LeblonCachaça(700mL)

<p>Top-notch intro to Cachaça world.</p><p>In <em>Patos de Minas</em>, the corn capital of Brazil, is a lovely establishment that has nothing to do with corn: the <em>Maison</em> <em>Leblon Distillery</em>. Founded in <em>2005</em> by <em>Steve Luttmann</em>, former LVHM Mad Man, it creates premium artisanal Cachaça that borrows from both the traditional Brazilian methods and innovative European techniques of winemaking. Starting the production of the third most-consumed Spirit in the world demands a fresh approach, so Leblon decided for a <em>cool twist</em>, aging the Spirit in <em>XO Cognac casks</em>. <em>Leblon Cachaça </em>is made from freshly cut and squeezed sugar cane grown at an altitude of <em>1,000 </em>meters, whose juice is then distilled in an alembic copper pot still. </p><p>Before it’s bottled, the Spirit spends up to <em>six months</em> in 400-liter ex-Cognac casks. <em>Gilles Merlet</em>, the Master Distiller of Maison Leblon, uses all the <em>secret tricks</em> he learned when he produced wine in his home country, France. 4 to 8 different casks are blended together in the end, depending on their features. And the result keeps on wowing people: <em>Leblon Cachaça</em> won a <em>gold medal</em> nine consecutive years between 2006 and 2014, a goddamn record for this Brazilian Spirit. It’s quite a marvelous tipple, but as one expects from a Cachaça, it works <em>perfectly</em> in Caipirinha.</p><p>