Villa Zarri, Bologna Italy

When an invitation to visit a local Brandy distiller on the outskirts of Bologna, Italy came up last week I almost did not go. Italian Brandy? Unheard of!

Then my friend assured me that this was the finest brandy in all of Italy...and then somehow my afternoon magically rearranged itself to allow this trip to be taken with ease...so why not I thought? 

It turned out to be a highlight of our trip, and as for that bold claim? I now believe it to be one of the best brandies not only in Italy but even (queue the Jeremy Clarkson voice)...in the world.

Located about 10 minutes outside of Bologna's town center in a compound dating back to 1578. The Villa was restructured in 1729 and thanks to some loving restorations over the years it looks much the same today as it did in the eighteenth century.

Guido Zarri in front of the boiler of his Alambic Charentais

Guido Zarri's family has been working with brandy for three generations starting with his maternal grandfather Leonidas Zarri. They purchased the Pilla, a small company based in liquor Murano (Venice).

The company was later transferred to Castel Maggiore (Bologna) and under the guidance of his father, Guido made a very important development with the Brandy Oro Pilla. He went into business in the late 70's and sold the brand Oro Pilla to Amaro Montenegro in 1988. 

The old Oro Pilla distillery located next to Villa Zilla.

In 1986 he started a small production of Brandy Cognac inspired by the goal of creating in Italy, a Brandy DOC. Keeping his small distillery in Villa Zarri, baptized by the name of the old house that lies in front of the distillery, he turned to craft production as a passion project to produce a Brandy which over the years has become increasingly valuable (and good!).

This vessel is used to preheat a batch of wine to speed the distillation process.

Starting only with fresh white wine made from the Trebbiano grapes grown in the local Toscano and Romagna regions, the Villa runs 24/7 during harvest season.

Wine in brought in by truck from local producers and stored in these large stainless steel vessels.

Each batch is started by boiling approximately 7500 liters of fresh wine with an A.B.V. of approx 10%. Since the alembic's boiler holds only 2500 litres it takes 3 batches of the first distillation called the "blank" which has an ABV of around 30-35% to make one full batch (approx 700 litres) of the "aquavite de vino" which has an A.B.V. of approx 70%.

The condenser cools the alcohol vapors collected from the boiler very slowly and gently.

The aging process results in a net loss of approximately 3% of the total amount of liquid produced per year. After 10 years 30% of the original liquid has been lost to evaporation, a.k.a. the "Angel's Share".

So for every 7500 liters of wine they start with, to produce a 10 year old vintage they only net approx 450 liters of aged brandy. A 20-22 year vintage, only half of that. This is why good brandy is so expensive!

The stainless steel holding tanks, each hold approx 5,000 liters.

As each batch is distilled, the heads (the first part of the run) and tails (the end of the run) are saved in separate containers to be used later in proprietary ways to enrich the flavors of the final product. These containers are kept behind the steel fence in the photo above, and not accessible without the presence of the proper official, so at the wrong time of day even a small equipment failure can cause large disaster!

The aging process begins in (new) 350 liter barrels of French oak from the forests of Limousin and dell'Allier. When the brandy is aged in new oak for that first year, it absorbs color, tannins and aromas from the wood.  

The origin of the oak makes a large difference. For example, the forests of the Limousin are predominately Farnia oak which have a coarser grain and are richer in content of phenol's like catechinic tannins. Oak from dell'Allier has finer veining and is rich in vanillin.

Bottling Room (all done by hand)

The Allier oak, with it's slower growth rate, has a fine, close grain which isolates the aging liquid from the outside environment to a greater degree than the relatively wide grains of the faster growing trees from Limousin. This is fine for wine but spirits need to breath more as they age than a wine does. This is why they use both woods, to get the best of both worlds.

When taking Bologna's idea microclimate for aging spirits into account, this access to the outside world becomes key. Bologna's gentle seasons provide just enough change in temperatures to really allow the spirit to take deep long breaths each year as the cold air contracts the liquid into itself and the hot season pushes it out. 

After the first year it is racked into depleted barrels (which have been used for more than 4 years) and left there for the rest of the aging period. In the old barrels, through the pores of the wood and "breathe" of the seasons, the brandy loses alcohol, absorbs oxygen and develops its true flavors.

