What non-whisk(e)y spirit are you drinking?

[Marekv8]

Lotta work to get into this one…

 

[tanstaafl2]

2 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

Lotta work to get into this one…

 

But was it worth it?

[Marekv8]

39 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

But was it worth it?

 

The effort? Certainly. It tastes nothing like I thought it would-- tangy flavor without sweetness. I'm wondering how many wild raspberries it took to create the contents of this bottle.

[kevinbrink]

I bought this with the thought that it might not be super good straight it would probably be great in a cocktail, decided should give it a taste and it actually isn't half bad, maybe even pretty enjoyable. 

[lcpfratn]

I bought this with the thought that it might not be super good straight it would probably be great in a cocktail, decided should give it a taste and it actually isn't half bad, maybe even pretty enjoyable. 

Haven’t seen that before, but can’t say I’ve looked for it either. I may have to see if I can find a bottle now and give it a try.

[Kpiz]

14 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

I bought this with the thought that it might not be super good straight it would probably be great in a cocktail, decided should give it a taste and it actually isn't half bad, maybe even pretty enjoyable. 

Thansk or providing your thought on this one. I really need to give it a shot. I read a pretty bad review of this a while back and I've been hesitant because of that, but it certainly has a lot of things going for it: age-stated, 100 proof, no additives, affordable, available.

[kevinbrink]

3 minutes ago, Kpiz said:

Thansk or providing your thought on this one. I really need to give it a shot. I read a pretty bad review of this a while back and I've been hesitant because of that, but it certainly has a lot of things going for it: age-stated, 100 proof, no additives, affordable, available.

I will say that to me it is very much on the sweet side of things, my older brother was over and he had a glass and thought it was very good. I wouldn't say quite that though I do like it, but it is unique in a similar way to Copper and King's in that it definitely would be more appealing to your average whiskey drinker than maybe a traditional grape spirits person. My brother is actually primarily a Calvados Drinker who dabbles in Rye and Bourbon so his perspective definitely comes from a different place. Take from this rambling whatever helps  

[Kpiz]

I will say that to me it is very much on the sweet side of things, my older brother was over and he had a glass and thought it was very good. I wouldn't say quite that though I do like it, but it is unique in a similar way to Copper and King's in that it definitely would be more appealing to your average whiskey drinker than maybe a traditional grape spirits person. My brother is actually primarily a Calvados Drinker who dabbles in Rye and Bourbon so his perspective definitely comes from a different place. Take from this rambling whatever helps [emoji4] 

That is helpful, thanks. For some reason grape-based spirits tend to taste pretty sweet when they go into new oak, especially charred or heavily toasted oak. There are probably multiple factors but one is likely the lack of spice. Kind of like how most wheaters come across as sweeter than bourbons with rye as the flavoring grain.

Tell your brother to come on here and share his calvados knowledge!

[Marekv8]

Ran out of Underburg, so a hit of Fernet-Branca as a digestif after one hell of a Reuben sandwich. 

 

 

[tanstaafl2]

14 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

Ran out of Underburg, so a hit of Fernet-Branca as a digestif after one hell of a Reuben sandwich. 

 

 

What? No Unicum available???

[Marekv8]

4 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

What? No Unicum available???

 

Sightings of Unicum in the on-premise are pretty rare-- and from what I'm hearing, about to be non-existent. This was at a tiny restaurant bar within the casino. Apparently the bartenders from around the hotel preyed on the well hidden Fernet-Branca, and I was the only guest in memory that had ordered a pour. 

[tanstaafl2]

On 8/9/2018 at 8:46 PM, Marekv8 said:

 

Sightings of Unicum in the on-premise are pretty rare-- and from what I'm hearing, about to be non-existent. This was at a tiny restaurant bar within the casino. Apparently the bartenders from around the hotel preyed on the well hidden Fernet-Branca, and I was the only guest in memory that had ordered a pour. 

So Unicum is going away (again)? I know it is a likely a low volume product anyway but the sweetened up Zwack was a poor substitute and as far as i know didn't sell well either.

