It’s from the Sauza family, the people who bring us Sauza tequila, which is the house-pouring and cocktail base at Frontera Bar & Grill in Jaya One.

The last time i was at this Tex-Mex joint, i got blasted (tx to Kenny Sia) on some crazy Mexican chili called habanero, and tequila of course.

Ramesh of Frontera introduces us to the first of two Tres Generaciones, the Reposado (which means it’s aged between two months and a year). This one did four months in American oak. Obviously it’s 100% agave.

Reposado

The bottle is cool, like some ol skool Aztec shit. Funny, i just talked about the Aztecs in a recent post.

It has a citrusy nose, while very easy on the palette. You can swirl it around your mouth without any facial reaction then swallow. It’s got a smooth, and a lil spicy finish. No salt or lime necessary of course.

Yup, a tequila that can be sipped. But as it’s the super premium range of Sauza, expect to pay 50 bucks a shot.

The other one is the Anejo (meaning aged minimum of one year, but less than three years).

Style

The Anejo has a caramel tinge, but is less sweet and spicier. This one did 12 months in toasted American oak.

Frontera makes all its margarita from Sauza gold (which is 100% agave tequila), so u can be sure its good shit. And, rather than regular sugar syrup, the cocktail is sweetened with imported agave nectar. It tastes like herbally honey. Awesome flavour. Almost like a Ricola! Haha

And the margaritas are made with fresh lime juice. No cordial crap. A pitcher is 110++ (7.5 shots of Sauza).

Special

Frontera has the $50 for 3 deal for Guinness etc all day. Happy hours is 5-9pm, where margaritas are 2+1.

There are a total of 11 different tequila here (including Patron), besides a wide range of Mexican food. The nachos platter kicks ass.

Brain damage: 7.5/10

Rums are complex, unique spirits, but there tends to be very limited variety here. Everybody seems to only know Bacardi of course, which actually is a very basic, commercial rum. There ‘re shitloads of styles and varieties that come from the Caribbean islands, the home of rum.

Left view...

...Right view

My favourite are the aged ones. Superb.

The shootout took place courtesy of Flavours magazine, who needed my ‘expertise’ as one of the tasters for its drinking article on a dozen popular rums. A dozen! Nice.

The last one i did with them was this tasting for wines below $80, which was fun! Coz i tasted 28 wines.

In session

I was a lil late, so had to catch up on the first few rums, which were white. All taken neat of course, and blind.

Numbers 1 to 3 were pretty straight. Low on flavours, not very complex. The Angostura Reserva was pretty vodka-like, and i scored it 8/20 (points – max 2 for colour, 6 for nose, and 12 for overall taste, for a max score of 20).

Dats one bowl i sure would never use, except to park stuff

The Havana Club Anejo Blanco (Cuba) scored 8 as well, with a sweetish finish. The first white that i downed was number 3, Matusalem Platino, well-rounded and a 10/20 for me.

Then come the gold rums, starting with the Mount Gay (Barbados, scored it 12/20), which has a sweet start but is harsh later. With a nose of tequila and a sweet-spicy taste, the Bundaberg (Aust) is a little more complex.

Nose the dose. The man, Junior, mixologist from View Bar

By now, am starting to buzz. Just to make sure, the next rum is the Bundaberg Overproof. I didnt know that of course, and wrote “Boom! on the tongue, strong alco flavour start to finish. Smells better than it tastes!” Haha. Waddya expect from an an ass-kicker at 57.7%.

Rum number 7 turns out to be Captain Morgan Spiced, which i used to like. Its got a nose of caramely-spice, with tastes of cinnamon & spice, vanilla, fruit, but with a harsh n boring finish. These days i dig Captain Morgan Black Label. Killa.

Come here!

Out come my highlight, the dark rums. Yea!

Obvious bias there.

It began with the Matusalem Reserva, which gave me hints of tobacco n spice, and was a lil harsh (12/20).

Sweet ass

Then i hit the Ron Zacapa Centenario, a rum from the high altitudes in Guatemala. It’s from rums aged between 6 and 23 years. Taken neat, it’s almost honey-like sweet, consistent throughout, some woodiness, good vanilla too. Fruity, velvety and well-rounded, it would be great on the rocks. Scored it 17/20.

Followed by the Angostura 1824, which is from Trinidad. A nose of leather, spice and oak. Taste: chocolaty spice, very smooth, silky even. This is a rum with depth, spiciness, and some complexity. Extremely smooth taken neat, like a good Cognac. It got a high score from me, 18/20.

The 1824 is aged in charred American oak bourbon barrels for a minimum of 12 years.

Yums

Rum number 11 was the Angostura 1919, with a nose of leathery musky cologne, and taste-wise, it’s very spicy, roasty caramel; oaky n spicy finish. Not the smoothest, but an interesting complexity. Would drink it again (17/20).

