Tastes
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Knocklofty Mulberry Garden Gin
Flavored Gin — Hobart, Tasmania , Australia
Reviewed January 23, 2019 (edited July 22, 2022)Nose: Dusky floral and berry aromas. Rose-hip, wine gums, cherry flavour gummy bears, raspberry rope candy. Palate: Very sweet, but not syrupy. Fruity like a berry-flavoured cough mixture, but without any of the awful artificial flavourings or colour. It's a full-on adult berry cordial. Finish: Short. You taste the berries strongly in the aftertaste. You could argue whether this is actually more a liqueur than a gin, but it’s as much a gin as any sloe gin I’ve tasted, it has juniper and other botanicals in the formula, it's produced by steeping fruit in the gin, and there is no added sugar. So yes, let's go with gin. Knocklofty is a micro-distillery in Hobart run by three couples. Everything is made at the distillery including the base spirit which they distill themselves. A typical batch is just 70 bottles and every step of the process is done by hand. They also produce a damson gin and a quince gin in the Garden Gin range. All are thoroughly delightful and have a quality home-made character. The fruit is gathered by hand from local gardens in the area. More power to them. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)85.0 AUD per Bottle -
KIS Whisky Barrel Aged Gin
Barrel-Aged Gin — Kangaroo Island, South Australia , Australia
Reviewed January 23, 2019 (edited July 22, 2022)Nose: Fragrant and spicy. Citronella, cloves, vanilla, beer. Adding tonic improves the nose, causing everything to meld together into a soft spicy-floral aroma. Palate: Sweet but not cloying on the arrival. Mildly spicy and herbal. The texture is creamy, piney and citric, and borders on being slightly astringent. Finish: Medium. Bittersweet and herbal with an oaky aftertaste. Barrel-aged gin is an acquired taste, and how well it works in each example depends on how well the character of the gin and the previous contents of the cask work in combination, and on how much wood and tannin the spirit acquires. This is one of the better examples I’ve tried, having a softer and more mellow character than some. It takes tonic and ice well, although the palate does gain a little bitterness. This can be balanced by adding a slice of orange, which works very well. KIS stands for Kangaroo Island Spirits, a gin distillery established at Cygnet River on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia near Adelaide, in 2007. It was the first craft distillery in South Australia. The barrels used are ex-Australian whisky barrels and I’m told they are sourced from Lark distillery in Tasmania. I’m inclined to believe this seeing as the owner and head distiller at KIS is Jon Lark, brother of Bill Lark. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)115.0 AUD per Bottle -
Hemp Gin
Modern Gin — Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Reviewed January 23, 2019 (edited January 24, 2019)Nose: Flat and musty with hardly a hint of juniper. A floury, bready, yeasty aroma like uncooked porridge oats or bleached white flour. Not actually bad … just kind of odd and dull. Palate: Earthy and laid back with a mildly sweet herbal presence. Very little development. A distant suggestion of juniper, but it’s a rather uninteresting palate on the whole. Finish: Short. A light dull sweetish herbal aftertaste. Technically speaking this is a gin because it contains juniper, but in practice it’s so muted that this may as well be cereal and herb infused vodka. I wish I could be more complimentary about this gin because it’s an interesting experiment, but it’s simply below par when tasted neat. Overall it is reminiscent of new-make rye spirit straight from the still, but with a much less pungent character. It would be interesting to see what this would be like if given 3 years of maturation in an ex-bourbon barrel. Adding ice or water brings it to life, with the cereal-heavy nose developing delicate floral tones. Adding tonic further improves it and it's OK (if not particularly compelling) as a mixer. Interesting to try, but not worth buying a bottle. “Inferior” : 67/100 (1.5 stars)95.0 AUD per Bottle -
Anther Gin
London Dry Gin — Collingwood, Victoria , Australia
