Review: St. George California Agricole Rum (2013)

Photo from St. George Spirits

Bottle purchased by EZdrinking.

California Agricole Rum (2013), distilled by St. George Spirits and bottled at 43% ABV.

Price Rage: $40-$60

St. George Spirits was founded by Jörg Rupfin in 1982 and he spent his first decade producing some of the best fruit eau de vies in the US. In 1996 Lance Winters began working at the distillery and helped develop their single malt whiskey and a variety of other spirits. 

In 2010, St. George distilled and bottled their first batch of California Agricole Rum (initially labeled as Agua Libre) from sugar cane grown in California's Imperial Valley. Like the agricole rums produced in the French Caribbean, St. George California Agricole Rum's  exhibit a very funky profile that can change year-to-year based on the terrior of the sugar cane. 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Very strong notes of decomposing vegetable matter.

Palate: Medium body and soft on the tongue. Tastes sweet with a note of butter up front, Mid-palate it displays a mineral character with the flavor of cooked broccoli that ends with a light hint of pepper.

Finish: Long finish with a slight smokey note and a hint of caramel.

Conclusion: St. George's 2013 California Agricole Rum is true to its style. It has all of the strong aromas and flavors commonly found in rums distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice. However, I am just not that crazy about it. For those who enjoy other agricole rums, St. George's is probably worth buying,  but for me I am still more intrigued by the idea more than the result. 

Review: Spirit Works Barrel Gin

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Free sample bottle received as a gift from 3rd party.

Barrel Gin, distilled by Spirit Works Distillery and bottled at 45% ABV.

Price Range: $50-$60

Spirit Works Distillery is owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team, Timo and Ashby Marshall. Ashby is their head distiller and Timo works as tour guide, operations manage, brand ambassador and a number of other roles. 

Spirit Works Distillery is located in downtown Sebastopol, in a newly developed business district called The Barlow. In addition to Spirit Works The Barlow brings together a number of local art, food and beverage producers including a winery, a brewpub and coffee roaster. I highly recommend taking their tour and visiting some of the other cool shops.

Timo told me that at first they hadn't planned to make an aged gin but I am glad they did. Barrel Gin starts off as their regular gin which is distilled with juniper, orris root, angelica, cardamom, coriander, hibiscus and hand-zested orange and lemon peel. Some of the botanicals are macerated in the still and some are place in a gin basket. After the gin has been distilled, some of it ages in new American White Oak barrels for several months. 

Tasting Notes

Nose: Barrel Gin smelled of dried orange peal, baking spices, and a faint, underlying sweetness like maraschino cherries.

Palate: Barrel Gin tasted of bright citrus, with a smooth sweet flavor of fresh table grapes.

Finish: After swallowing the flavors lingered for a little while and my mouth had a pleasant warm sensation without any burn.

Conclusion: For those who like aged gins, Barrel Gin is a great addition to any liquor cabinet. I particularly like how the nose has begun to develop some of the rich spicy notes that come from barrel aging while maintaining some of the fresh flavors of their regular gin. Very well executed and Barrel Gin makes me even more excited for their upcoming whiskeys.