Guido showing us some of the new high-end bottles  they are using for their current vintages.

This phase is very slow. It takes a great many years to evolve and get a great Brandy distillate. Guido insists that his Brandy is totally natural and does not add coloring, flavoring or sweeteners. All Villa Zarri Brandies are aged a minimum of 10 years. 

Today his oldest Brandy is a 22 year old vintage! Also bottled (Vintage 1988) is a Brandy flavored with tobacco leaves (Kentucky tobacco) from local Tuscan growers. (I was lucky enough to acquire bottle #967 of the limited run of 1400 bottles, and have included a review below.) 

A selection of Villa Zarri Brandies in their tasting room.

The range currently includes a 10 year, 18 year, 21 and 22 year releases as well as a range of (naturally) flavored brandies including a walnut liqueur, a cherry brandy and a coffee brandy. Especially well suited (and desirable) for cocktail mixing is the cherry brandy. 

Villa Zarri 10 year and Cherry Brandies

Their cherry brandy is made using both sour (durone della marca) and sweet (nero secondo) cherries which are steeped in the brandy for two full months creating an amazingly deep and rich cherry brandy (yet it is also somehow very light!) - with all natural ingredients. Simple and elegant it's perfect to sip on its own, but will lend itself well to classic cocktail recipes. This is truly how cherry brandy would also have been made "back in the day".

Check out the entire range here: http://www.villazarri.com/eng/home.asp

1988 Vintage Villa Zarri Tobacco Brandy

Villa Zarri 21 year old Tobacco Brandy

A cigar to drink? Created for those who want to enjoy their cigars with brandy to the next degree. It is bottled at full strength, without any dilution with water, after a long period of aging. It is based on a blend of brandies from 1987 and infused briefly with local Tuscan Tobacco leaves. (Kentucky)

The producer describes the expression as being "Clear and warm, refined with a bright amber color. Elegant and aromatic nose with a very fine smell of sweet spices, cinnamon, vanilla, grapevine flowers and cloves. On the palate this brandy is full, warm, spicy and fresh."  

They also caution moderation as it does contains nicotine!

VILLA ZARRI ANTICO BRANDY ITALIANO 

CON SELEZIONE DI TABBACO TOSCANO

21 YEAR OLD - VINTAGE 1988
ITALIAN TOBACCO FLAVORED BRANDY
SCORE:  96 points

NOSE: Tobacco right there in the top, big and bold! Underneath though I found the notes of the cinnamon and vanilla, even a hint of the clove. This is a strong Brandy at 90 proof and that heat comes through on the nose, though not unpleasantly so - there is a softness there too for such a strong spirit. Full of character and inevitably met with a "wow!" and a quick second whiff. 23/25.

PALATE: Velvety. Smooth and slippery in the mouth. Several layers of flavor come on quickly. The deep, well-balanced brandy base arrives first with a nice big oak flavor and hints of leather. Subtle cherry and grape flavors make a brief appearance. The notes on the nose of cloves, cinnamon and vanilla show up mid way, giving way to the tobacco on the finish. 24/25

FINISH: The tannins are so soft as to be nearly absent, however they are present and provide excellent structure. A beautiful, long finish with full hits of fresh tobacco leaf along with further expansion of the baking spices present on the nose and palate. 24/25

BALANCE: Unique. Come on, a tobacco Brandy? I have no idea how they pulled it off - but even my own mother, who is a non-drinker and certainly not a smoker, enjoyed the overall effect of this spirit. She took a sip and closed her eyes as she was taken back to her paternal grandfather's tobacco farm which she visited often as a child. That's what a great spirit should do! The tobacco does not overwhelm, it's big and forceful while remaining subtle at the same time. As charming as it is unique. Considering the task they undertook with this ambitious mix, I'd say the product us a huge success and deserves the highest of marks.  25/25

Highly Recommended

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Gordon's Export Gin

Think you know Gordon's gin? If the 40% abv bottling we get here in the states, or even the 37% abv sold in the UK has been your only exposure, then there's one more you should try before dismissing the stuff as middle of the road tipple at best. The Gordon's "Yellow Label" London Dry Gin, at the special 47.3%  export strength, is incredibly good stuff.

