Whenever
I get a thirst for a specialty spirit, I have to admit, ponderosa
pine resin has never entered into the conversation, much less
even crossed my mind. And I do believe, you could also add
pinon nuts to this list as well. Well, for John Jeffery, the
head distiller over at New Mexico's Santa Fe Spirits, it crossed
his mind while he was running on Atalaya mountain just outside
of town.
The
pinon and ponderosa he smelled along his run inspired him
to add those ingredients and their smells and flavors to some
Silver Coyote single malt white whiskey. He roasts the pinon
nuts and soaks them in the whiskey in a new oak barrel for
two months and sweetens that spirit with sugar and pine resin.
I
don't believe anyone else on this planet combines those ingredients,
much less uses either one alone or in combination with other
botanicals. I do know they put a lot of ingredients in some
gins, in some cases more than a dozen botanicals but never
pinon nuts or pine resin. Well, this has certainly piqued
my interest; let's see what this liqueur is all about.
With
that particular list of ingredients, I wasn't quite sure what
to expect when I opened this squat 375ML bottle, but I can
guarantee you, I wasn't expecting the nose to remind me of
a delicate old scotch! There is a very light touch to all
the aromas, but I can discern the pine and pinon and, of course
the oak. along with a touch of butterscotch and vanilla. On
the palate, the oak becomes more pronounced yet is rapidly
pursued by the pinon and pine and followed by the butterscotch
while the vanilla morphs into a honey like flavor.
It
is very smooth with almost no tell tale signs of ethanol or
pepper. The finish is also smooth and sweet and nutty and
warm and short in duration. This is a very uniquely flavored
liqueur thanks to the pinon and pine, yet the oak takes me
in a familiar direction. The whiskey base is the perfect starting
point for this spirit. If you're not afraid to take a run
on the wild side of Santa Fe, then this is your cup of tea.
Atapiño
is only available in 375 millimeter bottles and is 38% ABV
and will set you back about $30.00.
By George Brozowski
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