Dry Fly Washington Gin

Now here's a liquor that's actually distilled in Washington State. Not only that, but Dry Fly was one of the primary instigators to changing the distillery laws in Washington in 2008, helping launch a tidal wave of new liquors. Well, it's not quite a tidal wave yet, but there are dozens of distilleries in line to get the new craft distillery licenses, so we should be seeing many more products in the next few years. Most of the new ventures so far have focused on fairly traditional liquors such as gin, vodka, whiskey, with a few outliers making grappa and absinthe. The craft distillery license is inexpensive and allows distilleries to have tastings and sell their product from their tasting rooms, though it does require that any spirit have 51% of its ingredients come from Washington. 

So how does this pioneering alcohol taste? Certainly different than most traditional gins. While Dry Fly uses juniper, there are also dried Washington apples, mint and hops added to the mix. The juniper is primarily evident in the nose and then fades into a complementary flavor when tasting. There are also notes of coriander and other spices, making for a complex and interesting gin. It is quite good for sipping, and would probably make an excellent dry martini as well as other gin-based cocktails. Here's a classic martini recipe adapted from The Martini Book.

Martini

6 parts gin

1 part dry vermouth

Olive or pickled asparagus as garnish

Dry Fly is found everywhere in Washington, even in the tiny town of Tekoa with its 800 inhabitants amid the wheat fields of eastern Washington.

Chambord Flavored Vodka - drink pink

Consider this spirit a ready made Chambord vodka martini. Chambord has combined their venerable black raspberry liqueur with a French vodka, their first venture into developing new spirits. Is this a marketing ploy to prop up sagging sales? Yup. Is this product aimed at getting more women drinkers? How could it not be with the marketing slogan "Pink your Drink?" Couldn't you make this at home by simply combining Chambord with your favorite vodka? Probably.

But with all of that, I have to say that this product is quite good. Chambord has achieved an excellent balance of vodka and Chambord, so that you taste the smoothness of the vodka while also getting some delicate flavors of black raspberry, vanilla and even cotton candy. It's quite light, yet flavorful. The bottle comes with some really basic cocktail recipe ideas whose main intent seems to be to dilute the flavor as much as possible (e.g. simply mix it with lots of club soda or ginger ale). Ignore the recipes because  want you really want to do is put this bottle in the freezer and pull it out for an instant Chambord vodka martini. Great on a hot day or on a day when you wish it would stop raining. It's available at Washington state liquor stores state-wide, the Liquor Control Board's effort, I guess, to pink everyone's drink.

By the way, the bottle in the picture looks clouded because it just came out of the freezer.

Agavero: Tequila Liqueur

Agavero is a blend of tequilas flavored with Damiana flower essence. Damiana is supposed to be an aphrodisiac (see Wikipedia's article on it), which, I presume, is meant to add to the allure of this spirit. It tastes fairly strongly of tequila while at the same time being quite sweet. It can make a fine dessert drink (if you don't mind the taste of tequila), and some blogs indicate that it can make an interesting margarita if you substitute it for the triple sec. I haven't seen a lot of other cocktail recipes that use this liqueur.

It's currently found at liquor stores across the state. And in case you're wondering about the shape and blue color of the bottle, it's supposed to reflect the look of an agave plant.

Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur

This cognac-based liqueur has won an impressive number of awards and high ratings, including the double gold medal (best of show) at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has a strong ginger flavor, with the bite of a not too sweet gingersnap. It's a tasty sipper all by itself, and it has the extra benefit of being a good digestif since ginger is well known for its ability to aid digestion. I've tried it at various times after a heavy meal, and it certainly does seem to help. The bamboo-shaped bottle is quite distinctive as well.

Here's an excellent cocktail recipe adapted from the 2010 Food & Wine Cocktails book. Since the Canton Ginger liqueur is fairly strong, it's here used as an accent rather than a main ingredient.

Thamyris

2 oz gin

1/2 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Domaine de Canton French Ginger liqueur

1/4 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur

Shake it all together with ice and garnish with a orange twist if desired.

The Domaine de Canton is currently available at select liquor stores across the state, though only on a temporary one-time basis.

Aperol

The previous posts have focused on liqueurs which are typically only found in Seattle. Aperol, on the other hand, is a liqueur which has successfully traversed the Washington state liquor approval process and so can be found in liquor stores from Yelm to Yakima.

Aperol is an Italian liqueur which was developed in the early 1900s in Padua. It tastes a bit like Campari-lite, meaning that it has some similar bitter orange notes but is less assertive. It is remarkably low in alcohol for a liqueur - only 11%. Ingredients include rhubarb, cinchona, gentian, bitter oranges, and herbs.