Reviewed January 23, 2019 (edited July 20, 2022)Nose: Light floral juniper with background coriander leaf aromas. It’s an uplifting and clean nose but not so bright as to be bracing – there’s a creamy, soothing softness about it. There’s also a touch of piney herbal notes. Very agreeable. Palate: Creamy and full arrival with spicy herbal flavours, but like the nose it’s soothing rather than bright, with a clean complexity. The texture is round and satiny and there’s a hint of earthy root spices – ginger, turmeric, galangal, etc. Finish: Medium/long. The palate segues into a pleasant finish with a sweet, lingering mint and herbal aftertaste. A versatile, complex and well-balanced gin with a pleasant texture that is excellent for neat sipping or mixing. It pairs particularly well with a subtle tonic such as Fever Tree Mediterranean where light sweetness can enhance the botanicals but not overwhelm them. Tonic also brings out a light lemon/lime note that adds a refreshing contrast and is perfect for a G&T. Co-distillers Dervilla McGowan and Sebastian Reaburn have been producing small-batch gin at their distillery in suburban Melbourne since 2016, and in 2018 this gin was awarded Champion Gin at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)90.0 AUD per Bottle -
Nose: Vanilla, tropical fruit (pineapple, mango), honey, sugar and coconut notes, but it's very light in character. It has a light dusty oak aroma as well that is pleasant and almost floral. In some ways it's reminiscent of a light bourbon nose but it's rather shy and subtle overall. Palate: A mildly sweet entry with demerara sugar, white sugar, cream and vanilla, but it's very tame. There is not much development - maybe a little more vanilla and some molasses, but the flavours from the arrival dominate. The texture is somewhat thin, even verging on watery. It has a taste profile like a white rum and while pleasant it's a bit shallow - the palate seems to race to the finish and before you know it the flavours are all fading away. Finish: Short. Vanilla and mild orange but once again it's demerara sugar you notice most in the aftertaste. I first tried this about 12 months ago as part of a 6 x 100ml Plantation tasting selection and thought it to be OK, but not much more than average. Finding myself in need of some rum for mixing I bought a bottle today as it was on special at 50% discount at the local liquor shop. This is a very approachable rum that offers no challenge or complexity. It is easy to drink, mild and inoffensive but there is a monotonous one-tone sugar note running through it. Lovers of heavy, forceful rum with pungent hogo will think they are tasting vodka with a jigger of dark rum added. On the other hand those who generally find rum to be sickly, cloying and over-sweetened may well regard this as delicate, subtle and friendly. In many ways this rum smells and tastes more like a good white rum than a gold or dark rum. In mixed drinks it tends to disappear, and in a Cuba Libre it is completely swamped by the cola. At the price it does not represent particularly good value. "Average" : 77/100 (2.5 stars)90.0 AUD per Bottle
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Appearance: Creamy with a very faint pinkish/brown tinge. Thick legs. Aroma: Nutmeg, fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, a tinge of vanilla and malted milk. Flavour and texture: Creamy and sweet on the arrival with an unmistakable nutmeg and cinnamon flavour. Not unlike spiced milk (but better). The texture is rich and creamy, but not at all cloying or oily. The palate fades fast, and it's very addictive. An interesting liqueur - it's essentially a cross between an herbal and a nut liqueur with a very creamy texture. This derives from the use of tiger-nut meal (think almond milk and you're not too far off). The direct inspiration is horchata. Imagine a glass of refreshing almond and rice milk, slightly thickened and sweetened, laced with a very satisfying mix of baking spices and rum and served ice cold on the rocks. It's a successful pseudo-dairy liqueur which is not only very tasty but also suitable for those with a lactose intolerance! The nut-meal milk texture makes it both thick and satisfying but also crisp and refreshing, without the fatty cloyingness of milk. If you like Bailey's then give this a try - you won't be disappointed and may just convert. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)31.0 AUD per Bottle
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Appearance: Dark reddish amber, almost burnt umber. Against the light it appears quite transparent with no particulate matter. Aroma: A mild and pleasant coffee aroma. Very straightforward, no vanilla or spicy notes. It smells just like a cup of good strong black coffee. Flavour and texture: Pleasant initial flavour, sweet but not cloying or syrupy. A well defined, full coffee presence on the palate which lingers into a medium-long finish. The texture is rounded and silky but not overly sweet. A rather plain character that could be criticized as a little simplistic or generic, but at the same time it is satisfying and enjoyable. Imagine a cup of well brewed strong black coffee with about 3-4 teaspoons of white sugar and a dram of white rum. That pretty much captures it. Nothing in particular to criticize, and the Fair company seems like a good organization that sources its ingredients from fair-trade sources. A pleasant sipper (better than Kahlua, actually, as it's much more like a homemade liqueur) and probably a fine mixer as well. "Above Average" : 81/100 (3 stars)33.0 AUD per Bottle