The final rum – Angostura 7 Years. I found the start to be very harsh, and too goddam spicy for me. Might be good with ice n water (14/20).

'Hard work'

It was probably the most exciting tasting i’ve been to. Rums are fun, and many of the aged, premium ones are as interesting as cognacs and whiskies. It aint just for pirates.

But u can get your pirate name here. Mine’s Wayward Dizzy-Eyed Pignut. Watdefuck’s a pignut?

The best part of the session is, i got to keep a bottle of my favourite rum, the 18/20 Angostura 1824 baby!

Man, these things should happen monthly! Or i should just live in the Caribbean.

Brain damage: 8/10

Sudah mari

It’s been available since Nov last year at duty-free, and was meant to be exclusive to that segment, but not anymore.

Should be enough for our table

“Overwhelming demand dictated that it should be introduced to a wider audience but still as a limited edition targeting key gifting occasions,” says Charles Wright, JW brand manager.

Charles, a major fan of the DB

It uses whiskies from Scotland’s west coast, thus making it peatier, smokier and more intense. I enjoy it with water. Anyway i reviewed it a few months back here.

The bottle is nice – shape-wise, the same at the Black Label, with a charcoal tint. Labelling is a lil different. ABV is unchanged at 40%.

We also enjoyed a guided tasting session

U can get your thirsty throats satisfied with this award-winner at Cold  Storage, Jusco, Sunshine and other retailers. Recommended retail price is about $209.

U want it, get it, coz it’s estimated to run locally until CNY 2012.

Old Pulteney is not a common Scotch over here. However, a company called Interbev brings them in, and according to them, there’re plans to promote the brand locally.

Lookin good

According to the distillery, the £74.99, 46% ABV drink is a marriage of bourbon cask and sherry (American not European wood) cask-matured whisky.

According to Jim, ““Owned by a relatively-small company, without the financial muscle of the major whisky barons to market their malts on the global stage, I hope that this award helps Pulteney to become better known around the world; that is the whole point of my Whisky Bible, after all.”

The bible includes an astounding 2,100 new whisky releases!

Second and third places went to US bourbons George T Stagg, by Buffalo Trace Distillery, and Parker’s Heritage collection Wheated Mash Bill Bourbon, aged 10 years.

Look forward to seeing more OP around.

It’s large, dark and stylish. And it comes in a awesome box. This is the  Jasper Goodall Limited Edition (only 1,000 bottles worldwide), launched at an art gallery in Bukit Bandaraya recently.

An old picture of an ad

The new bottle has a smoky, dark hue, which fades out at the bottom to reveal the whisky, on a thick base.

At 1750ml, it’s even larger than a magnum. And i especially love how Jasper, a renowned illustrator, has redesigned the legendary Striding Man into a fiery version.

Bottle-autographing in process

Jasper’s inspiration for the limited edition design came from a visit to a whisky distillery years ago when the tour guide explained that over time, a small amount of whisky evaporates and escapes every barrel, and how this process is known as the “angel’s share”.

I wouldn’t light up a cigarette in there.

On fire

The Striding Man, a Johnnie Walker icon, was first drawn by cartoonist Tom Browne on the back of a menu card in 1908.

According to Jasper,  “I wanted to try to visually capture the taste of Black Label, its smoothness, its softness and its golden warmth. Twisting, nebulous forms build together to create images from abstraction; illustrating the entire flavour spectrum.”

Good job

Johnnie Walker’s brand manager Charles Wright feels that this limited edition bottle is a rare piece of JW heritage, and would just as easily find its way into the home of the whisky connoisseur, as it would the home of an art lover.

Same contents - good ol JW Black

Or maybe eBay. Only 1,000 has been produced for the world. Considering  170 million bottles of JW are sold each year, one thousand is only …%, ..well u can do the math.

I wouldnt mess with that guy in a dark alley

I’ve got bottle number 480. You can score yourself a piece directly from Moet Hennessy Diageo (email Daphene.Dunn@mhdm.com.my), with a reasonable RRP of RM788. It definitely has gifting potential.

When ur in trouble, fire-up the Batman spotlight. But thirsty? Striding Man!

The gold-etched bottle looks cool, and the flakes lie suspended. The drink was a hit during the trial run at Mumbai Airport, out-performing targets.

Texts show that the practice of putting gold in alcohol dates back to ancient Egypt. Them weird Pharaohs.

A recommended serve: The Golden Delicious – Smirnoff Gold mixed with apple liqueur, cinnamon and a dash of maple syrup.

I think i’ll infuse some cinnamon into my Baad Apples™ cider.

Like all Smirnoffs, it’s triple-distilled, 10 times charcoal-filtered. The product comes in a one litre bottle at 40%abv, with a recommended selling price of US$36 (RM108).

