Canada Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Empress 1908 Gin

Posted on March 18, 2022March 18, 2022 by Nick

Handcrafted by Victoria Distillers in British Colombia, Empress 1908 Gin is a contemporary style gin that is infused with butterfly pea blossoms. With the use of this particular tea the gin harnesses one of the hottest trends in cocktails over the last couple years. The idea is that when acid touches the blue butterfly tea, it turns pink. The result is a product that seeks to balance contemporary gin with color in a package to make cocktails live out loud. So does it pull it off?

Empress 1908 Gin

Sight: Obviously, it is a blue to violet hue. The color is strikingly close to some Creme de Violet.

Smell: The nose starts out perfumed with roses and violets, giving way to juniper and citrus peels. An earthy note laces through the background, fringing into asparagus and herbs. A slight spice lingers around the edge.

Sip: The start is smooth and a hint sweet. The palate dries out, picking up rose and floral notes, touches of earth, green herbs, and plenty of citrus ranging from lemon oil to grapefruit. Coriander and juniper come up from the depths to tie everything together and grab the reins.

Savor: Juniper, earthy green vegetables, and coriander linger on the finish.

Empress 1908 Gin is not overly aggressive or floral, but does deliver plenty of citrus and juniper with a floral and earthy backdrop. The contemporary style’s earthiness is clearly a result of the butterfly pea blossoms that provide the indigo color. As contemporary gin styles go, the spice of coriander and the citrus nearly even things up with the juniper. The net result is a balanced gin that’s got slightly unique bent.

In Cocktails

In a Martini Empress 1908 Gin shows up to play background. The earthiness comes through with plenty of grapefruit and juniper. The vermouth tangos across center stage giving it’s herbal character and bright wine notes a starring role that hangs out on stage. The biggest pops come from the citrus oils and vermouth vinous notes. The result is a good martini that doesn’t quite demonstrate exceptionalness. That said, we find that some of the floral and citrus notes come out better in other applications, where the complexity doesn’t necessarily play a duet, but part of an ensemble, like our Flowers Are Expensive.

In Review – Empress 1908 Gin

Empress 1908 Gin is beautiful to look at and has a nice flavor profile. The cost isn’t exactly on the low end though, coming in at close to $40. Butterfly Pea Blossom Tea is pretty, but it’s also earthy, and in this application, it doesn’t bring enough beyond color to make it worthwhile. The contemporary flavors don’t end up significantly more interesting than Aviation, which comes in at a significantly cheaper $25. If you absolutely must have a bottle for the color, feel free to pay the premium. Otherwise, consider buying your own Butterfly Pea Tea – like this one we’ve used in the past from Amazon.

Barrell Seagrass

Posted on February 25, 2022February 15, 2022 by Nick

Barrell Seagrass was one of those polarizing whiskeys that made a lot of noise from reviewers over the past year. Consistently ranking highly, this Rye Whiskey is finished in Martinique Rum, Madeira, and Apricot Brandy Barrels for a one of a kind flavor. The result of this finishing is a character nothing quite like the rye whiskeys most people are used to. People have ranged from gushing to confused as a result, but most admit that it’s more of a flavor choice and price point than any actual defect with the whiskey.

Professional whiskey enthusiast Fred Minnick agreed, naming one of Barrell Seagrass’ one of his top 2 American whiskey of 2021. As result, Barrell Seagrass has been flying off the shelves, so it is worth the chase?

Barrell Seagrass

Barrell Seagrass is a blend of American (distilled in KY, IN, and TN) and Canadian rye whiskeys. These sourced whiskeys are then finished in the Martinique rum, Madeira, and apricot brandy barrels before being blended to make the distinctive flavor of Barrell Seagrass. As a result, proof varies between batches. This batch comes in at 118.58 proof.

Sight: Deep copper

Smell: Apricot and bubblegum come floating out with a good waft of heat. The apricot is sort of malleable, giving way to an apricot compote with a spiced note. Grassy notes with a touch of mint come in. The nose fringes into candy, almost like gummy bears laced with elderflower. The nose is very perfumed.

Sip: The palate is smooth and slightly sweet. The flavor of candied and dried apricot starts things off, before opening into spiced oak notes and a touch of grass. There’s a bittersweet almond and cocoa note that hints at the fringe. Grapefruit and elderflower come toward the tail and leave the ending with a floral character.

Savor: The ending brings in a wet stone, fresh rain on wood notes, and laces with grassy element, nuts and spices. The finish continues on with touches of unripe apricots and grapefruit pith.

