My task here is to relate to you my experience in tasting the products of Santa Fe Spirits, a unique “boutique” distillery located just outside of Santa Fe at 7000 feet above sea level and nestled at the foot of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. The distilled products of Santa Fe Spirit are designed to capture and accentuate the essence of the Southwest.

I love the Southwestern United States with  the long views that can incorporate mountains, deserts, forests of Ponderosa Pine as well as high plains that are capped by the biggest and bluest skies I have ever seen.  I love the tastes and smells of this country. I love the way the light accentuates every crease in the terrain causing the details to “pop” with clarity. This is a photographers’ and landscape artists’ paradise.

As a lover of the Southwest and an experienced taster of distilled spirits I looked forward to tasting what Santa Fe Spirits had to offer. I enjoy drinking! I always have, I just can’t drink as often or as much as I used to without feeling like a truck ran over me the next day. I am reminded of a statement that my father once made: “I may not be as good as I once was but, I am as good once as I ever was.” Now, I am pretty sure that “Pop” wasn’t talking about drinking, but the point he was trying to make applies to my drinking habits. I certainly don’t drink as often as I did and, usually, I don’t drink near as much. However, when the occasion warrants and I am within crawling distance to my bed, I have been known to enjoy the company of close friends, turned “drinking buddies,” well into the night. In order for you to understand my perspective on taste testing distilled spirits, I will share a story.

Quite a few years ago, I was on vacation with close friends in Estes Park, Colorado. As three couples, we rented a large multi-bedroom condo and were enjoying trout fishing and exploring Rocky Mountain National Park. It was late in the afternoon of the 3^rd or 4^th day, just at the conclusion of a trout fishing adventure when the subject of the “best sipping whiskey” disturbed our mutual compatibility. I am a George Dickel fan and my two friends were adamant about Makers Mark and Jack Daniels. The combination of the discussion and the circumstances screamed at us: TASTE TEST! — TASTE TEST! It just so happened, that we found a liquor store on the way back to the condo and proceeded to buy a quart of each. Don’t ask me why, with just three of us participating, we needed a quart of each. It just “seemed like a good idea at the time.”

So we sat and tasted and shared our opinions – then tasted some more.   Our conversations could be described as wide-ranging, comfortable, well lubricated and laced with laughter. We told tall tales and laughed and joked and had deep philosophical discussions that seemed both poignant and insightful but I’ll be damned if I can remember what they were about.  I do remember that I caught a trout that was about half the size of my lure and that was hilarious at the time. We were in awe of this tiny trout with “an attitude” as we acknowledged his aggressiveness by hoisting our glasses in a toast to the “Macho Minnow.”

We were conscientious about tasting one brand at a time – very carefully – then going to the next one and then to the last one, only to forget the subtleties of the first one and start over again. As time and tasting continued, laughter and tears offered us a release from the stoicism that we demanded of ourselves in daily life.

Yes, it was true that we were having a difficult time deciding which was the “Best Sipping Whisky.” The fact that we “Tasters” were “blasted” to the point that our taste buds were numb might have been part of the problem. However, looking back, I believe that what we discovered was that the distillers of Makers Mark, Jack Daniels and George Dickel are all at the “top of their game.” They each buy large quantities of the same highest quality materials and distill the product from processes that they have developed over hundreds of years. The resulting products are excellent – the best – beyond comparison. And that is my point. We were trying to find differences and then judge which “difference” was the best. Early on, in our tasting efforts, I could taste the differences between the three whiskeys. However I was having a terrible time figuring out which taste I liked best. My favorite kept changing and then changing back again. Our problem was that there was no significant difference that lasted beyond one round of tasting.

You cannot compare Santa Fe Spirits to any of the mass production distillers. They are literally not comparable. It is like trying to compare a football team with a pick-up truck. Their unique, products are designed to capture the essence of the Southwest in every taste.

Their Single Malt (Colkegan Whiskey) rather than using peat smoke for flavor – as they do in Scotland – uses Mesquite smoke for an award-winning Southwest flavor.

Their gin (Wheeler’s Gin), in addition to the traditional Juniper, incorporates sage and the flower of the Cholla cactus.

They make an Atapino Liquor that incorporates Pinon Nuts, Ponderosa Pine sap and Oak to anchor the flavor to the Southwest.

The apples for their Apple Brandy or all from New Mexico and I suspect that – just as wine is a little better when made from grapes that have been “stressed” by cool weather — the New Mexico apples provide ideal robustness for Santa Fe Spirits Apple Brandy.

The taste test that matters is: When you taste the product do you like it and when you close your eyes does it bring you back to the Southwest. The answer for me is an emphatic YES. You might want to give it a try, especially if you have an affinity for, or a curiosity about, the Southwest.

You can get more information about these and other Santa Fe Spirit distilled products and buy them on-line at: www.santafespirits.com