Tastes
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Rhum J.M Agricole Blanc White Rum 50%
Rhum Agricole Blanc — Martinique
Reviewed March 25, 2021 (edited February 8, 2024)The aroma is the characteristic sugary grass of agricole blanc, with a sharp aspect to it, perhaps a bit of lime. The taste barely lets you get a taste of sugarcane goodness before quickly hitting you with that tart lime, then sort of blurs out into a hot finish. Apparently those in the know prefer this to Clement and La Favorite, but I think to the layman's palate they're pretty similar. I compared this side by side with La Favorite and could notice the taste and aroma on this are "sharper", more of that tart lime compared to a somewhat "softer", banana-esque aroma with La Fav. My recollection is I liked the Clement Canne Bleue better than either, but it's been a few months since I finished that so I'll have to compare them again. Overall this delivers as an agricole blanc. I find it a little harsher to sip neat than others I've tried, but it's still good, just different. And of course, you can't go wrong with a ti punch. At $32 for the bottle the value is solid.32.0 USD per Bottle -
Definitely has the feel of a sort of spiced punch, autumnal and cozy. On the nose there is that plummy aroma with "dark" spices like cinnamon and cloves. The taste is quite tart but then the sweetness catches up with it. Overall it's very tasty. I can enjoy it neat on a cold night or with ice on a warm night. This is only the second sloe gin I've tried and the previous one (Spirit Works) was more than a year ago so it's hard for me to compare them. The overall flavor profile is definitely similar though. At $40 this is a bit steep, but I could see myself getting it again. It definitely fills a niche for me. I'll have to try some other sloe gins too.40.0 USD per Bottle
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A pretty interesting blend, although not my style overall. Laphroaig apparently makes up the largest component of this, but I like this more than straight Laphroaig as it tempers the seaweedy notes that I dislike. There is peat smoke on the nose and a briny aspect to the taste, but the brutality of the peat is softened with a malty aroma and flavor reminiscent of a hearty loaf of bread. There's a whiff of honey sweetness and some green apple bits in there too but for me this is mostly a mix of smoke and malt. I've enjoyed the bottle over a period of months and it seems like a nice blend with enough punch to keep things interesting, but I don't see myself coming back to it as the flavor profile isn't quite in my line. Still, I can see how if you like this kind of thing, this would be the kind of thing you like. At $40 it's not horribly expensive but not exactly a bargain either.40.0 USD per Bottle
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This is the first calvados I've tried. Now, I'm sure I'm going to mark myself as a calvados rookie by saying this, but. . . well, it tastes like apples. The aroma isn't particularly strong or complex (mostly apples!). The taste has a bit of spice along with the apples. When I was a kid my mom used to make baked cinnamon apples sometimes on Sunday mornings, and this reminds me of that. There's also a cidery tang to it, especially in the finish. The expert review says, "Perhaps not the most complex, but easy to enjoy" and I think that's pretty accurate. It's a solid, tasty drink that occupies a different flavor space than ordinary (i.e., grape) brandies. I'd like to explore more in the realm of calvados, but there aren't too terribly many budget options available, so I may wind up coming back to this. At $35 it's not exactly a bargain but a decent price.35.0 USD per Bottle
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St. George Dry Rye Gin
Modern Gin — California, USA
Reviewed February 25, 2021 (edited April 22, 2021)The smell has a strangely "blurred" quality for me, like there are many components but they're all blended into one "flat" aroma. It's fruity in a generic way that reminds me of some type of bubblegum I had when I was a kid --- a sort of grape/berry/fruit punch kind of thing. The taste is likewise fruity but has a sharper citrus note and becomes peppery as it goes into the finish. This is certainly solid but not super complex and bit blunt for my tastes in gin. I'm usually looking for gins that I'll like drinking neat. This isn't bad neat but is probably better suited to cocktails, at least for me. I got this as part of the three-pack of small bottles of each of three St. George gins, and of the three this is the one I liked least (although I still liked it).33.0 USD per Bottle -
St. George Terroir Gin
Modern Gin — California, USA
