Sweetgrass Farm Winery Cranberry Smash is 21% abv. / 42 proof is made by Keith Bodine who makes the excellent Back River Gin I mentioned last summer. This ruby hued dessert wine / liqueur is basically a fortified wine made in a somewhat similar fashion to port or sherry. First cranberry wine is fermented, and then some of the wine is removed where it is distilled into cranberry brandy, which is then added back to the wine which stops the fermentation. The fortified cranberry wine is then allowed to age additionally until it has mellowed and blended fully.Besides looking like a red jewel shaped bottle, the liqueur has an incredible aroma. The smell of gently simmering cranberry sauce mixed with that of fresh crushed cranberries, with a soft and faint hint of spice to it. The taste is more of the same. The fresh, crisp, tart berry taste from the cranberry wine. The deeper and sweeter cooked cranberry tones from the cranberry brandy. Added together they give a much fuller cranberry flavor than either one alone.Complex, deep, tart and sweet, and very refreshing. I've tasted many cranberry liqueurs, but this one is the best I have had so far. A real winner. I can't wait to try their Blueberry Smash when it becomes available in a few weeks.
You can drink this liqueur after dinner as a not too sweet treat, or to settle your stomach as a digestif. But you can also drink it before dinner as an aperitif straight or with a splash of seltzer. For a refreshing cooler you can add it to a nice white wine or even to champagne to make a Cranberry Bellini. I am sure that when some master mixologists get their hands on it they will come up with all kinds of great cocktails to replace the tired old Cosmo. So far it is only available in Maine, but look for it soon in other states.
10-28-2007 @3:13PM MJ said... I was thinking this would pair well with a sparkling wine or champagne. Never had cranberry will keep a look out for this one!
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10-29-2007 @2:37PM Jon said... Everything from Sweetgrass Winery is fantastic. I don't remember if I tried Cranberry Smash when I was there over the summer; it may not have been ready yet. Their cranberry-apple wine is excellent; I served it at a cocktail party this weekend and it was a big hit.
I hope Blueberry Smash is available by Thanksgiving, the next time I'll be in Maine. I'd like to try that.
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11-04-2007 @4:39PM Barbara said... We have already consumed the two bottles of wine we purchased at Sweetgrass Farm Winery in August. We'll be ordering more, plus the blueberry wine and the vanilla.
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11-20-2007 @2:38PM Aaron said... This wine is excellent. I love port-style wines anyway, but this one is particularly great, as are all of the wines at Sweetgrass. I'm planning to go try the Bleujolais today. I can hardly wait!
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12-05-2007 @9:23AM Jon said... I tried the Cranberry Smash, but wasn't blown away by it. I prefer the regular cranberry-apple wine. The Bleujolais was good, though. I wanted to try the Blueberry Smash, but apparently they had some problem bottling it, because it wasn't ready yet.
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