Tastes
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Neat. Room temp. A deep, syrupy brown. A tangy and crisp nose reveals cola, mint, orange, fennel, and chocolate. Bergamot. Herbs and barrel notes steer the mind toward American rye whiskey. Extremely sweet. Consistent with the nose - leads with orange, lemon, and cola, then molasses, coffee beans, and dark chocolate. Gentian. Oregano. Root beer. The sweetness, herbaceous chocolate, and clove/allspice linger. New to amaro but I like this. Definitely a tooth-coating sugar bomb but could see sipping from time to time - the fruit/root/herb/spice does just enough to keep it interesting. Might be better thinned out over ice. A wallop of a modifier for cocktails.31.0 USD per Bottle
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Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond Whiskey
Corn — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 7, 2020 (edited August 30, 2020)Tried and failed to keep this brief considering it was $12. Intentionally old-timey, hand-painted style label. I don't hate it. The liquid is medium yellow with decent weight to it. Sweet, creamy, cereal nose. Honeysuckle. Modest puff of proof spice, but not harsh. The fading memory of a peanut. A touch dusty. Pleasant, if simple. Cream, lacquer, sweet - in that order. A touch of papaya then bracing aspartame. A strong finish with a persistent drying pucker. First instinct was that it doesn't scream "corn" at me, but just having that thought = viola: kettlecorn residue lingering non-stop. A little vein of tartness. Another peanut. Extremely nice mouthfeel - creamy, thick, and viscous. Verdict on a 5-scale: nose 3.0, taste 2.5, finish 3.25, body 4.5, price 5.0. Must try at <$20. Kicks the teeth out of most whiskey at the price, but is not a conventional bourbon/rye/American whiskey and unfortunately lacking in the flavor dept. If 100% corn whiskey had bourbon's demand, this could be $40, but here were are with one of the very few examples. Thank you Heaven Hill for keeping our horizons open even though this clearly is not a money maker. Also intriguing to think of this as a "component" for home blending, alongside Bernheim wheat. Rating reflects VFM.12.0 USD per Bottle -
Neat. Glencairn. Freshly uncorked. As is typical for the brand, the packaging is attractive although the brightly-painted tropical mural motif is counterproductively informal. The netting remains iconic, if a touch kitschy - no longer a packaging justification but possibly functional in bartender's slippery hand. I appreciate Plantation's (now standard) transparency regarding the moderate 16 g/L sugar dosage. A light golden orange. Moderately oily texture and nicely spaced legs, albeit aided by the extra sucrose. Wildly aromatic even sitting outside, an arm's length away. Perhaps typical to a Fijian rum, but shares a clear kinship with assertive Jamaican rum hogo. Tropical fruit and esters plus a thread of cleaning solution. Papaya and vanilla. Cognac grape eau de vie is present as well. The funkiness avoids dominating the experience and stays "on top", allowing a surprisingly clean nosing "underneath". No ethanol whatsoever. Quite nice and memorable. On the palate it is again relatively clean. Gives the impression of a gentle Agricole Vieux. Initial sweetness transitions quickly to pineapple-laced vanilla and cavendish tobacco. Cooked carrots. A tingle of spice and aspartame dashes across the mouth before returning to sweet cane. Probably too sweet but not offensive. The closest comparable that comes immediately to mind is Denizen Merchant's Reserve. This might be its little brother - clearly the same structure and maybe 75-80% in most categories - quality, depth, assertiveness, and character. For the asking price, I think that's a very reasonable accomplishment. Ultimately, the dosage seems to limit its potential, but may also hide the warts. Regardless, it is quite tasty, if a touch too sweet. I'd have preferred somewhere around 6-9 g/L, if any at all, but can't really complain. I will enjoy the bottle, and the price was more than fair.17.0 USD per Bottle
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Kirk and Sweeney 12 Year Rum
Aged Rum — Dominican Republic
Reviewed June 30, 2020 (edited May 14, 2021)Primarily been using this as a rum varietal for cocktails and figured I'd jot some notes before killing it off. Labeled as "12 year" not "12 reserva" , so precedes the NAS change. Attractive, unique, and eye-catching bottle design. Nostalgic un-headed cork stopper is quite cute but also annoyingly tedious to grip well enough to pry out - perhaps I should channel my inner Jack Sparrow and do so with my teeth to achieve maximum levels of nonchalant swagger. Neat. Glencairn. Attractive coppery honey color. A hint of oily body and very patient, slow legs. Pungent with a full aroma, but ultimately flat and uninteresting. Extremely strong vanilla, but little accompanying sweetness = vanilla extract. More ethanol than I would have expected for the low proof and (supposedly accurate) long aging. Little to no fruit. Maybe a molecule or two that never quite became spiced pear but had aspired to as adolescents? Lots more vanilla on the palate accented by citrus peel - orange, mostly, plus some grapefruit and lemon. A modest but nice and buttery mouthfeel. Sweeter than the nose, but still pleasantly on the drier side. A touch of bitter burnt sugar. Some "used-to-be-melon" notes disappointingly overrun by the vanilla. Tart/tangy lingers in the cheeks. Can't shake the "rummy" descriptor - in this instance, not a compliment (think Bacardi silver), but perhaps unsurprising for a Spanish-style rum. It's a little rougher than it should be for the price point, but the biggest knock is the bland and somewhat disjointed flavor profile. Drinkable, but uninspired and one-note. This isn't overoaked, but honestly i think I might have preferred less barrel time to discover some of the tropical fruits that I'm sure used to be there - many younger and cheaper rums will outperform this. Try Appleton 8 for affordable aged rum goodness.24.0 USD per Bottle -
