Tasting Notes Archive - Page 39 of 48

Tasting Notes

Belgrove Distillery Single Barrel PB 128 Peated Rye Whisky 60.2%

Nose: Reuben in a glass form your favorite jewish deli, complete with the dill pickle on the side. With more time, maybe less deli and a bit more sweet. Leeks. Turkish dried sulfured apricots.

Palate: Intense dill. Fresh marbled rye bread. Did I say dill? Pickle with fresh dill, dilled pickle, pickled dill, whatever combo you want to go with fits the bill. A black cloud of tractor smoke. Bitter tractor ass.

Rating: 4 / 10 – Fuck it, I give up. Mercy me.

Shane

Savanna 14 Year Grand Arome Porto Cask #391 57%

Nose: There is something magical to a glass ignored. It blooms like a flower in a vase, slowly filling the room with character. And while it’s got that nose which I consider distinctly savanna which my brain translates as pineapple, tonight it feels like a tart granny smith apple peel. And red globe grapes. And heavily wooded. Two hours later, when I finally come back to drink it (oops), it distinctly reminds me of mom’s greenhouse. Chocolate tomato vines in bloom, the habanero with its bright bold flavors, stringbeans, rich moisture and decomposing leaves under foot.

Palate: Greenhouse on point. And a distinct earthy sweetness. Julie went through a phase of shopping at the hippy grocer not far from our home in santa cruz. She’d bring home sweets from the bins and I never could quite get into them. I’d only eat the licorice, leave the rest for her. Something less refined. Distinctly herbal and quite musky the more this rests. Like aged and fermented teas

Rating: 6 / 10 – This is fun. A bit on the bizarre side, and probably not a pour I would reach for regularly, but what a powerful nose at first, and a beautiful confluence of flavors.

Shane

Savanna Unshared cask #1043 for Belgium 2020 50%

Nose: Varnish, pineapple, warm bricks with strawberries sitting in the sun, live young bamboo, sugar snap peas, shredded redwood. Living in an apartment, I often miss sinking my hands into the ground. I’ve been chatting with my mom about small closed system hydroponics, which gives you the green and the berries but misses the feel of the soil.

Palate: White pineapple tea. Touch of aspirin. The nose strongly hints at it, but the palate brings it home. Less fruit and far more vegetable garden. Sauteed green beans. Rainbow chard. Braised cauliflower.

Rating: 4 / 10 – This misses the fruit big hug that I look for in a Savanna. The varnish / aspirin vibe is too much.

Shane

Savanna Rhum Grande Arôme 12 Year Cask #415 56.5%

Nose: It’s dark out but still hot tonight. The clouds just rolled in to cover the stars. I keep putting a shirt on for zoom meetings and then taking it off between. This bottle needs a cicada soundtrack. It smells like indian summer. Pineapple on a stick. Fresh strawberry mint lemonade popsicles. Damn I need to make those again. Old spice aftershave. Big wood and a spice hit of cloves and cinnamon…

Palate: Lightly fermented pineapple kombucha. Brazil nuts. Turron leaning into the nougat side. Nutmeg. I loved dried spiced lemon and orange peel my buddy Eddy Fei used to share with me. I think they were from china. Spiced with chili and star of anise. Probably other spices. Wish I could try them again. A light aspirin vibe underneath, but it’s not bothering me this time.

Rating: 7 / 10 – now we are talking. Big bold palate. yum.

Ron Aldea 2002 single cask #1 62.3%

Nose: Dark dank potting soil, artichoke dip dusted with cotija, fresh cut leather, walnuts in dark chocolate, cement glue, patacones with ripe plantains or sweet potato shoestring fries, mango in chili. Slight whiffs of celery. Muscovado sugar and packing tape. With lots of time in the glass breathing, a neat note of cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and toffee.

Palate: There is something insanely masculine to this pour. Unarguably sweet, but only as a backdrop to bold base notes and powerful farm funk. Tobacco, dark chocolate espresso beans, cecina or biltong, quite gamey with such a vibrant saltiness, bourbon cherries, grilled watermelon rinds, portobello mushrooms. And a dark brown sugar to wrap. So earthy.