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Appearance: Walnut brown, almost black, with no cloudiness. Translucent, but very dark. Aroma: A mild but rounded aroma similar to that of a cup of sweet black instant coffee with a drop of rum. Palate and Texture: Very sweet but surprisingly lacking in coffee flavour. There is coffee, of course, but the sweetness and syrupy texture is so prominent it dominates, so you notice coffee more in the aftertaste. The profile is simple and shallow: coffee, but with little nuance. It tastes more like it is based on coffee & chicory essence than crafted from coffee beans. The texture is thick, satiny and either cloying or the best thing about it, depending on your preference. Back in the day there were not very many coffee liqueurs and, along with Tia Maria, Kahlúa was a popular standard. Nowadays, however, these old-school sweet coffee liqueurs have been eclipsed by artisan semi-sweet cold-brew liqueurs (such as Mr Black) that have a significantly greater and more complex coffee presence which makes them superior as both neat liqueurs or cocktail ingredients. "Adequate" : 71/100 (2 stars)35.0 AUD per Bottle
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Eros Limoncello
Fruit Liqueurs — Kalamata, Greece
Reviewed January 7, 2019 (edited January 13, 2019)Appearance: Transparent, with a light yellow tinge. Aroma: Lemon oil, sherbet lemon sweets. Flavour and Texture: The flavour is very simple and one-note, being straight-up lemon oil or lemon essence in a sweet syrup base with neutral alcohol. The texture is relatively thick. Probably the least interesting limoncello I've had. While it's not actually unpleasant it's very generic and seemed like it was constructed in a lab from extracts rather than produced from the masceration of fresh lemon skin. I don't know for a fact that this is how it is made, but it tasted like it. Eros is the brand name in Australia (and probably other English-speaking countries) but this is actually made by the Callicounis Distillery in Kalamata. They produce literally scores of spirits and liqueurs and have been operating since the mid 19th century, however their products have only recently appeared on our shelves. The bottle is small (100ml) and inexpensive, both of which factors I consider as positives. I've not tried any of the other liqueurs in their range, and I'm not in a hurry to do so. If you really, really wanted a limoncello and this was all that the restaurant had you'd drink it, but you'd also whine to everyone about how ordinary it tasted. "Inferior" : 65/100 (1.5 stars)12.0 AUD per Bottle -
Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve (2013 Special Release)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed January 4, 2019 (edited October 28, 2019)Nose: Honey, lemon, green apple, white grapes, heather flowers, sea-mist. Adding water mutes the nose considerably and it takes some resting time to recompose. When it does it produces tropical fruit aromas, sweat and a little light honey. [The dry-glass aroma is lightly floral and vaguely similar to Highland Park]. Palate: A strong, forcefully spicy arrival that is completely unexpected from the nose. Sour apples and bittermelon, lemon zest and slightly overbrewed but weak black tea. Pine resin, pine needles, sawdust. Adding water tames the performance but tends to confuse everything - it creates a meld of flavours that doesn't ever really sort itself out. If adding water, don't add too much. Finish: Medium/long. Spicy, malty and grassy. A faint bitter aftertaste. Let this one rest. Give it time. Give yourself time. This is not a peated Caol Ila and it is not like any other Caol Ila you've ever tasted before (unless you've had an unpeated cask-strength IB). It's very tightly locked up by the high alcohol and it demands water, however it's a finicky malt that blooms when the right amount of water (just a few drops) is added, but collapses into chaos if drowned. This taste is based on a bottle-kill. It's probably difficult to find this malt now except through auctions - personally I won't be bothering to acquire another. Interesting, certainly worth a taste, but neither compelling nor value for money. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)200.0 AUD per Bottle
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