A Muddled Thought

Our final spirit in this look at all unique things worth imbibing in is PF 1901. Provided to us by absinthe master distiller, Ted Breaux. A pet project of Ted’s for years when he worked in the Combier Distillery is as close as you’ll find to a replication of the original pre-ban Pernod Fils recipe. Using some of the remaining alambic stills that survived a fire that nearly destroyed the original Pernod Fils distillery, as well as the highest quality herbs and original notes he found referencing the classic formula, Ted has created a work of art in the form of Absinthe. The name, PF 1901 makes reference of the year of the fire that nearly wiped out the original Pernod Fils distillery. Had it not been for this, the distillery wouldn’t have felt the need to upgrade the distilling equipment upon reopening the distillery post-fire and thus the original equipment wouldn’t have found its way to the Combier Distillery and Ted Breaux.

Along with the bottle that Ted provided to us for tasting purposes, came a note advising that the sample would be sweeter than most absinthes. Ted stated sweetness of the sample was due to having sat after being bottled for about five years, and any properly created (distilled with the correct herbs) would develop the same characteristics with several years of aging.

PF 1901 comes in fairly strong at 144 proof and hits the palate with hints of vanilla, incredibly sweet almost candy-like anise, and minor touches of fennel that are followed up by touches of cinnamon.

Upon opening the PF 1901 with some water, it began to smooth out slightly and floral notes began to show themselves allowing each sip to create a new and eye opening experience.

PF 1901, is what every absinthe should strive to be. It sets the bar as high as one could possibly ever ask for when tasting an absinthe. If some how the competition manages some day to surpass it, well then kudos. Sadly PF 1901 is not currently within the United States and at this time can only be purchased in Europe.

Tasting spirits can sometimes be compared to that same feeling of opening your final gift Christmas morning as a child. You really want to see what’s in the box, but you know this is it for a while. I received this bottle of Boulard 1985 Calvados as a gift from a good friend. It’s been sitting on my tasting shelf (Don’t give me that look. Doesn’t everyone have one of those?) for the past few months. The more and more I looked at it, the more and more I wanted to open it. What stopped me well, when I first received it , my friend mentioned that there were only about one hundred and forty bottles in the United States and only about a hundred or so more floating around the rest of the world. As a product that’s been aged for twenty-five years, I was really looking forward to trying it, but I also didn’t really want to open it and would have preferred to save it for a special occasion. Funny enough, this one bottle gave birth to this entire article on unique and rare spirits.

After further investigation, I’ve discovered the following on this particular bottling of Boulard Calvados-

It’s been aged in French Limousin casks. It’s also comprised of over 120 varieties of apples.
It has a nose of elegant aromas that conjure what might be the end result of a barrel of fine bourbon and a barrel of apples had a kindred love affair.

So what exactly does a twenty five year old calvados taste like?

Starts off with the taste of sweet vanilla followed up by, sweet baked peaches, the expected notes of baked apples, though the taste of and unexpectedly the feel of crisp and crunchy apples hit the palate. Occasional hints of nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and oak would show themselves. Finishing off this liquid embodiment of fall flavors, were nuances of pistachio and sweet maple syrup.

With each sip of Boulard 1985, the mind constantly would begin to conjure images of the fall apple harvest, and crisp leaves crunching underneath foot.
Boulard 1985 embodies the perfect the spirit that should be sipped during fall or next to a fireplace at winter.

For further information on availability, please contact Palm Bay International.

While we’ve written about Partida Elegante before in both an overview of Partida’s Product line as well as inclusion in our Father’s Day Gift Guide, we felt leaving it out of an article on unique spirits, just wouldn’t be fair.

Partida Elegante is quite simply one of the most impressive tequila’s you’ll find yourself coming across. Partida Elegante starts with 100% blue agave that’s harvested from Partida’s own private fields. This agave is then baked in stainless steel ovens to release the sugars that after fermenting for a period of 36-40 hours transform(by process of fermentation) into the spirit known as tequila. This unaged tequila is placed in American Oak Barrels that were previously used to age Jack Daniels whiskey. The tequila sits in these barrels for a period ranging from 36-40 months. When the distiller deems it ready, thus is born Partida Elegante, Extra Anejo. With a limit of about 1200 bottles, this is one of those spirits that is truly one of a kind and worth tracking down for a sip or two.

Partida Elegante is a truly phenomenal spirit that seduces the palate from the start with aromas of sweet pristine agave so mesmerizing that they instantly conjure images of the sun setting in Mexico over the fields of Jalisco.

