We are happy to host Lance Winters (Bio Below) of St. George Spirits for a classroom event in Stoneham. Join us as Lance walks you through some of their expansive lineup of craft spirits. He will have some really cool and rare expressions of his Whiskeys, including Baller, Lot Whiskey & his 35th Anniversary Single Malt (only 781 bottles produced) to sample.

Where: Tasting center @ Redstone Stoneham
Time: Thursday September 5th 6:00pm-7:00pm
Cost: Free (seating is limited to first 24 to reserve their spot by calling 781-438-9265)
Bonus: Limited amount of bottles of Baller and Lot Whiskey as well as other limited expressions will be offered for sale to those in attendance as well as 5% off any St. George Product the night of event. Lance will also be signing bottles purchased at the event.

More about Lance Winters:

Master distiller Lance Winters is the creative force behind St. George Spirits, known for his “penchant for gleefully shunning the spirits world’s conventions” (Esquire) and respected for having “a passion for his craft only equaled by his explosive imagination” (The Bold Italic).

Lance came to St. George Spirits in 1996 after working as a U.S. Navy nuclear engineer and brewer. Motivated by the desire to make whiskey out of his favorite ales, Lance became interested in distillation. He approached St. George founder Jörg Rupf with a bottle of homemade whiskey as his resume and has been with the distillery ever since.

“One of those rare people who really consider distilling as an art form” (Malt Maniacs),

Lance is driven by a need to create beautiful spirits that beguile the palate and capture the imagination, and his “technical knowledge and finely honed sense of taste have helped earn St. George many accolades and a devoted following over the years” (Portfolio).

In the 23 years since joining St. George, Lance has been instrumental in expanding St. George’s portfolio and catalyzing its growth from a dedicated eau de vie distillery into one of the most prolific and innovative craft distilleries in the nation. Under Lance’s watch, St. George has launched many of the iconic spirits that the distillery is best known for today: St. George Single Malt Whiskey, St. George Absinthe Verte, St. George California Agricole Rum, the St. George gins (Botanivore Gin, Terroir Gin, and Dry Rye Gin), the St. George vodkas (All Purpose Vodka, California Citrus Vodka, and Green Chile Vodka), Baller Single Malt Whiskey, and Bruto Americano.

The James Beard Foundation has recognized Lance’s contributions to the spirits world with nominations four years running (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) in the category of Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Producer.

Deacon Giles Classroom Rum & Gin Tasting:

Join us for a Classroom event with the head distiller for Deacon Giles Spirits.He will give a background of the distillery as well as give you an in depth look (and taste) of what goes into their Gin and Rum that is bottled in Salem.

This is a free event but limited to the first 15 people to sign up. So call soon to confirm your seat today.

Date: Wednesday June 15th
Time 6pm -7pm
Location: Redstone Liquors Stoneham

Some more information on this award winning gin:

Aviation belongs to an entirely new category of dry gins. These gins embody a shift away from the usual overabundance of juniper toward a more forward balance of botanicals. Aviation explores the rich, floral and savory notes of lavender, cardamom, and sarsaparilla to capture the lushness, spice, creativity, and freshness of the Pacific Northwest. In this way, we offer the American palate its first real taste of American gin.
Wine Enthusiast named Aviation the top gin with a 97 rating. That’s 5 points higher than Hendrick‘s and Bombay Sapphire.

Info furnished via aviationgin.com

With Summer almost here we wanted to give a quick crash course on the different types of Gins that are available to you here at Redstone Liquors. Gin has come a long way in recent years and many of the “New American” Gins (not your typical Beefeater, Bombay & Tanqueray) have made way for a variety of expressions that make for some great creative new refreshing summer cocktails.

Gin is a light-bodied, liquor made of a mash of cereal grain, usually corn, rye, barleyand wheat that has few congeners. The main flavor and aroma notes are contributed by juniper berries. Other botanicals that are often used in gin include coriander, lemon and orange peels, fennel, cassia, anise, almond and angelica. Gin ranges between 80 and 94 proof and manufacturers cannot, by law, qualify their gin by age.

London Dry Gin:
London Dry is the benchmark of quality in the world of gin. The flowery and aromatic characteristics of this type of gin are a result of botanicals added during the 2nd or 3rd distillation. The vapors from these flavoring agents reach the alcohol as they pass through a specialized still with an attachment called a gin head. Dry gins are preferred for making Martinis.

Plymouth Gin:

Plymouth Gin is a clear, slightly fruity, full-bodied gin that is very aromatic. This style of gin originated in the port of Plymouth on the English Channel, but only one distillery, Plymouth, Coates & Co., has the right to produce Plymouth Gin now. A few cocktails like an Admiral Benbow and Douglas Fairbanks Cocktail specifically call for Plymouth Gin.

