Tastes
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Luna Bloom Butterfly Pea Flower Gin
Modern Gin — North Carolina , USA
Reviewed November 3, 2022 (edited November 30, 2022)End of Days Distillery, Wilmington, NC. 100% corn base distilled six times, infused with butterfly pea flower extract and 14 botanicals, bottled at 41% ABV. Beautiful translucent purple-lavender liquid, strong coating legs in the glass. On the nose, citrus, juniper, and pine, long on citrus. In the mouth, starts with a thin chemical taste, some juniper, and citrus hangs in the background. Dry exotic spices and floral flavors come on, and then the gin closes with spices and a very short finish--strange given the coating legs in the glass. Looks nice, mixes ok in a cocktail (and changes color with acid), but doesn't really stand out, even with soda in a Tom Collins. The flavors of the base spirit are weak, indistinct, and disappointing. My point of comparison is Empress 1908 Indigo Gin. -
Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye (2021 Release)
Canadian — Alberta, Canada
Reviewed November 1, 2022 (edited April 7, 2023)120-GEV014, 2021, 63.7 abv, $75, Wake County, NC. Golden brown and thinner legs in the glass. Burnt brown sugar, grape must, and grassy spicy notes, and some ethanol on the nose. In the mouth, super sweet burnt sugar and then light dill pickle with a good ethanol rush, but not over powering... for 128 proof. Sweet, sour, grassy, chocolate, and a fair bit of pepper and baking spice. Finish is chocolate, sweet grass, and spicy mint tingle, and then gone quickly. Has that thin Canadian mouthfeel overall, light oak, little tannins, and compact finish. Clean flavors and narrow profile. Ice cools the ethanol, tamps down the sweet and sour, rounds the rye grain flavors, and enhances the chocolate and mint notes. Going to keep tasting and thinking about this. Not really a fan of the Canadian whisky style generally, but this one is worth considering.75.0 USD per Bottle -
Smooth Ambler Contradiction Rye
Rye — West Virginia , USA
Reviewed October 25, 2022 (edited October 31, 2023)Batch 47, Bottled by Dreana. Dark golden brown color and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is sharp spice and green grassy notes, with sweet musty grapes. In the mouth toasted grain, burnt sugar, and some vanilla oak tannins. Big puff of ethanol takes over--wow--and takes you into the looong finish which is carmelized sugar, rye spice, pepper, and lingering nettles/mint tingle. A little charred oak in there too. This is a big burly rye blend that actually works, but not for the uninitiated. Good ABV for drinking and mixing--will hold its own in a cocktail as it should. Sweeter than I expected, but that's ok. Ice cools down the ethanol, but still a ton of flavor remains. Love S.A.'s Contradiction labels, and the $35 price range makes this a real deal. -
PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
Fruit Liqueurs — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 21, 2022 (edited October 22, 2022)Balanced sweet-tart pomegranate flavor, beautiful color out of the bottle. That color and flavor oxidizes over time, so consider using valuable frig space (which is tough given the tall bottle) or use it quickly. Mixes well, good as a cordial too. -
Tequila Ocho Plata "La Cañada" 2022
Tequila Blanco — Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico
Reviewed October 19, 2022 (edited December 11, 2022)Tequila Ocho, Plata. Single estate, La Canada, 2022, Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico. Master Distiller Carlos Camarena. Bottle no. 32,207, 40% abv. $46+. Nose is floral citrus, bitter lime peel, sweet fruit, agave, and mineral. In the mouth, hard minerals and saline hits first, then roasted agave, spicy grass and pepper follows. Dry, not sweet, and thin mouthfeel. Finish is long on dry alkaline mineral, pepper, and a hint of bitter mint. Really complex flavors, not all harmonious, but it is interesting. Going to explore this for a while and will update review--giving it a generous 3.75 for now. Maybe 4. -
Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C921
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 3, 2022 (edited January 27, 2023)C921, 61.3 abv. Deep golden brown color and good legs in the glass, served neat. Nose is sweet, maple and cherry fruit, and a little grain spice. In the mouth big sweet vanilla oak, some tannins, burnt sugar, and rich toasted grain. Coating and rich. As big and brawney as this is, there's only a little ethanol in the mouth. Sweet lingers but slowly gives way to grassy spice in a long finish. No odd off-flavors, just sweet grain and oak. Ice softens the flavors, more sweet malted barley, maple, and vanilla, less ethanol and tannins. Ice or neat, nice sipping, complex enough to keep it interesting. -
Kentucky straight rye whiskey distilled by Castle & Key in Frankfort, KY. Mashbill 60% rye, 20% corn, 20% malted barley, aged "more than two years," but not much. Bottled in 2021 at 98 proof. Light golden color, average legs in the glass. Banana and maple syrup, with a little rye grassiness and spice on the nose. Sweet and a little sour in the mouth--vanilla and grain and some ethanol heat, giving way quickly to dry tannic oak (a little acrid), vanilla, and hot rye spice in a long finish. The sour and ethanol heat shows how young this is. To riff on an old 1960s song, "All we are saying, is give oak a chance." Needs more time to age. Ice cools it down but seems to accentuate the sweet/sour profile and tannic finish. Not the best neat, but good sipping with ice. This should mix well in cocktails--an Old Fashioned (ok, I tried it, it didn't) or a Manhattan (nope, not that either). OK, remains better on the rocks, maybe 3.5. It's just a little young to be more than a 3.25 neat. And since it mixes poorly... back to a 3.0, generously. But, will take some time and drink/think about it and that rating more. What's the hurry.
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Rosy brown in color, rather thin legs in the glass, drinking neat. Nose is maple syrup and fruit, sweet but light. A little vanilla oak in the background. Sweet and sour explosion in the mouth. Dry and astringent ethanol, thin and meager. Finish is harsh, astringent tannic oak and hot rye spice, but the finish is blessedly short. Odd sour aftertaste. Trying this with ice changes things fundamentally. The vanilla and fruit sweetness other reviewers mention appears. The astringency declines, the rye grass emerges, but a dry sour base flavor remains in the finish. Grows softer with melt. In a word, much better with ice, but still a pretty flat flavor profile. I'm trying to imagine this bourbon without the port cask finish ((shiver)). Nothing deep or rich about this, not even rich corn sweetness or a balanced rye grassiness. At a $60 price point it's decidedly underwhelming. And really disappointing. Going to give this a little time and retaste and re-rate, but right now it's a 3 at best; maybe a 3.25 with ice. Ok, after several nights, my opinion hasn't changed on how this drinks neat. But, on the rocks, it is a better drink, and for that I'll give it a 3.25.
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