Tastes
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Nose: Light floral and honey aromas with a little malt in the background. A touch of brine but it’s primarily sweet. Palate: Initially dry but quickly gaining sweetness. The predominant flavour is light cereal but there is an ethanol presence as well. Finish: Fast and short. Cereal flavours that quickly fade into ethanol. The Port of Leith distillery is located in Leith, a northern suburb of Edinburgh, literally right on the water in a re-developed industrial and docklands area. It is highly unusual as it is one of the only “vertical” distilleries I have ever seen. This design is partly due to limited space in what is a very expensive area, and partly due to the company’s determination to be energy efficient. All distilleries depend on moving large quantities of material through the plant constantly and this usually requires a lot of energy. Port of Leith went for a vertical (8 story high) design in other to use gravity for as much material transport as possible. They only ran their first new-make a few months ago so it will be years until they have “whisky” for sale, but in the meantime they are giving tastings of their new make, which is undergoing a lot of experimentation. The version I tasted was fermented with Voss Kviek yeast but if you visit it is possible you will try something else. The sample I tried was a little like new-make cut with vodka, which I think was due to it being reduced to 40% abv. Previous new makes I’ve tasted from other distilleries have been at still strength, or just slightly reduced, so in comparison this seemed simpler but it was very palatable and drinkable neat. I think Port of Leith has a great future and I look forward to trying their whisky when it is finally released. Their guided tour is also one of the best I have attended, and it is the only way to sample the new-make, so if you are in Edinburgh do not pass up the opportunity. Tasted as part of a distillery tour. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)The Port of Leith Distillery
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Bottega Limoncino Limoncello
Fruit Liqueurs — Veneto and Sicily - Italy, Italy
Reviewed April 13, 2024 (edited April 14, 2024)Appearance: Translucent pale yellow. Aroma: Crisp, bright, sweet lemon. Very zesty but not at all artificial. Flavour and Texture: Sweet, crisp and almost effervescent lemon. The central flavour is utterly lemon, but there is a degree of unexpected complexity and it has a sherbet-like "zingy" quality. A very pure distillate showing a fruity, fresh profile in spades. Finish: Medium/Long. Sweet, crisp lemon with no trace at all of bitterness or sour flavours and a lingering, oily quality. This is, quite simply, a very well crafted limoncello. Limoncello is a liqueur that requires two simple things in order to excel, but if either is missing or flawed it will be a disaster. The first is top-quality fruit with a sweet, tangy flavour and the second is precise crafting in order to avoid any pith in the maceration (which causes bitterness). Thankfully, this particular limoncello is an exemplar of how to do it right. Recommended. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)55.0 AUD per Bottle -
Port O Ahuriri Golden Rum (National Distillery Company)
Gold Rum — Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Reviewed April 13, 2024 (edited April 20, 2024)Nose: Dry, slightly smoky, herbal. A note of molasses and brown sugar but way less than is usual in most gold rums. Palate: Semi-sweet arrival with honey-herbal and lightly spicy notes. Toasty oak, light vanilla and a little brine. The texture is unusually light and crisp, but delightful. Finish: Medium. Spicy and with muted “rum” flavours, but much drier than expected. An unusual, but equally delightful, rum that is quite unlike any other I have tried. In fact, initially both the nose and palate are more characteristic of whisky and it is only in the later palate that typical gold rum characteristics show through. I found this to be singularly instructive, interesting and pleasant to taste. You probably know that the vast majority of “whisky” that is made in India is produced from molasses rather than grain, and I’ve always found it difficult to wrap my brain around that. However, having now tasted this rum, I can certainly appreciate how a whisky character can be derived from sugar-based wort. It’s not just an alternative, it’s a delicious one but I guess it helps that my preference is for dry, hogo-forward Jamaican-style rums and agricoles rather than syrupy styles. I thought this was compelling and much more than average and I bought a bottle on the day. At the price I thought it was a no-brainer. We tried this and the other National Distillery gins that I’m reviewing here at the distillery in Napier, New Zealand, and their tour of the distillery and following tasting was gracious, engaging and very well worth the time and cost. Highly recommended if you happen to be in Napier. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)70.0 AUD per Bottle -
