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
Tasting Notes
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.
Rating 7/ 10
Hontembere RAC (Pouchegu) 1988 E2
Nose: Oak notes a la woodshop, milkweed, tall grass, homemade salted caramel.
Palate: Salted caramel cupcake, pan fond, Chinese stick tea, rooibos, Ceylon cinnamon
Rating: 7 / 10 – a fun pour.
Rating 4/ 10
Reimonenq 2009 40%
Nose: Chamomile tea, cane syrup, honey, brown sugar, molasses, waxy
Palate: Thin on the palate, tannins like when cooking with cheap wine, pistachio, echoes of marsala, watered down black tea
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 3 (Shane) / 10 – disappointing
Rating 5/ 10
Rhum Rhum Liberation 6 year 2006/2012 45%
Nose: Pickling spices, slightly turned tropical fruit, toasted coconut, pan fried banana
Palate: A muddled gentle generic rum punch. A bit astringent on the finish. An ephemeral sweetness without any striking notes.
Rating: 5 / 10 – frankly kind of disappointing. Fine but nothing special. I did get a chance to try the full proof version at whisky live Paris later and its night and day.
Rating 9/ 10
Habitation Velier Hampden 2010 HLCF 68.2%
Nose: Tutti fruiti, orange mango creamsicle popsicle, grilled pineapple, loads of bananas, acetone / model glue, large rain barrel plastic, cedar
Palate: A juicy fruit explosion. The initial creamy sweetness on the front of the palate is absolutely delightful. A hint of number two pencil, yellow paint and graphite. Hints of garden notes tiptoing to curry notes with water. As the palate evolves a nice wallop of well integrated wood comes into play.
Rating: 9 / 10 – massive estery fruit insanity. This is just over the top. I’m really impressed how they managed to push the boundaries and yet make it so damn fun and delicious.
Rating 5/ 10
Hampden Great House 2021 55%
Nose: Tropical butter, toasted almonds, warming wood, star of anise.
Palate: Cinnamon, wood, green bellpepper, szechuan pepper, pencil lead, shellfish – mussels in white wine.
Rating: 5 / 10 – two years later and my bottle is still at 70%. Nuf said.
Rating 6/ 10
La Prenellerie Bons Bois 1984
Nose: Jasmine in bloom, mint pillows, roasted green bell peppers, fresh lavender, olive oil, fresh cut hay, camden
Palate: White tea – metallic, unripe peach, cat nip, almonds, refreshing, spa (mint) water, kumquat marmalade. Alcohol is well integrated.
Rating: 6 / 10 – enthusiastic, bright and springy
Rating 8/ 10
La Prenellerie Bons Bois 1985 51%
Nose: Black forest chocolate cake, luxardo cherries, coffee cake, stone fruit, warm leather, walking through an orchard. Touch of the herb garden. Super harmonious.
Palate: Dark chocolate malt balls, plum butter, cherries, cassis.
Rating: 8 / 10 – luxurious and impressive on the first moment
Rating 7/ 10
La Prenellerie Bons Bois 1973
Nose: Hippie incense – sandalwood & potpourri, almond honey turron, air popped popcorn, balsa wood.
Palate: Camomile tea with honey, fruit tarts with white peaches or nectarines with meringue topping, apricot marmalade, loquat, fills my mouth with saliva.
Rating: 7 / 10 – not as into the nose, but what a lovely palate
Rating 6/ 10
Springbank 12 Year #19 57.1%
Nose: Sugar cream frosting, maple syrup, cedar, pan seared sweet plantains.
Palate: You get the sweetness at the front, some lemongrass, brussel sprouts cooked in maple syrup, really toned down for SB dna, and finish goes a bit more of that sour/astringent bourbon barrel realm
Rating: 6 / 10