Nose: Dates, walnuts and yogurt covered raisins.
Palate: Sweet, with cola, lemon zest, date paste and mushrooms.
Rating: 5 / 10 – Black pepper, vanilla buttercream and stone ground mustard. Overall, a tasty dram. Nice balance of sweet and oak, of age and fruit. Nothing surprised me here, for good or bad. These were common flavors on yak of this age. Enjoyable though.
Nose: During my full day bike ride in Belgium last weekend we ended up talking about making a craft cola. I’m thinking of starting with rose hips, orange peel, the tiniest brush of cloves. And something to bring a sense of aged wood but not sure how to approach it. We didn’t discussed a smoky cola, but I kinda want to give it a shot. Layer in a solid peat smoke and a maritime vibe. It is a solid nose but every time I’ve stepped away from the glass and come back, the first sniff isn’t filling me with joy. Maybe it is the wool socks vibe.
Palate: Salty first then sweet. Blackberries and cassis. Licorice root. A faded meaty note, sweet glazed beef jerky. Oh and it is not wool socks, although that does fit. It is the fine edge of the sulfur spectrum. Not terribly dominant, nor particularly unpleasant, but enough that it won’t outshine the bourbon for me. Even then, this is still a pretty interesting whisky.
Rating: 5 / 10 – When I tried the straight bourbon, I loved it and also wished it had some kind of funky note. Mission accomplished, it’s funky. But I don’t think it actually elevated the pour. Went back to the straight bourbon cask and it’s still awesome.
Nose: We took the kids up to Tejeda yesterday to enjoy the heatwave from the top of the volcano. They had just opened the public pool, with perhaps the best view on earth. Picked up almond pastries, an amazing coconut macaroon and a lovely mild hand muddled mint ice cream. Fresh chamomile flowers. My wife makes amazing cookies and I love the smell of the dried ingredients mixed up, flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, sea salt. Touch of vanilla.
Palate: A very gentle and old style spirit. Furniture polish and waxy. White pepper and anise seed. An apple that has lost its sparkly. Hippie generic organic cheerios. This is very thin. I’m taking unusually large mouthfuls to get the impact.
Rating: 5 / 10 – This is both very lovely and far too gentle. I quite enjoy getting to visit the style of waxiness from the 70s. A couple of extra proof would do it wonders and help the spirit shine. I truly waffled between a 5 and a 6. Content according to internet sources : “Around 45% of this Campbeltown Loch 30y is made up of the old 25y which was allowed to mature on. That 25y old blend was almost 100% malt and contained some 1964 Springbank, along with other single malts including 1977 Ardmore, 1977 North Port, 1978 Tomatin, 1977 Imperial, 1976 Glen Garioch, 1976 Ardbeg and 1976 Glen Grant. 30y old grain form Girvan was added to complete the new 30y old Campbeltown Loch.” Not sure how dependable the source is, but its pretty detailed for a guess.
Nose: A bit mild. Oak, chamomile, pleasant rooty and herbal notes of angelica and orris. Plus a meaty note. Fried chicken.
Palate: Effervescent sweets. Orange drink, purple drink and 7-up. Lemony acidity, Campari, black licorice (not the crazy salty Finnish ones, just regular mild American black stuff), and papaya. Plenty of oak, some of which still feels a bit green. The finish is not especially long, but pleasant sweet tea, creosote, and coriander seed.
Rating: 5 / 10 – I love Pibous, almost everything I’ve had from them. I won’t say I’m disappointed, but relative to almost all other Pibous, this one was pretty mild and light. More in the vein of Lassalle 1991 and 1993, than the 1995 and 1999 which I preferred. But I won’t complain. It’s crazy drinkable and the price we got during the 20% off Black Friday sale was super appreciated.
Nose: Lemon poppy seed muffins. Which, if you weren’t aware, will trigger a positive for opium in a drug test. I know that because one of my besties got us in a whole lot of trouble when he didn’t read the instructions before taking his life insurance medical. That sweet and yet tart intensity of natural frozen yogurt. Clementines. Unripe fresh figs still oozing milky sap. Wildflower herbal tea with a spoonful of honey. Cedar chips.
