It's a Big Boozy Round-Up! Reviews of New Gin, Rum, Mezcal, Pisco & Lots of Whiskey

Hopefully this little grab-bag may pique your interest in mezcal when you really checked in to read about the new Jack Daniel's expression.
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There's nothing wrong with writing about one type of spirit -- heaven knows I do enough stuff like "9 Starfruit Brandies You Need To Try Now" or "7 Bourbons That Cost More Than $22 And Less Than $36 For All Your St. Swithin's Day Entertaining Needs." It focuses the reader's attention; it attracts fans of that particular spirit. But I really love writing this kind of blather as well, reviews of spirits that have nothing in common except for the fact that they've crossed my desk, or I've encountered them in bars, or heard about them from friends, over the last few months.

In my latest random booze round-up you'll find rum and pisco and gin, grain whisky and Canadian whisky and Tennessee sipping whiskey, and more besides. After all, life's too short to drink just one type of booze, so why read about only one kind at a time? Hopefully this little grab-bag may pique your interest in mezcal when you really checked in to read about the new Jack Daniel's expression. Or you'll come for the gin review and stay for the rum review. Whatever. It all gets you drunk and, with one exception, it all tastes good going down. Enjoy. And cheers.

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BACARDI GRAN RESERVA MAESTRO DE RON RUM (40% ABV, no age statement, $25). Bacardi has a weird image problem. To rum aficionados, it's the maker of some of the most historic, iconic and delicious rums on the market, and has been for more than 150 years. For laymen, however, it's that $10-a-bottle crap you buy when you're mixing up a bunch of daiquiris and mojitos for a party. The funny thing is, both perceptions are correct. Recently Bacardi has tried to bring more game to the upscale rum market, first with its fantastic Facundo line of aged rums, and now with its latest contender in the white rum category. I haven't heard too much about how it's made, apart from it being "double-aged in white oak." But if it's the same stuff that was released at travel retail last year (same name but different bottle), it's aged for up to three years in oak before being filtered through coconut shell charcoal. Pretty fancy, right? It tastes pretty fancy, too. It's light and crisp and clean, but it's not vodka once-removed; there are distinct notes of cantaloupe, coconut and vanilla. It makes a tremendous daiquiri, but it's also nice with tonic or even sipping neat. It costs about twice as much as Bacardi's flagship Ron Superior, and to my taste buds it's worth the extra loot.

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BLOOD OATH PACT NO. 1 BOURBON (49.3% ABV, no age statement, $90). I try to avoid writing negative reviews. Not that I want to be Mr. Sunshine or anything, but I don't want to spend any more of my time than necessary with booze I don't like. But once in a while I come across a well-intentioned misfire that gnaws at me until I have no choice but to vent about it in print. Such is the case with Blood Oath.

Blood Oath is the creation of John Rempe, a spirits biz exec who sourced three different unnamed bourbons -- a spicy high-rye number, a sweet wheated job and an oaky aged high-rye bourbon -- and blended them together. The "Blood Oath" part comes from his declaration that he would never ever in a million billion years tell anyone where the sourced bourbons were from. Then he appealed to the collector/hoarder crowd and said this blend would be available for one year and one year only. He slapped a cute label and a hefty price tag on it, and sent it out into the big bad world.

I tried it at the launch party, and I was shocked at how one-dimensional and overly sweet the finished product tasted. You hear about the caramel notes you get in a good bourbon? This actually tasted like a piece of caramel. Despite the invited attendees' best efforts to be polite, I didn't encounter anyone who had an unambiguously good thing to say about Blood Oath. And we were all horrified at the $90 price tag. The silver lining of this particular cloud is the launch party included the entire portfolio of LuxCo, the company that makes Blood Oath. It's there that I fell in love with their Rebel Reserve Small Batch (an offshoot of Rebel Yell), a hefty wheated bourbon that's a steal at $21. Go for that instead.