[GaryT]

Sipping some Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire.  Quite nice - a significant step up from the standard Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge.  Not very experienced at all with cognac (or GM for that matter, did a sbs with it as a refresher), but impressed how well it is balanced between that and the orange.  Definitely sweet, but a lot more going on - and quite enjoyable as a slow sipper on a Friday night.

[Kane]

I am at a tequila + mezcal bar. Just ordered a SBS of various Mezcaleros. I am now watching the cute young server lady go through a huge wall of tequila bottles one by one trying to find my mezcals, and sort of enjoying it. I'm a bad person.

[smokinjoe]

Finishing up the weekend with s Delord 25 yr.  Nice chewiness and mouthfeel.  Great with a cigar.  

[Kane]

I was just offered some St. George Gin, and I never turn down anything St. George. I have little experience with gin, but can tell this is a well crafted spirit. Very bold, spicy, botanical. What do you guys think about it?

[Harry in WashDC]

8 minutes ago, Kane said:

I was just offered some St. George Gin, and I never turn down anything St. George. I have little experience with gin, but can tell this is a well crafted spirit. Very bold, spicy, botanical. What do you guys think about it?

Gin is my second favorite spirit.  St.G makes three WONderful gins - comparable in quality to the gins made by Ransom in McMinnville, Oregon, which I also love.  Ransom makes a white vermouth that PERFECTLY, to my taste, fits with its dry gin.     For 100s of gin reviews, check out Aaron Knoll's theginisin.com.

 

I know St.G and Ransom make whiskey but I've never tasted it.

[KyleCBreese]

Picked up a Black Dirt Single Barrel Apple Brandy. Anyone had this? Any tasting notes?

[kevinbrink]

34 minutes ago, KyleCBreese said:

Picked up a Black Dirt Single Barrel Apple Brandy. Anyone had this? Any tasting notes?

I've had it at WVW it's not bad, the regular BIB is better than the single barrels I have had, I think I still have a few of those which are single apple distilations. More apple spirit driven and less oak than Laird's. 

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, kevinbrink said:

I've had it at WVW it's not bad, the regular BIB is better than the single barrels I have had, I think I still have a few of those which are single apple distilations. More apple spirit driven and less oak than Laird's. 

I'll add that perusing the info I could find it looks like the actual age of the contents has increased over the years to about 6 years so my recollection might be outdated anyway.

[KyleCBreese]

3 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

I'll add that perusing the info I could find it looks like the actual age of the contents has increased over the years to about 6 years so my recollection might be outdated anyway.

It’s a pleasant pour. Very simple, but enjoyable. Slightly less Apple flavor than I was expecting. 

[kevinbrink]

31 minutes ago, KyleCBreese said:

It’s a pleasant pour. Very simple, but enjoyable. Slightly less Apple flavor than I was expecting. 

This is apparently what is currently in my apartment, it smells and tastes young though not in a bad way like a young bourbon, not the strongest apple flavor but definitely an apple spirit. Their website doesn't seem to list this one on their single barrel page so who knows what's actually in here. 

[Kane]

Something different for the night cap. Very pleasant apple on the nose and palate. My first time trying this, and it's very different to a Calvados. I'll need to go back to it.

 

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by Kane

[tanstaafl2]

On 11/21/2018 at 11:21 PM, Kane said:

Something different for the night cap. Very pleasant apple on the nose and palate. My first time trying this, and it's very different to a Calvados. I'll need to go back to it.

 

 

I could never dig out much sense of apple from the Laird's 12 as compared to younger versions of Lairds although it remains a very nice pour on its own merits. Calvados almost always seemed to bring a stronger sense of its apple (and sometimes pear) roots to me even with older bottlings. Was never quite sure why that was.

[kevinbrink]

21 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

I could never dig out much sense of apple from the Laird's 12 as compared to younger versions of Lairds although it remains a very nice pour on its own merits. Calvados almost always seemed to bring a stronger sense of its apple (and sometimes pear) roots to me even with older bottlings. Was never quite sure why that was.

Barrel Char level maybe or New vs Used Oak or even American vs European Oak are probably all factor right? Also the Apple (or Pear) varieties used might be the biggest factor. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by kevinbrink