Rating: 11/23 It was a shit day at work. A whole bunch of people got laid off. I came out of it all fine, but it was sad and maddening anyway. Coming home with that bad taste in my mouth, I figured it was a good opportunity to open up this bottle of grappa, which I'm sure will also leave a bad taste in my mouth (it's grappa after all). Distilled in 1991, it's surprising that this is still around. It seems quite a long time to leave grappa for. E: There are surprisingly bold legs here. That's enticing, as is the nice straw color. N: Sweet, but with a dry barrel quality to it. Surprising. Not nearly as vegetal and funky as I expected, but there's some of that going on. Actually, a little bit of bitter herbs and pepper. A bunch of rubber as well. I'm not enamored with this, but it's pretty nice. P: Dry and oily. A lot less sweetness than the nose suggested and a lot more funkiness. Rubber, petrol, vegetal funk, licorice, white pepper. A little bit of that flavorless sweet gummy gel stuff at the center of Mike and Ikes. A very light touch of fruit comes out of there eventually. It's like the mildest touch of orange and strawberry. F: Lingering sweetness from the Mike & Ikes, with an oily film that brings in bitter flavors, including licorice, white pepper, and rubber. Huh, this might be the best part. I'm not enjoying this, but I didn't really expect to. It's been interesting to try though. The flavors are subtle, so they do get muddled at times. It's quite challenging, but not actually bad. I don't think I'd go below a 10. Maybe a 9. It's certainly not a 16 though and I also doubt a 15. It's a touch call. That hint of sweet fruity candy really saves this. I'm thinking that this is going to be an 11. I really almost gave it a 12 though. It's a particularly tough one to rate. It's well worth trying, but I don't regret having a small bottle. Putting this briefly against Dudognon Reserve (10/23), I'm getting some surprising and delightful gooey toasted marshmallow flavor. There's more going on in the Dudognon and it has a bolder flavor. Well, it's less subtle at least. This is smoother and a bit more savory. It's a weird comparison. I'll leave this at an 11.