Palate: Amazingly floral crossing into lavender. Rose hip black tea. Pumpkin seeds and raw almonds. Wheatgrass shot. Oddly numbing mouthfeel, like I just took my medicine. Szechuan peppers and cooked black peppercorns.
Rating: 5 / 10 – This reminds me of redbreast 21 without that beautiful balance at twice the price.
Nose: Butterscotch candy, butterscotch syrup, all the butterscotch. The empty bag after you microwave your buttered popcorn. I am now in the mood for a movie. And while he doesn’t disagree, Shane was a more on the chocolate cherry spice wavelength.
Palate: One monumental note. Wait for it… starts with butter… then, add favorite over priced whisky from Scotland and let it harden. And then fart on it. Yea… only Shane gets the sulfur but he is kicking and screaming. And even with that, he likes it. That my friends says a lot because he is a pansy. There is a touch of bitterness, overstepped jasmine tea. Conductor comes through to punch your ticket. Do you like butterscotch? Because if not, get the fuck of this train.
Rating: 5 / 10 – Buy one? Nah. But I’d visit once in a while. Promising Domaine.
Nose: Dusty. Holy peaches batman; peach gummies, peach crumble, peach frosting, canned peaches, fried peaches. Roasted peaches. Poached peaches. Peach jambalaya. A hint of floral.. Honeysuckle and orange blossom. Walnuts. Prune and the ghost of anise.
Palate: Where did all that sugar and fruit go from the nose? Anise, cloves, cinnamon. The glue from licking an envelope. Lightly waxy. Dried lemon or orange peel transitioning to herbal.
Rating: 5 / 10 – A fun visit but the palate is a touch too herbal and bitter after all the promise of the nose. But what a nose.
Nose: I used to store fresh cherries in a container with bourbon and cinnamon shavings in the freezer, and then drop them into drinks, or into the fermenter when brewing cider. When the whimsy took me, I’d add a star of anise. I miss brewing. Yesterday, I accidentally poured cold sparkling water into the mug I had dregs of David Rio tiger spice chai. Turns out, chai in sparkling water isn’t far off from a craft cola. The light element of nutty earthiness approaches cooked wild rice with plump raisins. And a violet floralness on the finish. This is a sweet tooth nose.
Palate: Vague brown sugar sweetness quickly vanishes into bitter town. A sorrel sauce on salmon. Or lavender oil added to a cookie. Or when you leave star anise or cloves too long in something and the oiliness overpowers the palate. I almost gave up on the pour entirely, but this actually gets interesting with a big mouthful and swishing it around like mouthwash. The oak gets more robust and chocolate cherries burst forth.
Rating: 5 / 10 – The nose is lovely and takes me to some great sweet bourbons. The palate really wasn’t hitting the right notes, but as I sat with it, it grew on me a touch, creeping from a 4 to a 5. I got this in a small bottle labeled “Try Me”. I’m not even sure if this is a rum or a brandy, but it slightly reminds me of a John Dore Still. Okay, reveal – it’s official – this is my 4th blind Cuxtan single cask someone has sent me. I simply don’t like the profile of the domain. I’ll have to accept being the odd one out on this. But this is the best Cuxtan I’ve had to date. But still… blah.
Nose: Oddly dusty, leaning into tannins and berries. Rachel found it presented as a wine influence. Geraniums. Dandelion and burdock (tom). Stale almond roca from last xmas, old mint in the fridge that lost its edge.
Palate: A surprisingly thin palate. Wintergreen mint. crystalized ginger & vanilla. white pepper, szechuan pepper on duck.
Rating: 5 (Rohan & Rich & Shane) 6 (Tom) / 10 – The notes are decent but they don’t actually make a well written song. I enjoyed it but expected more.
Nose: This is a once in a lifetime nod to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Fresh green beans and sugar snap peas, edamame, zucchini, tomato vine, green bell pepper, green olive and celery.
Palate: Wet concrete after a rain. The mouthfeel is silky and coating, like soft water. Such an unusual start that turns to silt. A light bitterness, WW2 white pill of aspirin. Chalky and mineral, like accidentally licking chalk on my fingers in the middle of an intense rock climb. Where did all the green from the nose go?
