Ancho León, an exotic hand-crafted spirit, is one of Napa Valley Distillery’s newest players in an already star-studded cast. Their Distinguished Bar Club Members were the first to try their very first batch, and now it is available to the public.
Ancho León, what is it?
Ancho León is an ancho chile-infused Barrel Aged Brandy. It is made in a similar fashion as other NVD fan favorites: Brandy Cordial and the Grand California. Ancho León starts its life as a 3 year aged Premium Brandy, it is then re-aged in used Bourbon barrels for 6 months so that it takes on the delightful vanilla, brown sugar, and butter notes of really good Bourbon. They then add many, many, many Ancho Chiles, and infuse for a fortnight so that the Brandy has adequate time to fully absorb the complex flavor of the chiles.
The result is a unique, medium-spicy, slightly sweet liqueur of extraordinary charm and depth. They highly recommend that you try Ancho León in all of your standard repertoire of libations to give them a certain je ne sais quoi. Also, try your hand at creating your own bespoke libations that will delight your taste buds, and your guests, at your next cocktail soirée.
What’s in a name?
Ancho Chiles are the dried version of the poblano peppers common in Mexican cuisine, now ubiquitous state-side, think chile rellenos. Ancho Chiles have a deep red color and a wrinkled skin. They are sweet and smoky with a flavor slightly reminiscent of raisins. Their heat is mild to medium-hot.
Finally, León means “lion” – yes, like a tribute to the lion in the Napa Valley Distillery logo. Visit the Napa Valley Distillery BoozeLog for recipes and breaking NVD Booze News. Cheers!