Pisco Portón

• A group of U.S. investors led by Johnny Schuler, founding member and president of the National Tasters Guild of Peru, is introducing Pisco Portón to the United States market in April; good timing, since the grape-based brandy is slowly gaining popularity in the U.S.

This style of pisco is called a "mosto verde," which translates to "green must." That means it is distilled before the fermentation of the grape juice is complete, the most complicated and expensive pisco style. The process lowers the sugar content, making it a bit dryer than most piscos.

It is a powerful unaged brandy, rated at 43% abv (86 proof), made from a blend of Quebranta, Torontel and Albilla, three of the eight grapes allowed by regulation for pisco manufacture.

I tasted a lab sample which, I presume, is identical to what eventually is bottled for commercial distribution.

The nose is a touch stronger in alcohol than a lot of brandies, but that is offset by a crisp, clean base that reminds me of an upscale moonshine. Unlike the practice at many Chilean pisco distilleries -- always something to keep in mind since Peru and Chile, once one nation, have long feuded over who makes the "real" pisco -- Pisco Portó never uses the heads and tails from the distillations, thereby rendering it a smoother product.,

Suggested retail price: $40 to $50, depending on the state.

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Glenmorangie Finealta

• As anyone who knows Dr. Bill Lumsden can attest, Glenmorangie's head of whisky creation never rests. That's because he's always busy ... well ... creating whiskies. Think Signet, Astar, LaSanta. Here is the latest from the Scottish distiller, just now becoming available in the U.S. market.

This new blend has a very old pedigree. It was re-created from a recipe dating to 1903 that was  in the company archives. Back in the day, Glenmorangie dried its barley in a peat-fired kiln which provided a touch of peatiness absent from most of the company's modern expressions.

Finealta -- Scots Gaelic for "elegant" -- has been matured in a combination of used American white oak and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks. It is the second release in the company's Private Edition range of limited-edition whiskies chosen from what the company refers to as its "cabinet of curiosities." (The first was Sonnalta, which means "generous.")

Finealta is non-chill filtered and bottled at 46% alcohol by volume (92 proof).

There is a richness to Finealta that quickly spreads across the palate with notes of pineapple,  butterscotch and caramel. The peatiness doesn't linger as much as one might expect since it stays prominent on the nose throughout a tasting, but it does add to the husky boldness of the concoction.

Suggested retail price: $85 for the 750ml bottle.

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John L. Sullivan Irish Whiskey

Bill Dowd photo

• John L. Sullivan was one of the first Irish American names I learned as a kid. The last bare-knuckle world heavyweight boxing champion who hung 'em up in 1889 after a 75-round title defense was a familiar sight in posters and illustrations that abounded in athletic clubs, saloons and meeting halls. This tribute whiskey comes from the Cooley Distillery, Ireland's only independently owned distillery. (Scroll down for notes on its Michael Collins brand.)

This is a small-batch blend of single grain and single malt whiskeys, aged 4 to 10 years in used American white oak barrels that had contained bourbon. That gives Sullivan a touch that has helped so many Scotch whiskies gain extra notes of smooth maturity.

John L. was a complex man, said the sports scribes of his day, so it is only fitting that the whiskey bearing his name is likewise.

I detected layers of spice, citrus and then vanilla, coupled with the light oakiness of the bourbon cask. That is followed by touches of rosewater, honey and cinnamon, with the latter clinging slighty to the long finish.

As with Cooley's Michael Collins, I much preferred this whiskey over a cube of ice to release its notes, although I admit it wasn't at all bad in a Manhattan, a testament to its bourbon-like character.

Suggested retail price:$24 for the 750ml bottle.

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Michael Collins 10 Year old Single Malt

• Michael Collins, the whiskey made by the only independent distiller in Ireland, is re-booting its image and a New York importer is helping them do it. Sidney Frank Importing Company of New Rochelle has teamed up with Cooley Distillery to launch the new look of Michael Collins whiskies in the U.S.

The dark, moody label features the iconic silhouette of Collins, the renowned Irish patriot, on his bicycle, a familiar sight during the nation's struggle for independence from England. The brightness comes inside.

Cooley is considered to be the only distillery in Ireland to double distill its whiskeys and use peated malted barley. What that process has has resulted in is a wonderfully smooth, yet still kicky whiskey. There is a definite spice note to each sip, perfectly compatible with the rich, deep body of the whiskey.

I find this not as pleasing in a cocktail as I did over a single ice cube in a tasting glass. Must be the independent Collins spirit asserting itself.

Suggested retail price: $39.99 for the 750ml bottle.

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Collingwood Blended Canadian Whisky

• A few years ago, I had the opportunity to try my hand at blending Canadian whisky under the tutelage of Master Distiller Harold Ferguson at the Canadian Mist distillery in Collingwood, Ontario. (Harold retired in 2010.) One thing I learned was that Canada has very strict rules about how its whiskies are made. So, I was quite anxious to sample a new expression, named for the distillery's location and just now being rolled out in select U.S. markets.

Brown-Forman, which owns the distillery where Collingwood is made, takes great pains to emphasize that this is not a Canadian Mist product. It is made with a separate mash still, separate barrels, and so on, created under the auspices of Chris Morris, B-F's master distiller.

The Collingwood bottle is flask-shaped, slightly concave in the back, with an over-flap protecting the screw-off cap. Collingwood is triple distilled, matured in white oak casks, then finished in toasted maplewood, something unique in the world of Canadian whiskies.

What all that effort leads to is a gorgeous deep amber color, a caramel, maple-y nose, and one of the smoothest hits on the tongue I've tasted in years. A variety of notes caress the palate -- some light spice such as coriander, a touch of rose petals; then maple and brown sugar assert themselves, resulting in a long, clean finish.

Suggested retail price: $26.99 for the 750ml bottle.

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Early Times 354 Bourbon

Photo by Bill Dowd

• In the 1950s, Early Times was the No. 1-selling bourbon. In 1983, it switched to a Kentucky Whisky (spelled in the Scottish manner without an "e"). Now it has returned to its roots with this new bourbon overseen by Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris.

From the first glance at the retro bottle design to the first sip, this expression is evocative of the old days, as is the number in the name (354 is the distillery permit number).

A deep amber color, immediately spicy on the nose with elements of ripe fruit and mature oak. I'm reminded of dried apricots and raisins on the tongue, along with a warmth and the signature caramel and vanilla of a good bourbon. The finish is long and warm with a touch of apple.

Early Times is making much of "a national, independent blind preference taste test in which Early Times 354 was preferred to Jim Beam White Label by male, Jim Beam drinkers ages 25-55."

Given modern drinking sensibilities that tend toward somewhat sweet liquors, that's not terribly surprising. Early Times has a bit more of a honeyed taste than JB White Label. In trying each in a standard Manhattan cocktail, I found them to be two distinctly different drinks -- both enjoyable, but each with its own special taste profile.

Suggested retail price: $15.99 for the 750ml bottle.

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