has and will be partnering with different breweries to create unique whiskies. Captain Lawrence, Jack’s Abbey and Spencer Trappist are on the list. Add to your ISO list.

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Flaviar – Test Drive

I have been meaning to do a test subscription to Flaviar. And at the beginning of the month, I hopped onto the lowest price that I had seen. And I received…

An etched bottle of Islay (Scotland) gin that I had eyed for awhile, a magazine with short punchy articles that I thought were good plus QR codes aplenty. Finally, the centerpiece was a container with three rye whiskies.

This variety trio had Copper Fox, Rossville Union and Bender’s included. Very fancy packaging and a healthy sample of each plus note coasters with flavor profiles for you to help guide your tasting.

Bender’s was my winner with nutmeg and cinnamon spicing and Copper Fox my least favorite owing to its being a smoke bomb. Rossville Union was too smokey for my taste but at least had a balance as other flavors like chocolate and vanilla shone a bit as well.

I bought this myself so I am valuing this on my own dime. The packaging and information makes this worth it and the fact thar you can explore through many spirits and sub-styles is great. My suggestion is to by a big bottle of a spirit you need or of something you know you will use and then use the tasters to explore and find that bottle you want to go big on later.