Review: Tin City Distillery Flavored Vodkas and Wine Shine Brandy Manhattan
Review: Tin City Distillery Flavored Vodkas and Wine Shine Brandy Manhattan
Tin City can be found in Paso Robles, California. While the region is known for its wine production, there’s a thriving craft distilling scene here, too.
The operation makes a huge range of products, including whiskey, gin, liqueurs, and ready-to-drink offerings, but it’s a pair of flavored vodkas (made from a corn distillate) that we’re looking at today. As well, Wine Shine is something of a second label that makes only brandy products that don’t carry the Tin City Distillery name on the label — though the company’s website has a full accounting of all the company’s products regardless of sub-brand. Coverage of one RTD cocktail from the Wine Shine label also follows.
Tin City Distillery Hibiscus Lemonade Vodka – The bright pink color evokes pink lemonade, but the florals on the nose tell another story pretty quickly. Aromas of lemon and florals combine to offer a perfumed nose, hinting at red fruit underneath. The palate is however surprisingly restrained when it comes to added flavors. In fact, the vodka itself makes a strong impression — earthy and lightly peppery, with some astringency evident. Lemon is light and mostly evokes bittersweet peel, while the florals take on a more strawberry-like quality, concluding with notes of spun sugar and cream. Time in glass — or, surely, mixing in a cocktail — helps all of this to coalesce into something more refined than you’d expect. That said, it’s clearly solid fodder for a cosmo. 80 proof. B+ / $32
Tin City Distillery Mango Ginger Black Peppercorn Vodka – Designed for Moscow mules. The nose again isn’t overly distinct, despite a glass-staining psychedelic yellow color. Punchy, earthy notes of the distillate are heavy, backed up by some of that black pepper and a slightly leathery note. Much more exciting — and balanced — on the palate, with a silky sweet mango note, creamy with hints of pineapple fruit, and just a touch of biting ginger. The pepper doesn’t really show up aside from a bit of heat on the finish, though a reprise of that punchy, stony vodka distillate does. 80 proof. B+ / $32
Wine Shine Manhattan Project Brandy Manhattan – Made with house whiskey and brandy, plus bitters and vermouth — all made by Tin City and barrel aged for an unspecified length of time. It’s quite winey from the start — no one shined on the vermouth in this recipe. Aromas of chocolate and walnut manage to push through the hearty oxidized wine notes, with a layer of allspice and, curiously, some saffron in the mix. Again lots of lightly oxidized vermouth notes on the palate, with chocolate and sweetened tea taking a run from there. Against the wine backdrop, some of the underlying brandy’s elements come into focus, albeit indistinctly, with light notes of raisin and lavender emerging to temper some of the more aggressive, astringent flavors that dominate. It is however, in the end, a vermouth show that must be reckoned with; adding a half-shot of your favorite XO Cognac is the pro move to make. 70 proof. B / $56
Wine Shine Manhattan Project Brandy Manhattan
$56
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