Nose: Garlic, olive oil, and mushrooms. Ground bruised stone fruit. Bok choy. Printer ink.
Palate: Nose matches palate here, fun! Compost pile. Fermented dried lemon peel. Bbqed watermelon rinds.
Rating: Wtf / 10
Nose: Saucisson. It’s all I can smell. A rich fattiness, nearly bone marrow. The resin part of the epoxy before adding the curing agent. Like hanging out with a friend wearing a slightly wet flannel who was smoking cloves outside. The longer it sat, the more I can feel the old woodshop dust from a project finished long ago. The smell of sharp nostalgia. But when I get past the raw ethel vibe, it’s wonderful.
Palate: I know the name is so suggestive it probably just drags me there, but the pine derby vibe is unmistakable. Marijuana tar. Cloves. I was in a bar recently where a few mixologists were practicing for the Spanish cocktail championships. They would never call themselves such a pretentious title, but the experiments that happened in front of my face were inspiring. One lady made me a molasses based mojito that was so earthy, with the tiniest hint of smoke. It was to be remembered. A hint of ephemeral honeysuckle.
Rating: 5 / 10 – The ethel vibe is strong, but once I get past it, both the nose and palate have something special. I’m nearly a 6 and as this smoothes out it should be something special.
Nose: Apple tree in bloom, kombucha and cider vinegar. Cigar tobacco vibe, licorice root.
Palate: Intense oak bomb. I feel like a termite. High proof but the alcohol only plays on the finish. Concentrated plum along the dr pepper spectrum. Almost a pepto bismol sweetness. I rarely say it’s too much, but tonight it’s too much.
Rating: 5 / 10 – timber.
Nose: I’m not typically in love at first sniff, but dannng, domaine whose name I can’t read because vincent handwriting is illegible, I might love you. Mom and I used to make plum butter every year from the orchard. We would take the plum acidity and sweetness, layer in baking spices and then concentrate and then concentrate until we have a spread fit for the gods. We would make so much and you can only eat it so quickly, that I recently had a debate with mom about expiration date. This isn’t a distillate or a wine, a 1998 plum butter vintage is quite suspect. Still smelled amazing though but I was too scared to try it out. The dutch might consider themselves the licorice maestros, and it is hard to argue given how much amazeballs salted licorice my mom used to drag home from business trips. But when dad started traveling to Australia for his eucalyptus research, he began to bring home a whole different take on licorice. Soft, chewy and rich flavors, layered both anise and licorice root oils. On mouthfeel they take the crown. But they also had a rich and decadent smell no other style has ever produced. There is so much more but I want to dive into the palate, so brain dump style: toasted pecans, dry oak right as I place it in the fire before it burst into flame, cassis concentrate, oyster mushroom, dr pepper at the bottom of my glass after it has dried.
Palate: I’ve been titillated by tart lately. Wood forward. And while on the first sip that is all I found, I reached for a bigger draw and flavors cascaded onwards. Maybe a lower abv? Definitely plum. Kind of reminds me of the higher abv Capreolus damson EDV we tried with Barney. Earl gray, hot. Bergamot and black tea. Licorice root. An adult tootsie roll. And something intensely floral that I can’t quite pin down.
Rating: 6 / 10 – top notch sniff, and a woody wood wood palate with tiny bursts of sweetness. Which I personally quite enjoy but might only appeal to those oak munchers. Hard to say. Wish I knew the ABV.
Nose: Brilliant and pure essence of all the apples, gorgeous. The depth and breadth of the apple essence is such that I can taste and feel the texture of an apple slice in my mouth. Dried apple rings, with the tiniest dusting of cinnamon. Apple turnover. Raspberry leaves. Moss growing on apple bark? , elegant sweetness that isn’t cloying or cheap.
Palate: Pink peppercorn, green chillies, crab apple, tarragon.
Rating: 7 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10 – amazing nose, palate a bit too sharp for me. Ryan: I can’t recall having had such a beautiful and pure expression that gets to the heart of what makes apples such a delightful and beautiful fruit in eau de vie until this.
