Tastes
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12.13.22 Served: Neat in Glencairn, and Old Fashioned (2ml 1/4oz, 2oz) Bottle Open: 3 Years Last intake: Club Soda Aroma: Oak, vanilla, caramel, nuts. Cakey. Not in the frosting sense, but in the sponge cake sense. Flavor: Some heat, some sweet. Bitter in the mids, but has a sweet finish. Wouldn't buy a bottle. Not objectionable, but there's better for the price. Makes a standard tasting old fashioned.
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This bottle is officially classified as "destilado de agave". The bottle clarifies that this is a blend of mezcal tadicional and destilados de agave. All the production occurs in oaxaca, so one of the following must be true. 1. There are distillates in the blend that are less than 36%ABV 2. There are distillates in the blend that contain a portion of more than 5% additives by volume, or that this is true of the whole bottle. 3. There are distillates in the blend that have used other sources of fermentable sugar differing from, and in addition to agave. 12.10.22 Served: Neat, rocks glass Bottle open: unknown Last intake: Bratwurst I am specifically tasting Big Star's barrel pick at their Clark St location in Chicago. No existing listings exist for this spirit, so Im creating a basic listing and putting this one here to avoid to many tasting requests/listings. Aroma: Medium/light smoke, plum-like fruitiness, and a very mild cheese funk. Graininess and roast corn abound as the fruit fades. Taste: Consistent light sweetness that mitigates the burn from start to finish, and lets the aforementioned aromas shine through. Tastes much like the sugar crust portion of a concha. I had more tasting notes, but the app crashed after I finished my pour, and I had to rewrite this section. I think any mezcal enjoyer would like this. It's clean enough to be pleasant for newbies, and complex enough for aficionados. Positively delightful. Wish I could buy a bottle.Big Star Wrigleyville
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Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative
Zero Proof — USA
Reviewed December 9, 2022 (edited December 13, 2022)12.8.22 Served: 10 way run through (Parts 1-6) Bottle open: 2 weeks Last intake: Bourbon I'm rating this specifically cocktail applications. The day someone creates an NA spirit that is worth drinking neat, I'll change my frame of reference. But for now, I'm ignoring the neat and rocks profiles. Overall Verdict: Great tool for bartenders looking to offer NA alternatives. Its relatively gentle character is both its strength and its downfall. Substituting it 1:1 in whiskey cocktails doesn't make a great drink, but the addition of 1 additional flavor (in the form of a bitters or tincture) can really make a cocktail worth paying for. Aroma: Latex, stone fruit, medicine. 0/5 Flavors: 1. Neat: Smokey, spicey, sweet. Caramel, cotton candy, barbecue, and plums. Optimistic about it's mixing potential, but would turn down if offered. 1/5 2. Rocks: Kills the fruit and leaves the smoke and spice. I mildly enjoy it more this way, Verdict: Wouldn't spend money to drink this, and would only offer to guests with a warning. 2/5 3. Highball: Once again, maintains the smoke, and spice. The unpleasant characteristics are diminished. The strength of flavor, however, is like that of oak la croix. The flavor is pleasant, but not the strength desired. Spec: 2oz Ritual, 4oz Schweppe's Club Soda. Verdict: Would pay a couple dollars for this or offer to a friend. Suitable for home, but not bar service. Could be gussied up to do so. 3/5 4. Old Fashioned: Much better. Comes off a bit bubble-gummy for my taste, but it plays well with extra angostura and my standard 1/4oz of 50 brix brown sugar syrup. I would personally love a bit more spicyness for the piquancy it lacks, but the smoke lingers pleasantly on the tongue. Final Spec: 3ml (3-4dash) Angostura, 1dash Bittermens Hellfire, 1/4oz syrup, 2oz Ritual Spec: 2 dashes Angostura, 1oz sweet vermouth, 2oz Ritual. Verdict: Would willingly serve or order this at a bar. 4/5 5. Manhattan: I currently have no NA vermouth substitute, but I tried it with both Cocchi Storico and Mata Tinto. Both were bad, and would need multiple adjustments to be worth drinking. That's a project for another day. Verdict: Would turn down if offered. 1/5 6. Whiskey Sour: Provides backbone to a basic power structure, but isn't the star of the show. Comes out much like a woody lemonade. This does, however, make it a great candidate for other flavors. The accidental addition of thyme bitters actually made it feel like a cocktail. Spec: 2 drops saline, 3/4oz brown syrup, 1oz fresh lemon juice, 2oz Ritual Verdict: Would serve or drink the plain version at home. 3/5 Would pay for or serve a modified version at a bar. 4/5 -
Trader Joe's 10 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed December 5, 2022 (edited December 6, 2022)12.5.22 Served: Neat in Glencairn, then 2:1 highball (east imperial soda, which I don't recommend) Bottle Open: 3 years. Last intake: Grilled cheese. Aroma: Oak, vanilla, apple, pear Flavor: -Neat: Caramel, oak, light bitterness, light savoriness, bitterness and savoriness are reminiscent of untoasted whole grain bread. Bitterness overtakes other flavors on the finish. Slightly more pleasant than unpleasant. -Higball: Apple is prominent. Flavor is acceptable. Pleasant characteristics that are typical of highland scotch. The unfortunate bitterness knocks it down from what would be a 3.75-4 rating. Would drink. Would not seek out. -
12.2.22 Opened: Yesterday Served: Neat in glencairn. Rocks in rocks. Last intake: Chicken Sausages Aroma: Apple cider vinegar, wet wood. Flavor: Lightly sweet. There is a piquancy from both spice and acid that is not overwhelming. Very pleasant at first sip. Lingering cinnamon-style spice. Feels a bit like drinking a spice cabinet. Very interesting but a little muddled when neat. Has the perfect level of spice (from ginger) for simulating alcohol. Im impressed. Definitely doing something different from other zero-proof spirits. Drinkable alone, so I salute them. In a highball: Needs a lower ratio than 2:1. Tends to get lost once there is twice as much club soda as spirit. Improved with Angostura in an old-fashioned-style serve. This is my default serve going forward.
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11.9.22 Served: Neat, rocks glass Bottle Open: unknown Last intake: none. Aroma: Vanilla, cake, pear. Very similar notes to american whiskeys. Flavor: Thin mouthfeel, evident burn. Char, malt, apples. Mild sweetness. Maltier and more complex in flavor than regular jameson, but the flavors feel out of place with such a weak mouthfeel. Not enjoyable on its own (though barely offensive). Would likely get lost in cocktails. Worth a shot, but Im not buying a bottle any time soon.
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Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Coy Hill High Proof (2021 Special Release)
Tennessee Whiskey — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed October 24, 2022 (edited November 12, 2022)10.24.22 Serve: Snifter, Neat Bottle open: 1 hour of cap opened. Last intake: Bourbon Aroma: Dark Honey Flavor: Earthiness and dead flowers. Tastes much like a wheated bourbon. -
10.4.22 Served: Cordial glass, fridge chilled (no dilution) Last intake: jungle bird Aroma: Salami and other dried meats. Perfumey florals and dried citrus. Flavor: Nutty and heavily oxidized like sherry. Some simple citrus pith yields complexity, and there's a bubblegum-like aftertaste, and it sometimes comes off lightly minty. Certainly complex and unique. But that does not mean it's good. It's all over the place and has no coherence. Would not sip again. Not suited to complex cocktails. Would sub for sherry in other cocktails out of curiousity for added complexity, but it does not excite me. Note to self. Try in a bamboo if possible. But don't buy a bottle to do so.6.0 USD per ShotRaised by Wolves
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