Leblon Cachaça is produced at the Leblon Distillery in Patos de Minas, in the center of Brazil’s major sugar cane growing region. At Leblon they use both traditional and European wine-making techniques to produce their Cachaca. According to the Leblon website:
“Gilles Merlet, famous master distiller from the Cognac region of France, takes Cachaça to a whole new level with his ‘French touch,’ transforming our distillery in Patos de Minas to the state-of-the-art Maison Leblon. Gilles produces small batches using alembique copper potstills, then polishes the Cachaça in XO Cognac Casks for an ultra-smooth taste. The Cachaça is then blended across batches for flavor complexity, body, and aroma.”
I find it interesting that as Cachaca is expanding its market appeal outside of Brazil, the spirit seems to be evolving to appeal to a broader audience. I expect the cognac enhancement will leave a tangible imprint upon the Leblon Cachaca’s flavour. I guess I will find out as I sample the spirit.
You may read my full review by clicking on the following link:
Review: Leblon Natural Cane Cachaca
I mixed a few cocktails with the Leblon and feature the Caipirito at the end of the review. Enjoy!
Note: I was provided with a sample bottle of Leblon Cachaca for review by the Kirkwood Group who are the local distributors here in Alberta.
Words like “hand crafted” and “‘Small Batch” seem to be words thrown about by liquor producers in the same manner that rice and confetti are thrown about at a TV wedding. I guess the theory is that if you throw out enough rhetoric, some of it is bound to stick. So it is refreshing to write about a distillery where the words “hand crafted” and “‘Small Batch” really mean exactly what they imply.
Danfield’s Canadian Whisky is produced in the small City of Lethbridge in my home Province of Alberta. It is produced for Williams & Churchill by Schenley Distilleries Inc. at the Black Velvet Distillery, (also referred to locally as the Palliser Distillery). Williams and Churchill are not distillers themselves, rather they appear to be a third-party company which owns the Danfield’s Brand. They are also very difficult to contact, and therefore the only information I have about the Danfield’s Limited Edition 21 Year Old Canadian Whisky comes from the little booklet which is strung around the neck of the bottle. According to this booklet, the 21 Year Old is a small batch whisky produced from rye, corn and malted barley. It is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume and prior to this bottling, the whisky is apparently “diamond filtered” to add further polish to the whisky.
Solan Number 1 Malt Whisky is produced by 
The Rum Howler Blog 