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Bluecoat American Dry Gin

Bill Dowd photo

This is a product of Philadelphia Distilling, made in a copper pot still with triple filtered water and a proprietary botanical recipe.

• Bluecoat American Dry Gin

This is another formidable entry in the resurgent gin category, packaged in a beautiful blue, embossed bottle with a wooden stopper that give it an old-fashioned, enticing appearance.

I gave it the usual gin taste test -- straight and in a traditional martini. It passed with flying colors in both ways, and a follow-up tasting with several other people met with uniformly high marks.

Bluecoat is a 94-proof concoction with the distinctive, earthy gin flavor of organic juniper berries, but noticeably balanced with notes of citrus, spice and florals. Its smoothness is evident, thanks to batch distillation that requires very slow heating of the pot, allowing for maximum separation of alcohols and removal of impurities. That is particularly apparent in the straight-taste trial, and also aids in the mixing with Noilly Pratt dry vermouth for a superb martini.

Suggested retail price: $28 for the 750ml bottle.

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Pol Roger Champagne

Bill Dowd photo

This champagne house was founded in 1849. Until 1955 it made champagne from other companies' grapes. Since then it has grown its own, and today has estate fields near Épernay. Pol Roger has two expressions of non-vintage cuvées. This is one of them.

• Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve Champagne Rich

This expression, a demi-sec, is one-third each of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, an excellent blend that provides a yeasty, full bodied product.

"Demi-sec" is a French term meaning "half dry," used to describe wine that is up to 5% sugar. This Rich has a definite, yet not at all unpleasant, sweetness, offered in company with aromas and tastes of honeydew melon and Granny Smith apples. It is a decidedly pleasant bubbly with pinpoint carbonation that nicely complements the sugar.

Suggested retail price: $32 for the 750ml bottle.

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