Review: Maker's Mark Bourbon Whisky

Maker's Mark shouldn't need too much introduction - it's one of the most ubiquitous bourbons out there. You'd be hard pressed not to find its distinctive wax-sealed bottle at even the most modest bars. Despite its ubiquity, Makers isn't mass produced - the distillery prides itself on its handmade production and sour mash fermentation method (that is, starting each new fermentation using a portion of a prior batch). Does this translate to a superior product?

Maker's Mark has a notably rich aroma - a bit of alcohol bite, but with plenty of honey, corn, and maybe even a touch of mint. The flavor is considerably more mellow, with the corn mash being prominent, and notes of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. Despite the smooth flavor, it does have a bit of a burn, probably due to its reasonably hefty 45% abv. The finish is woody and a bit bitter, a drawback to an otherwise very drinkable whisky (yes, no e here, due to the Scottish origin of the distillers).

Maker's Mark is pleasant but fairly unremarkable. It's fine to sip on its own, and good in most bourbon-based cocktails. There are plenty of better bourbons in or around its price range, but it's not a bad choice, particularly if you prefer a mellower flavor.

Price: $25

Value: 16/20
Overall Quality: 15/20

Review: Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur

Ginger, for all of its ubiquity in cooking, doesn't work its way into all too many drinks. But that might change with the introduction of Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur (quite a mouthful, really). This French liqueur has a base of eaux de vie and cognac, and is flavored with several varieties of ginger, and infused with ginseng. It's been garnering rave reviews (e.g. best in show at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits competition), and showing up as a popular ingredient in cocktails. As a fan of ginger, I had to check it out.

Domaine de Canton pours out a clear, very light olive green, apparently a natural color (though I'm not quite sure from where). The nose is powerful fresh ginger, almost like a ginger beer, but with a sweet vanilla base. Ginger is also prominent on the palate, but much less forward. The vanilla flavor is strong, and the cognac gives the liqueur a rich base. Along with the spicy ginger flavor, there's also notes of orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The flavors are nice, but it's rather too sweet to drink neat. It's much better on ice - the water helps cut some of the sweetness, and chilling it makes it less cloying. It's an excellent cocktail ingredient, though - their website gives lots of suggestions, and it's rapidly making its way into featured drinks at bars.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the bottle - it's styled to look like bamboo, and it's really quite striking. Just be careful of the cap - mine came unglued.

If you like ginger, then Domaine de Canton is a great addition to your bar, particularly if you plan to use it in cocktails. And if not, then...well, you probably should have stopped reading a few paragraphs ago.

Price: ~$30

Value: 16/20
Overall Quality: 17/20

Review: Grand Marnier

Ah, the classic Grand Marnier. This French liqueur is made from cognac and bitter orange, and is one of the best known orange liqueurs. It's good both neat and in cocktails, though I would caution against using it as a substitute for triple sec - the cognac base provides a different enough flavor that it can substantially alter a cocktail, and not always for the better. For simplicity's sake, I'll be reviewing this one neat.

Grand Marnier pours out a deep, clear orange-amber. The aroma is strongly orangey, but balanced with vanilla and brandy. A sharp note of orange and alcohol first hits the palate - this sharpness soon becomes muted, and balanced with sugar sweetness; honey and vanilla then factor in, and the rich cognac base becomes quite noticeable. The finish is distinctly oaky, and the orange flavor remains prominent throughout. The mouthfeel is thick, but pleasant.

In all, Grand Marnier is a high-quality liqueur, and makes for a nice after-dinner drink. Its sweetness is a bit much neat, but sometimes it hits the spot. And it's a fairly versatile mixer, though not quite as much as more conventional orange liqueurs like Cointreau. Its ubiquity is for good reason.

Price: ~$35

Value: 16/20
Overall Quality: 17/20

Review: Don Julio Anejo Tequila

I'm back after a bit of a hiatus (lousy real-life obligations that don't involve drinking!), and today I'll be reviewing Don Julio's anejo tequila. Anejo refers to the age of the tequila - 100% agave tequilas (and why would you want to drink anything else?) are classified as blanco, resposado, anejo, or extra anejo, in order of increasing age. This particular anejo has been aged for 18 months in oak barrels, which gives it a nicely mellow yet flavorful character.

The tequila pours out a light straw color. It's a little bit light for an anejo, but this is probably a testament to the lack of any added caramel color to make it look like it was aged for longer. Oak and agave are dominant in the aroma, but lime works its way in there too. These are also present on the palate, but the flavor is substantially more complex than the aroma. Vanilla, grapefruit, and nougat all come to mind, with sweetness balancing out the sharp flavors from the agave. Salt and a bit of woody bitterness show up in the finish, the latter of which mars the flavor slightly.

In all, though, this is an excellent sipping tequila, and it also works very well in the couple of cocktails that I've tried it in - check out the Tequila Manhattan at Oh Gosh. Like most premium tequilas, it's expensive, but (in my admittedly somewhat limited experience in the tequila world) I haven't come across a better one.

Price: ~$55

Value: 16/20
Overall Quality: 17/20

Review: Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon (2000)

I must admit that Evan Williams is inextricably linked in my mind with cheap booze, given their ubiquitous black label bourbon, which can often be found for under $10 a bottle. (The black label, by the way, is an excellent value - a respectable entry-level bourbon at a rock bottom price, though not something that I'd be too inclined to drink on its own merits. But maybe that's a story for another day.) However, Evan Williams also makes a range of other products, some of which are on the fancier end of the spectrum. One of these is their single barrel vintage bourbon series: as the name suggests, it's bourbon taken directly from barrels of a given vintage, without blending with other barrels. The 2000 vintage is the latest to hit the shelves, and it's gotten rave reviews from whisky expert John Hansell, and the always excellent Drinkhacker. Given that, I just had to give it a shot.

The whiskey is a nice amber color, and comes in a simple but attractive glass bottle, with a wax seal, and hand-numbering on the back, indicating the barrel number (mine's #34), barreling date, and bottling date. The aroma is interesting - very sweet corn and honey scents contrast with spiciness and charcoal. Very complex, but it doesn't quite all work together. The flavor is also rather complex. It starts out like a fairly by-the-books bourbon, though citrus-heavy and very spicy. A bit of charcoal flavor then comes into play (puzzling, given that it's not charcoal-filtered), and then honey and vanilla. The finish is the weakest part - it leaves an odd medicinal taste and astringent mouthfeel, certainly not pleasant. I also found it to be a bit watery on the palate. Adding a touch of water brings some of the sweetness and citrus flavors to life, but dulls many of the other flavors.

It's a decent bourbon all in all, and quite fairly priced, but I'm not too impressed, especially after setting my expectations so high. It's quite possible that there's a lot of barrel-to-barrel variability, given its nature as a single-barrel whiskey. Not to be too cynical, but it's also quite possible that the real reviewers got sent samples from the best barrels!

If you're a bourbon enthusiast, then this isn't a bad one to pick up, but temper your expectations (or hope for a good barrel!).

Price: ~$26

Value: 16/20
Overall Quality: 15/20