What's Popular Right Now?
Check out the spirits grabbing the most ratings from Distiller community members this week!
Mar 28, 2017
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2020 Absolut Vodka#<Country:0x00007f26f5826bf8>//Grain & NeutralAbsolut is produced in the town of Åhus in Sweden from locally-grown winter wheat. First introduced to the US in 1979, its iconic apothecary bottle is recognizable around the world. Absolut was first introduced in 1879 as Absolut Rent Brännvin (absolutely pure vodka) by Lars Olsson Smith. It is he who adorns the silver medallion on each bottle.
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1919 Martell VS Single Distillery#<Country:0x00007f26f5766a60>//Rich & FruityLaunched in early 2017 across US markets from the House of Martell. This cognac is made from a blend of eaux-de-vie produced at one distillery which is not the norm. Its packaging in a ‘montre’ cognac bottle is a throwback to the original design of the brand's VS offering. Martell VS Single Distillery is bottled at 40% ABV.
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1818 Ron Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum#<Country:0x00007f26f5caf648>//Sweet & RichThis is the Venezuelan distillery’s flagship rum, called “exclusiva” as a tribute to their 18th century founder Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez, who was always in search of exclusive flavors for his rums. It’s a blend of 12 year old copper pot-still rums made from both molasses and sugarcane honey, aged in ex-bourbon barrels.
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1717 Don Julio 1942 Tequila#<Country:0x00007f26f56ddf80>//Rich & SweetDon Julio 1942 is technically an añejo as it is aged for only 2 1/2 years in used American oak barrels, though it misses the extra añejo qualification by only 6 months. 1942 is the year that Don Julio Gonzáles established his distillery, Tequila Tres Magueyes. This Highland tequila, along with their Real bottling, is distilled a 2nd time in a smaller stainless steel pot still that has a maximum capacity of 3 barrels per distillation.
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1616 Clase Azul Reposado Tequila#<Country:0x00007f26e4257080>//Rich & FruityBottled in a beautiful handmade and hand painted ceramic decanter. Inside is a distillate that is carefully aged for eight months in second-use oak barrels. It is then triple micro-filtrated to ensure the highest purity.
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1515 Espolòn Reposado Tequila#<Country:0x00007f26cc205a90>//Fruity & SweetThe competitively-priced Espolòn tequila is distilled in the Highlands of Jalisco at Destiladora San Nicolas, under the supervision of Master Distiller Cirilo Oropeza. Espolòn Reposado is aged for three to five months in new American oak barrels. The squat bottles are branded with artwork inspired by 19th century Day of the Dead iconography.
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1414 Malibu Original Rum#<Country:0x00007f26cc225188>//Sweet & FruityMalibu Original coconut flavored rum was designed as an all-in-one cocktail, a low-proof liqueur rather than a full proof rum for safe consumption in warm-weather party settings. It was later embraced by a generation of bartenders who used it in Piña Coladas and other tropical cocktails. The flavor is derived from coconut extract.
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1313 Stolichnaya Vodka#<Country:0x00007f26e8756b90>//Spicy & GrainEstablished in 1938, Stolichnaya or Stoli as it is most often called, was first introduced to the US in 1972. This grain based (wheat and rye) vodka is distilled in Russia and bottled and brought to proof in Latvia. It is filtered through Russian birch charcoal and quartz sand. This is bottled and sold at an ABV of 37.5-40% depending on your location.
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1212 Hennessy VS Cognac#<Country:0x00007f26e83d1d08>//Fruity & SweetYann Fillioux is the current Master Blender for Hennessy and in fact, the Fillioux family has been blending for Maison Hennessy for over 200 years. Hennessy VS was first introduced in 1865 by Maurice Hennessy, although the brand was known as "Three Star" rather than VS at the time.
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1111 Bacardí Superior White Rum#<Country:0x00007f26e844bae0>//SweetBacardí Superior, "the original white rum," is made from a recipe based on the one created by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó at the original distillery in Santiago, Cuba in 1962. Rums are aged separately in ex-bourbon casks for one to two years. They are then blended and charcoal filtered for clarity.
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1010 Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum#<Country:0x00007f26e82b0b18>//Sweet & RichSir Henry Morgan (Captain Morgan, as he is known by the masses) was born in Wales in 1635. He was, at various times for the British government a privateer, a prisoner, an admiral, and a knight. He gained his notoriety by attacking the Spaniards who had set up shop in the Caribbean, most notably in Panama and Cuba, and doing what pirates do best--he plundered. He died at the ripe old age of 53 as Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. Captain Morgan the rum was introduced to the world in 1983 and since 2010 has been produced in the U.S. Virgin Islands after relocating its distillery there from Puerto Rico.
