Review: New Amsterdam Pink Whitney Vodka
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ew Amsterdam Pink Whitney Vodka will be released in September. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle a little early. New Amsterdam Vodka has teamed with Barstool Sports to launch Pink Whitney Vodka. The pink lemonade flavored vodka was inspired by an original drink creation from Ryan Whitney, former NHL player and host of the Barstool Sports Podcast, “Spittin Chiclets”. New Amsterdam is the Official Vodka of the National Hockey League. The New Amsterdam brand was launched in 2011, and by 2017 sales had grown to 5.2 million cases annually and it was the third best selling vodka brand in the US. Pink Whitney starts with the Original New Amsterdam Vodka base made from the finest grains, distilled five times, and filtered three times. Lemonade flavors and certified colors are blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more 
Review: Mr. Toms Spirits Coconut Rum
Mr. Toms Spirits Coconut Rum is made in Fort Myers Florida at the List Distillery. The distillery was opened by the wife and husband team of Renate and Thomas List in 2015. Renate and Thomas are originally from Austria. Renate is a decedent of the Jagermeister family. The distillery crafts 6 rums including a White, Dark, Spiced, Key Lime Pie, and Apple Pie flavor, and 3 vodka’s including a Sugar Free, Orange, and Grapefruit flavored vodka. They also produce a couple of gins, whiskeys, bourbons and liqueurs. All Mr. Toms Spirits are mashed, cooked, mixed, distilled, and bottled onsite. Their Coconut Rum starts with their White rum base that is distilled from brown sugar. It is distilled in small 260 gallon batches. The sugar is purchased from local farms. The white rum base is infused with fresh coconut flake and coconut water and is bottled onsite at 42 proof. Read more
Review: Re:Find Vodka
Re:Find Vodka was launched March 2012 along with Re:Find Gin. The Re:Find Distillery currently also produces Cucumber Flavored Vodka, Barrel Aged Vodka, Limoncello, Kumquat Liqueur, Rye Whiskey, and Bourbon. The husband and wife team of Alex and Monica Villicana actually started making wine in 1993. By 1999 the 13 acre vineyard they personally planted in Paso Robles had matured enough to produce their own wine grapes marking their transition to an Estate Winery. The Re: Find Distillery was derived from the Villicana’s desire to be more sustainable in their winery. Winemakers bleed a percentage of free-run juice from red grapes before fermentation to concentrate and enhance the color, tannin, and quality of their red wine. This bleed is called saignee. Some winemakers use this saignee to produce Rose wine, others just discard it. Re:Find reclaims their own and in total approximately 60 acres of premium Paso Robles wine grapes each year through their distillery. Syrah, Mourvedre, and Grenache grapes from their own winery and other varieties including Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from their neighbors wineries provide the saignee base. The varietal doesn’t play a role in the flavor of the spirit. What really matters is that the wine grapes are ripe because it is the glycerol that creates the luxurious texture. The fermented saignee is triple distilled in a 250 gallon custom Carl Hybrid Column/Pot Still. Re:Find is bottled unfiltered onsite at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Bounty Coconut Rum
Bounty Coconut Rum is now available in the US. It is produced by St Lucia Distillers. The distillery is located at the Roseau Sugar Factory in the Roseau Valley on the Islands largest banana plantation. Bounty Coconut is made from the Bounty White Rum base. The white rum base is a blend of double column distilled rums from Guyanese molasses. The rum is aged in ex-bourbon casks for 2 years. The wood colors are filtered after blending. Coconut extracts and sugars are macerated with the rum. The rum is brought down to 50 proof with pure distilled water and sugar. Read more
Review: Bird Dog Black Cherry Whiskey
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ird Dog Black Cherry Whiskey was introduced May 2019. It is one of 13 varieties of flavored whiskey in the Bird Dog product line. The others include Spiced, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Maple, Strawberry, Blackberry, Peach, Chocolate, Apple, Praline, Jalapeno Honey, Hot Cinnamon, and Kentucky Blended Whiskey. Western Spirits Beverage Company also produces Lexington and Calumet Bourbon. BD Black Cherry starts with a Kentucky bourbon base made from corn, wheat, and rye. The spirit is aged in white oak barrels. Natural cherry flavors are blended before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Whistling Andy Hibiscus Coconut Rum
