Barr Hill Reserve Tom Cat Gin

Barr Hill Tom Cat is what happens when a beekeeper makes gin. Caledonia Spirits was founded in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom by Todd Hardie, a lifelong beekeeper who wanted to put raw honey at the center of a spirit and draw attention to the threatened role of bees — and the flagship Barr Hill Gin has just two botanicals: juniper and raw honey, with a full four pounds of honey in every bottle. Tom Cat takes that gin and rests it in new American oak, then bottles it at 43% ABV (86 proof); the name nods to the Old Tom style of the 1700s Gin Craze, when bartenders slid cheap gin through slots beneath carved black cats. It's now the most-awarded gin made in the US, distilled by head distiller Ryan Christiansen at the Montpelier distillery on Gin Lane. Wine Enthusiast's blind panel found a topaz hue and maple scent, a spiced, herbaceous palate of oak with hints of sarsaparilla and dried dill, and a honeyed exhale. The Daily Pour landed on juniper and ginger layered over caramel, vanilla, and honey — butterscotch, cedar, clove, orange, and white pepper in the mix — with oak present but not overwhelming. Thirty-One Whiskey called it a recipe that reads like a list of his favorite things: honey, juniper, and barrel aging. Honest note: it will overwhelm a delicate gin cocktail. Its home is the whiskey drinks — a Tom Cat Old Fashioned or Manhattan is superb — and it's a genuinely delicious neat pour on a cold night.

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