For this week’s post, we’re having a taste of something a little different. We managed to get our hands on a bottle of White Lion VSOA. What is it, you ask? Well, it’s a liquor made out of the fermented nectar from unopened coconut flowers. After the nectar is gathered, it is distilled and aged for 2 years in Halmilla wood (native to Sri Lanka) barrels. Until recently it’s only been available in Sri Lanka. However, it is now being imported into the US and is available through a few retailers if you know where to look.

So what’s it like?

Nose:

• Almond pastry with a little yeast, sweet floral notes, light tropical fruit, cola

Palate

• Grassy notes (similar to a rhum agricole), faint cola, pastry notes show up on the mid-palate after a few sips. A little bit of mint on the finish.  A very delicate spirit, most of the flavors are on the subtle side.

Of course we here at Booze Nerds are never happy to just taste a spirit, we also have to mix with it 🙂 From our tasting, it was very clear that this spirit needed to be handled gently. Too much of anything and it would be drowned out in the mix. Christa decided to try a riff on a Vieux Mot. Since the White Lion is so delicate, she backed down the St. Germain, skipped the simple syrup, and went with lime juice to add some more perfume notes to go with the spirit.

Nouvelle Mot

• 2 oz White Lion arrack
• 3/4 oz St Germain
• 1/2 oz lime juice

Starts with caramel-y notes from the barrel ageing plus some of the cola that came across in the nose. Then the perfume of the lime leads into into light pastry notes that again carry through from the base spirit, followed by a slight touch of mint (almost more the sensation of it than the taste of it). Has a  lovely floral finish that combines those notes from both the St. Germain and the White Lion. 

So all in all, a very interesting spirit. Quite unique, and its delicate flavor will work well in cocktails that aren’t very spirit forward. Definitely worth having in the cabinet if you’re like us and really like to fine tune your drinks.

Where can I get me some of that?

We typically enjoy the challenge of trying to acquire some new booze we’ve just discovered. However, we recognize that not everyone enjoys the thrill of the hunt 😉 So here are some places we have seen it carried. Of course we make no guarantees, so contact the merchant to verify they have it in stock.

• Hi-Time Wine Cellars
• Vendome Wine & Spirits
• Old Town Liquor