Whistling Andy Hibiscus Coconut Rum is crafted in Bigfork Montana. It was one of the spirits that was released when the distillery opened New Years Eve 2010. Whistling Andy is named after the father of Head Distiller and Owner Brian Anderson. Currently the distillery also produces whiskey, gin, and vodka. WA Hibiscus Coconut starts with their white rum base made from high quality blackstrap molasses and first cut cane sugar sourced from a small farm in Brazil. The spirit is fermented with Lalvin V1116 (K1) yeast and distilled in a custom made Vendome Pot Still made in Louisville Kentucky. Dried Hibiscus flowers sourced from Egypt and Coconut are steeped directly into the rum base. No artificial colors or flavors are added before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Door County Distillery Cherry Vodka
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oor County Distillery Cherry Vodka is made in Carlsville Wisconsin. The distillery opened in 2011 as an off-shoot of Door Peninsula Winery. Bob and Noreen Pollman purchased the winery in 1986 and have since grown the winery to become the second largest winery in Wisconsin. The distillery also makes several brandy’s, gin, whiskey, and four vodka’s. DCD Cherry starts with a vodka base made from 97% grain and 3% grape. It is distilled with fresh fruit and local botanicals in a copper column still that’s specifically designed to lightly heat and capture cherry aromatics. Pure limestone infused waters from Door Peninsula are blended to reduce to proof. Read more
Review: Monkey in Paradise Vodka
Monkey in Paradise Vodka was launched in early 2016 by Alex Kowtun, Frank Gomez, and Seth Goldberg. The MIP name and bottle graphic design peaked my interest. After reading about their production methods, and seeing the many awards they have already won, including a Double Gold Medal from The San Francisco World Spirits Competition, I was psyched to try it. MIP is made from the highest grade American corn and is distilled seven times in copper stills, and seven times carbon filtered. The water is demineralized with a proprietary five ppm reverse osmosis system. This extreme level of purification takes 11 gallons of water to produce 1 “Paradise Pure” gallon for the distillation process. The charcoal filtration takes place at four different proof levels allowing the alcohol and water to rest together between proof levels. Read more
Review: Seacrets Coconut Rum
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eacrets Coconut Rum is made in Ocean City Maryland. Owner and Founder Leighton Moore opened the distillery June 29, 2016. Leighton grew up in the Hospitality industry. At 15 he was responsible for the day to day operations of the family business at the Gateway Motel in Ocean City. Inspired by his many trips to Jamaica Moore opened Seacrets Bar and Restaurant June 29, 1988. Seacrets has since grown, becoming one of the largest entertainment resorts in the US featuring 18 bars, 7 performance areas, a casual dining restaurant, a boutique, a radio station, and Seacrets Distillery. The 12,000 Square foot distillery currently produces whiskey, gin, five vodka varieties, and four rums. Seacrets Coconut Rum starts with their white rum base made from a blend of two high grade molasses, and fermented with American yeast. The rum is double distilled. All natural coconut flavor is blended before bottling at 60 proof. Read more
Review: Wild Roots Dark Sweet Cherry Vodka
Wild Roots Dark Sweet Cherry Vodka was introduced in 2016. It is one of eight real fruit infused vodka’s crafted in Sisters Oregon with over one pound of real fruit per bottle. The other flavors include raspberry, marionberry, huckleberry, peach, pear, apple and cinnamon, and cranberry. Wild Roots also produces two gins, and an unflavored vodka. Wild Roots Dark Sweet Cherry is distilled six times from corn and filtered 100 times through a lava rock filtration system. Pure Cascade Mountain spring water is blended with the spirit to reduce to proof. Over one pound of dark sweet cherries are infused. No added flavors, sugar, or color are added before bottling at 70 proof. Read more