Jose-Massu-Espinel
Ceibo Manabí Ecuadorian Whisky
Other Whiskey — Manabí - Ecuador, Ecuador
Reviewed
January 6, 2021 (edited January 10, 2021)
This is the second ecuadorian "whisky" i have ever had, and as the other one, called "Murco", i don't actually wish to call it a proper "whisky" since it doesn't follow the Irish or Scottish laws to be called in that way. This Ceibo one, i don't believe that has been matured for at least 3 years, and i know it has been matured in Oak casks, but also in Vitex Cymosa and Kapok barrels, which is not allowed in traditional whisky.
Bottled at 40%abv, it has a very light yet golden color.
On the nose, Inmidiate remedy aroma, not typical from whisky. Feels super young. A sweet boat-wood aroma. Grapy, Sugary, Sugar syrup. A cheap cotton candy (are there any expensive ones?).
After the first sip, it is even more sugary.
Vanilla with toffee ice cream.
On the palate, it is mostly grainy, but diferent, very winey, grapy, light, very sweet and easy drinkable. Feels young but you can have it forever in your mouth. An overly sugary vanilla from grain whisky but not creamy at all. Honey liquor. Cinnamon.
Aftertaste is not bad, nothing special either. No burn at all, dry, new wood, grape peel. Prunes, maybe a very dim pepper spice.
Overall, it felt like a liquor, a very sugary and sweet one. It feels near to a scottish highland profile, but it doesn't really feel like whisky. I appreciate the effort on this, i believe this one is very well crafted for a young and mostly grainy dram (it has malt spirit also). The industry is growing in my country, that is always a good thing. My score for it is 72 over 100.
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@Jose-Massu-Espinel Hey mate, I get that. The long, slow maturation cycle has a special magic. In Australia it does not work so well, given our climate conditions, which are a bit like the southern USA. Two years is our designated minimum maturation cycle and it's rare to find anything much older. Our climate is intense and long casking develops similarly intense tannins. Kapok barrels are used for cachaca, aren't they? Would you say thet there is something about this Ceibo Manabi that is almost rum-like?
@cascode there is no law to properly call whisky to an ecuadorian spirit, and i get what you say about taking advantage of climate and different conditions. somehow i tend to be much more conservative on the scottish/irish laws for making whisky, specially in the maturation part.
This sounds interesting - I doubt we get it over here but if we do I’ll give it a try. Is there a government definition of “whisky” in Ecuador? I guess there must be but it sounds like it is as loose as our Australian law. It’s a good thing in that distillers have much more scope for experimentation. The strict UK legislation is all about keeping to a traditional style but I see no point in new world whiskies following that pattern, it’s a lot more fun to be able to experiment and come up with something that reflects local materials and climate.
@Richard-ModernDrinking it is malt and Corn.
Do you know what grain this is?