Celebrate Every Season With These 5 Festive, Unique Spirits

Celebrate Every Season With These 5 Unique Spirits

By John Dunham & Alison Blackman

While some people are lifting champagne flutes to ring in the new year, others are bypassing the “bubbly” and celebrating with their favorite spirits, including run, vodka and tequila.  Spirits make marvelous mixers and are a fun way to try new cocktails, as well as drink straight up.  Just as with the wine and beer segments of the adult beverage marketplace, there has been a huge expansion in the number and types of spirits that are now available.  Here are 4 products you may not have tried yet, but we think they’re terrific choices for celebrations every day of the year! We’ve even included a recipe for each product, to get you thinking about your own creations to come. 

Platinum Tequlia from DeLeón  is just one in a new collection of premium tequilas from a new collaboration between between entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs (aka P. Diddy, Puff Daddy) and Diageo.   All of the tequilas in this line have a stunning presentation as well as a very pleasant taste. As with Mr. Combs’ Ciroc Vodka, you get the sense it’s something special, even before you open the bottle.  The square bottle is made of a heft chuck of glass, engraved with bold initial “D” (is that for DeLeón or Diddy?). It looks much more like a perfume bottle with a jeweled top,  expensive and luxurious. The topper is a highly detailed silvery ball,  hand-carved by a jeweler from a one pound solid ball of sterling silver (the topper of the actual tequila bottle is silvery metal for the higher end tequilas, and plastic for the others).

All of the DeLeón tequilas are made from high quality 100% highland Blue Weber agave sourced from the Los Altos region of Jalisco. The agave is slow roasted in traditional brick and clay ovens, combined with slow fermentation under the guidance of DeLeón’s master distiller, and distilled twice. For the aged tequilas, the tequila sits on a combination of American Oak and fine French wine casks. We tried the DeLeón  Platinum Tequila (80 proof at the entry level of $60.00).  We really liked what we tasted. The color is crystal clear, and the aroma is slight, with hints of citrus. Like Diddy’s Ciroc Vodka, there is more taste than the usual in this tequila, which was smooth, warm, and inviting.  We drank it unchilled and straight up with no burning in the back of the throat, but with a delightful, long finish.  Even at this entry level for DeLeón, it is a sipping tequila, not something you chug fast with lime and salt our use in a ready-made margarita mix.  (although of course, you can do that as well if you wish).

Even the entry level Platinum we tried isn’t the stuff of cheap “tequila shots.” The aged tequilas are even more high end:  DeLeón Leóna ($850.00), is a private reserve anejo tequila finished in French Sauternes casks.  There is also the DeLeón Extra Anejo ($350) which is 108 proof and aged for 36 months; DeLeón Diamante ($150),blending  anejo and blanco tequila.There’s also three more traditional tequilas under the DeLeón Ultra-Premium line: DeLeón Anejo ($70.00); Reposado ($65.00) and the Platinum we sampled ($60.00).

DeLeon Ancho

1  oz. DeLeon® Platinum

o.5  oz. ancho chile liqueur 

1  oz. apple cider 

0.5  oz. fresh lime juice

Shake ingredients vigorously with clean, cold ice. Strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass rimed with the smoky salt.

 For more information visit the DeLeon Tequila Web Site

With a name like “Crystal Head” these unique vodkas, poured into glass skull bottles,  show their unique style before you even take a sip We were able to sample Crystal Head Vodka at The Secret Lounge in the White Street Restaurant in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood.  This little lounge in the basement of the restaurant was the perfect place to try  the original Crystal Head Vodka and Crystal Head Aurora, a new offering from Crystal Head Vodka.  The original Crystal Head vodka was developed by actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd and aritist John Alexander.  The glass skull bottle was designed by an artist because the creators felt this bottle was worthy of one of the world’s purest vodkas. The original Crystal Head Vodka is made from corn and, as one might expect, has some sweet notes up front with a subtle vanilla finish.  The new offering, Aurora, which comes in the crystal skull as well, but this version gives off reflections of color similar to the aurora borealis.  The product is distilled from English wheat, and while still sweet up front has a bit more fire on the finish. Aurora also has some distinct cucumber notes mid palette that make it an excellent choice for pairing with bitter cocktails.

At the event we sampled two holiday cocktails made from the vodkas.  The new Aurora is extremely smooth, and was used to create a bitter herb-y cocktail using saffron and apricot tea infusion.  The cocktail had an obvious saffron nose, and was bitter across the palate.  However, the finish was very refreshing, reminiscent of clean laundry (in a good way).  The original Crystal Head Vodka was used in a gimlet, with cucumber and lavender. The cocktail was quite refreshing with a tart but smooth finish.  It paired extremely well with marinated salmon.  We would probably have used the Aurora in this cocktail to bring out the cucumber notes, but the mixologists who designed them suggested it might be too much.  The scent of just a few bits of genuine lavender was so unique and festive, we’re including the recipe, below.