Rating: 7 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 Is this the sugarcane juice talking, yet with a Spanish hand at the wheel? Or perhaps aging for 20 years on a cliff overlooking a roiling ocean. You could feel the salt spray where this cask sits, right at the door of the warehouse. Unctuous and funky. Dear lord I hope we all agree and I can convince Jose to sell it.

Shane

Pochegu RAC 1987 Cask H3 53.6%

Nose: Opening with a blast of fresh pressed apples. What we call cider in northern washington, to differentiate from that vapid shit people sell in stores as apple juice. Cider that pulls no punches, with off the chart sweetness and acidity. If your head doesn’t snap back, it’s not the right blend yet. Tonight my daughter cooked dinner, and she took it up a notch with some epic steak tacos. Heavily seared filet with a green mango coleslaw. The mayo / paprika / cider vinegar and sugar vibe pairs so well with shredded green mango and carrots. Earthy, sweet, rich creaminess and extra acidity given both our palates. Sorry mom, I know it’s not your jam, but the chef is in charge.

Palate: Oh. Oh… shit lads (n ladies), we have a belter. My mom sometimes allows the apple and pear juices to sit in a glass container and give the wild yeast some space to add a touch of character. It’s not quite alcoholic cider, not quite apple vinegar. Maybe kombucha is the closest coursin. Or a shrub. A funktastic expression of nature and time. Incredibly vibrant, tart, tonic and tannic without jumping the shark. Vanilla and turmeric. Rich earthiness of brown sugar rock candy.

Rating: 8 / 10 – Off the charts awesome if you love belgian sours. I wish I had a bigger amount as with more time this will most certainly evolve into a 9 (but might not).

Shane

Pochegu RAC 1997 Cask B4 55.1%

Nose: In a strange place tonight as I find myself contemplating mortality. Worked with my parents for a few hours on their medical directives. We legit argued about where my mom’s brain should get donated. And then the queen of England passed and I’m watching friends process. Don’t have much of a horse in that race. But all in all there is something austere in the air. Spiced plums and holly. A huge blast of cloves. And definitely sweet and earthy. Sticky rice with tamarind sorbet.

Palate: Fun! Old timey candy, both herbal and lightly sweet. Thyme. Catnip. Jasmine tea. Honey lozenge. I usually don’t go for this type of style, but it is so beautifully balanced, and kind of fits my mood. I’d drink this at a funeral and appreciate both the past and the future yet to come.

Rating: 6 / 10 – Not typically in my wheelhouse but an incredibly elegant pour.

Irish
Whisky

Shane

Dunville’s PX 12 Cask #1327 55%

Nose: Fig newtons, raisin bran, oily, fresh teak patio furniture.

Palate: Spicy, fresh vietnamese cinnamon, mild black tea, strong wood

Rating: 5 / 10 – a solid spice bomb. But will admit it’s less balanced and missing the sweet syrupy side of px I really love from the other 12 years.

Irish
Whisky

Shane

Dunville’s Palo Cortado Cask #1196 48%

Nose: White peaches, wax cleaner, tangerine, lightly grassy, whiffs of mint, biscotti, malty and fresh bread.

Palate: Nails the nose, with a nice tart note to balance the sweetness. Lemon drop, white tea, candied ginger, pepper and rose petals. A slight butteriness on the lips.

Rating: 7 / 10 – this is beautiful in its simplicity and balance. It doesn’t have crazy depth or flavor profile, but it absolutely shines in what it does here and the pairing between nose and palate. This drinks like a classic Clynelish whisky.

Shane

Pochegu RAC 1994 Cask E4 54.0%

Nose: Cranberry relish has the power to evoke an entire ambience. Not that jiggly canned crap, the stuff mom makes with fresh berries and orange zest. Tart and inviting green grapes that crunch. Rosehip and hibiscus tea. What a lovely and powerful blend of sour fruit notes. My kids and I have been obsessed with lemonade / limeade and we were just wondering if there was a way to barrel age it.

