Rating 7/ 10
Bruichladdich Leaky Laddie 15 Year finished in Oloroso Octave 58% by Dramfool
Nose: Sweet hickory smoke, incents
Palate: Juicy fruit, smoke, braggs aminos
Rating: 7 / 10 – simple sweet and fun
Tasting Notes
Rating 7/ 10
Parejo Sotol Wild Cedrosanum 48.37% batch 2 by Lot001
Nose: Clay, subtle mango, aloe vera, anise.
Palate: Dried peppers – low key chipotle, leather, vegetal fruity, crisp apple on the back end, tamarind, diesel.
Rating: 6 (shane) 7 (ryan) / 10
Rating 7/ 10
Parejo Lechuguillla Ensamble Juan Fernandez 46.39 Batch 1 by Lot001
Nose: Bubble gum, nectarine, buttery, green olives, light tropical fruits, gazpacho
Palate: Pine, mole, hot sauce as a spirit, heavily roasted tomatillo salsa, cumin.
Rating: 6 (shane) 7 (ryan) / 10
Rating 6/ 10
Las Perlas Raicilla Chico Aguiar 48%
Nose: Fruity and floral, violets.
Palate: Violets, cedar, maybe sandalwood, sheep’s milk cheese, banyard, dried apricots, copious amounts of sage
Rating: 5 (shane) 6 (ryan) / 10 – this is so weird and uncomfortable.
Rating 8/ 10
Rezpiral Pechuga de Cacao Aureliano Hernández 48.3%
Nose: This is one of the best spirits I had all year. It deserves a paragraph in each section. But it won’t get one, but I just want to enjoy it tonight. But it’s so damn good I’m going to post this anyways
Palate: Big fruity, meaty, chocolate greatness
Rating: 8 / 10 – I wish wish wish wish I could find a whole bottle. A huge thanks to Vlad for sharing.
Rating 5/ 10
Last Ward 16 YO 2007 60%
Nose: Sandalwood, plastic, cinnamon buns, pool water, lavender, begonias.
Palate: Anise powerhouse, plastic, lavender, honeydew melon.
Rating: 5 / 10 – reminds me of a very floral st james. Interesting but not my jam.
Rating 8/ 10
Cambridge 18 YO 2005 ST🖤CE 60%
Nose: Peanut brittle, acetone, elegant pineapple, stargazer lilly, muscovado brown sugar.
Palate: Well balanced woody elegant estery goodness, pineapple, papaya, leather, cedar, anti-freeze, with a dollop of water this opens up beautifully.
Rating: 8 / 10 – ST🖤CE’s mom got it going on
Rating 7/ 10
Hontembere 2013/2024 Baco, Cask #F8
Nose: Hints of bourbon influence, rose petals, colacao in milk.
Palate: Sweet custard, cardamom, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and coriander.
Rating: 7 / 10 – has an indian vibe to it, in a nice way
Rating 6/ 10
Hontembere 2010/2024 Uni Blanc, Cask #C12
Nose: Dulce de leche, de la rosa mazapan, candy corn. Given those you would think this is crazy sweet, but that isn’t really it. There is a light peanutiness.
Palate: Oh wow that is tasty. And yes peanuts garapiñados. Oh it really does match the nose. Sweet velvety butter cream cupcakes, creme brulee, packing tape, powdered sugar. The finish has a slightly tannic feel to it. Like grape skins and white tea.
Rating: 6 / 10 – this is better than I remember it. It’s just yum. Revisited a month later. I like it a lot but am a touch less wowed today. A good drinker but felt less complex on revisit. Lowered from 7 to 6.
Rating 6/ 10
Calvados Drouin Blanche 61%
Nose: Apple, grapefruit peel, pink peppercorn
Palate: Surprisingly smooth for this ABV. Peppercorn, wintergreen.
Rating: 6 / 10 – bright and lovely EDV
Rating 5/ 10
Calvados Drouin 2004 Foursquare Cask 46.8%
Nose: Big caramel apple, honey, cabinet spices
Palate: Thin, slightly bitter, orange blossom
Rating: 5 / 10 – love the nose, I find the palate only okay
Rating 8/ 10
Calvados Drouin 20 YO Springbank Experimental Cask 48.4%
Nose: This is stunning on first sniff. And second. And two days later when I poured it again. A massive spice and apple hit. Cloves and birch bark. Warm seaside tarmac towards the end of a hot day. Toasted chestnuts.
Palate: What a big big hit of apple. The concentration of flavors is impressive. The oak builds a real foundation with all kinds of spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom), layered by a light ashyness, sea salt, and then a full frontal fruit funk. The style takes me almost to caribbean rum. The peat is so well integrated, it’s part of the harmony rather than a soloist. This just shows how amazing calvados can be if you time everything just right.
Rating: 8 / 10 – Could I have called out springbank, nope, but having had this side by side with the 18 year @ 46%, it adds such depth of character, this will be one to hunt for once it hits the shelves in a couple months. I asked Drouin for more info and they shared that it was finished for 5 months in a Springbank bourbon cask 2014. The calvados was wild fermented for months before being double distilled in the same 2500L pot still. Aged for 19+ years in 200 (ish) L 2nd/3rd fill french oak. They don’t like to keep the casks full as they like additional oxygen interaction, so this is probably a particularly concentrated and bold set of casks to marry well. Keep an eye peeled for the release.
Rating 10/ 10
Calvados Drouin 1963 AOC 40% (recently moved to glass)
Nose: Wow. Huge fruit and spice hit. I can’t believe how concentrated it is and how appley it shines after such time in oak. Cloves. Star of anise, Portobello. Roasted red bell pepper. My parents have an orchard, apples, pears, cherries etc. Each year they mulch fallen trees from the property and place another barrier layer. In crisp, early fall mornings, when the trees are laden with fruit, and the ground is moist with dew, that bark mulch has a unique rich smell. Of forest, dankness, tannins, fallen apples and the bright smell of wood.
Palate: I cannot believe the depth of flavor. At 40% this might be the deepest dish served. Bold sweet apples, with a beautiful acidity and tannin layer. I have a weakness for apple fritters. In fact, when stateside, I often find a wayside donut show to score one as I rarely find them abroad. Intense Vietnamese cinnamon sticks. Touch of cardamom and black pepper. Anise. This almost takes me into garam masala notes. The oak is so well integrated, with the intensity of old oak, without going off the rails.
Rating: 10 / 10 – this is spectacular. I’ve tried it three times and just wow. One of the best pours of the year.
Rating 5/ 10
Hontembere RAC (Pouchegu) 1982 T2
Nose: Prunes, overripe plums, star of anise, cabinet spices, oak, and in the shadows something fresh and floral. jasmine?
Palate: Too tannic, oversteeped black tea, going to pass rather than dissect it. Moving fast tonight.
Rating: 5 / 10 – not my jam. Revisited a few weeks later and stand by my score. Fine but not special.
Rating 8/ 10
Domaine de Danis 1986 #31
Nose: Fresh raspberry sorbet, australian style raspberry fruit ropes, oakaliciousness, passionfruit flowers.
Palate: It’s so fruity and fabulous and lovely and gentle, and the finish goes on forever. Berries and red fruit.
Rating: 8 / 10 – I loved the nose so much I was scared to taste it for fear of being disappointed. This is just wonderful.