Spirit of the Week Special V-Day Edition: Likkers of Love
By Jay Erisman, EQ Wine and Spirits Manager
Lots of Champagne gets drunk on Valentine’s Day, as well as a distressing number of frilly-fruity-fuchsia cocktails. But what about spirits? Can we get some love in here for flammable beverages? Here are three picks for the sexiest, supple-ist, swingingest spirits for any romantic occasion, any of which will close down a dinner date in style.
Château de Beaulon Cognac
Château de Beaulon, March 2007
It’s tough to beat a fine Cognac for elegance in the spirit world, and Château de Beaulon is one of the very best. This estate bottled distiller raises heirloom Cognac grapes such as Folle Blanche, Colombard and the unheard-of Montils. Just like heirloom tomatoes and apples and potatoes, these 19th-century grapes simply have more flavor than the modern Cognac grape. Distiller and organic farmer Christian Thomas deploys his grapes to full effect, showing terrific floral-fruit tones across the entire range. If you can swing it (and if your honey has been good this year) the 1976 is utterly sublime, but even the 7 Year 100% Folle Blanche delivers a blast straight out of the French flower gardens that surround the château. 
Château de Beaulon 7 Year Folle Blanche $49.99
Château de Beaulon 12 Year Grande Fine $65.99
Château de Beaulon 1976 Vintage $147.99
Qi White Tea Liqueur
Qi White Tea Liqueur
Qi springs from the fertile mind of master distiller Lance Winters. Lance is the evil genius behind St. George Spirits acclaimed Hangar One Vodkas and Single Malt Whiskey. Qi is his private venture, a unique spirits company that translates the flavors of the world’s most consumed beverage–tea–into beautiful liqueurs. Lance’s first Qi (that’s pronounced chee, and is the Chinese character for “life-energy.” The first Qi release was Qi Black, using smoky Lapsang Souchong tea. Qi White uses, obviously, white tea, plus bergamot and orange over a base of aged Chardonnay brandy. The sweetening–honey, in this case–is moderate, and never turns cloying. And at a robust 80 proof, Qi drinks like a rich, full-bodied spirit. It’s just great to sip on, and the white tea notes come out in the most teasing, subtle way. Like a great lover, there’s a mystery to the flavor of Qi.
Qi White Tea Liqueur 750 ml $29.99 375 ml $19.99
Jacopo Poli Moscato Grappa
Are you nuts, Erisman? Recommending grappa, that peasant firewater, for Valentine’s Day? Oh, but Jacopo Poli is no peasant, but a true master craftsman, carefully hewing to a distilling aesthetic that extracts utter purity from each grape. Grappa is made from grape pomace, the leftover skins and seeds from winemaking, and in olden times was indeed a coarse and rustic drink. In Jacopo’s hands, pomace of Moscato grapes are turned into a fistful of flowers. This grappa is astonishingly easy to drink, even for a grappa first-timer, full of ripe fruits and multi-hued flower petals. Heck, it practically attracts bees!
Jacopo Poli Moscato Grappa $55.99
Jacopo Poli tends his stills, October, 2008.
Tags: cognac, romantic, spirits, valentine's day