Gordon's is produced in the U.K. and under licence in several former British territories including Canada and New Zealand. Apparently, though all the distillation plants use the "exact" same recipe, the water used at each plant, and the strength it is bottled at has a lot to do with the finished product's flavor. Depending on the market, Gordon's is sold in several different strengths. The U.S. version is bottled at 40% abv.

Gordon's claims to be the world's biggest seller of gin and estimates that more than two bottles of Gordon's are drunk every second of every day somewhere in the world. Gordon's is also the only gin to hold two Royal Warrants and currently holds a Royal Warrant from both HRH Queen Elizabeth II and HRH the Queen Mother.

Gordon's London Dry 40% a.b.v (U.S. Market)

London Dry Gin

Distilled in Norwalk, CT, USA

SCORE: 70

NOSE: Turpentine and industrial alcohol tempered by hints of juniper and  pepper. 17/25.

PALATE: Alcoholic, abrasive, slightly oily. 16/25

FINISH: The finish is where this gin has made its following here in the states. It has a medium long finish with mild alcoholic burn. It's the flavor in that gin and juice or gin and tonic that tells you you are drinking gin and not vodka. To me, it's as if the juniper oils were allowed to oxidize too long before being used, but it is obviously made with fairly good quality juniper berries.  19/25

BALANCE:  This is a good quality mixer with a strong, if slightly "off", juniper flavor. For the money, its going to be one of the better choices in the range. Still, it is a rough and unrefined spirit. 18/25

Gordon's London Dry 47.3% a.b.v (Export Market)

London Dry Gin

Distilled in Great Britain

SCORE: 92

NOSE: Completely different experience from the 80 proof. Soft and round with juniper, coriander, citrus, pepper with delicate florals. 23/25.

PALATE: Better viscosity than the 80 proof, smoother and rounder mouth feel. Though stronger in alcoholic content, not as bracingly alcoholic as its US counterpart. The gin is very juniper forward with hints of coriander and bit of white pepper. 22/25

FINISH: The finish is long and complex. The British distillation plant obviously took more care with their juniper. It comes across light and fresh, the difference between the juniper profile in the gins is like the difference between fresh roasted coffee beans and fully oxidized beans.  23/25

BALANCE:  Nearly perfect balance for a gin. It is crisp, clean and fresh with fantastic botanicals. Amazing juniper flavor that comes on strong and stays with you in such a lovely way. Will play well with others but this is a gin you can simply sip on by itself. 24/25

The Vesper is the perfect cocktail to showcase here, a traditional  use for the original 47.3% strength Gordons since Ian Flemming had James Bond order a Vesper in Casino Royale as follows:

:..three parts Gordon's gin, one part Russian vodka, a half measure of Kina Lillet aperitif, shaken until ice-cold, served with a slice of lemon peel."

Subject to a fair amount of debate, this recipe has been interpreted a number of ways. So as not to end up with a 4 1/2 ounce knock out drink, I'm going with some more favorable math.

VESPER MARTINI

2 ounces (60 ml) gin

2/3 ounce (20 ml) vodka

1/3 ounce (10 ml) Kina Lillet

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. 

This is a classic for good reason when made with the right ingredients. In 1953 Gordon's was stronger stuff, somewhere in the 44.4%-47.3% range. It's really not worth trying this drink with regular 40% Gordon's. Go for Beefeater or Tanqueray if you do not have access to the export strength Gordon's.

Unless you want to up the quinine level in your Lillet blanc by adding quinine powder or bark, go with Cocchi Americano for the Kina Lillet as it is much closer in character to the original Kina Lillet formula.

Use a nice Russian vodka and you are ready to go! 

Appropriately named for the original Bond girl. It's silky smooth and super dry - yet perfumed in wonderful florals. A very nice shaken libation, with a little Russian spirit lurking within. The Vesper.

CapRock Organic Gin

Disclaimer: I was given a bottle of this gin recently by a rep for Peak Spirits. I had not yet tried this "farm to bottle" new world style organic gin though, and was happy to have the opportunity to give it a spin.