There aren't a huge amount of cocktails that include Aperol, but one classic Italian cocktail made with Aperol is called Spritz. It's a wonderful  drink to be enjoyed while sitting at a Venetian cafe next to a canal on a warm evening (or at least pretending that you're sitting at said cafe).

Spritz
2 oz prosecco (chilled)

1 oz Aperol

Sparking mineral water (chilled) to top

Fill a champagne flute with Aperol. Add prosecco and top with a splash of mineral water. Garnish with a lemon or orange slice and serve.

Cherry liqueur - Heering and Clear Creek

Heering Cherry Liqueur is one of the oldest cherry spirits, being first sold in Denmark in 1818 (proudly marked on the label). It's been around so long because it's really the king of cherry liqueurs. It has a thick, velvety texture and tastes of rich dark cherries with a wonderful note of almonds in the finish. There are also a secret blend of spices which help provide a really sophisticated flavor. While sweet, it also has a tartness to it that makes it ideal for sipping or for cocktails.

There are a few classic cocktails, such as the Singapore Sling, which rely on this liqueur. The Blood and Sand cocktail (created in the 1920s possibly) is an excellent cocktail which should appeal to both cocktail aficionados and novices. This recipe is from Dale DeGroff, a legendary mixologist, who unequivocally states that if Heering Cherry Liqueur isn't available, "don't make a Blood and Sand."

3/4 oz blended scotch

3/4 oz Heering Cherry Liqueur

3/4 oz Italian sweet vermouth

3/4 oz fresh-squeezed orange juice

Shake in a shaker with ice and enjoy. Can be garnished with an orange peel.

Which brings us to Clear Creek's Cherry Liqueur. Don't drink the Clear Creek's version immediately after the Heering's - you'll only be disappointed. The Clear Creek's version isn't bad, but it simply can't compare to Heering. The Clear Creek has a taste of slightly cooked pie cherries. It's fairly tart and has only a slight finish.

Both liqueurs can be found at the usual Seattle liquor stores. The Heering used to be a standard at many Washington liquor stores, but it appears that it's being closed out, so you may only find it at liquor stores outside of Seattle for a limited time.

Metaxa brandy

Produced in Greece since the 1880s, technically this isn't really a brandy since it's a blend of brandy, Muscat wine, and herbs and spices. Metaxa comes in various grades based upon how long it's been aged (from 3 to 30 years). This particular bottle is aged 7 years, which is a good grade, and comes in a classic amphora shaped bottle.

Flavor-wise, it drinks more like a liqueur than a brandy. It starts off with some sweeter notes of caramel and fruit and finishes with the bite of a brandy. It's traditionally drunk neat or on the rocks. I haven't seen this used in many cocktails, though Imbibe Magazine did have a Metaxa cocktail contest a few years back (http://imbibemagazine.blogspot.com/2009/04/metaxa-cocktails.html). As is somewhat typical of their receipes, most of them are too much bother to attempt at home. Assume you'll be sipping this rather than mixing, which is fine since it's quite tasty. Metaxa is mostly only available in the greater Seattle area.

Ramazzotti Amaro

Amaro is an Italian liquor that is often drunk as a digestive since it contains herbs such as gentian and cinchona purported to aid digestion. Ramazzotti was developed in 1815 in Milan and is made from 33 herbs and roots. It's a pleasantly bitter liqueur, with notes of coffee, root beer and a hint of sweetness in the finish.

In Italy, it's traditionally drunk neat or on ice, though Americans are probably more likely to encounter amaro in an upscale cocktail since the digestive hasn't really caught on (as this article on digestives notes http://www.scordo.com/2009/11/before-and-after-drinks-italian-amari-aperitif-cocktail.html).

You can find Ramazzotti or Averna (another good brand) at a number of Seattle liquor stores, but not at a lot of stores outside of Seattle. It costs around $30. I can't vouch for any soothing effect it might have on the digestion, but it's tasty enough to pick up a bottle if you can find it.

Here's a decent cocktail recipe adapted from the book Left Coast Libations that uses Ramazzotti:

Foreigner
Strega
2 oz. rye
1/2 oz. Ramazzotti amaro
2 dashes orange bitters
2 dashes peach bitters (I didn't have the peach, so just doubled up the orange)

Rinse a cocktail glass with Strega
Stir or shake the other ingredients with ice and strain into the Strega-rinsed cocktail glass.

Update - Sept. 2011: I just tried another cocktail recipe which is even better than the one listed above. It's adapted from the 2009 Food & Wine Cocktails book and is really tasty.

Bywater Cocktail
1 3/4 oz aged rum
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
1/2 oz amaro
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum

Shake with ice and serve.