Dear Drink To That Reader,
When the days get shorter and the cold creeps in, it’s important to keep your spirits up. One way to do that is to drink some warming spirits.
Here are a few of my favourite sipping spirits for the autumn and winter months.
William George White Rum
Brand Story
William George was founded by Andrew and Richard Nicholls in honour of their two granddads, William Simpson and George Nicholls. William arrived in Zambia in 1938 and then returned to England to fight in World War II. He then returned to Zambia after the war to settle down for good. George relocated from England to Zimbabwe in 1956.
Andrew and Richard wanted to provide a fitting tribute to two people who shaped them. This dedication to family is captured in the William George label. It features a compass which points towards true north at 11 degrees west. The direction was calculated from Victoria Falls at the time that William and George lived in Africa. This is a reflection of a core value of the brand, with true north being interpreted as the right path towards honesty.
The font for the label was taken from George’s birth certificate and a message that William wrote to his wife can be read on the side. It says ‘blissful happiness for decades of time,’ a lovely sentiment for an even lovelier rum.
Craftsmanship
The William George is a blend of six different rums, with four being sourced from Jamaica and the other two coming from Trinidad & Tobago. The Jamaican rums are pot-stilled, while the Trinidad & Tobago varieties are multi-column distilled.
It’s worth pointing out that one of the Trinidadian rums is aged for 2 – 5 years in ex-Bourbon barrels and carbon filtered to remove the colour. The other five rums are unaged. All the rums are blended in Amsterdam by E&A Scheer.
Tasting Notes
There’s a good amount of sweetness in the rum that caught my attention right away. Notes of peach, banana and cherry appear at the front of the mouth and give way to nutty flavours of pine, chestnut and almonds. An undercurrent of grassiness sneaks in towards the end and leaves behind an aftertaste of vanilla and raisins.
As William George is bottled at 43% ABV, there’s some great intensity to it that makes it good for sipping and for swigging in cocktails. I can honestly say it’s made me reevaluate my perception of white rum and it could do the same for you too.
ABV: 43%
Origin: Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago
Variety: Molasses
Style: White
Nose: Cherry, stewed fruits, banana
Mouthfeel:Peach, banana, cherry, vanilla, almond, pine nut, raisins
Majo No Itazaru ‘Witch’s Kiss’ Shochu
Background
Produced by the Yamato Brewery of Saga prefecture, the Majo no Itazura shochu has something of an identity crisis because of its name. Roughly translating to ‘witch’s kiss’ in English, a quick Google search of the Japanese phrase reveals the kind of imagery that would look right at home in a hentai collection.
This was the kind of dilemma that sake expert and importer Kasia Hitchcock had when trying to market the shochu in the UK. Over coffee and crumpets at The Sparrows in Manchester, Kassia told me that she went with witch’s kiss because it worked with the label on the bottle and tapped into the image of a traditional witch.
The label has plenty of hex appeal, showing a witch riding her broomstick against a golden moon. Her ever faithful black cat clings to the top, looking out into the night sky.
In terms of the ingredients, Witch’s Kiss is distilled from roasted barley and bottled at 25% ABV.
Tasting notes
‘What the hell am I smelling?’ was the first thought that came to mind when I poured the first cup. Pumpkins and roasted vegetables was the answer. A smoky, rich aroma that rushed in like an autumn breeze. Then I was blindsided by a powerful hit of pork scratchings in the mouth. Completely bizarre and completely awesome.
The savoury qualities built up until I was tasting stray notes of Yorkshire pudding and rye bread. They came at the back of the mouth, surrounded by a wall of whisky smoke courtesy of the roasted barley.
The Witch’s Kiss also proved to be versatile in how it can be served. I tested it out with a mix of cold water and noticed that the harsher flavours were tamed. I also tried it with hot water in the oyuwari style and noticed that the whisky flavours cut through.
Witch’s Kiss shochu is as off-the-wall as it is tasty. It’s brimming with character and contradiction, a great barley shochu suited for autumn and winter.
ABV: 25%
Type: Honkaku (single-distilled)
Ingredients: Roasted barley
Harusame Kari Awamori
Japanese spirits like awamori have some of the most unique brewing methods and flavours profiles to be found anywhere on the planet. Awamori comes from Okinawa and packs more of a punch than sake and shochu with an ABV that ranges from between 30% – 43%.
Harusame Kari, produced by Miyazato Distillery, is a multi-layered drink that stacks oodles of flavour on top of each other.
Background
Harusame Kari comes from the tiny Miyazato Distillery that’s been producing some of the finest Ryukyu awamori for over 60 years. The brewery was founded in 1946 on the tropic island of Naha.
Crafted with black koji mould and long-grain Thai indica rice, Harasume Kari goes through an intricate distillation process that differs from the creation of sake.
The rice is first washed and steamed for 45 – 50 minutes in a huge stainless-steel drum. Then, the rice is cooled and mixed with black koji mould spores, which kickstarts the starch-to-sugar conversion necessary for the birth of alcohol. The koji-inoculated awamori rice is then left for a day so the mould can propagate.
Next, the moromi (fermentation mash) stage happens in a single ferment, which is different from the two-stage fermentation method of shochu. The ingredients are left to ferment for between 10 – 20 days and then moves to the distillation stage, which involves steam from a boiler being injected into the metal drum. The alcohol in the mash turns to vapour and is then turned back into liquid in a condenser.
Afterwards, the Miyazato Distillery will age the Harusame Kari for 3 years.
Tasting notes
The Harusame Kari has a clean aroma that masks complex flavours. The first sip reveals vivid notes of walnut and hazelnut undercut by traces of sweetness. The taste of fudge and cream burns in the mouth and crashes across the palate like a tsunami. Then, a third wave of flavour kicks in, carrying hints of vanilla and black pepper that leave behind a spicy aftertaste. Lingering notes of mushroom and ginger prickle on the tongue.
I tried the awamori with ice, but even that couldn’t hold back the strong savoury aromas that barrel over the taste buds. Drinking the awamori is smooth, though it may taste overpowering for someone who isn’t used to the robust flavours of Japanese alcohol.
If you enjoy strong aromas and creamy liquor, then the Harusame Kari is a must-try drink.
ABV: 30%
Type: Awamori
Koji: Black