Rating: 3 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – 10 Minerality and mouthfeel are both fascinating and personally unappealing. Ryan still fondly remembers licking the sidewalk as a tyke. This takes him back. Vlad was horrified and kept whisper.. no .. noooo.
Nose: Olive tapenade. Salted nuts. Sticky prunes and rum cake. Even butterscotch. A big heaping serving of anise. And the ubiquitous herbal something.
Palate: Dry tannins, big bitter woods reminiscent of a potent quinine tonic, Castelvetrano or Antequera olives. The hint of fruit formerly known as Dr pepper, buried prunes. Herbs and anise. Cracked black pepper and pecorino cheese.
Rating: 5 / 10 – The nose is great. I tried letting this sit for an hour on Borger’s recommendation. But apparently, the Charron cube will not assimilate me. Move along Borg, this aint the drinker you are looking for. I honestly wonder if I came back to this in a few months if I will have a very different score.
Nose: Heavy on the nuts: toasted chestnuts & hazelnuts. Acacia. Anise and fresh whole nutmeg. Redvines, red velvet cake. dr pepper, guajillo peppers. Disaronno, which Ryan taught me, is an amaretto liqueur made from almonds or peach pits.
Palate: Tobacco, dried peppers/ground chili pepper, dark chocolate, espresso grounds… hell, that is basically a mole recipe. And even the chicken to pair it with. But gentle and mercurial. Rolls across the palate fluttering from one part of the tongue to another. I was forced to drink prune juice every day as an older child. Apparently you should not eat fruit rollups with the plastic. Go figure, it’ll wreck havoc on your digestive tract. The long finish is strongly herbal.
Rating: 5 / 10 – Whoa. I’m blown away by the versatility of this spirit. My first Charron(s) are not at all what I expected. The DNA is fascinating. I’ll definitely look for more and see if there is a bottle with a less intense herbal side.
Nose: Anchovies on toast. A powerful moistness… dark orchard soil & wet clay, wet leaves. Camphor, salt scrub and a pumice stone. A very strange odor, like Mexican fast food and a greek restaurant had a baby – a turducken. Yellow and green bell pepper. Key lime zest. Pomegranate.
Palate: Full on camphor. Lemongrass and lime zest. The mouthfeel of chalk / antacids.
Rating: 5 / 10 – I like the mild earthiness, and the herbalism (or is it herbality, or herbaliciousness?) of the palate but not something I would ever reach for.
We’re pretty darn new to Sotol, so the ratings are based upon pure enjoyment and aren’t really a fair measurement of this spirit within the genre.
Nose: Cinnabon pecans rolls. A heavy anise perfume and orange black tea. And a saccharine fruit sweetness, a la gushers fruit flavored snack packs. Except I never got those (looking at you mom), I got the “healthy” whole foods version; half the sugar and none of the delight.
Palate: Lots of anise and eucalyptus. Dry orange peel. This veers quite herbal on the finish, like a poor man’s Ricola without serious depth or nuance.
Rating: 5 / 10 – a great nose, with an herbal palate that manages to stay on the pleasant side of bitter. While I won’t go hunting for it, I don’t mind finishing this glass. Which says a lot given my taste buds. Ryan and I probably should have written more on the notes, but we were ready to hit the next pour.
Nose: As a kid, when I visited my grandmother in Paris, I had a passionate fondness for pain au raisin. Each morning I’d walk to the corner bakery for a warm pinwheel of that flakey dough, shining with transparent glaze, topped with soft raisins and filled with creme de patisserie. I’ve always wished they did it with other fruit, specifically apricot jam. But this isn’t just creamy sweetness. There is the thumbprint of tart green grape. And while it mostly faded after a nice sit, the astringence of young spirit.
Palate: huh. Not quite what I expected from the nose at all. Sawdust. Carrots roasted on a charcoal grill with a touch of szechuan peppercorn oil. Old marzipan, still interesting but slightly stale. Dash of cinnamon and orange honey.
Rating: 5 / 10 – Not a bad showing for a 3 year work in progress. I’ve had much worse, and a few better. The spiciness mixed with the fruit is a fun pairing. I like it enough that I will keep a close eye as the spirit evolves. But I will not be opening my second bottle as just a drinker.
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