Nose: Skipping grades just wasn’t worth it. I was awkward and immature, smart and desperate for approval, making me an outcast. As a result, Eddie and I had an odd friendship through late elementary school. He and I had a blast solo and often hung out, but in public he wouldn’t acknowledge me. Not sure if I blame him, school dynamics are tough. His parents had a range of snacks that were from another playbook. Dried, candied and spiced mandarin peels. Crystalized ginger. Snacks only found in Chinatown, until they started showing up in trader joes in college. The tangerine vibe really holds. Nutmeg, then a serving of rooibos and hints of dill towards the end.
Palate: Nuanced spice box, quite lovely. Cinnamon honey on shortbread; a high class graham cracker. It’s like nibbling on a pomander ball, with that deep juicy orange infused in cloves. I often struggle on when to use rancio, but this is a good case. That deep funky sweet vibe teetering on rotten tropic fruit. On the finish it goes a touch tannic and back to those vestigial hints of herbal, but never quite all the way there.
Rating: 7 / 10 – Got to like the tangerine vibe. It’s a temple you can build a great evening around.
Nose: Orange clove pomander ball, crab apples, brown sugar, ripe melon, basque cake, hint of wet bamboo
Palate: Tangerine peel wildflower honey hot toddy, cloves and cinnamon, lovely high notes
Rating: 7 / 10 – one epic beautiful note. What it lacks in depth, it nails acapella.
Nose: Green olive brine, tangerine, lychee, honeysuckle, jasmine, good n plenty.
Palate: Note for note on the nose. With a nice sweet potato and then peppery note. What a juxtaposition. One martini extra funky.
Rating: 7 / 10 – yum. Olives in the front, fruit party in the back.
Nose: Allspice, orange zest, young apples, banana leaf, fleeting notes of turmeric & cumin seeds, dr. pepper
Palate: Tangerine, pear skins, cedar, anise and hints of cinnamon, old time birch beer. Over time on the finish the fruit fades and the oak holds.
Rating: 7 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – I poured a second time. A great balance of fruit & oak.
Nose: Very herbal on first sniff – eucalyptus and grapeseed oil, quince, dark muscovado sugar and ginger snaps, fresh ripe cherries, grape jolly rancher (shane doesn’t get this at all), creme de violette
Palate: Subtle molasses, luxardo cherries, grape fruit leather, wood is present but nicely integrated with the rest of the palate. So rounded and gentle and elegant.
Rating: 6 (Shane) 7 (Ryan) / 10 – oh that is much better than I expected on the nose. The palate is a gentle and refined sweet bomb. I (Ryan) poured a second time, full sample.
Nose: Welches, grape nuts, almonds and chestnuts, brining spices, lemon verbena, knock off coca cola, lighter notes of vinegar, sawdust
Palate: Lovely notes from the palate of almonds and chestnuts, nougat, more great wood integration, barrel aged honey, chalky, lemon verbena
Rating: 6 (shane) 7 (Ryan) / 10
Nose: Oh wow! Rich, luxurious, luscious red and stone fruit, and walnuts. Apple cider and hints of apple cider or champagne vinegar. Jasmine. Vanilla.
Palate: Cake frosting, strong oak backbone, spicy finish. Pencil shavings. Anise. Coffee grounds. Dark chocolate. Nougat. Touch of herbs on the finish.
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10
Nose: Figs, dates, dark syrup, soy sauce, violets.
Palate: Dark black licorice and fresh anise, dried pineapple, deep brooding cinnamon, raw nuts, bordering on burnt toast (in a good way), hints of scotch tape, dry mouth
Rating: 7 / 10 – yum. I have a note that says dry cellar. Makes me wonder if there was mouracs in a wet cellar?
Nose: Plum butter, buttery: lemon cookies, shortbread with powdered sugar, unripe white peach
Palate: Lemon sour grass, elderflower syrup, clover, endives, grapefruit peel, sour mountain strawberries, cedar, a fun gin n tonic sour, with a fizz on the mouthfeel.
Rating: 7 / 10 – fruity and delightful. While I love sour, I worry others might find it too much. Tom Says all good and not to overthink it. He gave it a thumbs up. A little more body and this could be a solid 8. We both agree to let it run the summer and they try it again to see if it’s ready to bottle. This is nearly 20 years at time of sample in 2022. AHAHAHA it’s May 2026 and I am posting this note online and I haven’t bottled it yet. Hopefully this summer when I visit in person.
Nose: Grilled peaches, old rubber tires, honey, dusty library, teddy grahams, clove hard tack
Palate: Wax dustings spray, envelope glue, salted anchovies, mouthful of patented Springbank bandaids, peach skins.
Rating: 7 (Shane) 4 (Ryan) / 10 – some drams you just have to be in the mood for. I was wanting springbank dirty tonight and Ryan was not. It’s true to form and an honest to god springbank true and true. I rarely feel the need to disagree with someones score, but ryan, you are wrong.
Nose: Pipe tobacco, coffee beans, big oak, raspberries, grapefruit peel
Palate: Dark chocolate covered raspberry, leather, nice mouthfeel, black tea with hints of cardamom. Great finish
Rating: 7 / 10 – long and nuanced palate. Super fun. First one of these recent releases that seem all marketing and no substance to deliver. About time.
Nose: Dutch salted black licorice, cedar, sea spray, art closet with paint brushes and crayon, hospital cleaner, gran marnier, sauteed onions and liver
Palate: Whole grainy mustard, orange marmalade, white valentines day heart candies, burnt ends, nyquil black licorice cough syrup, clay, goose drippings on potatoes. Touch of the bakery again. Cinnamon. Wood smoker.
Rating: 7 / 10 – so reminiscent of the young octomores.
Nose: Intense barnyard, wet hay and oats. Funky cheese. African peanut soup, reams and reams of paper. Fermented, rotten tropical fruit.
Palate: Oh wow, not at all what I expected, lovely. Light peppers, machine oil, raw potato. Ahaha.. From jeff: Like an Iowa farm. Sometimes I accidentally leave my socks in my basketball shoes and don’t discover them until the next week. There’s a touch of that sourness in the background.
Rating: 6 (Shane) 7 (Ryan) / 10 – Pretty sure this is either Killowen or Baoilleach
Nose: I have a secret fondness for a roy rogers. Cherry coke is good, perhaps the best coke, but there is something tantalizing to the pomegranate note that grenadine lends to the mix. This nose is a walking base line. Tree bark. Blackberry bramble. Pomegranate pips on butter cream chocolate frosting. Fennel bulb.
Palate: The tart burst of pomegranate juice. Warm hazelnut spread. Bourbon vanilla. Hints of star anise, nutmeg and cloves. What a phenomenal balance, with a strong oak character that never steps on the fruit. Finish carries on, warm and woody for minutes.
Rating: 7 / 10 – This is delicious. And so so well integrated. Every note is enjoyable and punches way above its ABV.
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