PBMichiganWolverine
Barrell Armida
Bourbon — Tennessee (bottled in Kentucky), USA
Reviewed
December 5, 2020 (edited February 20, 2021)
Somethings just come out of the left field. You just don’t expect it. A few years ago, at the Mumbai Bridge Club over in Shivaji Park, I challenged my father-in-law to a game of chess. It was a bridge club, and my father in law invited me over to just hang out. I noticed a chess board, and asked if he knew how to play. “ yes, back in my younger days, I dabbled a bit”. I figured I’ll go easy on this 80 yr old man, but I noticed we had only 15 min till Club closure. “ we have only 15 min”. “ oh don’t worry, that’s more than enough”. I figured he thinks I can beat him in less than 15 min. Fine...game on old man.
He opens with a Queen’s Gambit. Forces me to play defense. In 10 min, we were done. He beat me handily. “Wait, you said you only dabbled a bit in younger days?” “ my dear son”, in his Mumbai British accent, “ I forgot to mention I was ranked in the top 5 in India and top 100 in the world “. So didn’t see that coming.
So goes this pour, generously given to me by @jonwilkinson7309. This is just a myriad of aromas and flavors. First whiff is oranges and pears. Second...now more of sweet breads and cherries. Just changing every time. Palette is equally good. Getting oranges and pears first, but there’s that slight bitter tinge from the Amaro at the back end, just enough to hold back the sweetness from the pears. It’s a whirlwind of pears, bitters, and oranges just back and forth. Really well blended. I just didn’t expect this myriad of flavors.
Personally, this might be the best Barrell blend I’ve had yet. Thanks Jon! I need to find myself a bottle.
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@PBMichiganWolverine your story just keeps getting better :) I'm increasingly hoping to see the theatrical version 😂
@PBMichiganWolverine You naughty boy 🙂
@Soba45 yeah, that series reminded me of this incident with him. As well as my high school days when I got suspended b/c I was caught skipping class and gambling with senior citizens in the park over chess.
@ScotchingHard its really divisive—-some folks hate it, others seem to love it. I think it’s that amaro that makes the split. I sort of liked that bitter tinge after the pear sweetness.
@jonwilkinson7309 yeah, he was a quiet humble man. Me...if I was top 5 in anything, I’d yell it from rooftops and send out flyers dropping from planes.
If this were a movie, if call it a plothole @jonwilkinson7309
I gotta get back into chess. This Armida... i love the pear and oranges, but I can’t get past the amaro. I get licorice and absinthe. I hate both, but I can’t stop periodically sampling from my bottle. It’s going to be a weird review when I finally get around to it.
Nice review/ story. :-) Enjoyed the recent series the queens gambit. Apparently it's sparking a bit of a interest/renaissance in chess. Barrell sounds like a great blender as well, been some great reviews
I find it interesting that your father in law's chess prowess was never previously discussed. Modesty, or was he waiting to spring the trap?? On the topic of surprises, there's a good story behind the name "Armida". Apparently when it was first announced, there were a number of people that immediately began extensive searches of "Armida" to discover the meaning or any other significance. The answer ended up being quite simple - Joe Beatrice named it after his mother. Glad you enjoyed it!
@Anthology thanks !
I love the story with your in-law! Legit rounder move lol. Also appreciate the tie-in. Well done!
Great story and very well told :)