The thirteen spirits reviewed here were the samples included in a Halloween-themed mystery flight that I organized for a spirits tasting group I’m in. Participants had no clues to what anything was other than knowing my taste. Here are my own (not blind) tasting notes, which will serve as the reveal for those who tasted the flight.

“Banquo” – Stranahan’s Single Cask McScrooge’s pick (47%)

Most people thought this was some sort of Brandy.

N: very fruity, fresh apple and banana and apricot, herbal too (lemon balm?). Sweet tea. There’s malt and wood too, and new oak character, but idiosyncratic, little in common with either bourbon or scotch

P: again very fruity, peach especially, and sweet tea, and fresh herbs. Apples and Starburst finish. Slightly tropical too. Honeyed and mouthfilling, works really well for 47%. This is as close to TDL or apple brandy as it is to more typical categories of whisky

85

“Paimon” – Macnair’s Peated Exploration Rum Jamaica (46%, Clarendon?)

Three people guessed agave spirit, two said clairin, no one said Jamaican.

N: youthful Jamaican funk, pickled mango, fresh wood shavings. I get no smoke but there’s a sweet, wet moss that I recognize from the peated whisky cask Mhobas

P: a mouthful of sawdust and grain, a bit of that sweet mossy forest note but not a lot of fruit

80

“The Bell Witch” – Ardmore 7 year 2018 Old Particular Jamaican rum cask finish (48.4%)

Most people guessed peated malt, but there was one guess each for apple brandy and agave.

N: grilled plantains, sweet beachy smoke, marshmallow

P: cooked fruit and grill char, chlorine. Pretty simple but eminently likeable

84

“The Flying Dutchman” – Epris 14 year 2011 Kill Devil (52.9%)

No one guessed Brazil, not surprisingly, but about half the group guessed sugarcane rum.

N: caney, column still foundations give way to something smoky and savory like bonito flakes and dried blood.

P: again, a light column still character with some weirder dried smoky-savory stuff (burned bacon, fish food) pouring in. A whiff of propane too. But the sweeter, caramelly, grape blossom character holds steady as well.

80

“Dungarvon Whooper” – Savanna’s 10 year 2013 Fragrant Drops red wine barrel (55.3%)

Everyone guessed rum, except for one guess of grape brandy, but everyone also said Foursquare or Travellers. This one was well liked

N: leathery and vinous, chestnuts, could be mistaken for a vivacious young cognac

P: cinnamon toothpaste, red plums, wintry berry

86

“IT” – Savanna Creol 1-2 year 2021 SBS 1423 bourbon cask (59%)

Guesses were split between agricole and brandy (no one said Savanna).

N: vegetal young agricole, sweet sugarcane with a squeeze of lime

P: the essence of sugarcane, suggestions of apple and lime and veg

83

“Rebecca” – Jean-Luc Pasquet 8 year 2015 Cognac Grand Champagne single cask Folle Blanche C Dully selection (57.8%)

A couple guessed agricole rum, a couple more said non-grape brandy, and a few correctly said cognac. This was top of the bunch for a couple of tasters, including myself.

N: sweet, grapey-blueberry, floral, honey and honeysuckle, and musty, not so far from a Pineau or young tawny

P: sweet white and yellow flowers, blueberry, orange, grass, unflavored toothpaste, grain or malt. Full, sweet, and syrupy, no signs of rancio or heavy wood but none of immaturity either

87

“Casper” – Christian Drouin 17 year Calvados Caroni cask finish (48.8%)

Aside from one mention of Alambique Serrano, everyone guessed this as Calvados. It was well liked

N: applesauce and acetone, undertones of cobweb and tire

P: all of that plus sweet pie spices, honey, and above all sharp note of bleu cheese

86

“Blinky” – Labourdonnais 14 year 2010 Master of Malt PX finish (41.1%)

Almost everyone thought this was agave, including the one person who also mentioned agricole. Another guessed pomace brandy. The most misleading of the set, I think

N: smoky in a pungent and acrid way: thistle, plastic, dehydrated meats

P: teriyaki beef jerky. An apple glaze with a little mint

79

“The Brown Lady” – Dellavalle Grappa Riserva Demerara Rum cask (42%)

A couple guessed malt, a couple others said non-grape fruit brandy, and a couple got grappa. This was mostly disliked, and my own least favorite

N: milk chocolate covered orange and orange blossom…mainly just that

P: light, sweet orange, not so much chocolate here more like bubble gum, or orange liqueur watered down with orange blossom water, and also just water. Thin. Not great…

75

“La Llorona” – Bepi Tosolini Tobacco Smoked Grappa (40%)

Everyone thought brandy, and most leaned grappa. I hoped for this to be weirder and more confusing, but it didn’t come off as smoked to anyone

N: wet cardboard, spice cabinet, chocolate peanut

P: an odd sort of smoke, like a backyard garbage burn. Stemmy, twiggy. Spicebush. A little citrus. And yes…tobacco. I don’t exactly ‘like’ it but it’s engaging and multidimensional

78

“The Headless Horseman” – Romano Levi Grappa Ambrata Riserva (50%)

Guessed ranges from “whisky finished in Sherwin Williams bucket” to a weird Fiji to “I don’t know but I hate it.” I don’t think anyone enjoyed this except for me, and I’m retrospectively questioning the wisdom of including what turned out to be the weirdest (this) and worst (Dellavalle) grappas I had in a mystery tasting for people I’m trying to get into grappa. 🤣

N: paint thinner, dried citrus peel, cactus, fried fish

P: saltwater, wintry green plants, grape stems, dusty attic with some old paint cans, citrus peel, Thai basil and spearmint. Raisins on the finish. Really all over the place, extremely pomace-y but with some notes like coastal malt too

85

“Bloody Mary” – Ledaig 13 year 2010 Bedford Park Chateau Talbot red wine barrique (57.9%)

Pretty much everyone knew this was peated scotch, but opinions were sharply split on whether it was good or not.

N: very smoky campfire with plastic trash thrown in it; chloraseptic spray; crusty oceanic mineral; earthy bass notes like chicory or coffee; dark grapey-plummy fruit.

P: seaweed, a campfire on the beach. Dark plummy fruit again. Chloraseptic spray is back on the finish, and it’s the grape flavor. Very little heat for ~58%.

85