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Esmé Vodka Black Shield Reserve
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ContemplativeFox
Reviewed July 23, 2020Having looked it up since my last tasting, I see that this is one of those situations like with Winchester Extra Smooth, where the fancier sounding one is actually the cheap one, which explains why this isn't as good as the regular Esmé. Not nearly as good. I'm immediately hit by the sulfur and sweetness. It's kind of like the vodka version of Clan MacGregor because there are interesting and potentially good flavors in here, but the sulfur just overwhelms them, making this difficult to drink. I think my last tasting was too generous, unfortunately. Yeah, the sweetness and floral notes are nice, but this has a lot of sulfur and harshness. I'd actually be wary about even mixing with this.17.0 USD per Bottle -
ContemplativeFox
Reviewed July 22, 2020There's none of the floral nose of regular Esmé. Weird - I would have expected the regular to be the more neutral and generic (though not necessarily in a bad way). The palate here is sweet like that of the regular Esmé, but it's rich with a kind of inexplicable bitterness that seems a bit industrial. I wouldn't say that this one tastes bad, but it isn't all that great. It tastes a bit sulfuric. It's also pretty harsh, though there is a nice peppery heat with that harshness. With the sulfur and harshness, I'm having trouble even giving this a 12. Sadly, this is just not very good. There is actually something a bit floral here. What's weird is that the regular Esmé tastes like a cleaner, better vodka was used to start and floral flavor was infused, whereas this tastes like a not-as-good vodka just happened to have a floral character to it. There is at least a little tad of complexity. But I have to say that this is a 10 at best. I like the sweetness and floral (borderline fruity) character, along with the fullness that the sulfur brings. I don't like the sulfur though and that's a big problem. I'm thinking 8 to 10, so I'll go with a 9.17.0 USD per Bottle
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