Old Tom Gin:

Old Tom Gin is a sweeter version of London Dry Gin. Simple syrup is used to distinguish this old style of gin from it’s contemporaries and many include notes of citrus. Old Tom was the original gin used for Tom Collins and the gin of choice in the 19th century. Not too long ago, Old Tom Gin was unavailable in the United States and could be found almost exclusively in the United Kingdom. In recent years, however, there have been a number of U.S. distilleries that have been producing this gin, which is ideal for mixing into the oldest of cocktails.

Genever:

Genever, or Schiedam gin, is the Dutch and Belgian version of gin, which predates and inspired all other gins. It was first distilled in the Middle Ages for medicinal purposes and was the original gin used in many of the classic American cocktails of the 19th Century.
This variety is distilled from malted grain mash similar to whiskey and tends to be lower proof (70-80 proof) than it’s English counterparts. Genever Gin is often aged in oak casks for 1-3 years and comes in two styles. Oude (old) Genever is the original style with a straw hue and is relatively sweet and aromatic, while Jonge (young) Genever has a drier palate and lighter body.

New American Gin:

The name “New American Gin” began to be used in the early 2000’s to describe a number of new gins that have pushed the boundaries of the definition of gin, primarily the dominance of juniper. In this era many American craft gin distillers released gins that had a flavor other than juniper as the dominant flavor and brought up the question of whether these brands would technically be called gin or a flavored vodka. The New American Gin monicker was adopted by the majority of the bartending community worldwide to distinguish these gins from more traditional gins.

Brands included in this style are: Hendrick’s Gin (cucumber-forward), G’Vine (grape-forward), Dry Fly, Aviation, and Sloans. These gins are produced with modern mixology in mind and have a great appeal to consumers who are not fond of a heavy pine in their gins.

Check our our expanded Gin List here.

*info furnished via About.com

The first and only Islay Gin distilled by the folks at Bruichladdich in Scotland.

For this, “The Botanist”, small-batch, artisanal Islay gin we use nine of the classic gin aromatics – orris root, cassia bark, coriander seed, etc – and augment these with a heady harvest of 22 local botanicals, hand-picked by our expert foraging team from the windswept hills, peat bogs and Atlantic shores of this Hebridean island of Islay.

This truly seasonal and exotic cocktail is then slow “simmer” distilled in our unique and cherished Lomond pot-still, affectionately known by our head distiller Jim McEwan as “Ugly Betty”. Betty prefers to work at low-pressure and won’t be rushed. So our precious botanicals are slowly and gently coaxed into releasing their complex, signature aromatics.None of us knew what to expect from that first, achingly-slow 17 hour distillation. The result: a highly distinctive, complex, floral gin with outstanding finish and impeccable provenance.
In an age of re-badged industrial gins, the Botanist stands out as a truly artisanal, small-batch, hand-crafted labour of love and distiller’s art. A breath of botanical Islay in every glass.

Tasttng Notes:

BODY

THE SPIRIT IS SATIN SMOOTH GLIDING OVER THE PALATE LIKE NO GIN YOU HAVE EVER TRIED BEFORE. A TOTALLY SEDUCTIVE EXPERIENCE.

NOSE

THE AROMAS EXPLODE LIKE AN OLFACTORY AURORA BOREALIS FILLING THE SENSES WITH METEORITES OF SMELL SENSATIONS AS THEY EXPLODE FROM THE GLASS. SWEET DELICATE MENTHOL, APPLE MINT, SPRING WOODLANDS, JUNIPER, CORIANDER WITH ANISEED UNDERTONES, LEMON AND ORANGE PEEL, A BOUQUET OF SUMMER FLOWERS ON THE MACHIR, HONEY FROM THISTLE, COCONUT FROM GORSE, WILD MINT AND SUMMER MEADOWS. IT’S A MAGICAL MELODY OF ISLAY’S’ NATURAL BOUNTY FROM THE ATLANTIC WASHED BEACHES TO THE SUMMIT OF HEATHER COVERED HILLS. INHALE AND YOU’RE THERE ON THE QUEEN OF THE HEBRIDES!

PALATE

THE TASTE IS RICH AND MELLOW; COOL ON ENTRY THEN AS IT REACHES THE BACK PALATE YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH AND ABSOLUTE PURITY OF SLOW UNHURRIED DISTILLATION. THIS IS A BEWITCHING, DELECTABLE AND LUXURIOUS GIN;ITS CITRUS FRESHNESS EXCITES AND STIMULATES THE TASTE BUDS ALLOWING YOU TO EXPERIENCE A STARBURST OF FLAVOURS AS THEY EXPLODE ACROSS THE PALATE.

FINISH

ALL THIS FROM A BEATEN UP OLD POT STILL, OPERATED BY BEATEN UP DISTILLERS ON THE COAST OF HEAVEN.

*info furnished via Bruichladdich website.