Tastes

Huge cherries, vanilla and caramel on the nose. Caramel and cherries stick around for the palate, with plums joining the party casually late. It’s a flavor bomb, intense as it is sweet. I don’t even know how to describe the other half of what I’m tasting. The finish is long and warming, with all the same flavors finally yielding to brown sugar and wood. Add no more than a few drops of water despite the high proof. Unbelievable all around.

Caramel apple through and through. Smooth and sweet, if a bit simple. At $20-25 and reasonably available, it’s a great value, even though it lacks some of the character of its much harder-to-find siblings. A perfect entry-level wheater.

Underwhelming. Fruity on the nose and palate - apple, pear, some light spice on the back end. No real finish to speak of. Smooth and easy drinker, but that’s because it’s fairly dull and watery more than anything. Not bold in any way - you can serve this to pretty much anyone and they won’t be offended by it, but it’s not going to knock anybody’s socks off either. That might be okay for a bottle at half the price, but for almost $50 I expected more.

Sweet and almost minty on the nose. Deceptive, as the palate is spicy and bitter. A few drops of water opens up some caramel and honey, but nutty and spicy notes are still very present, as is a decent amount of oak. Reminiscent of autumn baking. Mouthfeel doesn’t start off dry, but pretty quickly veers in that direction. Spices and oak for the finish.