Douglas Lainge Tasting

Lately I have not been blogging as much, mostly because I have been tasting way too much and have not left in the state of mind to blog. But last week I did a tasting with Glenn Albright of ISWUSA, he is the importer of Douglas Lainge. Those of you not familiar with what DL does, they buy barrels of distilled unaged whisky directly from the distillery and they age them in their own barrels. They create a unique and different take on a classic single malt. My favorite from the tasting a 33 year old Macallan. Below is a picture of what I tasted. A hard day at the office.

PB&J Vodka

I typically do not write about the massed produced vodkas. But I have to make a short comment on the new Van Gogh PB&J Vodka. The nose was as if you were smelling a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich with out the bread. I couldn’t believe the taste, it is not overly sweet withthe raspberry jelly, not grape so they lose a point there. But the flavor is truely like a PB&J without it sticking to the roof of your mouth. It is definetly a fun drink chilled down as a shot. We are going to do a promotion in the store with actual PB&J sandwichs.

Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery

I spent some time Jeremy Kidde tasting his products from the distillery at Warwick Valley wine. I have to say, the Warwick Gin was nice and subtle very good for mixing. But to me the star of the tasting were his American Fruits. I know cordials have lost their spot in our culture, but I have to say if you tasted these you would find a way to either put them in your cocktails, or drink them straight.

I tasted the Black Currant, Bartlett Pear, Sour Cherry and Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple. Those who have been reading my blog will know the one I preferred was the Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple Liqueur. I truly appreciated the complexity and layers of flavors I tasted.

The Bartlett Pear Liquer tasted like a Bartlett Pear. They have a pear jack that when I tasted, it was like biting into a pear, you could taste the skin. The liquer was more subtle with less alcohol. A very easy drink, rich and luscious.

The Sour Cherry Cordial had a nose of a cherry pie. The flavor was as if you had sour cherries in your mouth. Again the fruit was in perfect balance that complimented the fermentation process.

His Black Currant Cordial was very nice, but for me it was my least favorite. I don’t care for the black currant flavor, though people who like this flavor will love the cordial.

Overall, I feel they have done a very good job of using all the fruit available to them in the Hudson Valley of New York. They also produce Doc Ciders which are a whole other adventure.

There are definitely a buy.