7 Obscure Spirits to Upgrade Your Home Bar & Impress Your Guests!

At The Hart Agency, we at times have the pleasure to introduce new and unusual products to consumers. Here are a few of our favorites!

GREAT JONES

Let's start in our own backyard of Manhattan with Great Jones, the first whiskey distillery in Manhattan since the prohibition. You can visit this speakeasy style distillery and take a one hour tour of the facility.

43% ABV | 86 PROOF

◊ 4 years old

◊ Crafted in small batches

◊ Made from 100% New York-grown corn, malted barley, and rye

◊ Aged in American Oak barrels 

◊ Perfectly balanced with a vanilla and light pepper finish

What we love: The Art Deco inspired bottle is giving us all the Great Gatsby vibes, and we're ready to celebrate the "roaring 20's" the right way with a beautiful cocktail in a coupe glass.

PERNOD ABSINTHE

Absinthe has a long history, and we suspect many people may have an idea about what it is. Whether you associate it with the misunderstood artist Vincent van Gogh (who like many other artists of the time was said to love Absinthe, but who also cut off his left ear... any correlation?), the hallucinogenic quality, or pop culture references such as seeing the "green fairy" like in the movie Moulin Rouge... there's a lot of correlations people may have.

Popular in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ritual was to enjoy an Absinthe Drip at your local watering hole. A sugar cube is placed on an intricately designed slotted spoon set on a glass with an ounce of Absinthe inside, while a "fountain" slowly drips water over the sugar and into the glass. The bright green spirit becomes light and cloudy.

Back then, one ingredient to this anise liqueur was thujone, which is what was said to have caused the hallucinations. In 1912, the USA banned absinthe, and other countries followed suit around the same time period. It wasn't until 2007 that the ban was lifted, with the levels of thujone monitored.

While we enjoy absinthe in the traditional sense, we prefer to create the modern cocktail that is sure to impress called the Green Beast:

The Green Beast

1 oz. Pernod Absinthe

1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

1 oz. simple syrup

4 oz. water

Slices of Seedless Cucumber to garnish

Build cocktail by pouring Pernod, then add ingredients in list order and topping with ice.

What we love: This cocktail is light, refreshing, and easy to construct by the glass or batched in a punchbowl. The Anise (some associate with a similar flavor to black licorice) is subtle enough to be a general people pleaser. It's something to enjoy when you're yearning for something different. The absinthe has an appetite suppressant quality, yet pairs perfectly with light dishes such as white fish or appetizers. 

RICARD PASTIS DE MARSEILLE

In response to the ban on absinthe, Ricard Pastis de Marseille rose to popularity. This 90 proof anise based spirit has a similar feeling to absinthe, but with a golden amber hue. Similarly, you will need to add water to dilute it. We should add, you would never eat chicken raw. You should never try Pernod or Ricard straight for the same reason. By adding water, you can watch the spirit start to cloud and turn into a pale yellow color. Fans of the popular Netflix series The Queen's Gambit will recognize this cocktail from the scene when Beth meets with Cleo at the hotel bar in France.

Traditionally served with 1 oz. Ricard, 1 oz. Grenadine (optional), and 5 oz. cold water over ice, the pastis is already slightly sweet but grenadine will round out the flavor. We also recommend subbing out the grenadine for almond or mint syrup.

What we love: Ricard leaves a little tingle on your tongue, and we picture enjoying seafood in a beautiful French restaurant on the water. Also an appetite suppressant, pastis pairs perfectly with light fruity desserts such as coconut ice cream, melon sorbet; or is balanced well with a salty olive tapenade on a toasted baguette.

LEBLON CACHACA

Not a fan of anise? We get it. You can still create a unique and refreshing cocktail by looking towards Brazil for inspiration. A popular cocktail called the Caipirinha (pronounced kai-purr-REEN-yah) will give you all the feels. Made with Cachaca, a distilled spirit made with sugarcane juice (as opposed to molasses like you'll find with rum), it will cool you down on these hot summer days.

What we love: It's light, refreshing, and reminds us of a margarita while giving a different enough flavor profile to keep things interesting.

Żubrówka BISON GRASS VODKA

Yes, there is actually a blade of grass in this Polish vodka. You'll notice the color is a pale yellow-green, and the flavor includes grassy, floral notes with hints of nutty vanilla on the finish. Once illegal in the US because the grass was included in the FDA's classification of "substances generally prohibited from direct addition or use as human food," it is now made with Polish rye grain and is available in most liquor stores in New York.

What we love: The most popular way to enjoy Żubrówka is in a Collins glass with apple juice or apple cider. Even those who have left apple juice in the past of their childhood will be astonished at how these two simple ingredients compliment each other and bring about a completely new flavor profile.

ST. GEORGE

We highly recommend you check out the entire St. George portfolio for its unique selection of spirits, but today we're highlighting the Spiced Pear Liqueur. It's perfect for making cocktails and for those of you already looking ahead to fall, gives the warm spice of a ripe pear, cinnamon, and clove. Amazing substitute for the raspberry liqueur in a Kir Royale, add it to your prosecco or sparkling wine for the ideal brunch cocktail. You can also get creative with other martini recipes or keep it simple by sipping on the rocks.

What we love: This company prides itself in American made ingenuity and integrity. Made in a 65,000 square foot ex-aviation hangar, they only use the freshest quality ingredients. Bad harvest? They'll stop production on that particular spirit as opposed to laying out shoddy quality.

TEQUILA KOMOS

Tasting Panel Magazine rated Komos the first and only 100-point score, which is the highest-rated tequila ever. Unlike any other tequila, the Añejo Cristalino is aged for a minimum of 1 year in French oak white wine barrels. Then they use a charcoal filtering process to create the Cristalino expression. By filtering an anejo tequila, the color is removed and the process enhances its fruity and floral characteristics. The outcome is a clear tequila similar to a blanco, but which also retains the taste and aroma of a tequila that has been barrel aged. In this case, the French oak white wine barrels are what set this brand apart, and although we recommend to slowly sip this tequila, we're also in love with their summery Revel Water cocktail:

Revel Water
1.5 oz Añejo Cristalino
1.5 oz fresh-pressed watermelon juice
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz simple syrup
‍Add all ingredients to a shaker of ice and shake. Strain into a glass over fresh ice. Garnish with mint and a slice of watermelon.

What we love: Not only is the juice exquisite, the eye-catching porcelain bottle is a beautiful blue hue that makes a stunning gift or can be repurposed as a flower vase or candle holder.

That's all for now! Let us know your favorites or other brands to submit for the next one blog. You can also check out our social media @hartagency for the most up to date events!

Cheers,

The Hart Team