New Spirit: Barsol Perfecto Amor

Earlier this year, Anchor Distilling Company brought a new product to the U.S. market, Barsol Perfecto Amor, a Peruvian aperitif.

Josh and I were both excited to try it. Funnily, Josh kept referring to it That Pisco, and I kept referring to it as That Wine, and when we both tried it, we found that we were both terribly right and terribly wrong!

Barsol Perfecto Amor is a fun blend of both pisco and aperitif—pisco is added to the fermenting grapes. Sweet like a dessert wine and savory like a sherry, the aperitif wine pleasantly balanced the two.

According to the distributor, the spirit has some old ties. It's produced in Peru's Ica Valley, where pisco is famously made, and distilled in Peru, Bodega San Isidro, an old spot that dates back to the 1800s.

With sherry on the rise, we felt that Barsol Perfecto Amor offers a very accessible option for drinkers still getting used to fortified wines. At 17% alcohol, it's stronger than the majority of wines, but much gentler than a spirit or liqueur. It's bright like raisins but still a little nutty and not too sweet or syrupy. Every note is soft and round. It's easy to drink on its own or as part of a cocktail.

At many places you can find a bottle for under $20, too—which makes it really affordable, more so than most good sherries. It's a fun bottle to keep in the fridge as a sip for guests or a small glass before or after dinner.

VIDEO: Behind the Scenes of Raff Distillerie on Treasure Island

Like most San Franciscans, we don’t really make it out much to Treasure Island. I admit it: Inside, I’ve always wished that it were a tropical haven of pirates and free chests of gold. It is actually a man-made island off the Bay Bridge that once served as an airport in 1939, then became a naval base, and now is a growing residential area. But what brought us to Treasure Island was something very different: Raff Distillerie—a local spirits maker of absinthe, gin, and rum.

Well, there’s your treasure right there. So when Carter Raff, the owner of the distillery, invited us to shoot at his site, we just couldn’t resist.

What made the experience even more interesting is that Carter’s distillery inhabits the old Navy brig—that’s the old navy prison. It was fitted with the retro mint green guard room, classic slate holding cells, and high barbed wire fences. Shudder! Sometimes I thought it would make for a better horror flick than a mini-documentary. But an awesome spot for a distillery either way. You certainly don't worry that anyone is breaking in.

It turns out that Carter had an early interest in adult beverages, having gone to school at Sonoma State with the initial aspiration of winemaking. He was able to combine his talents at metalworking to make every still completely from scratch. Unlike many other distillers, this has allowed him to control his product very, very specifically, custom designing every piece for his needs.

It results in some really lovely products. His gin—Bummer and Lazarus Gin, named after San Francisco’s most famous dogs—is quite drinkable with bursts of citrus and less of that drying juniper quality more closely associated with grandpa. His absinthe was also slaved over, diving deep into the history books to replicate what absinthe actually tasted like when it was first popular in France during the 1840s.

To sum up Carter’s story, we’ve produced a video (shown above). I hope you enjoy!

Highlights from the Independent Spirits Expo in San Francisco [VIDEO]

Back in November, Josh and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Indie Spirits Expo in San Francisco by our friend Rick (of Cocktail Go-Go fame). Every year, the expo goes to a handful of cities across the country and brings together brand owners, importers, and artesian small batch distillers, often rare, for the public to go in, taste, and learn more. As you might imagine, it took a lot of arm twisting and hemming and hawing to convince us to go (not), and so we headed down to the Castro at the Swedish American Hall to check it out.

Josh and I are getting a lot more into video these days (stay tuned for exciting projects to come!), and so we made a short video to show you what the expo was like. Check it out:

It was probably one of the best expos we've been to. Why?

• The distillers were fun, knowledgeable, eager to share their spirits, and generally unpretentious. 
• The quality of ingredients was incredible. Josh and I found plenty of spirits that are rare and difficult to find at your typical bar—and they were some of the best spirits we've ever tried. Vivid, unique flavors both for sipping and mixing. 
• You could taste everything. I hate it when I pay to go to these events, and it turns out that you just to get look at a bunch of delicious products and pay more money to actually try it. At this event, you actually got to try everything you saw.
• There was delicious food! And copious amounts of it! So often have we gone to these events, starting off ambitious and leaving feeling green because there was no food. Not so at the Indie Spirits Expo. Theresa Dobbs, the caterer for the event, whipped up an amazing assortment of Asian fusion dishes, cured meats, cheeses, and breads. 

Definitely an event worth going to.