Palate: The wood leads the orchestra. And rocks the mid palate with a wild bassoon solo. I love wood, although this might teeter on a knife’s edge of tannic for some but I think threads the needle just right. A homemade black currant cordial concentrate mixed with champagne. Who doesn’t love a kir royal. Hibiscus. Finish shows hints of herbs. Catnip and thyme.

Rating: 7 / 10 – The palate really evolved with a nice sit and just got better. Went from a 6 to a 7 with time.

Shane

Pochegu RAC 2001 Cask B12 55.0%

Nose: Rich sweet carpet. Dark maple syrup teetering on molasses. I used to soak ripe red cherries in bourbon in the freezer over the summer until cider season. It added intense base notes to the fruit. I keep expecting it to get brighter, but instead we roll into umami territory. Serenity has been experimenting with teriyaki sauce, marrying soy, sugar and vinegars. Adding a hint of starch brings a smoothness to the smell and the palate. Nearly velvety chocolate cake.

Palate: Oak shadow boxer, but with a core of soft red velvet sweetness. Explodes into a big mouthful but the cocoa carries it. Reminds me of some of the older elijah craigs. Maybe closer to chocolate malt balls. The oak tannins aren’t shy.

Rating: 7 / 10 – I quite like this. The palate doesn’t have a ton of nuance but that rich deep note is lovely. I’m right on the fence about buying and while I don’t usually talk about price when reviewing, I just added one to the cart because it’s priced right. So that puts it solid in 7 land.

Shane

Pochegu RAC 1989 Cask A5 55.9%

Nose: Harkens to a good amontillado. Cherry cola notes. Royal flan, with the notes of industrial caramel syrup (that we all know is just palm or corn syrup) but damn it’s good. A wander through a fresh herb garden after a while, parsley and thyme. A lovely thick wood layer.

Palate: Tamarindo, tomato marmalade, bitter pie cherries with a notable astringency in the mid palate. I’m tasting a touch of salt but this might be because I was making barbeque sauce earlier today and got it everywhere. Peppery. Herbal notes are quite prevalent but are less easy to pull apart for me today. I’d need to come back to it, but since I don’t love herbal, the odds aren’t high I will.

Rating: 5 / 10 – this is tasty but I wouldn’t reach for it again. From the nose I was hoping for a bigger oak and cherry hit. What I found was more savory and herbal and interesting, which is not really my thing. This is an excellent pour for the herbal aficionados. Kind of leans towards some of the more agricol style rhums I don’t jive with.

Shane

A6 Hontembere 2014 Folle Blanche 54.2%

Nose: Such a gentle and lofi nose. Elegant and rounded. Chestnut y hazelnut. Warm wood. Touch of dried apricots. And the after hints of loquat when my daughter had one for breakfast.

Palate: An rich and mouth coating almond nut butter, tiny hints of kumquat.

Rating: 6 / 10 – smooth is nearly an insult in whisky. But if you could elevate smooth to an artform, this is it. As an adamant fan of the neurotic, I rarely can slow down enough to appreciate this. But I put on lofi hiphop on spotify, and it paired perfectly. I could imagine happily owning a bottle, though I don’t imagine I would actually buy one given my leaning. So it’s between a 6 & 7.

Shane

Pochegu RAC 2000 Cask D7 56.7%

Nose: Big lovely oak. rootbeer . vanilla pods, cloves and nutmeg.

Palate: It like a perfectly rounded bourbon. Light maple syrup sweetness. Oaky tannins. Christmas plum butter. This should be put into a wrapper and sold as candy.

Rating: 7 / 10 – this is gorgeous. And sweet deliciousness. It’s missing the complexity to transcend but dang lads. Buy this one. Paco says he would consider buying 2.

Shane

Pochegu RAC 1983 Cask G4 54.8%

Nose: Cassis syrup, pink peppercorn, raspberry and rhubarb tonic

Palate: Rose hips, currant and blackberry concentrate, an amazing wood… wood… and more wood without ever going entirely over the tannic falls. Still in the shire collecting mushrooms for second breakfast.

Rating: 8 / 10 – Whoa…. Just whoa