Nose: Much more balances, coriander, cumin, kaffir lime leaf, watermelon, dried orange peel, baking soda bread
Palate: Simple syrup, rootbeer barrel, parmesan, diesel from swimming in the SF bay.
Rating: 5 / 10 – I enjoy the baseline
Nose: Green grapes, bubblegum, pineapple
Palate: Old bandaid, clay, touch medicinal, waxy, mint toothpaste, lightest bit soapy, lightly fruity, honey wax, incense, tape
Rating: 4 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – while I love the nose, the palate is kind of off putting
Nose: Fresh cut branches, peach white tea, brown sugar and cinnamon, mustard seeds and coriander
Palate: Very quiet palate, lightly fruity, nuts, muted, butter, white tea, stevia
Rating: ? (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – not rating it – too quiet to form much of an opinion. A nice simple bourbon casked spirit. Ryan shrugged his shoulders and gave it a 5.
Nose: Dusty, leeks, willow bark, soldering, grains
Palate: Chalk, kale, turkey broth, copper penny.
Rating: 5 / 10 – interesting but not yummy. What a difference between the older bottles. Those were so sweet and is so different
Nose: Burn, sawdust, butter sauteed pears, kumquat, cut grass.
Palate: Unripe nectarines, kumquats, raw almonds, fun bitters, comes on hot hot hot.
Rating: 5 / 10 – a meh nose but a fun fruity sour palate.
Nose: Wintergreen lifesavers, wood, peach rings, dates, clove hard candy, rhubarb, even after resting the nose is intense and hurts with an underlying acetone note. Bougainvillea.
Palate: Oak two by four covered in herbal to the face. Hot hot wood. Lip curling. Tape. Black tea and tobacco pushing into kombucha like experiences, cloves and black pepper. The mouthfeel of sichuan chili oil.
Rating: 5 / 10 – big brash and intense. Fun to go to a bar with once, but would be old quite quickly.
Nose: I miss tangerines. The whole orange family to be truthful… being allergic isn’t all bad, but given that fresh squeezed oj is basically all they serve for breakfast in Spain, it’s a shame. The nose kicks off vibrant citrus and then gets hints at something more lucious, going all creamsicle orange soda. Touches of nuttyness and caramelization. Bittle? A very light fudge? But when I drew deep I gasped. Intensely astringent under the candy shop. Wondering if this is an Audry II situation.
Palate: Sweet off the scale and then sharp. Right along with the nose. Tangerine juice with white tea notes. Crisp yellow peaches. Dang this would make a lovely simple syrup. The burn, which almost comes across as metallic notes which underlie the sweetness are actually working for me. Not quite copper penny and not quite aspirin.Oysters with mignonette sauce. Cilantro. Don’t let those last two freak you out. It’s quite well balanced.
Rating: 5 / 10 – this is fun. Not something I’d reach for often, but enjoyed it. I have a hard time reconciling the vibrant fruitiness with a rum cask.
Nose: Sweet brown butter, stone fruit, honey, marshmallow fluff, movie popcorn butter all married with a pervasive acetone note
Palate: Bourbon cask, caramel cream, , finishes on a slightly sour note
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 4 (Shane) / 10
Nose: Sweetness, graham crackers, celery salt
Palate: Christmas tea, allspice, grosielle, fennel
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10
Nose: Dusty apricots, subtle chlorine, sunflower seeds, rusty metal, dill, dried grapefruit peel, orange blossom water, sweet cream butter, injera
Palate: Copper penny, licking an envelope, plums, cardboard, cardamom, vanilla, almond paste, caramel on the finish, spanish peanuts
Rating: 4 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – meh, couple of neat notes but not an overall winner
Nose: Cedar, orange, dill, honestly reminds me of a bourbon, creme brulee, banana bread, honeysuckle
Palate: Subtle pineapple and cedar, bitter like aspirin, white tea, old scone, melted warm vanilla ice cream, something sharp on the finish.
Rating: 4 (shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – nose is great, but the palate isn’t working for me.
Nose: I have a secret fondness for grape flavored nerds. Thing is, I rarely like artificial grape flavor, though I don’t begrudge its existence. It’s just that until ocean spray and snapple burst onto the scene, choices were topps apple juice or welch’s grape juice. And unlike many who look back on those two foundation beverages with fondness, I felt constrained. Which has made getting into typical day to day cognac a bit harder for me. There is often a welch’s grape juice vibe sitting in its DNA. This nose just beautifully encapsulates that ideal of grape-iness. It’s gentle and refined, warm and sweet. With some rest, more character arrives. a touch of grape leaves and grapeseed oil. Unripe kiwi fruit. And a touch of spice. Some type of fragrant flower I’m struggling to pin down. For people looking for elegant and subtle, this nose is worth enjoying.
Palate: An unexpected turn for the tart, vegetal side. I was ready to be bored and I most certainly am not. Black tea. Bok choy with sea salt and vinegar. Dolma, rice and hints of lamb stuffed in grape leaves. Sandalwood. Fresh raw almonds straight from the fruit. As a kid I loved unripe tart fruit. I remember climbing into the plum trees of my grandparents place, and hearing my grandmother yell that if I ate all of them, I’d have the shits for days. Guess she knew what she was talking about. Moderation!!
Rating: 5 / 10 – This is fun and interesting, but I would not reach for it again. I need to find out from sascha what miluisimes this was.
Nose: Black peppercorn. Licorice root, which smells much deeper than you would imagine based upon the candy. I have a soft spot for Pepper crusted goat cheese. And pepper crusted bacon. Unfortunately for the kids, the thick slab black pepper bacon for tonight’s breakfast for dinner burritos (roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, cilantro and fresh salsa) got burnt to bits. Which just adds a bit of smoke and character in my opinion, but Julie is a big naysayer when it comes to known carcinogens. I usually put Ardbeg solidly into the medicinal / blacktop side of peat, and less on the bbq spectrum, but this is leaning a hint in my preferred direction. Die hard ardeb fans are gonna grouse. A lime on the grill. And some sweetness approaching toffee.
Palate: Ah there is the tar and gravel. Although this has been coated in simple syrup paired with the bitter woodiness of green raw almonds. With a twist of lime peel. Not a lot of complexity.
Rating: 5 / 10 – Totally fine, and a pleasant pour. For a “limited release” with lots of noise, feels a bit over hyped.
Nose: Some barnyard funk, green olive, epoxy resin from making plane models with dad, fresh cut grass, tropical fruits (mango, pineapple).
Palate: Fleeting notes of the barnyard funk and tropical fruits, rubber industrial bent, old tires, swimming in a small harbor with diesel boats, overripe mango
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – wonderful engaging nose. The more I sip this the more I like it, and the fruit comes out, but it is an industrial start.
Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.