Upon further inspection bouquets of cocoa, caramel and espresso overwhelm the brain.
Taking that first sip is an experience in itself. Those aromas of agave that poured out earlier , now engulf the palate, as does a caramel that reminds one of candied apples, and specks of dried cherries, that’s followed up by cocoa that is ever so slightly caressed by cinnamon. Flavors of sweet vanilla ice cream, and burnt orange decided to show themselves towards my last few sips.

With a spirit, much less a tequila this well crafted, you find yourself picking new flavors and nuances with each sip.

A tequila that’s $350 a bottle is not something that is common, even in these days of high-end and handcrafted spirits. Partida Elegante is thagift you give to spirit enthusiast or bartender who just got married, the bottle you open when celebrating a major life changing event or something you share on a weekend with your closest friends. If you can find one of the 1220 bottles available throughout the world, and you have the opportunity to purchase this incredible spirit, do so. Save it for a special occasion, and when that day comes, know you have a spirit worth of such an occasion.

Partida Elegante Extra Añejo

We now come to look at two products from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Known for their namesake product, Buffalo Trace Bourbon is also part of the same family of distilleries that puts out Sazerac Rye, the line of Van Winkle bourbons and ryes, and the incredibly well rated George T. Stagg bourbon.

While the standard Buffalo Trace bourbon is known for its impressive taste and its equally impressive price tag of around twenty dollars, up until only few years ago the distillery only offered one version of Buffalo Trace. In 2006, they announced they would begin to release several limited editions of Buffalo Trace known as the Experimental Collection. With each release they’ve chosen to age Buffalo Trace in a variety of different casks. Ranging from French oak casks to a cask that was dried via fire, to a series of bourbons that are “twice barreled”.

This year they released two different vintages that were “twice barreled”. Buffalo Trace’s process of “twice barreling” a bourbon allows the distillery to first age its bourbon in standard American oak barrels and then after a period of eight years and eight months place this spirit in new unused American oak barrels for the aging process to complete.

With two separate bottlings released this year, one from 1997 and one from 1993, and with a limited count of four hundred bottles per release, these two releases were an offering that we had to include in our look at unique spirits.

1993 Experimental:

Aromas of sweet caramel are the first thing that catch your attention as you open the bottle of Buffalo Trace 1993 Experimental. On that first sip the Buffalo Trace 1993 Experimental opens up heavy notes of oak, hints of cinnamon, that are followed up by undertones of tobacco .

1997 Experimental:
As the 1993 experimental did, the 1997 experimental starts with notes of heavy oak. This time followed up by hints of raisins, and espresso. With some water to cut the initial harshness this spirit begins to mellow slightly and reveal a spirit filled with notes of deep caramel, winter spices and ginger. The spirit finishes with a hint of burnt oranges at which time those notes of heavy oak show themselves once again.

Experiments are always an interesting thing. Since you’re trying something for the first time, you could end up with an end result that’s for the better or for the worse. Until the experiment is complete you’ll never know.

With Buffalo Traces two releases this year of double-barrelings, they’ve definitely created a unique end result. Are the heavy oak notes going to be to the liking of everyone’s palate? Absolutely not. Do I respect and appreciate this experiment in its entirety and look forward to what the next experiment holds? Without a doubt the answer to that question is an emphatic yes.

If you’re interested in trying a different take that applies different aging techniques to the traditional Buffalo Trace, these offerings are something that you should seek out.

A single glass standing alone, the remnants of what was once a great spirit still lingering around the edges of the glass. This glass at one time held a small taste of one of, if not the most magnificent spirit I’ve yet to try, The Dalmore 62 year old bottling. A spirit that’s as magnificent in taste as the history is interesting behind the spirit.

A spirit born in sherry wood casks in August 1880, it has seen its share of movement throughout the decades. After 10 years sitting in its barrel, it was moved to another sherry cask in 1890. The spirit sat here until being relocated to the “Dalmore “4th cask” in 1926. Thirteen years later the spirit was shifted yet again to another barreling circa 1939.

From this point it sat aging elegantly in a barrel, until 1989 when it was relocated to Quarter Cask. In 1999, this particular cask was discovered to be of poor quality and in the year 2000 it was moved move to another cask .

A year later when it turned 62 years of age, it was moved to its final resting place, one final barrel before being bottled.

With only eleven bottles in existence, Dalmore 62 is an extremely rare spirit. One bottle was held onto by the Dalmore distillery, while the other remaining ten bottles were sold to private collectors.

