Torres 15 Reserva Privada Imperial Brandy

Rather straightforward, somewhat sugary and oily, caramel, light grapes, subtle spices. Lovely easy sipper. Thanks to @ContemplativeFox for the sample.

Rich nose of figs, oak, toast, grapes, soy sauce and a little vanilla. Sweet taste of port, oak, vanilla, caramel and sweet grapes. There’s a slight touch of spice to the finish. Full bodied and rich. Certainly a fine dessert compliment.

Rating: 14/23 I liked Torres 10, but it struck me as a bit too processed or something. It was bold, but not tremendously complex and I got confectioner's sugar. Still, it was tasty. And I've heard that this is significantly better. Let's see. N: Whoa, this is full! It's just big. There's some dried fruit and ripe fruit for sure. the biggest element is this restrained oiliness that fills this out though. I get floral and mineral hints, but what it comes down to here more than anything else is that there's a lot of flavor packed in (I expect). Dried apricot, raisin, cherry. Some minerality. I hope that the palate achieves what the nose promises and then improves upon the balance and nuance. P: Wow! This is so bold, with so much decadence. I get lots of syrup of multiple forms. Strawberry, maple, blackberry, more blackberry. there's plenty of chocolate and a bit of licorice here too. Some mild herbal notes. This isn't the mote complex or even mature profile, but the flavors work well together and are quite decadent. There's some nice caramel too. It's a bit of a backing, but it's a distant backing. This is an easy sipper for sure. I do get suggestions of minerals and other more mildly flavored notes as I taste this over time, but it still focuses the decadence successfully. The confectioner's sugar from Torres 10 is fortunately essentially gone. This is more of what the mainline offering should be. I get wood and some herbal flavors. Restrained, but very nice. A tad more stone fruit, citrus, and youthful spice in the interim. F: The hollowness of the finish highlights the musty earthiness here, but mildly. There's an apricot finish as well, and the rest is a bit harder to place. Not a lot is happening here. - Conclusion - This isn't amazing, but there's no doubt that it's better than Torres 10 (13/23). Remy Martin 1738 Royal Accord (16/23) is more complex and balanced than this is, though it's less full. This is very nice, but doesn't quite strike me as on the same level as that. I'm thinking of a 15 for this. A De Fussigny XO (18/23) is more complex than this is, but it's also less smooth and rich and full. Still, I think that the A De Fussigny is the clear winner is this comparison. I would be very surprised to be giving this a 17. So this is in the 14 to 16 range, is what I'm gathering, a 16 being on the high side. I think that the Rémy Martin is better than this is. Going cross-catary, Elijah Craig Small Batch (15/23 - though a low 15) shows off more vanilla and woody maturity. This isn't quite at that level of quality, so I'm going with a 14. This isn't bad by any means, but I really thought that it would be better than this. It's a marginal improvement over Torres 10. I definitely enjoy this more, but it's not rocking my world at all. As a sort of random sanity check following this, I tried Gouden Carolus Single Malt (15/23) and it was clearly superior. I don't think that I can give this a 15. I kind of disappointed by that because I'd placed some real hope in the older version of Torres. I can shift that hope to Torres 20 or Torres 30, but it's hard to expect much at this point. This isn't super far in quality from the Gouden Carolus though and the Gouden Carolus tastes like a high 15, so overall I think that this is solidly in the 14 camp. I'm really not convinced that his makes it up to the level for a 15. Really not. This isn't the most nuanced brandy by a long shot, but it does have some nice fullness of flavor. It's kind of in the Osocais (13/23) range, but I do think that I'd give the win to this. All signs are pointing to a 14 here. That's not bad, but it's a bit much for the price and not an excellent rating overall. Side by side, the sweet, decadent, syrupy flavor of what the Torres 15 offers can't compete with the Rémy. It isn't that far of a distance, but it's pretty clear that Gouden Carolus stands in the middle. I can still imagine giving this a 15, but it's hard. I think that a 14 is easier to accept. I really though t that this would be better, but I'm going to have to give this a 14. I'm disappointed by this outcome, but not incredibly upset. I'll need to change my calculations in the future though.

Definitely the kind of thing for a cozy night when it's cold outside. The aroma is deep and rich, with cinnamon and cloves on top of a dark, fruity, center, sort of like spice cake. When I looked this up before buying, I saw a lot of references to chocolate and coffee flavor, which made me a bit apprehensive as I don't like coffee and am lukewarm on chocolate. But I went ahead and got it anyway and it turned out well, because it tastes to me like chocolate-covered raspberries, which is one context in which I like chocolate. There is a faint bitterness like dark chocolate but it's wrapped around a sweet fruity base, as in the aroma, and it works well. I'd prefer maybe a bit more fruit and a bit less chocolate but let's not get picky. This definitely has a classic brandy feel to it, the kind of thing that makes you feel sophisticated and avuncular and want to recline in an armchair in front of an ancient fireplace and a bearskin rug and discuss management of your landholdings with your steward and neighboring nobles (or at least you feel that way after you've had a couple glasses and your mind runs in fanciful directions). A bargain at under $30. I could see this becoming a regular purchase.