Tasting Notes: A Greener Spirit

Organic liquors hold their own for cocktails

Written by: Chris O’Hara

Although I am generally willing to pay extra to purchase organically produced goods, there is a dividing line that begins with my evening cocktail. While there is an abundance of organically produced liquors and beers on the market and I’ll try anything once—I’ll be damned if I am going to sacrifice flavor to replace my Beefeater with organic gin, or my Johnnie Walker with organic scotch. But for the sake of the environment, I thought I would give it a shot.

I quickly found a variety of top-shelf organic liquors to try from the Organic Spirits Company, of Surrey, England, and imported via its US partner-company New Hampshire-based Maison Jomere. Certified organic by the USDA—and sporting a double certification from the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) and the U.K.’s Soil Association—this company was the real deal. Best-known for the award-winning Juniper Green London Dry Gin, the company also imports an organic scotch, vodka and several types of rum.

According to Maison Jomere president Paul Davis, the fact that its vodka and gin do not require filtering makes them “the smoothest distillate known to man.” In addition, Davis let me know that his organic scotch was “so smooth it could be considered dangerous.” Since I’m an Irishman with a penchant for both exaggeration and Scotch whiskey, no more needed to be said. I would start with the whiskey.

Some Notes on Taste:

Highland Harvest Organic Scotch Whiskey
Produced from “a blend of three organic malt whiskeys and organic grain whiskey,” Highland Harvest has a nose similar to some of the mass-market blended scotches out there like Dewar’s. It starts blandly on the palate and then simply explodes on the back of the tongue with pure malt flavor and a slight alcohol zing. The drink had a marvelously smooth aftertaste—in fact, “dangerously smooth” was not an exaggeration. I had to stop myself from having a second sample immediately. If this was an organic cocktail, then I was an organic cocktail drinker. Will it replace the Glenlivet 15? No. But it might just pinch-hit with the Johnnie Walker Black with increasing regularity.

Papagayo Spiced Rum
My next stop was the Papagayo spiced rum, made from white rum produced from Paraguayan organic sugarcane and flavored with organically grown ingredients, including mead, molasses, ginger, vanilla and (interestingly) chili. Upon pouring a healthy tumbler of the spiced rum and inhaling its vapors, I found that the usual alcoholic “tang” wasn’t there, just the smell of the spices and a very pleasant, light rum scent. The rum is quite smooth, produces a lovely burst of alcohol on the back of the palate and then leaves a lingering hint of ginger and molasses on the tongue. It is delicious neat; I also enjoyed a traditional Cuba libre (rum and Coke), and noted that the flavors did not get overwhelmed by the cola, but provided an excellent complement to the sweetness. The white rum was perfectly good as well, and as good any other quality white rums for mixing.

Vodkas
I was fortunate to have two excellent organic vodkas to sample: the elegantly packaged Rain vodka, a “super-premium” vodka made from American corn and Maison Jomere’s Utkins’s UK5 Organic Vodka, made from rye grown on a single organic farm in Germany. Certainly, organically produced vodkas made in extremely small batches would have the edge over commercially produced brands like Belvedere and Grey Goose. I would have to give the edge to Rain, but both vodkas certainly made the case for offering a rock-solid organic choice for the evening martini.

Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin
I saved the gin for last, partly because I knew it would be strong enough to overcome a palate battered by tasting several types of liquor, and because I was most intrigued by an organic gin. With all the botanicals that go into the typical gin (coriander, juniper, angelica root and savory in the UK5 version—but sometimes dozens of botanicals in other brands), I was wondering how it would even be feasible to obtain the amount of organic ingredients necessary to produce a gin in commercial quantities. Well, the answer is that it is not. Juniper Green is actually produced in Europe’s smallest commercial stills, named Tom Thumb and Thumbelina for their diminutive sizes, making an extremely small-batch, craft-type gin. I found it to be well-balanced, somewhat light (coming in at 86 proof, compared to Bombay Sapphire, which packs 90 proof) and absolutely delicious. Adding a drop of dry vermouth (and lots of ice, stirring and pouring into an ice-cold martini glass) really brought the flavor out. My first organic gin martini was one of the best I have had recently.

In general, my impression of organic liquors was that as a rule, they are somewhat “milder” than commercially produced liquors. At first you may find the noticeable lack of an alcoholic “zip” odd, but what you will notice in its absence is genuine flavor—especially in the spiced rum and botanical gin, where the flavors really benefit from a smoother base liquor. The scotch, which I consider the true organic test, was also impressive. I would not hesitate to serve it to a guest either straight-up or on the rocks, which I consider a fairly demanding standard. Therefore, I can report that there is more than fad to organic liquor—there really is a compelling reason to enjoy it. Here are a few cocktails to try once you get your hands on some:

• Organic Mojito
• Classic Dry Organic Gin Martini

Interested in trying organic liquors?
Ask your neighborhood store to contact local distributor Omici in Plainview.

Christopher B. O’Hara is the award-winning author of The Bloody Mary, Hot Toddies and four other books. His most recent book, Great American Beer, won a Esquire “Man at His Best” award. He lives in Lloyd Harbor, New York.