Barrell Seagrass is distinct and unique thanks to the finishing process. The flavors are very well layered and balance between sweet, floral, and earthy. Apricot standouts out here, giving a perfumed character that runs all the way through the whiskey. The floral and nutty notes, combined with citrus makes for an exciting mix of flavors that keeps each sip evolving. Martinique rum also lends the earthy and funky flavors that make it hard to pin down what flavor is leading. Overall, the finishing job is tremendous, and it’s excitingly well done.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan, the apricot sweetness comes through front and center. It mingles with the grassy rhum notes and slightly minty rye notes to vibe with the herbal notes in the vermouth. The juicy red berry and caramelized notes of the vermouth bring an additional level of fruitiness. Finally a crazy floral streak runs right through the middle to brighten and perfume the whole drink. Spice and apricot round things out for a long finish. Overall, it’s a wild Manhattan, but probably not the best use of a high end finished rye.

In Review – Barrell Seagrass

Barrell Seagrass is priced at $80 – $90. The price is undoubtedly high, but the quality of the product matches in this case. From a cocktail enthusiast’s perspective, Barrell Seagrass offers an opportunity to make supercharged, superstar unique cocktails – but the price is prohibitive to experiment with. For standard classic cocktails, you’ll want to go with something more traditional like Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye or Pikesville, or even Rittenhouse. However, none of those will be anywhere near the unique sipping experience that Barrell Seagrass offers. This is a must try (and perhaps a try before you buy for a full bottle.)

Stirrings Ginger Liqueur

Posted on August 27, 2021July 29, 2021 by Nick

Ginger liqueur is unlikely to be the sort of thing you need when starting your bar. In fact, when it comes to ginger beer, only the Moscow Mule and Dark and Stormy are obvious. We previously discussed that in some books, they recommend you actual make your own ginger syrup instead of using ginger beer. While ginger syrup can be delicious and fun to play with in make new drinks, it isn’t always practical to run out and juice fresh ginger. So how does something off the shelf, like Stirrings Ginger Liqueur, do in its place.

Stirrings Ginger Liqueur

Sight: A pale hay like color, just fringing on yellow [Caramel Color Added].

Smell: The nose has the essence of freshly cut ginger, mixed with a touch of caramelized sugar and some floral notes. With the predominance of sweet smelling ginger, it’s not far off the nose of ginger beer.

Sip: The sip starts out sweet but immediately gets somewhat spicy. Rather than getting hot from the alcohol (which is only 25% A.B.V.), the spice is driven from the ginger. In a way, it’s oddly reminiscent of fresh ginger in this regard. Other touches of woody notes and sugar compliment the ginger.

Savor: The ending is spice, and unsurprisingly, more ginger. A small amount of sugar is left cloyingly behind.

Stirrings Ginger Liqueur is spicy and cloying, but undeniably ginger forward. As it goes, it conveys the flavor of ginger well without adding in a lot of distracting elements. If there’s a flaw, it’s the amount of sugar needed to subdue the ginger spice. Still, this isn’t a deal breaker for this liqueur, where it can take the place of reduce the amount of simple syrup required.

In Cocktails

In a cocktail Stirrings Ginger Liqueur unmistakably adds the flavor of ginger. This is particularly useful in a pinch if you haven’t had time to make your own ginger syrup.

The problem is there aren’t a broad group of classic cocktails that call for ginger liqueur. While we like to keep it around for crafting reasons (it goes particularly well with strawberries and fall spiced apple cocktails), it isn’t an everyday thing and very few of our original recipes rely on it.

In Review – Stirrings Ginger Liqueur

This isn’t a long review, primarily because there isn’t much to say about adding the flavor of ginger to things with Stirrings Ginger Liqueur. At the $16 price point, this bottle should last you a reasonable amount of time, and won’t break the bank. Be aware it isn’t the most complex ginger flavor in the world, and isn’t as good as making your own. That said, it is a value level brand that performs like a workhorse – should you find the need for ginger liqueur in your bar.

Crown Royal Peach

Posted on May 14, 2021May 4, 2021 by Nick

While we’re not particularly inclined to grab the flavor stuff off the shelfs, we know that Crown Royal does some well balanced flavored whiskeys. If you haven’t tried them, you especially owe it to yourself to try the Salted Caramel and Vanilla, both of which are rather delightful, if clearly flavored. This penchant for quality lead us to take a change on Crown Royal Peach. After all, summer is almost here, and there aren’t a lot of readily available peach liqueurs out there.