Casamigos Reposado Tequila
Tequila Reposado — Los Altos, Jalisco, Mexico
Reviewed June 28, 2020 (edited July 25, 2020)Neat in a wide tulip. Almost comically simple packaging that nearly screams three dudes sketching up label ideas and moving forward with an interim "working" design, yet here we are a few hundred million dollars later. A very pale honey in the glass. Quick legs and relatively light body. Vanilla and butterscotch in spades on the nose. Very sweet. Hint of oak. Cream soda. Extremely pleasant, but almost no "tequila" to it whatsoever. Definitely no alcohol harshness. Clean and buttery. Sugar sweetness takes the helm. Vanilla for days. Syrup-saturated pound cake. More cream soda. A twinge of aspartame. Okay... THERE is the cooked carrot / vegetal note that tells me agave may have been in, or at least near, the fermentation process. A dash of copper. Marjoram. Some white pepper makes an appearance, and even a trace of kettle corn. Man, so much vanilla. Some minty notes dance around the periphery here and there, and maybe a bit of white chocolate. Negligible finish. OK. Full disclosure: if you shut your brain off and just drink this stuff, it is wildly easy to drink, super sweet, super smooth, with nothing harsh and how in the world can you complain? Fire those neurons back up, and this has too much - read: way too much - vanilla, and it's hard not to suspect significant flavoring, and probably sugar as well, which is totally permissible in reposado tequilas. It is quite possible I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I can't see how there are any barrels in the world, especially used barrels, that are going to impart that concentration of vanillins in such a short aging, much less the sweetness. A modest sugar addition I can forgive and often do in rums (say < 20 g/L), and for the most part coloring (or un-coloring) as well... but flavorings I think should always be disclosed. I'd prefer to classify this as a well-made "agave liqueur" or "bottled tequila cocktail". Many years ago I was very taken with this product before I knew enough to suspect the "modifications", and its quite an easy pour with which to "drink, not think", but there are much better options at and below this price point with regard to authenticity, and more importantly simply better expressions of agave. The base spirit seems extremely well-crafted and is wholly inoffensive, but the apparent heavy-handed flavoring has resulted in somewhat of an alcoholic cream soda calibrated for American palates, which is ultimately overpriced and misrepresented as a premium tequila. It reminds me of Templeton Rye in a way - the base spirit is actually quite good, but is (in my opinion) clearly flavored and thus patently inauthentic. This would be easy to serve to, and delight, the uninitiated, and partnered with Mr. Clooney's name recognition (despite his sale of the brand) it really isn't a bad bottle to have on hand... but hopefully you didn't pay the typical MSRP of ~$45-50. I'd steer well clear of making cocktails, however, as the flavor will be skewed substantially: little to no agave but buckets of vanilla. I don't regret buying the bottle, but I've learned my lesson.40.0 USD per Bottle -
Corralejo Reposado Tequila
Tequila Reposado — Guanajuato, Mexico
Reviewed June 28, 2020 (edited July 17, 2020)Neat in a wide tulip glass. An eye-catching blue bottle and yellow label, but looks and feels a bit cheap: a gold-trimmed 80s throwback that could probably use an update for the modern authenticity movement. Regardless, it's whats inside that matters. A pale pear juice in appearance with a pleasing syrupy weight. Reticent legs eventually appear to slowly crawl down the glass. A classic and enjoyable aged agave nose - sugar syrup, vanilla, cooked bell pepper, a dusting of salt and expressed lime. Little to no ethanol. Occasionally skews into tropical fruit territory. Light and somewhat zesty on the tongue. Beet sugar flashes quickly to black pepper, then to caramelized onion. Vanilla syrup with notable viscosity and body. More cooked bell pepper and sporadic tropical fruit forays. The metallic notes and mineral acidity pucker the mouth just a tad and tingle pleasantly, lingering despite the low-ish proof. Some of that is standard for agave spirit to my palate, some is certainly attributable to craftsmanship. Extremely easy to drink. I find this more one-dimensional than the critical review, but am in no way complaining. This is delicious and approachable. It goes on sale in my area down to $25 (handles for <= $40) which i think is an absolute steal. This compares quite well to most "ultra premiums" (whatever that means) at around half the cost. I'd lean toward this as an easy sipper vs. cocktail fodder despite its affordability. It's so smooth and quaffable that I'd fear it'd get lost in anything but the most spirit-forward mixed drinks.25.0 USD per Bottle -
Neat in a wide-bellied tulip glass. An attractive, dark, orange-y brown that'd be hard to differentiate much from the 12-year. A weighty viscosity that leaves slow and oily legs, albeit only a few. The nose is tropical fruits stewed in brown sugar. Papaya, banana, and pressed cane. Quite rich and nice. The palate seems to mostly validate the nose. Full-flavored. Juicy, sweet, and tangy with plenty of oak. A little metallic around the edges, but the brown sugar and fruit carry the day. Initial tastes had a vein of harshness that mellows as it airs, but the splash of barrel astringency lingers. All told, this is a knockout at a sale price for a (fully tropical) aging of respectable length. I am really smitten by the amazingly affordable 12-year, and this one is much of the same with rougher edges - measurably so, but only slightly. An easy recommendation for unadultered aged Jamaican rum for high-quality cocktails and pleasant to sip. I like the addition of the age statement for the rebranding/release of this product line. Cheers!23.0 USD per Bottle
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Denizen Vatted Dark Rum
Dark Rum — Multiple Countries
Reviewed June 6, 2020 (edited September 13, 2024)Really no surprises once you read the blend constituents - 80% dark Guyana, 20% agricole blanc. Pleasantly dark brown, but still clear... not an opaque “black rum” (i.e. Goslings, Hamilton, etc.). A noticeable viscosity. Even at only 20%, the vibrant agricole blanc steals the show in all phases of the tasting. Despite being only the minority share, the two rums are so different in their assertiveness that it is all unaged agricole while mere hints of the sweet, rich Guyana dark fill in the edges. A hot nose. Cooked squash, fresh cut vegetation, and notable proof spice get gently softened by brown sugar, whey, and a hint of toffee. Rosewater, bubblegum, and brassy roasted peppers are thinly lacquered with molasses, heavy cream, and coconut. The tongue remains metallically puckered, however it’s the sweet molasses that controls the finish. Not the most elegant blend, but the upper limit of agricole was well-determined and its an enjoyable experience. Quite tasty, but likely best suited as a seasoning in tiki fare rather than a primary player other than Martinique-oriented recipes. Not a direct substitute for traditional dark rums. Update: Used this in a rum old fashioned and WOW. Has a bit of a cordial / liqueur vibe, and the added sweetness turns the Agricole a touch medicinal, but this is incredible. Such great balance and bold flavor. May end up replacing the bottle for these alone.24.0 USD per Bottle -
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed May 29, 2020 (edited September 6, 2020)Neat. Glencairn. A deep, dark, orange-tinted mahoganoy. Thick but widely-spaced legs patiently wait to form. Sweet and lactose-y nose with a latent puff of ethanol. Stewed fruits. Jalapeno jam? Charred oak. Very sweet on the tongue. Waves of beet sugar infused with split vanilla beans. A viscosity that belies the 90 proof spirit. Barrel. Toasted marshmallow. Barrel. Butterscotch. Barrel. Syrup-soaked Turkish cake. A barely-there lemon zest. Heavy cream. Barrel. Almost all the thick, rich, and sweet raisin notes of a well-aged port, except clearly omitting the tart, tangy acid of the grape itself. Ultimately, this is really like dessert in a glass. It is so syrupy it FEELS sweetened. The barrel notes are prominent and form the backbone of the flavor that fills in around the sugar. There are a number of positives and I like it... but don't love it. Very easy to drink, but hard to get excited about, it seems to completely blanket both the good and the bad of the moderately assertive palate I tend to associate with Woodford. In my eyes, this is an after dinner dessert dram - the Diplomatica Reserva of the bourbon world. Nothing wrong with it, but curated toward to the palate of those who may not want to take their time with a more nuanced experience.43.0 USD per Bottle -
Highland Park 12 Year Viking Honour
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed May 16, 2020 (edited September 30, 2020)Revisiting for (enjoyment and) some actual tasting notes which apparently I have eschewed in the past. Neat in a glencairn yields a rich orange hue. Not especially thick, but pleasantly oily on the glass. An appealing yet convoluted nose. Tart and grainy, with sherry and peat. Orange, pineapple, and mango. A splash of vanilla and buttered walnut. Subtle and lilting spice that doesn’t quite build. Nutty sherry notes are ever-present but never play first chair. The palate is sweet and creamy and evolves readily from tangy juicyfruit to a flash of peat smoke back to tropical fruits and vanilla almond creme. Lemon chiffon. A touch of astringency lingers with oak and citrus oils, but overall an elegant balance of sweet, peat, fruit, and a dash of bitter. Zesty, sweet, rich, and smoked. Certainly won’t be for everyone, but the balance and complexity are lovely for an affordable 12 year. Not too concerned with the branding/packaging/etc debate; regardless of any aesthetic preferences, these cats know what they are doing when it comes to the whisky. My enjoyment of HP12 has built over time as I’ve evolved to accept modest peat as a seasoning that pairs quite nicely with sweeter, sherried whiskies. Yum.48.0 USD per Bottle
Results 81-90 of 309 Reviews