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LA CARAVEDO PISCO PURO QUEBRANTA (40% ABV, not aged, $25). If you're like most Americans, when you hear "pisco," the next thing you think is "sour." Apart from that legitimately renowned cocktail, however, pisco is not a well-known spirit. A super-quick primer -- pisco is an un-aged grape-based spirit from Peru, like a more refined grappa, which has strict rules and regulations about where it can be made, similar to cognac. There are eight grape varietals from which pisco can be distilled; La Caravedo is called a "pisco puro" because it's made from only one varietal, in this case the Quebranta grape. Got all that? Well, all you need to know is that La Caravedo is the smoothest, most velvety pisco I've had the pleasure to try -- and "smooth" and "velvety" aren't words I normally use when tasting pisco. Go right ahead and stick it in a sour, but sipping it neat or on the rocks.... now that's what I call living.

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COMPASS BOX HEDONISM QUINDECIMUS BLENDED GRAIN WHISKY (46% ABV, aged 20-32 years, $175). Grain whisky is one of the hot boozy trends of the last year or two, but it was 15 years ago that Compass Box blew minds with its very first release, Hedonism. Grain whisky is distilled to a higher proof than malt whisky, using more industrial methods, which generally makes it lighter, somewhat less distinctive, and definitely less sexy than a single malt. But Hedonism proved that the best grain whiskies have a character and flavor all their own, and it's still the only really significant blended grain whisky to date. To celebrate the milestone anniversary, Compass Box is launching this limited edition magnum grain opus, a blend of five whiskies, all aged from 20-32 years. It's quite light compared to malt whisky, but very lively and flavorful, with oodles of vanilla, a little clove, scads of fruit like apricot and pineapple, drizzled with just a bit of milk chocolate. There's a little spice on the back of the tongue, and a warm, smooth finish as it finishes its ride. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be.

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CROWN ROYAL NORTHERN HARVEST RYE (45% ABV, no age statement, $30). There's rye whiskey and there's Canadian rye whiskey (or whisky, actually). American rye is big and full and spicy, while Canadian rye has traditionally been smooth and bland and, well, kind of wimpy. Which is funny, considering a lot of American rye is in fact distilled in Canada. So what gives? Most Canadian ryes are mostly grain whisky, which is distilled to a high proof and makes Canadian ryes either more drinkable or yawn-inducing, depending on your point of view. Fortunately, a lot of Canadian distillers are now trying to make more potent potables, and Crown Royal is no exception. I've always loved their squat, decanter-type bottles and the felt bags in which they're housed, but the whisky itself has long left me cold. Recently, however, they've been expanding the brand, and the latest expression is one of my favorite new spirits of the year so far. Made with a mashbill of 90% rye, it's smooth like the best Canadian whiskies, but flavorful the way rye ought to be. Lots of sweet butterscotch and vanilla gives way to big peppery spice and a hint of dry oak. It's ridiculously easy to drink but complex enough to stay interesting with each sip. Even if you're an American whiskey snob, you should give Northern Harvest Rye a shot.

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JACK DANIEL'S SINGLE BARREL BARREL PROOF TENNESSEE WHISKEY (62.5-70% ABV, no age statement, $65). I have a love-hate relationship with Jack Daniel's. I grew up drinking their classic "Old No. 7," but whether they changed something in the production (apart from lowering the proof from 90 to 86 to 80) or my tastes grew more fancy-shmancy, I just find it astringent and thin nowadays. Which is not to say they can't still make good booze; their Single Barrel Select is big and chewy and yummy, and Jack's Sinatra Select is one of my favorite American whiskeys. But I approach each new brand extension hoping for the best and expecting the worst. So it's pretty cool that they're letting it all hang out with their latest creation -- straight from the barrel to you, without watering-down, added flavorings, or any other funny business. Depending on where the barrel rested in the warehouse, the proof will range from 125-140; my sample is 133.7 proof (66.85% ABV). It shows that, unadulterated, Jack is a really good whiskey, full of caramel and baking spices and toffee, coating the tongue like liquid velvet. It's got a big alcoholic punch, especially on the finish, but I found a few drops of water actually makes it hotter. Anyway, it's smooth enough to not really need water. I don't know if I'd buy this over Booker's, my favorite barrel proof whiskey, but it does the brand proud. A fine job.