Reviewed February 20, 2021 (edited April 22, 2021)Definitely a unique and arresting gin. The blurb on the back suggests to "drink it on the rocks and be transported" and I think that's fairly accurate. The Douglas fir is front and center on the nose, with sage beneath it, and a hint of honey-like sweetness that adds an element of human civilization to the nature ambience. The aroma is very "dense" with many elements that I don't expect in a gin and which are plant-based but more in a leafy, thick, and deep way than typical herbal or floral notes. It definitely makes you feel like you're in the forest, or perhaps sitting comfortably in a secluded cabin. In the taste the fir remains prominent, giving a piney flavor, and the sweetness is also carried forward. It's a cozy flavor that makes me think of Christmas. The finish is fairly long and again fir-forward with a bit of spiciness. Juniper doesn't stand out to me but it's easy to imagine it being buried somewhere amid all the other sylvan components. When I initially tried this I loved the aroma but felt the taste was a bit on the bitter side, but on subsequent tastings I've been more pleased with it overall. I'm one of those people who often drinks gin neat and this is rich enough to make that quite enjoyable. I tried this as part of the St. George gin sampler pack (200ml bottles of each of three gins), but I could see myself getting a full bottle for $30 or so (which seems to be the going rate; my price here is roughly pro-rated based on the bottle size I got). The relatively dark profile is quite different from other gins I've tried and may not be to everyone's taste but I'd say it's worth a look.33.0 USD per Bottle -
La Favorite Rhum Agricole Blanc Coeur de Canne
Rhum Agricole Blanc — Martinique
Reviewed February 15, 2021 (edited December 5, 2021)The nose is sugary, grassy, and faintly tart and fruity. On the palate there is more sugar and tartness, along with an almost chemical flavor. The finish is long and fairly biting, with the chemical and tart notes lingering for quite a while. The Distiller expert review makes it sound like this is some super freaky weird thing but I found it pretty in line with other agricoles I've tried (which admittedly is only a few). The expert review also makes it sound like it's loaded with "industrial" flavors which I don't find to be the case at all. It's a pleasant, cane-y agricole that's great by itself or in a ti punch. It cost $37 but the bottle is a liter rather than 750ml so it's a good value. I may come back to this but will be trying other agricoles first.37.0 USD per Bottle -
Casa d'Aristi Xtabentun Honey Liqueur
Other Liqueurs — Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Reviewed February 14, 2021This is a pretty interesting liqueur. I don't usually care much about how a drink looks (the color and "legs" and all that), but what deserves a mention with this one is its texture. As soon as you start pouring it you can notice how viscous it is. It's not as viscous as honey but it's got an oozy roll to it, much thicker than a typical spirit. Sniff it and you get a mild anise aroma floating on top of a honey sweetness, with some other peripheral herbal hints (basil? rosemary?). Take a sip and you get that honey-thickened texture with a blast of strong anise. The anise flavor carries through into a sharp, almost spicy finish. What I find remarkable about this is its balance between "light" and "heavy", which gives it the versatility to create unique variants of a wide range of cocktails. The sharpness of the anise and the sweetness of the honey allow it to act as a sweetener in light, citrusy drinks like a ti punch or bee's knees. But the heavy texture and the rich herbal profile mean it can also be nice in an old-fashioned. Of course I know almost nothing about cocktails so maybe others will be aghast at this, but I've found it a useful ingredient for making the kinds of cocktail I like to make, namely "here are two or three rough-and-ready ingredients, let's combine them to get something tasty". It's also pretty good on its own --- it's a bit too sweet to take too much at once, but a little nip can be nice as a digestif, and its got enough body to be savored. The price is also solid at about $27. I plan to keep some of this on hand going forward.26.5 USD per Bottle -
Torres 15 Reserva Privada Imperial Brandy
Spanish — Spain
Reviewed February 12, 2021 (edited November 2, 2021)Definitely the kind of thing for a cozy night when it's cold outside. The aroma is deep and rich, with cinnamon and cloves on top of a dark, fruity, center, sort of like spice cake. When I looked this up before buying, I saw a lot of references to chocolate and coffee flavor, which made me a bit apprehensive as I don't like coffee and am lukewarm on chocolate. But I went ahead and got it anyway and it turned out well, because it tastes to me like chocolate-covered raspberries, which is one context in which I like chocolate. There is a faint bitterness like dark chocolate but it's wrapped around a sweet fruity base, as in the aroma, and it works well. I'd prefer maybe a bit more fruit and a bit less chocolate but let's not get picky. This definitely has a classic brandy feel to it, the kind of thing that makes you feel sophisticated and avuncular and want to recline in an armchair in front of an ancient fireplace and a bearskin rug and discuss management of your landholdings with your steward and neighboring nobles (or at least you feel that way after you've had a couple glasses and your mind runs in fanciful directions). A bargain at under $30. I could see this becoming a regular purchase.27.0 USD per Bottle -
Laphroaig 10 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed February 12, 2021 (edited February 28, 2021)Not really my thing. I do really like the aroma, which is dark and smoky like a nice hickory barbecue. Unfortunately there's not enough of that in the taste, which to me is overwhelmed by the iodine and seaweedy notes. I don't like seaweed and that really influenced my impression of this. Where the smoke comes through it's nice, and there's a bit of a milder malt flavor and even some fruits in there, but it's too deeply buried under the seaweed to make much impression. Took me a while to finish the bottle.41.0 USD per Bottle
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