According to the distiller's site: CapRock™ Organic Dry Gin is a unique blend of fruits, buds, seeds, and spices infused and distilled in a base spirit made with organic Jonathon and Braeburn apples. The apples are organically grown by Gunnison River Farms, Ela Family Farms and Mountain Spirits Farm. 12 different "botanicals" (some dried some fresh) and 2 fresh juices are either macerated and/or boiled or steamed all together at final distillation to produce layers of fresh aromas and tastes. CapRock Gin is 41% alc and available in 750ML and 200ML bottles.

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Apple based organic gin from the western slope, that's different. Their tagline of "This is not your grandmother's gin" does make sense. That much is blatantly evident on the nose. 

This is more like an aromatic juniper infused eau de vie than a traditional gin. That is not necessarily a bad thing, I just wouldn't to go head first into traditional recipes with this gin considering its strong and unique botanical profile. This bottle will certainly have its uses however.

CapRock Organic Gin

"New World" American Aromatic Gin

SCORE: 89

NOSE: Lavender, roses, juniper, pepper, very soft, subtle and round. The use of fresh, organic botanicals is evident in the fidelity of the aromas. The juniper here really takes a back seat here though and I wish it was just a little more pronounced. 22/25.

PALATE: The flavors on the nose carry through well. There is a nice burst of juniper mid palate. The roses are subtle, the lavender is not - I can't help but feel a little hit over the head with it. Wet, only slightly oily in the mouth. 21/25

FINISH: The finish is fairly long and complex. The apples finally come to light, the roses fill your nose like a big bouquet, the lavender relaxes a bit and finally yields to the juniper. NOT a typical "English dry" gin finish, but that's not what the folks at Peak Spirits seem to have been going for here. Very unique. 24/25

BALANCE:  I like the overall effect of the type of product the producers are going for here and think they have done a good job achieving a quality culinary gin. The rose and lavender comes across a little strong for my taste, but their flavors aromas are authentic and intoxicating. It's complex, and certainly not one dimensional - its use in cocktails will not be universal however, and it will take some forethought and experimentation to be successful. 22/25

This really is a surprisingly nice spirit, whatever you want to call it. I think having to call it gin is a little unfortunate as it leads to certain expectations. You don't go into a genever or an old tom expecting to find Bombay Dry. Going into this expecting "gin" could lead you to a similar disappointment, and "organic gin" does not really tell you much about what is going on inside the bottle.

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This is a new gin so it's only fitting that I provide a new recipe. I've been on a bit of a Fernet kick lately and thought the CapRock's lavendar and rose flavors would play well together with it, and they did.

Here's a lab original using CapRock gin, Peak Spirits peach eau de vie and Fernet Branca, enjoy.

Versante Occidentale (Western Slope) Cocktail

1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) CapRock "New World" Organic Gin

3/4 ounce (22 ml) Fernet Branca

1/2 ounce (15 ml) Cocchi Americano

1/4 ounce (7.5 ml) Peak Spirits Peach eau de vie brandy

1-2 dashes angostura bitters

1 dash angostura orange bitters

Mix ingredients well with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with lemon twist.

The Fernet and Cocchi provide good structure to balance and support the strong flavors of the other spirits. The flavors build to a crescendo, then end quickly with a crisp, dry finish leaving hints of roses and pine on the nose.

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 year old

When talking to Eben Freeman last February in Fatty Johnson's about the merits of the Van Winkle family of bourbons, he asked me if I had tried the Van Winkle 13 rye. He said it was the most amazing rye he had tried and worth getting, if one could locate a bottle. I had not heard of it, but from that point on I was determined to  find a bottle.

Availability turned out to be scarce indeed. Lots of online retailers claim to carry, all saying "out of stock" at this point. A few will let you "pre-order" 4-6 months out with a one bottle limit.

It makes sense, the demand for high quality tipple, especially rye, is huge right now. 13 years ago the current resurgence of ryes popularity could hardly have been anticipated.

I had to jump the pond and pay through the nose to acquire my bottle. When I came across one in Gerry's wine shop in London's Soho district, I eagerly shelled out the £69 asking price, the long hunt finally having come to an end.

All of the Van Winkle products are wheat formula bourbons with the exception of the Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye Whiskey. Most rye whiskeys are aged around four years. Van Winkle has aged this expression an astounding 13 years. (They even offer a 15yo!)

