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Wine Enthusiast Magazine
50 Best Spirits of 2005

Page 6  - BRANDY & LIQUEURS

Villa Zarri
Acquavitae di Vino
Trebbiano dei Collio Tosco-Romagnoli
10-Year-Old Italian Brandy
(Italy; Wine Wave, Inc., Jericho, NY)
44% abv,  $80.  9095
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
An extra aged Trebbiano brandy. Opening scents are of tobacco leaf, walnut butter and oak; later sniffings find new aromas of ginger, cinnamon and pipe tobacco. Palate entry is oily, buttery and semisweet; at midpalate the taste stays the course of oil/butter, adding delicious notes of vanilla and an early-budding rancio/blue cheese quality. Finishes classy, spirity warm, woody and elegant.

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Cardenal Mendoza      

Cardenal Mendoza Sanchez Romate Solera
Gran Reserva Brandy de Jerez
(Spain; Shaw-Ross Int'l Importers, Miramar, FL)
40% abv,  $43.  9095
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
A delightful and massive bouquet of ripe grapes and fruit-topped cheesecake with deep-seated aromas of prunes, dates, figs, coffee beans and chocolate-covered cherries. The palate entry is long, sweet, cocoa-like and rich; at midpalate subtle bittersweet hints of citrus, black coffee and caramel emerge. Finishes virile, sweet and concentrated.

 

Barsol Pisco
Traditional Peruvian Italia Grape Brandy
(Peru; Master Merchant LLC, Miami, FL)
40% abv,  $20.  9095
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
A bouquet of banana, guava and papaya, with a slight dash of sweet herbs. The palate entry is sweet, ripe and silky; at midpalate the tastes of ripe grapes and yellow watermelon are exhilarating. Concludes on a semisweet, fruity/acidic/melony note. Very elegant.

      Barsol Pisco

Cointreau     

Cointreau
Liqueur
(France; Remy Amerique, Inc. New York, NY)
40% abv,  $32.  96100
CLASSIC (90-95)/Highest Recommendation
A sophisticated orange pulp bouquet, which after aeration, turns much more dry peel-like. The palate entry is intensely orange peel-like yet more sweet than bittersweet; the midpalate stage is deeply orangey, sweet and sublimely juicy. Finishes ideally citrusy/tart/astringent, then turns lithe and sweet. The benchmark for all orange-flavored liqueurs/triple secs. State of the art.

Starbucks
Coffee Liqueur
(USA; Fielding & Jones, Ltd. Cincinnati, OH)
20% abv,  $23.  9095
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
Luscious aromas are of cocoa bean, cigarette tobacco and sand/gravel. The palate entry is strong yet elegant, coffee-like and bittersweet; at midpalate the bittersweet element gives way to an intense coffee bean flavor that’s right on the money. Finishes bitter and genuinely coffee-like.

      Starbucks Coffee Liqueur

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