From Napa Valley’s first bonded distillery since prohibition, this incomparable East India Cocktail. Owners Arthur and Lusine Hartunian craft all of their spirits using old pre-Prohibition recipes and their website notes that the East India Cocktail is from recipe an 1830’s recipe, and it’s very hard not to imagine old maps, steamer trunks and wicker while sipping it. The base is a California brandy that has been aged in oak and infused with orange Curacao, blackberry syrup and blood orange bitters, and it’s marvelously smooth. The nose is creamsicle, dried orange zest and baking spice. In the mouth, as I’d mentioned above, it’s satiny smooth, and very mellow. The alcohol hits at the back palate, along with a spicy hit of white pepper.