From Botz: I still remember the first time I tasted Tarkhun. A BOTZ friend dragged me to a Georgian restaurant on the outskirts of Moscow. BOTZ, as you know, is fully obsessed with Green River, so when that bright green Tarkhun hit the glass I was bracing for pure global lemon-lime energy. Wrong. What I got instead was the sweetest, most intense tarragon herbal blast I’d ever had. Instantly a new Midwest pop shot to the top of my personal tier list. Now picture tasting that same wild, unique sweetness again—only this time locked arm-in-arm with ripe bourbon-canned-peach. That’s Gitwe. When they’re dialed in, I’ll go out on a limb and say washed Red Bourbons from Burundi are the undisputed queens of peach. Ethiopian peach is usually lighter and crisper. Burundi peach is different. It’s a thick glop of peach cobbler goo—heavy, sticky, and it melts straight into date sweetness and orange-blossom florals. On the cupping table Gitwe shows dense blood-orange acidity, that heavy peach note, and a deep date sweetness that just keeps going. The finish is the real surprise: maple syrup with a bright, zesty Tarkhun kick on the way out. If you can track down some Tarkhun, do it. You’ll understand exactly why this lot lives rent-free in my head.