National Distillery Company Damson Plum Gin
Flavored Gin — Napier, New Zealand
Reviewed April 13, 2024 (edited April 14, 2024)Nose: Plum, light lemon zest, raspberry. Palate: Sweet but not sugary arrival with plum and berry flavours obvious but not coarse. It has a refined, underplayed character which is very welcome and the texture is plush and creamy without being overdone. Finish: Medium. Like everything from National Distillery there is a sour hint in the finish and aftertaste. It appears to be a distillery character but what causes it? Maybe the stills are run too fast? Tasted neat this was fine but not inspiring, however when teamed with lemonade it was much improved. This is clearly a spirit that needs to be mixed and when handled correctly the results are palatable and individual. It has a certain similarity to sloe gin but is less sweet and liqueur-like and more akin to a demi-sec eau-de-vie. We enjoyed it a lot and purchased a bottle on the day. We tried this and the other National Distillery gins that I’m reviewing here at the distillery in Napier, New Zealand, and their tour of the distillery and following tasting was gracious, engaging and very well worth the time and cost. Highly recommended if you happen to be in Napier. “Above Average” : 81/100 (3 stars)80.0 AUD per Bottle -
National Distillery Company Art Deco Gin
Modern Gin — Napiet, New Zealand
Reviewed April 13, 2024 (edited April 14, 2024)Nose: Mixed citrus (lemon, orange, tangelo, grapefruit) with mild juniper. Palate: Bright citrus flavours on the arrival with mild juniper in support (just like the nose). Soft and easy to drink neat. The texture is creamy. Finish: Medium. Citrus and juniper but it finishes a little sour, although this is ameliorated when the gin is mixed with tonic, which adds sweetness from its sugar content. This was my favourite of the classic London Dry formulations we tried at National Distillery on the day. It had the best balance with a pleasant, spritzy citrus-forward profile and the texture was creamy and satisfying. It worked well with tonic water and I think it would make an interesting modern-style wet martini. I would not describe it as more than an “average” gin but it only misses out on 3 stars by a whisker. The National Distillery has a core range of gins but they also produce many small one-off batches such as this, and I can’t help but wonder if it is at least partly because they are still finding their way and experimenting. Their “house style“ is becoming evident but I think it might take a couple more years of work to nail down. We tried this and the other National Distillery gins that I’m reviewing here at the distillery in Napier, New Zealand, and their tour of the distillery and following tasting was gracious, engaging and very well worth the time and cost. Highly recommended if you happen to be in Napier. “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)75.0 AUD per Bottle -
National Distillery Company Hemp Gin
Modern Gin — Napier, New Zealand
Reviewed April 13, 2024 (edited April 14, 2024)Nose: Dry herbal aromas, nutty, seedy. Dried grass, hay and dust. Palate: Oily and herbal on the arrival, turning nutty later. Creamy and warming rather than peppery. Finish: Medium. Nutty but a little sour. I’ve tasted many hemp gins now but I’ve never tasted one I’ve liked. It seems to be a minor obsession with distillers to use flax and hemp seed as gin botanicals but I’m at a loss as to why. Maybe it's a rite of passage for them to try all things wacky before settling on their final recipe. This is just one more in a long line of failed, dull or uninteresting experiments with hemp, IMHO, which is frustrating because I'm sure the distiller at National Distillery can do way better. Full marks for experimentation, but as for selling the stuff to customers? Nah. We tried this and the other National Distillery gins that I’m reviewing here at the distillery in Napier, New Zealand, and their tour of the distillery and following tasting was gracious, engaging and very well worth the time and cost. Highly recommended if you happen to be in Napier. “Adequate” : 73/100 (2.25 stars)70.0 AUD per Bottle -
National Distillery Company - Verdigris
Modern Gin — New Zealand
Reviewed April 13, 2024 (edited April 14, 2024)Nose: Citrus, juniper and bay leaf. Palate: Creamy arrival with citrus and juniper immediately apparent. Some peppery notes later on. Good texture. Finish: Medium. Creamy, citrus but a touch sour in the aftertaste when taken neat. A standard London dry gin recipe with juniper and citrus in the forefront, but it needs something extra to soften the main botanicals. Other than that there is nothing to criticize, but nothing to wax lyrical about either. It's a fine “average” gin. It did come to life when used as the base for a gin and tonic but I was not sufficiently enthused to buy a bottle. However, I must mention, we tried this and the other National Distillery gins that I’m reviewing here at the distillery in Napier, New Zealand, and their tour of the distillery and following tasting was gracious, engaging and very well worth the time and cost. Highly recommended if you happen to be in Napier. Verdigris is a term used to refer to the green patina that appears on copper as it oxidizes, but I'm not sure why they chose that name for this gin. Maybe making it turned the stills green! “Average” : 78/100 (2.75 stars)70.0 AUD per Bottle -
Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur
Chocolate Liqueurs — Austria
Reviewed April 12, 2024 (edited April 16, 2024)Appearance: Completely opaque, dark walnut brown. Aroma: Dark bittersweet chocolate, chocolate nibs, there is a note of espresso coffee in the background and a hint of vanilla. Flavour and Texture: The taste is sweet, but not cloying, the texture rich and the flavour just like chocolate syrup (as mentioned in the official tasting notes here). No metallic or artificial note – it’s just an excellent chocolate flavour. This looks and smells exactly like my own home-made chocolate liqueur (recipe below) and I can’t give higher praise. As for the taste it’s just as good and maybe even better. This is the first time I’ve tasted Mozart Dark and it is very agreeable. I’d still rate their Gold Chocolate Cream Liqueur one notch higher due to its creamy, full texture and similarity to Italian drinking chocolate, but this is an excellent alternative if you don’t want a creamy texture, and both get a summary rating of "Very Good" from me. Chocolate liqueur: Ingredients: 300g cocoa nibs 500ml dark rum 200ml vodka 200ml white rum 2 vanilla pods, split open Method: Grind the chocolate nibs just a little in a coffee grinder or with a mortar & pestle. Place in a 1 litre jar and add the rums and vodka, and the vanilla pods. Allow to macerate for 3-4 weeks. Filter through cheesecloth into a fresh jar. Make a semi-rich simple syrup of 300g sugar to 230ml water. Add the syrup to the infused liquid and bottle. The result will be very close to Mozart Dark Chocolate liqueur. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)40.0 AUD per Bottle -
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Fruit Liqueurs — Veneto, Italy
Reviewed April 6, 2024 (edited April 9, 2024)Appearance: Water-clear transparency. Aroma: A woody, almost herbal, aroma that is unmistakably cherry but not cloying or particularly fruity. As the official description on this site says, it’s more like a fruit eau-de vie than a liqueur. Flavour and Texture: Thick, sweet and glycerous in texture. The flavour is unmistakably of cherry but like the aroma it is not fruity or candyish, but instead has a woody, nutty quality. You definitely taste cherry pips. This is like a combination of cherry fruit, cherry pips and cherrywood (which is precisely what it is) plus cotton candy. It's very sweet, concentrated and intended for use as an ingredient. Not to the same degree as Angostura bitters is an ingredient rather than a drink, but it’s a bit like that. You can take it neat, preferably chilled, as a digestif but while it is enjoyable that's clearly not its primary purpose (then again, Mrs Cascode just tried a sip from my tasting glass and pronounced it delicious, so why not?). It is an absolutely indispensable part of any cocktail cabinet and you simply cannot make some classic drinks without it, and there is no equivalent substitute. Without it the Last Word, Hemingway Daiquiri or Aviation just don't work. Liqueurs such as this are very hard to rate, as they are virtually unique, but what is unquestioned is the quality. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)70.0 AUD per Bottle -
GlenDronach Port Wood
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed April 6, 2024 (edited April 15, 2024)Nose: Plum jam, ripe strawberry, grape jelly, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and honey. It almost smells like a port wine trifle! Yum! Palate: Sweet, waxy and bursting with red berries on the entry. Apple crumble, cherry clafoutis (drool!), milk chocolate, sweet orange sauce, plums preserved in cognac and a hint of baking spices. Excellent chewy texture with huge heft. A very good palate. Finish: Medium/Long. Christmas cake, milk chocolate and sultanas. Towards the finale the finish is drying (dark chocolate) as oak is finally dominant. A lovely, luscious, relatively young GlenDronach that fairly oozes port wine, Christmas cake and pudding spices. This would be a perfect whisky to bring out following Christmas dinner. The youth of the distillate is not awkward at all but simply adds energy and verve to the profile, while the PX sherry and port cask maturation (which could be a disaster if done badly) contributes a blanketing warmth and cosiness. The maturation was very well managed. At the price this is one NAS that can be highly recommended, I think even for those who do not ordinarily enjoy heavily port-influenced whisky. It’s simply delicious and at the price it represents sound value. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)120.0 AUD per Bottle
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