With Paul's permission--really more of a mandate--here are two interesting liquors I tried.
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This is the 5 star rum, aged for 8 years. Lots of oak here--touch of vanilla, hint of sawdust, but mostly fresh cut oak boards. On the aftertaste you get cream and nutmeg. Most rum in this country is used as a mixer for various cheap and fruity cocktails, but anything aged like this really needs to be sipped and enjoyed on its own, like a fine whiskey. I've had some rums aged over 20 years, and they'll practically melt in your mouth.
I consider it "slightly off the beaten path" because you don't see many other Haitian rums, and as a category it's rare to find a rum labeled in French. Also, the most popular rums tend to come from places that are popular, politically stable vacation spots like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, etc. It seems a little odd at times to enjoy a luxury product from the poorest country in the western hemisphere, but rum has been a prized export for the past 500 years.
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It name means "monopoly" (though here referring to a royal license, like all those British products that carry the crown), and was produced by J. A. Baczewski from 1782 until 1939. The name and recipes were acquired by an Austrian company that still produces this spirit using the traditional recipe. While most vodka these days is made from grain, this is a traditional potato vodka.
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I can, however, point out something interesting in the design of the label. There is a very light, almost imperceptible yellow polka dot pattern in the background. It's a circle with the initials JAB and a set of scales. I've adjusted the contrast and levels in the image at right to bring out the design, as always click on the thumbnail for a larger version. Doing such a light yellow design on a white background is a tricky proposition, because A) most people can't see it, especially in non-ideal lighting conditions, and B) those that do see it might just think that the label has gotten dirty or mildewed. The third category, of course, is comprised of those from the printing industry who break out the loupe to see what's going on.
3 comments:
Monopolowa is my favorite vodka! and it's wwaaaayyyyy cheaper than the so-called premium vodkas. when i first ran across it, many years ago, the label was fairly primitive. the company obviously felt that they needed to brush up the image.
Fredric,
The new label is a bit odd. In general I like the simple dark blue on white design scheme. The execution is another matter--there are five different and conflicting sans serif fonts on the front, not even counting the government warning label at the bottom. The polka dot pattern borrows some techniques from anti-counterfeiting printing but here is more of a distraction for those that are even able to notice it.
What always strikes me as strange about things like this is that it would have taken so much less effort and money to use just one font family in different weights, combined with a single dark blue ink on the label, no ghostly yellow polka dots.
All that being said, you don't judge a book by its cover, and I agree with you that this is certainly a lovely vodka at any price based on the smoothness. I'm also learning that I'm apparently the last person on earth to hear about this product, but I'm more of a gin fan anyway. :)
Cheers,
Benito
having said that this is my favorite vodka, I then have to backtrack and say that we rarely, i mean really rarely, drink vodka. but we can talk about gin all night....
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