Nose: Cherry wood sawdust, gingerbread spice, rose water
Palate: Sour cherries, roasted almonds ginger, black peppercorn, quite thin and yet a good tartness.
Rating: 5 / 10 – a bit more character but lacks oomph
Nose: Chocolate turron with rice krispies, nougat, cocoa pod flesh, dried cherries
Palate: Leathery, chocolatey, delicious.
Rating: 7 / 10 – big delicious simple sherry bomb.
Nose: Chocolate covered espresso bean, tobacco leaf
Palate: Grapefruit peel, red wine vinegar, ginger, peach and black tea
Rating: 6 / 10 – fun and complex. But brighter than I wanted.
Nose: Butterscotch, cedar, touch of sulfur
Palate: Caramel, lemon peel, mongo white tea, sulfur.
Rating: 5 / 10 – too dirty sulfur for me but it’s an exciting pour.
Nose: As a kid you couldn’t force me, but somehow in my 40s I’ve finally acquired the taste for well crisped fat. Especially with the charred caramelized bits. Rich decadence off the charts. I’ve had cassis on the brain all week. Stained glass purple tinted fingertips. Blackberries from the warm side of the train tracks, ultra ripe sticky deep red figs, veering into vieille prune. Old saddle tack and grandpa’s pipe tobacco. Black shoe polish, restrained, deep, elegant.
Palate: A full suitcase of gentle flavors. Sorry sir, that won’t fit into the overhead bin, would you like us to check this for you? You don’t look to be in a rush. A sweet dustiness, with hints of polish. Boom. Warm, wood embrace, which for me is good but won’t suit everyone. I blew my nose after a big sip and could see the quercus vapors curling out of my nostrils like puff the magic dragon. Sweet and dry tones of a well-tuned fruit leather. I’m back into running long distances after a 5 year break and was praying the industry had shifted from sickly fruit flavored energy sources to anything less sweet. No luck, but the natural fruit jellies have come a long way. I really enjoyed the green banana, ginger and cardamom chews. Add a bit of oak extract, and you are on point.
Rating: 7 / 10 – What a nose. And the palate is no slouch, if you can really slow down and give it space. I love this level of wood, but my instinct is that they waited too long. Would have loved to try it at 30 years in cask.
Nose: Little Debbies oatmeal creme pie / vanilla It’s It oatmeal ice cream sandwich. Ripe juicy red plum and cassis. Kir royal vibes. Ripe fruit, which sounds amazing except I hate biting into them. Freaking ruins my clothes. I’m on the firm fruit band wagon. Keep your mushy bananas and soft peaches in your underwear. Creamy and sweet. Tangerine + strawberries and cream with shredded mint.
Palate: Sip 1. Oh yeah. Pour more of the sample. Peach popsicle. Tangerine trees and marmalade skies. Loads of dried citrus peel, takes you on a bitter path. I’ve always been quite partial to a solid wood whallop and this is just right, which means it’s almost overwhelming for Ryan. Xmasmas is coming and for me that means the gingerbread aisle… pfeffernusse for the win. Honey, white pepper and ginger ahoy.
Rating: 7 / 10 – an excellent core line bottle from Echlinville, hunt any remaining down.
Nose: Tomato vines, barq’s root beer candy, buttermilk , pickling spices, starved sourdough starter and orange marmalade, subtle dill herb, fresh basil and almond pesto butter / pan seared gnocchi. A very prominent oak haymaker.
Palate: Very bright and wood is super intense bringing loads of burning heat. A mouth drying astringency. If you can get past it, touches of chocolate, and a vanilla / cracked black peppercorn ice cream. I’ve got chili peppers drying on my windowsill and am days away from crumbling them into a paste. I hope they mature into something with this concentrated punch
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – Maybe better to have used tree 6 for a campfire, it was rather rude. But, as Ryan, says, it probably had a rough childhood and we shouldn’t judge it just based upon abrasive behavior during one night on a pub crawl.
Nose: Chicken satay peanut sauce, peanut brittle. FRESHLY CRACKED DENTAL DAM. We sure he logged this right? Smells like a madeira. So savory. Rosemary. Mince and apple pie. Curried apples. Golden raisins. Lebanese rice pilaf with dried cranberries and almonds. Wet hay and clovers.
Palate: Usually when the palate matches the nose, that is a plus. But noooope. Nope nope nope. This goes onto the cheap street food that keeps you up all night and industrial rubber spectrum. Then it shifts into a kinda pleasing apple pie vibe. But it doesn’t save it.
Rating: 4 / 10 – Friends don’t let friends drink this alone. Hold my hand Ryan. This juice is for savages. The dry sherry vibe is so darn overwhelming.
Nose: I didn’t expect the first draw to take me to childhood. We had a California pepper tree on the back of my parents’ orchard. Beautiful, but a giant pain in the ass given my job to mow and trim. Its fern-like branches would hang down, heavy with the bright pink berries. A sweet spicy aroma would drift into the house when the warm santa ana winds would blow. The aroma is both brightly cloying and yet earthy. Juicy currants and sun ripened blackberries. Wet forest moss.
Palate: Incredibly elegant. Bright pops of cassis on the tongue and then a slow faaaaade … nope still going. Each time I open my mouth to breathe the flavors surge once again. Warm with a touch of spicy, the pepperiness coming through on a bigger draw. Reminiscent of a stick tea I fell in love with many years ago that I have not been able to source or name to my great chagrin.
