Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Cab

Cabernet Pfeffer is an obscure grape variety nearly wiped out by the crappy little phylloxera louse in France in the late 1800s but meager plantings of this variety still exist in San Benito County, easy of Monterey County. What now? Cabernet Pfeffer. Come again? Cabernet Pfeffer has something of a dubious history which I won’t go into here; suffice it to say this is a fun wine with noticeable acidity and a wonderful and immediate cracked pepper profile (hence the name since pfeffer means pepper in German) and dark red fruits like black cherry, and raspberry (if raspberries were more serious). It’s that funky weird grape that no one has ever heard of and no one has ever tasted. Juicy, lighter and less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Pfeffer is cool simply because it is so unique and it’s always important to try something new. For the price, this kinder, gentler version of Cab Sauv is a solid and well executed example and defiantly worth checking out. There are a few places across the States where winemakers blend it, but Mr. Volk proudly gives us Pfeffer as it should be. www.volkwines.com

$28/750 ml – Alc: 13.82% (no, seriously, that’s what the bottle says)

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING

4 Bonz – Good Dog!

Sweet Potato

I’ve been fighting for years for vodka. Most people think vodka is a tasteless, colorless, odorless; just less of everything and meant for nothing more than mixing drinks. Oh, the horror! The best vodkas are ripe with heavenly scents and subtle flavors, and the best vodkas are made from potatoes in which the starch of the potatoes converts to a sweeter, more complex profile. The Karlsson’s Gold Vodka from Sweden will make you re-think vodka. This nose smells sweet - imagine a sweet mild pine forest put into a bottle. There’s also a terrific viscosity and the balance achieved here is spot on; not burning, not benign. The mild aromas of clove and mint round out the mouth. In short, sip this, or make high end cocktails with it but for godssakes don’t bury it under crappy mixes. Karlsson’s is clean, smooth and the addition of a wee bit of cracked black pepper gives it a complex spice. The Karlsson’s folk are happy to proclaim the use of single distillation (other vodkas proclaim multiple distillation and honestly in my experience, it’s the final product that counts, not the number of columns used) but regardless, this is one sweet potato vodka and well worth space on your cocktail shelf.

$39.99/750 ml – Alc: 40%

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING

4 Bonz – Good Dog!