Goddam.

You comfy?

Exquisite. A dream come true for me. Haha. Charles, u da man.

Other newbies are Captain Morgan Black Label rum, Lemon Hart Demerara Rum, a Glenlivet 12 Years (tx Gleeson), Stolichnaya vodka, Dewar’s 12 Years, Johnnie Walker Red, Black, Gold & Green labels, a Havana Club anejo rum, Angostura 1824 Limited Reserve rum (tx Suzanne), and a Laphroaig Quarter Cask (tx Khabir), which was voted best single malt by The Whisky Shop.

My bar is gettin rum-heavy. Good.

Kao

Besides the Blue Label, the Angostura 1824 from the lil island of Trinidad is superb. Extremely smooth, a lil spicy, with a depth of flavours. Can be enjoyed neat, with Cognac feel, almost honey-like. Interestingly, it’s a blended rum! Using those aged in charred American oak bourbon barrels for a minimum of 12 years.

Silky gold

I’m sure likin d collection!

Golden apple wrapped by ginger leaves

The Orient Apple (40%, 75cl) is the latest, just launched in May in Frankfurt, and sales are restricted to travel retail for now. Havent tried it, but it claims to merge the crisp sweetness of fresh apples with the deep spicy aroma of ginger.

It’s got no added sugar or artificial flavour enhancers. The apple graphic appears to float in the bottle due to an optical effect.

Cute

Watkins (40%, 1 liter) launched in January, and is a limited edition, exclusive to travel retail, as the target group is global travelers. Decor of the Watkins bottle was created by Swedish fashion illustrator and artist, Liselotte Watkins.

It’s flavours are of reshly ground coffee with notes of almond, caramel and chili. Chili??

Its suggested mix is cola. Not for me. Cinnamon Chic sounds interesting – which is Watkins, lime juice and sum cinnamon syrup. Shake with ice and serve.

Regionally, the Watkins is available at Changi Airport in Singapore now, and Kuala Lumpur International sometime this year.

Tried it out recently. Quite different from the Black Label; a lot more smokiness, as its uses West Coast whiskies. Some Islay style. Although it’s blend, it’s got a distinct character that suggests otherwise. More like a single-malt.

The whisky was created taking Black Label as a blueprint and adding heavily-peated malts, with some aged in deeply charred oak casks.

Giant stills at the Cardhu distillery

Some of those who enjoy Black Label might appreciate something more complex like the Double Black. Price wise, its 15-20% higher than Black Label.

It’s reported to be doin really well – it’s already number eight in travel retail liquors by value, above Absolut Blue, Jack Daniel’s and Famous Grouse – exceeding sales targets seven times!

At the mo, its available exclusively in travel retail at selected airports. KLIA probably not yet, but is designated to be available at Bangkok International and Changi.

Loos like the JW DB is set to be a hit!

Set

It went down at The Hill, and pre-dinner drinks were Glenmorangie of course, which i had on the rocks. The fine whiskies were accompanied with pretty fine food as well.

I find Glenmorangie to be pretty experimental with their aging techniques, giving their whiskies different and more subtle flavours compared with other singles. In the ’60s they began using ex-bourbon casks when others were using sherry casks, and in 1996, they introduced their wood-finished range, utilizing port wood casks and wine barriques as final aging vessels. These styles are now used by many distilleries.

The first of three whiskies on the list was the Glenmorangie Original, the backbone of the range, aged 10 in American white oak bourbon casks. I liked this. It gives a floral-spice nose, while in the mouth, it has a short spiciness, a lil sweet, with a mild finish. There’s no tongue-bite, and has a hint of smokiness. Very good balance, to me at least.

A sit-down session

The Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or exhibits whiffs of vanilla. Taste-wise, it’s light caramel, woody, and creamier than the Original. There’s a persistency in the finish. But you wouldnt think that it weighs in at a fine 46%.

The Nectar is aged 12, with 10 years in American bourbon oak followed by time in Sauternes wine casks from France. This final aging is what gives this Scotch its distinct flavour.

Hot stuff

My first whiff of the Glenmorangie 18 Year Old somehow gave me flashbacks of the Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Damn. Must be some sort of craving that needs to be quenched. Hmmm.. (*hint hint* to Charles. Paging Charles Wright.)

It gives out sweetish and pleasant toffee notes. It tastes extremely smooth, sweet-sour and multi-layered. It finishes just as silky. It kinda reminds me of a very good aged rum, with a nutty tease.

Slowly matured for 15 years in the finest ex-bourbon oak casks, a proportion is transferred to Spanish Oloroso sherry casks for the final three years of maturation. Excellent.

I like. All three

I sure have renewed interest in Glenmorangie when it comes to drinking Scotch. Will certainly look forward to our next meeting!

Brain damage: 7.5/10