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Schoharie Eau-de-Vie de Pomme
Distiller Score 88
This unaged cider brandy shows wonderful transparency and a delightfully balanced texture. It emphasizes pure, delicate fruit and leafy forest air aromatics in contrast with some of the heavier, waxier European style eaux-de-vie.
Reviewed by Duncan McRoberts
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E&J VSOP Brandy
Distiller Score 74
Slightly fewer primary fruits found like in the E & J VS, but the fruit is still there with a focus on cherry and pear. Violets are also found. As you taste the full-bodied brandy, you'll taste a moderately sweet spirit. Some vanilla cream is there and the liquid itself is much like you'd find in a chocolate covered cherry filled with booze. Not much length on the finish, but it's alright. Perhaps you should try it poured in Cherry Dr. Pepper.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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E&J VS Brandy
Distiller Score 72
Lots of fruit on the aroma, but it's not so certain that grapes are the focus. Pineapple, peaches, and cherries come to mind. Fairly full on the palate, the young fruit notes continue to dominate. A small amount of barrel spice and vanilla like you would find in a bourbon are found, but the fruit is the star.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Soberano Solera Brandy de Jerez
Distiller Score 87
Roasted coffee and toffee emanates from the glass and washes over the palate. Cashews, marzipan and caramel add a chewy richness. This is all brought together with cinnamon spice, pear, orange rind, and a hint of cigar-box tobacco aromas, heading off into a slightly hot finish.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Laird's Straight Applejack 86
Distiller Score 85
Clear-as-a-bell tart apple juice, warming cinnamon, and a touch of barrel smoke. The taste is sweet/tart and is full of baked apples. There is a spicy bite on the finish. Great value.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Maraska Kosher Sljivovica
Distiller Score 88
Slivovitz, traditionally long on character and short on finesse shows an abundance of delicate aromatics here. Fragrances of white flowers, lavender, blueberries, and grape juice seem to dance in the glass. The first sip starts hot, but this eases quickly on the mid palate revealing the floral and fruit aromatics first detected by the nose. The time in barrel adds a hint of butter that takes just a bit of the edge off. Then there is the finish, it goes on and on, pleasantly warm with the delicate fruit and floral flavors lingering to the very end. Drinking this traditionally as a digestif is recommended. Alternatively try in cocktails with honey like the Bee's Knees.
Reviewed by Kelley Slagle
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Laird's Applejack
Distiller Score 82
Gentle apple notes hit your nose along with a tiny bit of char smoke. The flavor is tangy and slightly sweet and shows mild wood spices. It is smooth and light bodied on your palate with a pleasant taste of biting into bittersweet apples at the back end. Really nice for what it is. Enjoy neat or on the rocks, although having with ginger ale wouldn't be a bad idea either.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Zumwohl Kirsch
Distiller Score 91
'Zumwohl' is a toast to good health, but drinkers should be wary of taking this cherry schnaps as a shot. Bottled at a whopping 132 proof, it carries a lot of heat. But it carries a lot of flavor, too: cherries, obviously, but also nutty notes of almond and a notably medicinal taste. It's an intense spirit -- not for the faint of heart! -- and it's sure to be a unique addition to any liquor library.
Reviewed by Jacob Grier
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Maraska Komovica
Distiller Score 82
This Komovicha comes out of the bottle swinging with aromas of twigs, rubber bands and a touch of that “new car smell”. But if allowed a few minutes to open up these initial aromatics back off and a distinct but subtle grapey-ness is present. On the palate, it is strong and with a distinct bitterness. There is a hint of lavender soap and grape juice giving it a touch of sweetness beneath all that gruffness. The finish is short, light and hot with a touch of perfume.
Reviewed by Kelley Slagle
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Paul Masson VS Grande Amber Brandy
Distiller Score 66
Hidden beneath the vanilla and sweet bourbon aromas is a faint scent of grape juice. Fairly full on your palate, the "brandy" has a peppery back note which ends slightly sweet and lightly bitter. The brandy is more like a watered down bourbon which, if you're after that flavor, is what you should purchase instead.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Christian Brothers VS Brandy
Distiller Score 69
Tasting this blind, you'd be hard pressed to guess you were drinking a brandy. The aromas are so strongly associated with bourbon: vanilla, maple, and char smoke. Sweet on the tip of your tongue with caramel and maple, the body of the product is on the thin side and finishes bittersweet. The thing is, the product itself isn't horrible; it's not great, but it's drinkable. The problem is, it doesn't taste like the product of fruit, let alone grapes.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno