Tastes
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Bacardí Reserva Ocho 8 Year
Gold Rum — Puerto Rico
Reviewed June 18, 2017 (edited February 11, 2018)Bacardi 8 is not a *bad* rum--its taste profile, in fact, reminds me a bit of the El Dorado line-up, and I'm generally a fan of the El Dorado rums. The problem with Bacardi 8, however, is that the taste profile, such as it is, is both filtered to hell and accompanied by some weird off-notes that really hurt (particularly given that it's basically the same price as or more expensive than a number of superior rums). Nose is tobacco, molasses, some citrus zest, wood-smoke, vanilla, butterscotch. Definite apple, and maybe a bit of leather--but the proceedings are always couched in a weird bit of "fuzzy marker/paint thinner/fume-y" character that rubs out some of the interesting dimensions and, truth be told, gives me a bit of a headache. The taste is sharp and thin and sweet, as though some dimensions have been stripped away by over-filtering. There's an immediate sharp bitterness, then butterscotch, green apple, a bit of chocolate, leather, citrus, vanilla, and more of that fuzzy "off-ness". Short, sharp finish--hot, fume-y slightly sour. Not terrible--it does fine in cocktails and works as a sipper in a pinch. But there are just some aspects really holding it back. -
Limited experience with mezcal here, so take these notes with a grain of salt (and lime?). Sombra is an interesting spirit that, for me, just doesn't quite "click". Heavy on the smoke, but it's not a straight sort of smoke--it's partly mesquite, partly burnt rubber, some fuzzy Sharpie marker, some shoe-glue. If you can dig underneath, there are some added dimensions here: a fresh herbaciousness (mint, cilantro, basil) and some tropical fruits (pineapple leads, but there's some mango, some papaya?). Taste is sweet and hot, more mesquite and the smoke of burnt everything. Some citrus, something almost leathery. Pepper. Lime and prickly pear cactus on the finish, along with more smoke and a bit of raw woodiness. The heat persists here, from start to finish. Interesting, but it's a bit hot for sipping and so strong as to overwhelm other flavours in a cocktail. It's one of the less expensive mezcals (at least locally), so worth a shot, I think, even if only to see how you might feel about the range of flavours that constitute mezcal.
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Glynnevan Double Barrelled Canadian Rye
Rye — Nova Scotia, Canada
Reviewed June 14, 2017 (edited July 22, 2019)(Batch #002) Another upstart craft distiller taking another company's whiskey and bottling it as their own, although *at least* the folks at Glynnevan are transparent that they're sourcing whiskey, and at least they're going through the effort of re-barreling it to add a bit more age (no sign of the East Coast, seaside character they're touting, though--Talisker this is not). On the other hand, there's no age statement, and no real sense of what the process is here: all we're given is the sense of "West meets East"--spirit from across the country is aged, shipped, re-barreled and aged again on the Canadian east coast, in Nova Scotia. That "west" there is a hint, and my guess based on tasting notes is that this stuff is being sourced from Alberta Distillers (makers of Alberta Premium, Canadian Club 100% Rye, Alberta Springs), but nose and taste suggest it's not the really cherry barrels (the ones being lifted by the likes of Whistlepig). Smell is sweet butterscotch, maple syrup, licorice, fuzzy marker (Sharpie or whiteboard marker?), just a hint of pickle juice and rye spice. Taste, despite the slightly elevated ABV, is a bit thin at first. Echoes of the nose: pancake syrup, licorice (especially black licorice), pickle, pepper, baking spice. Butterscotch and vanilla. Quite sweet, with a gingery, peppery heat. Distiller's notes aren't wrong--there is also something almost a bit rum-like here, like a vegetal Jamaican funk. Finish is ginger, pickle, and dry, unintegrated timber, more rum-funk. A mixed bag, all-in-all, but if you're a fan of the Canadian style, I can see how this might appeal more than many bottles in a similar ($45-ish) price range. -
Served chilled, it's one of the few London Drys that I find relatively charming in one way or another (as I've said elsewhere, I'm actually not so crazy about the prominence of juniper in many gins). There's actually an interesting almost chocolatey note on the smell, with some earthy character rounding it out, lots of lemon and coriander. The juniper is there, but takes a bit of a back seat. Some licorice shows up as well. Taste starts with a boozy bitterness, more chocolate and earth, lemon, and then there's the juniper berries--bigger in the taste than the smell. There's some real heat here, some bitterness. Not my favourite gin, but it's one of the entry level offerings that I'm happy to enjoy in a G&T or with a lemon twist.
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For relaxing times . . . Urine-pale colour here (like, well-hydrated pee, but definitely pee), pretty watery looking in terms of body, and--initially served chilled--a nose that starts with ginger (fresh + pickled) and a decently pleasing fresh herbaciousness. Vanilla. Some pear and peach, a soft minerality. Heather honey, honeycomb, and lilac. Faint milk chocolate. Fresh cut apple flesh. The taste (again, chilled) is mild, sweet, and quite pleasing. More heather honey, vanilla. Mint, fennel, maybe a bit of dill? Just a whisper of smoke. Red apples. Gingery heat right at the swallow and then a blink-and-you-miss-it finish that's hot and slightly woody and not much else. There's a crispness and a cleanness to this spirit that I quite like, and I have to admit that it's made me a believer in a cocktail (the Japanese Highball) that I never would have thought I'd actually enjoy: a crisp, refreshing, cold beverage where the garnish interacts beautifully with the crisp flavours of the whisky itself. It also, despite the lightness and low-ish ABV, plays pretty well over ice (and I say that as someone who generally views whisky on the rocks as sacrilege), bringing out a gentle wood-sap-y sweetness, more citrus, and a nice Asian pear sweetness. Granted, it's a bit overpriced for what you're getting ($55-60 in Canada), but it also has the benefit of being one of the only widely available Japanese whiskies in North America. Certainly worth a try.
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Coopers' Craft Original 82.2 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed June 1, 2017 (edited February 26, 2019)First off, for the folks at Distiller: it's Coopers' Craft. Coopers', plural possessive. As in the craft of more than one cooper; not "cooper's," as in just one of them. Second: while this whiskey won't blow anyone away, I do think it's a bit better than some of the reviews suggest. The nose in particular is quite nice, rich, evocative, and way bigger than you'd expect for a lowly 41.1% ABV--vanilla, icing suger, cake batter, huge white peach, plum (stone fruits more generally), slight berry fruits. Faint milk chocolate, a bit of slight lactic sourness that's actually not unappealing, some nice herbal/floral character (like a rose water?). But things start to come apart a bit on the taste, which is thin, watery, and leads with pencil shavings. There's some nuttiness, some sour peaches, a bit of baking spice, and something faintly cheap scotch-like. Faint grape drink, some more sour/lactic character (this time less appealing). Over time, you do get some apple and pear, a touch of leather. Finishes hot, gingery, with some unintegrated fresh wood, bitter chocolate, and dried fruits. Lingering herbal . . . green-ness. If the taste could follow through on the nose a bit better, this might be worth taking a flyer on. But as is, it's hurt by the combo of high(-ish) price, low-ABV, and too much youth. I'll join the chorus below me, agreeing that this is probably going to be consumed largely in cocktail form. -
Plantation Pineapple Stiggins' Fancy Rum
Flavored Rum — Multiple Countries
Reviewed May 19, 2017 (edited November 7, 2020)As a flavoured rum, it's basically beyond reproach, with a genuine, three-dimensional character representative of a genuine sense of craft--no sugary, saccharine, artificial pineapple. This has all the notes of the real deal (sweet, sour, tangy). The nose is fresh cut pineapple, citrus, molasses, a bit of coconut, vanilla, and some green rummy funk. Taste is much the same, though with a bit of acetone sharpness, some alcohol bite, and slight bitterness on the finish.My problem with this spirit is that I'm not quite sure it knows what it wants to be--it straddles the lines of flavoured, spiced, and aged rums, and would be better served coming down clearly in one of the three categories. I'd love to see Plantation add another 2-3 years in barrels to mellow out some of the sharpness here. As is, there's a bit too much bite/bitterness/alcoholic twang to make this a sipper, and the flavour (while appealing) does tend to overwhelm in cocktails--though makes a great, albeit one-note, daiquiri. Always willing to hear out recipe ideas, though!
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