Nose: oh. Oooooh. Ohohohoh. Yum. The kids rejected the manga I cut for breakfast. Too ripe. I’ll admit a slight fascination with sweet fruits after they cross that point into natural fermentation. I don’t like the squishy mouthfeel (shudder), but the smell and flavor are captivating, and this manga got a second life as a lasse. You are probably thinking that is a weird typo, but nope, I’m not referring to japanese comics, in the Canaries we have both mangos and mangas. Two different species that most of the world just has one name for. I kinda wish we had jasmine flowers on this island. It’s so prevalent in coastal California that the smell viscerally brings me back… well, I guess it’s not home anymore. But it was for over 20 years. We need a word for a place you lived in for a major part of your life that shaped you, but isn’t where you were born or where you consider home today. I had to let go my car-blanket poncho when we moved. I picked that thing up on the border of Mexico when I did my first solo surf trip deep into baja. It had this scratchy goat wool smell that I’ve never quite found in anything else, but is the base-note in this pour. A fucking it, the lets wrap up some notes. A bit of balsa and epoxy. Pencil shavings. Cinnamon and nutmeg. This nose is special. Common palate don’t let me down.

Palate: A big warm fruity hug of deliciousness. It’s potent and the flavors merge so well into the heat. Fabulous for someone who likes it a bit spicy. Like an atomic fireball using the full christmas cupboard. I used to take the long bus ride from San Jose out to the Nicoya peninsula when I lived in Costa Rica. This was pre big highways, when it took 7-12 hours in an old often broke ass bus. Street sellers would lean into the window and you’d fill up with snacks. Pineapple slices and longan were my go to. I miss those tiny pockets of joy. And while it wasn’t on the menu, this also has an asian pear (aka apple pear) vibe. The long finish turns herbal, nearly wintergreen.

Rating: 8 / 10 – I went into this pour in a weird headspace. It’s 12:18am and I’m just wrapping up a long but highly fruitful workday. And I’m HUNGRY for my second dinner. But it’s lentils with red-curry cauliflower. And if I eat that I can’t taste anything else. And I feel like being creative and tasting something new. So hungry…… but dram first. And holy shit this is good. So good I’m suspicious of my review, but then again, those lads at WuDram know what’s up. Time to eat.