Some Nice Things I Missed In 2019 (But They Taste Great In 2020, Too)

I think I tasted approximately 6,947,223 alcoholic beverages in 2019. At least that's how it feels some mornings. And about 48% of that pile, give or take, was bourbon. When I wasn't tasting spirits (or carting my daughter to and from school and playdates and various afterschool activities) last year, it felt like I was usually at the dining table that doubles as my workspace, a row of bourbons in front of me, and my taste buds, liver, and typing fingers quivering with varying degrees of anticipation, depending on the day.

But my point is, there are only so many hours in the day to write about spirits. And there are only so many enzymes in my liver to break down the alcohol from said spirits. So over the course of a year, I wind up unintentionally neglecting a lot of delicious and deserving booze. This is not a complete accounting of the good stuff I overlooked in 2019, not by a long shot. But it does make a slight dent in the backlog. And it was a nice excuse to drink something other than bourbon for a bit.

CAMPARI CASK TALES (25% ABV, $70/I liter bottle). I think there's some kind of law that says you're not allowed to have a bar, at home or otherwise, unless there's a bottle of Campari in it. Whether you're making Negronis or Boulevardiers or having it with soda or simply on the rocks with a twist of orange peel, the stuff that "looks like fruit punch and tastes like gasoline," as my wife puts it, is ubiquitous and inescapable. So when the first Campari variation in decades comes to town, it's a certifiably big deal. It's not a huge leap from the original — Cask Tales is classic Campari, finished for an unspecified amount of time in second-fill bourbon barrels. But it makes a rounder, sweeter, less bitter final product that I'm smitten with. I love it in a Negroni with barrel-aged gin, but it really shines with just an ice cube for company, imparting pronounced vanilla notes up front and the familiar bitterness that's tamed, but only slightly, on the finish. It's pricey compared to straight Campari, to be sure, but if you're a fan, it's worth the investment.

MOUNT GAY POT STILL RUM (48% ABV, $170). Mount Gay is one of my favorite rums, and while it doesn't have the hipster cred of Worthy Park or Foursquare, to name two, the stuff has been made without added color, sugar, or flavors since 1703 — a solid combo of no-nonsense column and pot still rums blended to perfection. Pot Still Rum, the first release by new master blender Trudiann Branker, loses the lighter column still product, leaving the most flavorful and distinctive part of the blend. Powerful notes of honey, coconut, overripe banana and oak dominate the palate, and the dry, woody finish leaves you wanting more. This is a hell of a rum, and it's limited to a mere thousand bottles (OK, 1,002) in the States, so if you see it, pounce.

EL TESORO EXTRA AñEJO TEQUILA (40% ABV, $100). I don't drink as much tequila as I should. But since it's the most requested spirit when I'm entertaining guests at home, I try to keep some quality tequila on hand to impress my visitors. And the brand I reach for first is El Tesoro, created by master distiller Carlos Camarena at his La Alteña distillery. El Tesoro is made using the old-school tahona method (which involves crushing the harvested agave plants with a large stone wheel rather than using modern machinery), and without any added color or flavoring, artificial or otherwise. And it's freakin' delicious. My go-to is the Reposado, which is terrific both as a sipper and a mixer. But for a more upscale sipping experience, the new Extra Añejo, aged 4-5 years in ex-bourbon barrels, is a must-try. My problem with most extra añejos is that the agave flavor is muted by all the time in the barrel. Not so here. Yes, there are pronounced vanilla, coffee and milk chocolate notes coming from the wood, but the vegetal agave notes are, miraculously, still in the spotlight. Not necessarily an everyday drinker, but a hell of a fine special occasion tequila.

STARWARD TWO FOLD DOUBLE GRAIN AUSTRALIAN WHISKY (40% ABV, $33). When Starward first launched in the States in mid-2019, I'd tasted one or two other Australian brands, most notably Sullivan's Cove, but not enough to know whether Australian whisky was becoming a bonafide Thing or not. So I put "find out whether Australian whisky is A Thing" in my to-do pile... and never got around to it until I started reading articles which verified that, yes, it is indeed A Thing. Miss that boat though I did, I still want to wax enthusiastic about Starward's Two Fold, the followup to the also-worthy Nova. The two grains alluded to in the name are malted barley and wheat, which are distilled separately and then aged separately in Australian red wine barrels before being married for a short time. The finished product is creamy, smooth, and oh-so easy to drink, like buttered toast with jam — the fruitiness coming from the wine barrels. I'm not usually a big fan of lower-ABV whiskies, but at 80 proof, this is still quite flavorful — and it makes a nice alternative to a glass of wine at lunch.

ABERLOUR A'BUNADH ALBA SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY (57.1% ABV, $90). What happens to a sherried single malt when you take away the sherry? To find out, look no further than Aberlour's latest, a variation of A'bunadh, one of the great sherry cask-matured whiskies. A'Bunadh Alba is the same no-age-statement, non-chill filtered, cask strength whisky as its elder sibling, only instead of aging in sherry casks, it's matured entirely in ex-bourbon casks ("Alba" refers to quercus alba, also known as American white oak, in which bourbon is aged, as well as to Scotland itself). The results are both fascinating and delicious. Where A'Bunadh is rich and redolent of nuts and dark fruits, Alba has prominent green apple notes, along with honey and vanilla. A pepper/cinnamon spice on the back of the tongue evolves into a lingering, malty finish. If you can swing it, it's a blast to sample A'Bunadh and A'Bunadh Alba side by side, and taste just how much of a difference cask aging can make.

FERRAND 10 GENERATIONS VSOP COGNAC (46% ABV, $60). Alexandre Gabriel is probably best known as the often-controversial figure behind Plantation Rums, but the base of his boozy empire is in Cognac, at the house of Ferrand, which has been making cognac for, as the name says, ten generations (that's close to 400 years, in case you're wondering). To honor the family and its heritage, Gabriel has created this beauty, aged in French oak, with 20% of the barrels being ex-Sauternes. It tastes young and vibrant as a good VSOP should, with the Sauternes casks imparting a round sweetness leading up to a dry, long finish that signals maturity without the astringent woodiness that befalls many older cognacs. It's a great sipper, but priced reasonably enough so it won't break the bank if you decide to make a Sazerac with it.