Nose: Apricot stone, Loquat, Grapefruit peel, peach black tea. Wow, way different from Rochelt’s Quince. Nice kinda citrusy pop here. Creamy.
Palate: Dusty white pepper, an overstepped white citrus tea that had ice cubes which then overwatered it., tart note I can’t place, licking an envelope
Rating: 6 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – one of the most amazing noses, but palate is both thin and sharp.
Nose: Blackberry brambles, pear skin, sitting under a weeping willow, basil, ivy
Palate: Intense tannins, green earthy, unripe blackberry, more medicinal and herbal.
Rating: 5 / 10 – aggressive and tart, which I like but it’s too much. But blended with the Brandy varietal was stunning.
Nose: Caramel, jamon fat, french onion dip (? haha), movie theater popcorn–extra butter, rhubarb
Palate: Tangerine, tarragon, mmm you get that nice flavor/mouth feel of pear skin, camphor, n.
Rating: 7 / 10 – sweet and fatty and delicious.
Nose: Omg this smells incredible. end of bloom roses, subtle strawberry/raspberry notes, fiberglass cloth, orchid moss. There is a fruit intensity that borders on the artificial you’d find in candy (gushers, jolly ranchers).
Palate: Glycerine hand soap, with a stone fruit and slight citrus peel finish…pine-sole, the mouth feel is interesting, more waxy and feels like you pick up on some of that bloom mentioned
Rating: 5 / 10 – the soapiness is just hard for me.
Nose: This smells more like “plum” than the first. Very perfumey. Honey blossom and carnations. Almost more of a green house vibe here, get some tomato vine.
Palate: Same for mouthfeel here as above. That intense level of perfume comes through here too. Maybe tobacco, bergamot, black tea?
Rating: 7 / 10 – I like the fruit that pops, and the glycerine eases at this abv.
Nose: Wow, just wow. This takes me back to my childhood, my brother and I filling our little baskets with fresh raspberries from the bush in our backyard and eating them to the point of being sick. Touch of nuttyness and leaf notes. Poppy seeds.
Palate: An ode to the raspberry, hints of ginger spice.
Rating: 8 / 10 – What an unbelievable aroma. And a beautiful distilled palate. 33KG of fruit to make 1L.
Nose: Apple brandy deliciousness, olives, cider, almonds, tobacco leaf, cloves
Palate: Elevated and alcoholic apple juice, just delightful and dangerously drinkable. An incredible balance between acidity and sweet.
Rating: 7 / 10 – their take on pommel – which is my new favorite dessert. brandy + juice – then aged on oak for a few years.
Nose: A lovely apple vinegar note. Nutmeg and chestnuts. Light milk chocolate. Managed to be fragrant and rich without being sweet. Crisp and clean apple. You get those subtle more cidery, olive, almond notes. Apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, apple chutney, meyer lemon. Hint of manure.
Palate: A class oak spice bouquet. Cocoa powder. Crab apple tartness. Thin and kinda gentle but with a long finish. Leathery and tobacco. Anise. Apple sauce/butter.
Rating: 6 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – a perfectly lovely pour that is underpowered for my palate.
Nose: Farmyard, cloves, wet hay. cedar planks, pollen, danish pastry, super subtle orange marmalade on toast.
Palate: Oak and apple leather. Cigar box. Cocoa nibs. Farmy and funky, oxidized. Has a chicken marsala vibe (the sauce, not the chicken). Nice layer of sherry undertones that nicely play with the apple.
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10
Nose: Oh wow, smells delicious. Strong apple vinegar note. Intense concentrated apple syrup. Walnuts. Mulled cider, stewed apples. Cedar and lumber yard. Ferns.
Palate: Damn, that is lovely. Apples, chestnuts, acorns, walnuts, cedar, rich apple sauce/butter. Lemon peel. There is such a nice balance of wood to spirit here. Brown sugar. A fantastic rancio.
Rating: 7 (Shane) 8 (Ryan) / 10
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