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99 Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum#<Country:0x00007f26e85aab98>//Sweet & RichRon Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum was first produced in 1976 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Guatemalan town of Zacapa. It's a rum made from raw sugarcane honey grown on the Zacapa estate high in the hills of Guatemala, extracted from the first pressing of sugarcane juice. It is then fermented using a proprietary strain of pineapple yeast and distilled in a copper-lined column still. After distillation, the rum is aged in a Solera process from a series of casks which once held bourbon, oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximenez sherry. The rums in the blend vary between 6 and 23 years of age.
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88 Campari#<Country:0x00007f26e863ae50>//Bitter & FruityCampari was created circa 1860 by a Lombardy-born man named Gaspare Campari. He worked his way up to barman in a cafe in Torino before moving to Milano where he created his renowned bitter concoction. His namesake bitters was first known as Bitter all’usa d’Holanda and its ingredients have never been disclosed other than to say that “it is the result of an infusion of bitter herbs, aromatic plants, and fruit in alcohol and water”. The only other change to the original recipe occured in 2006 when carmine (a natural dye sourced from crushed cochineal insects) ceased to be used for coloring. Now artificial colors are used.
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77 Monkey 47 Dry Gin#<Country:0x00007f26e8650cf0>//Fruity & FloralHailing from Germany’s Black Forest, Monkey 47 is an exotic gin made with a molasses base. The 47 refers to the number of botanicals used which includes such unlikely fruit ingredients like lingonberries, blackberries, and honey pomelo. These are combined with a host of recognizable gin botanicals such as chamomile, sage, angelica, coriander, and a whole array of others. Another anomaly at Monkey 47 is that the distillate is aged in earthenware containers for three months before being brought to 47% ABV with the forest’s celebrated water.
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66 The Botanist Gin#<Country:0x00007f26e81d72a0>//Floral & HerbalIf you're not a Scotch whisky drinker, you very likely have never heard of a man named Jim McEwan. Jim spent 38 years with Bowmore and held every job there from apprentice cooper to Distillery Manager. In 2001, he left Bowmore to reopen Bruichladdich as their Master Distiller. Along with the dozens of single malt bottlings he created, he wanted to distill a gin that reflects his home of Islay, the island he loves. The Botanist is a gin comprised of 9 standard botanicals and an additional 22 that were hand-foraged from Islay itself--botanicals like apple mint, heather, red clover, and meadowsweet among many others. The gin is distilled over 17 hours in a Lomond Still (a hybrid column + pot still). It is bottled at 46% ABV.
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55 Woodford Reserve Bourbon#<Country:0x00007f26e8549848>//Full Bodied & RichDistilled at its namesake Woodford Reserve Distillery located in Versailles, Ky. (formerly called Labrot & Graham Distillery), this Kentucky straight bourbon was first introduced in 1996. It is also known as "Distiller's Select". This high-rye bourbon has a mash bill containing 18% rye. It is made from a combination of pot still and column still whiskey. The bourbon is aged between 6-7 years and carries no age statement. Bottled at 45.2% ABV.
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44 Lagavulin 16 Year#<Country:0x00007f26f565eff0>//Full Bodied & PeatyThough not officially (read, legally) established until 1816, there are records that date distillation here going back to 1742. Malted barley produced just a hop, skip, and a jump away at neighboring Port Ellen is utilized. Everything is long at this distillery: fermentation, distillation, and maturation. Good things do indeed come to those that wait. Bottled at 43% ABV after 16 years in oak barrels.
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33 Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon#<Country:0x00007f26f5622730>//Sweet & Full BodiedEagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon is one of the flagship products of the Buffalo Trace collection of whiskeys. It is made from 10 year old bourbon aged at the Kentucky distillery. The barrels are hand selected for quality and consistency before bottling.
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22 Buffalo Trace Bourbon#<Country:0x00007f26f55d2f50>//SweetThe former George T. Stagg distillery was renamed Buffalo Trace when Sazerac took over ownership in 1999. Master Distiller, Elmer T. Lee, came out of retirement for the creation of the Buffalo Trace Bourbon which was released later that same year. The whiskey is comprised of a low-rye mashbill providing for a softer, sweeter expression and is bottled at 90 proof.
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11 Elijah Craig Small Batch#<Country:0x00007f26f555c7b0>//Rich & Full BodiedThis small batch bottling (200 barrels per batch) is comprised of selected whiskeys 8-12 years of age. This no-age statement product was introduced in early 2016 to replace the 12-year age statement (a barrel illustration on the original label took place of the number 12). Later in the year, Heaven Hill redesigned its packaging again, with the year "1789" now embossed on the glass. It remains bottled at 94 proof.