TASTING NOTES:

I have several bottles lined up that I'd like to post reviews on. How to score spirits on my blog posed a bit of a challenge. Should I use the point system? Starred reviews? A school-like grading scale of A-F?

In the end, I decided I would provide my tasting notes and include any judgments as to a spirits worthiness for recommendation in the final a summary. I will provide notes on the nose, palate, finish and balance as well as a summary describing my overall impressions on how a spirit may be best used (or not used).

There are shades of gray. To rank bottles according to my own standards seems a worthy effort for this forum. I looked around and decided that a 25 x 4 scoring system seemed to best suit me. So each of these four categories will be worth 25 points and I will assign each bottle a two-digit score.

It's also only fair that I recommend a recipe too, hope you enjoy the format.

Tasting based on lot No. B913, made for the UK market.

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13
Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
SCORE: 96 points

NOSE: Sweet with fruit, raisins, a little toffee and maybe a slight citrus note. Nice wood and spicy rye notes as well. Big and heady, possibly a hint of mint or menthol on the finish. As aromatic as a rye gets, 24/25.

PALATE: Oily, smooth and slippery in the mouth. Deep and big with flavors of fig, cherry, cooked fruit, at first until the nose kicks those big rye and wood flavors over the top. Rich, creamy, excellent balance. Considering its very high ABV of 47.8%, extremely smooth and drinkable. 24/25

FINISH: Medium long though stays on the tongue for a long time. Fruit flavors dissipating just slightly before the wood and rye spice. Warm, soft and bourbon-like in its sweetness. 22/25

BALANCE:  Amazing, absolutely in a class of its own. Though my expectations for this bottle were through the roof, I was amazed to find them satisfied if not exceeded. A benchmark rye in terms of taste, character and balance. As perfect a rye as I have ever come across. 24/25

Julian Van Winkle's masterpiece is probably best enjoyed neat. Since this is a cocktail blog though, let me recommend a way to enjoy this as a mixed drink. This rye really works well in the Sazarac, and my first taste of it was in a Sazarac made for me in the China Tang bar in London's Dorchester. 

The Sazerac is one of American's oldest cocktails, and there is no dispute that this is a New Orleans based creation. I'm not sure I want to dig into full history of the Sazerac here to be frank, as it is a disputed and tangled story.

It most likely hails to around the 1850's and was originally made with cognac. Sometime around the phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800's when cognac became practically unobtainable, the switch to whiskey occurred. 

Historians agree that early recipes calling for "whiskey" referred to rye whiskey, since rye was the prevalent whiskey of the time in the area.

In the early 1800's, Dr. Peychaud owned a popular drug store in New Orleans and created his special formula of aromatic bitters as a health tonic, at which time it was a popular addition to cognac. 

You can possibly make a decent Sazerac without having true absinthe by substituting a little Absinte, Herbsaint, a mix of Pernod and green Chartreuse or the like and get decent results. 

The histories of the Sazerac and Peychaud's bitters have become intertwined. If you do not have Peychaud's though, don't even try making this one. Luckily Peychaud's bitters are not that hard to find these days.

SAZERAC

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 ounces (75 ml) rye whiskey

1 sugar cube

2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

1 dash Angostura bitters (optional)

absinthe

lemon peel

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take two old fashioned glasses. Fill one with crushed ice and set aside. In the second glass, place the sugar cube in the bottom, dash the bitters onto the cube and muddle the cube well. Add the rye, and stir well. Add several small ice cubes and stir again. Dump out the ice from the first glass, rinse that glass with absinthe (or spray interior with atomizer) and strain drink from the second glass into the empty absinthe rinsed glass. Take a swath of lemon peel, squeeze over top and rub the rim of the glass - discard or drop into glass depending on preference. Enjoy!

The Sazerac is a classic among classics. A "secret handshake drink" among cocktail geeks. A New Orleans institution. All for good reason, it is an amazingly good way to showcase a great rye whiskey. Whether you go for the Sazerac 18 rye or the Van Winkle 13 or 15, it is hard to go wrong using the best bottle available for this recipe.

Rittenhouse bonded, Wild Turkey 101 rye or even the Sazerac 6 year rye will all make a good Sazerac. 

Thanks to the Buffalo Trace group, we now have some amazing aged ryes on the market to make a great Sazerac with. How lucky are we, right?