Rating: 7 / 10 – I love that it is so perfectly clear that at first Julie didn’t believe there was anything in the glass. I have a Nusbaumer cassis cordial I bought Julie a few weeks ago and poured a side-by-side. While they share DNA, these could not be more different approaches to the same fruit. Capreolus is an elegant perfume. Nusbaumer a dessert lolly, which my wife mixes with champagne to a fabulous result. I would easily reach for the EDV and yes, I kinda wish I could try it at 48% to see what happens, but only out of curiosity.
Nose: A summer alpine meadow. Honeycomb and chamomile. Waxy and polish. Sugar pea vines in bloom.
Palate: A subtle entrance that blossoms with time. White tea, orange peel and a spoonful of honey. Rose hips with a gentle non-cloying sweetness. A pimm’s cup.
Rating: 6 (Shane) 7 (Ryan) / 10 – this should be served in a garden cafe. With little cakes and cucumber sandwiches. The perfect summer bottle.
Nose: Mace and flash fried sage leaves. Walnuts, apple butter, Nasturtiums on a bitter salad with a mix of rocket and arugula. Ripe green grapes, with a hint of acidity. Light pickling spices/herbs, and meringue. If this had Grosperrin on the label, I wouldn’t bat an eye.
Palate: Grosperrin, is that you? This continues to drink like a cognac!? Wood is quite present but balances out pretty well with the rest of the palate. Sweet grape paired with a light Indian spice funk. Grapefruit peel. Honeydew. Cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander. Pue’r and hints of leather. This is so lovely. I’m Waxxxy and I know it.
Rating: 6 (Ryan) 8 (Shane) / 10 – What are the odds Kay fucked up and gave us a 1972 cognac? But then again, there is a style of whisky from the 70s that crosses the stream. Ryan finds it just a bit too woody/astringent, but I love the pairing with the fruit.
Nose: Violets and honeysuckle. Sphagnum moss and orchids. Orange sweetened dried cranberries. Rich deep scone vibe, with a huge dollop of fresh whipped cream and a couple ripe strawberries. And a mint leaf for garnish. Sugar cookie batter. Slights hints of fresh celery.
Palate: The palate is an exact match to the nose, which is absolutely delightful. The wood is strong but perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the sherry integration. Fatty texture. Reminds me of the first fat washed apple cider I had. Honey and warm brown sugars. Hazelnut. Shane gets anise seed but Ryan leans toward shashito pepper. A splash of raspberry. This drinks insanely smooth, and yet, minutes later, there is a big mouth tingle on the finish
Rating: 9 / 10 – This is the closest thing to whisky “dessert” I think I’ve had without having sugar shock. A level of elegance I wasn’t ready for, but have to kneel and shout… we are not worthy. Feels like I should have dressed up. Good thing Ryan wore his thong. I totally get why people chase after these older Glengoynes.
Nose: Snapple was a fucking revolution. Kiwi strawberry liquid crack. And somehow they convinced our high school that having juice vending machines was healthy, so while there wasn’t soda on campus, you could get as much peach iced tea or juice hybrids as you had quarters. The explosive spicy nose of ginger chews. I have a full on therapeutic reaction to that smell as someone who suffers motion sickness. Even the smell is enough to make me perk up and feel better. I had a friend mention cumin and he is soooo right. This has such a great lassi bent.
Palate: How do you get such subtlety at this potency? A gorgeous gorgeous palate. Mango sticky rice and coconut sorbet. Tart yogurt and cardamom. With a drizzle of honey on it.
Rating: 9 / 10 – This is stunning. jeeeez.
Nose: First instinct is masala. Or some kind of wine cask. But I then doubt myself. Which is frankly a reflection of my week. Shit got heavy enough I started baking during calls. Embraced the call of thick moist banana bread. I added espresso grounds, dark chocolate nibs and a big old dollop of a high ester beast. And folded in greek yogurt. This is probably one of the more restrained noses and it has a dry grass and high wood note that isn’t my jam.
Palate: Astringent, young grape eau de vie notes. I could almost believe this is an older armagnac that lost its way and went flat, but then the sweetness layers in. A bit of oaky chew, but not the spice cabinet. Hints of herbal and bitter forest mushrooms. Damn dude, I don’t love this.
Rating: 4 / 10 – Ohh I looked it up and it’s a Darroze finish. Wish they shared what domaine. Mostly so I know what not to send as a finishing cask. But it does have that bitter herbality I often find in some of the older Darroze bottlings which I try to avoid.
Nose: I’m getting to the point where I smell and instantly recognize the savanna DNA. And I’m incredibly partial to it, more than most people I meet. It’s like a pineapple and a strawberry had a love child and were rocking it in a cedar bassinet lined with a blanket doused in mint oils. The kids left a couple star fruits hiding behind the bananas I was letting go super ripe to make bread, and when I found them, all the starfruit sourness had a whole new layer of funk. Turned into fantastic lemonade, but I wouldn’t do it on purpose.
Palate: Kapoooow. So much rock n roll in such a tiny bottle. Julie used fruit chapstick for years. I still love strawberry kisses. Kids and I made strawberry ginger beer a couple years ago. Mash up ultra ripe strawberries, grip of sugar, with a nice layer of ginger & lemon. Let them sit for a week in a 2L soda bottle until it carbonated and the yeast went bonkers. It had that amazing funky spiciness. Under the fruit is a touch of salinity, maybe more towards brine? I really like picking radishes for tacos, or lime pickled red onions.
Rating: 7 / 10 – just delicious concentration of goodness. You gotta jive the esters to get to this train, but if you don’t mind the funk, it’s got a hint of the dirty side without grinding your face into the parking lot.
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