Last year I was given the opportunity to sample this spirit at a special tasting event held by Dalmore at which Richard Paterson, Dalmore’s Master Distiller and a small taste of this incredibly rare spirit was available.

Seeing this as a once in a lifetime opportunity under specific instructions that Richard gave me, I tasted this spirit. My palate was initially greeted with sweet succulent notes of vanilla, before being whisked away and replaced with notes of silky chocolate and playful orange, along with mellow and soft notes of spice.

The Dalmore 62 year ends with a smile, and a glint of luminous joy in the eye .

Courtesy of the good people of Orkney (Highland Park) Distilleries we bring you Highland Park 40 Year Old. Aged in a variety of sherry pre-filled casks for a period of forty years, Highland has had this release planned from the first day this whisky had started aging. Forty years later and that first dram leads into a fantastical journey to perfect whiskey bliss.

Highland Park 40 starts off by slowly caressing your palate with flavors of elegant cocoa perfectly balanced with characters of candied oranges, and hazelnut. These magnificent flavors are just the first step, as touches of vanilla and cinnamon bark slowly make their move on you, ever so gentle drawing you deep into this trip to the pearly white gates. Just as this is occurring, light touches of smoke and maraschino cherries grab you and fill you with simple bliss.

Highland Park 40 completes the seduction of your palate with a triumphant finish containing specks of sea salt, cocoa and smoke almost as if a great candy maker helped craft the spirit.

If I could give a score higher than 10 in our current ratings system, this would be the spirit that surpassed this point.

Highland Park 40 Year old retails for around $2000 and has limited availability in the range of about 55 bottles in the United States.

Our next unique spirit has spent the last twenty-five years in barrels in Japan before hitting the shores of the United States. In October, 2009 Suntory Distillery brought its 1984 bottling of its Yamazaki Whisky to the United States. Limited to only three hundred bottles, the origins of this whisky can be traced back to the Suntory’s first experiments with aging in Japanese mizunara oak casks.

During the 1940’s as American oak casks became hard to come by, Suntory began experimenting with Japanese mizunara oak. Though initial downsides to this approach were barrels that leaked and contained overbearing aromas, it was soon discovered that after an extended period of aging in these barrels, the whiskey became imparted with unique sweet flavors and aromas.

Flash forwarding to the year 1984, Suntory using a combination of whisky aged in these Japanese mizunara casks, as well as American and Spanish oak casks began the process of creating Yamazaki 1984.

Twenty five years later, and the product is deemed ready to be bottled and distributed.

The end result of this project is an elegant yet robust whisky that leads in with a nose akin to something that was aged in sherry casks.

A remarkable spirit that caresses the palate with nuances of sea salt before opening up and revealing beautiful flavors of hazelnut cream, cocoa, the occasional hint of mint, and burnt oranges.

Yamazaki 1984 completes the love affair with your palate with a sweet smoky finish.

Yamazaki 1984 retails for approximately $575 and is available for purchase at Astor Wines and Spirits.

While each and every spirit is unique in it’s own right whether it’s due to the barrel types a whiskey uses, to the botanicals a fancy new gin incorporates to the type of crop a particular vodka might use, some spirits stand out more than others for a variety of reasons.

Over the next few days we’ll be taking a look at some spirits that have an additional dash or two of uniqueness to them. Whether it’s an rare twenty five year old calvados, a pet project of a master distiller or very well known whiskey that’s been bottled before it had a chance to pick up some color during from barrel aging process.

We’ve selected each of the following spirits based on their uniqueness or rarity.

First up, something that came to us direct from Kentucky a bottle of Makers Mark whisky.

Right about now you’re probably wondering why in an article on unique spirits I’d mention Makers Mark, something you can find at any corner bar.

Well folks, there’s a little secret variant of Makers Mark that you’re able to taste during a distillery tour as well as at the occasional Makers Mark public tasting.

It’s called Makers Mark “White Dog”, and it’s the whiskey prior to touching a barrel. It’s a clear, elegant example of what the before picture can look like prior to when a spirit is placed into the barrel for the aging process.

So what does this un-aged spirit taste like?

Surprisingly quite smooth almost to the point of having a silky like quality when it’s moved around the inside of one’s mouth.

Unlike the aged Makers Mark, which has nuances of vanilla and caramel from the years the spirit spends aging in a barrel, Makers Mark White Dog has notes of sweet corn, mild spices such as ginger, allspice and the occasional dried cherries.

For more information about Makers Mark and where you might be able to taste Makers Mark White Dog please contact Makers Mark Here