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MEZCAL AMARAS CUPREATA (43% ABV, not aged, $60). I'm still getting my sea legs with the whole mezcal category, but I know enough to tell you these three factoids:

1. The most common type of agave used to make it is espadin.
2. The agave used to make this mezcal, cupreata, is one of the least commonly used varieties.
3. The difference is noticeable.

Cupreata agave is said to have an intensely vegetal flavor, and boy, whoever said that wasn't lying. Amaras Cupreata tastes like peppers roasted on coals, with tons of vegetal sweetness, big ashy notes bringing up the rear, and a healthy sprinkling of peppery spice. Like most mezcals, it's not for everyone, but if you can appreciate, say, a peated Scotch whisky, you'll love this.

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UNGAVA CANADIAN PREMIUM GIN (43.1% ABV, not aged, $33). Making a gin that looks more like a urine sample is an... interesting choice. But the yellow color that distinguishes this Canadian-made gin apparently comes from the Northern-sourced botanicals, among them Labrador tea, wild rose hips and crowberry. Not ingredients you'll find in your standard London Dry, to be sure, but it tastes more or less like a "regular" gin. A little on the sweet side, perhaps, but it's still juniper-forward, meaning it tastes like gin is supposed to. It passes my two primary requirements for gin -- it tastes good in a martini and a gin & tonic. Still not sure how I feel about the yellow color, but if you're drinking for taste and not for looks, Ungava is a good one.

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WHISTLEPIG OLD WORLD RYE WHISKEY (45% ABV, aged 12 years, $118). WhistlePig Rye made its debut five years ago, which, given the pace of the spirits biz nowadays, seems like about 143 years ago. Launched by the legendary distiller Dave Pickerell, it's a big, bold, massively flavorful rye -- and in 2010 it sent the message that, after decades in obscurity, the classic American whiskey was back and better than ever. Lots of folks are making big ryes nowadays, but WhistlePig is staying interesting with its latest brand extension, a 12 year old beauty finished in casks that have previously held Sauternes (a French dessert wine), Madeira and port. The dry, spicy notes of the rye combined with the sweet, fruity notes of the various wines (interestingly, I taste the port the most even though only 7% of the blend was aged in ex-port pipes) is a taste sensation. Chocolate and peanut butter ain't got nothin' on this combo.

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WILD TURKEY MASTER'S KEEP BOURBON (43.4% ABV, aged 17 years, $150). I love a whiskey with a good story, don't you? And the latest from father-and-son distilling duo Jimmy and Eddie Russell has a hell of a story. It's the first new whiskey released since Eddie Russell was appointed Master Distiller in his own right. It's the oldest Wild Turkey expression ever released in the U.S. And the journey from still to bottle is a circuitous one. They'd run out of room at the Wild Turkey warehouses, so they had to park some barrels elsewhere while they built a new one. Along the way, the barrels that make up Master's Keep were exposed to different temperatures at different spots in different warehouses made of different materials, all of which affects the flavor of the finished product. Eddie kept a close eye on the barrels, tasting them every six months to see how they were developing, and the result is this oddball, bottled at a surprisingly low barrel proof; under certain conditions a whiskey's alcohol content can go down rather than up while it ages.

To get to the point, it's a damned fine bourbon. It's quite dry and spicy, as befits its 17 years in oak, with rich burnt caramel notes and light undertones of cherries and vanilla. It's not much like other Wild Turkey bourbons I've tried, but I guess that's kind of the point, isn't it?

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