Crown Royal Peach

Sight: A beautiful mix of tawny and auburn.

Smell: There’s an amazing mix of fresh cut peaches and subtle more spicy, tea like notes. The peaches have only a hint of candied nature to them, and line up more with the smell right next to the pit of a fresh peach. The tea like elements are both herbal and slightly brown sugar like.

Sip: The sip is instantly sweet, but with a good amount of brightness and a tempered oak. The flavor of fresh peaches predominates, but brings in more of a candied element. Notes of sweet tea and woody elements creep in, giving a beautiful character.

Savor: The finish continues it’s balanced sweetness and leans into a black tea and peach character. It lingers longingly without being cloying.

Crown Royal Peach is decidedly peach forward, yet also extraordinarily well balanced. The brightness to the peach is natural and inviting. The whiskey elements lend some spice and herbal notes that decidedly compliment the whiskey. These elements make it a great option on ice, but also for mixing. It also should have better availability than some other liqueurs due to Crown’s distribution network.

In Cocktails

There are no obvious cocktails for a peach flavored whiskey, but in crafting originals, it’s well balanced and not overwhelming. It plays particularly well with lemon and honey syrups, leaning on it’s tea like elements. The subtle sweetness also helps it blend in. It’s worth noting that it’s not so sweet as to imbalance a drink. For these reasons, it may work as a stand in for Giffard Peche de Vigne, but keep in mind the underlying whiskey notes will make a difference.

Crown Royal Peach Overall

Crown Royal has most likely hit a solid triple with their Crown Royal Peach. The whiskey is very good and well balanced. The flavors are also natural and inviting. There’s a solid balance as well, but there’s something that leaves it rather one note. The success will depend on people finding easy obvious uses. With that said, we certainly hope Crown Royal Peach can stick around.

Malibu Coconut Rum

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Nick

What ever possessed me to purchase a bottle of Malibu Coconut Rum is beyond me. Nowhere in the pantheon of prohibition or modern drinks is a sweet, coconut flavored liqueur mentioned as a key ingredient to, well, anything. Yet, somehow, it found it’s way into my home, and ultimately into some of the first cocktails we ever made.

Malibu Coconut Rum is a product of Canada. You know, the warm, tropical, rum producing islands of Canada. Pernod Ricard then imports it into the U.S, where it conjures sunny images of warm palm tree lined Canadian beaches. It should be noted that despite all my snark, it does contain natural coconut flavor as evidenced in their nutrition where coconut is called out as an allergen.

Malibu Coconut Rum

For the purposes of evaluating Malibu Coconut Rum fairly, I’ll evaluate it as a liqueur. To evaluate it as a rum would lead to me treating it like an unholy abomination. This would be unfair to it, and I recommend you think about Malibu accordingly if looking for a rum.

Sight: It’s clear, but definitely somewhat more viscous

Smell: It smells like creamy coconut. Like you might expect from sun tan lotion. There’s a small amount of ether and vanilla notes as well.

Sip: The start is sweet and thick, almost syrup like. The flavors of coconut and light touches of sugary rum ether come through. There’s a creaminess here as well, and a little bit of bite that builds. The sugar is boarding into cloying.

Savor: On the finish it’s smooth, sugary, and more coconut. It has a bit of split between raw shaved coconut, coconut candy flavor, and toasted coconut.

Malibu Coconut Rum accomplishes coconut in spades. It’s basically what I’d imagine coconut flavoring to taste like if lightened with sugar and a relatively neutral cane spirit. Bear in mind, this is labeled as a liqueur, and you should consider it as such. As liqueur, it’s strong in coconut flavoring, if a little seemingly candy like.

In Cocktails

Malibu Coconut Rum is mild enough to be treated as a base if you are so inclined, and want a strong coconut forward element. Due to the strong nature, it can also be successfully used as a modifier, replacing other fruit liqueurs. The versatility is quite good, but mind the sugar when using it as a base. Finally, if you only have a limited amount of space – Malibu is a poor choice due to the few tiki and classic cocktails where it could be effectively used.

Malibu Coconut Rum Overall

Malibu holds a place on our shelf primarily as modifier and for some rare instances where we have existing drink recipes that call for it. It is pretty ubiquitous, being available almost everywhere as a low price. That said, unless you have a use or enjoy super sweet liqueurs with strong, simple coconut flavoring, then Malibu isn’t one of our recommend bottles for your crafting shelf.

If you’re looking for one of our favorite drinks to make with Malibu Coconut Rum check out our original Peach’s Parasol.