Phenomenology of Spirits

Domaine Grand Veneur (Alain Jaume) Marc de Châteauneuf-du-Pape (40%) N: cocoa, cardamom, and coffee grounds, but also very brown apple and maraschino cherries. Very ugly color, like flat soda or dirty dishwater, not that I care P: fairly sweet mocha character, plums and brown apples, and not much pomace funk beyond some anise in the…

No matter what I do to the image here, I can’t get it to not show upside down. The photo itself is not upside down, it only shows up that way once published on WordPress. We’re just gonna roll with it, in defiance of gravity. Foursquare 6 year 2015 Transcontinental Rum Line (55%) N: maple…

Satvrnal Banana Distillate (43%) N: estery, focused on banana of course but in an overripe, funky way like a young Jamaican. Caramel spiked with diesel. A bit of sappy, aromatic wood, funny enough. Incredibly thick and enticing P: turns out we’re enjoying these caramelized, almost composted bananas on a farm, with all the wonderful background…

Westward Bottled in Bond 7 year (50%) N: mostly sweet, charred American oak, could easily be mistaken for bourbon, except there’s an odd gummy bear fruitiness lurking in there, like the translucent ones, and maybe a hint of sandalwood or Garryana. With an hour of air that all basically becomes sweetened matcha P: rather sweet…

Australia (Beenleigh) 17 year 2007 The Rum Trail (48%) N: Orange oil and rosewater, mild esters akin to pot still DDL, cedar shavings, brown banana and pineapple skin with a very light drizzle of caramel, gasoline P: similar. Warming for 48%, with plenty of expressed citrus oils and pink, rosy floral extracts, mushy banana, cedar…

Bunnahabhain 21 year Old Islay/Decadent Drams (55%) N: dried, dirty leather, some fruit leather too and browned pear skins, dead leaves, oily fried scallops, black walnuts. With water: a little sweeter, cleaner, is there some cream cheese frosting in there? P: smoked black peppercorn, burned walnut, dirty leather, and breaded deep fried shellfish. With water:…

Five of the eleven, anyway, as I’m saving the others for different lineups. Invergordon 16 year Master of Malt exclusive (52.2%) N: very pale, butter melting into syrup on pancakes, a bit of pepper and leafy vines, ivy or what have you, but above all a breakfast joint (am I imagining some egginess now? French…

The one with James on, it seems Girvan 35 year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company (45.8%) N: sweet porridge, like honey almond oatmeal maybe, with butter and a hint of maple. Just slightly peppery P: butter in grits or on unsweetend pancakes, some pepper, chrysanthemum tea. A little harsh actually, especially on the finish 81…

Nannoni Grappa di Brunello Riserva (40%) N: whole grains, raw oats and rye berries, a workshop with old wood tools covered in sawdust. Fainter notes of banana and maple, as well as caraway P: Honey-sweetened puffed wheat cereal, with some fruity-spicy rye too. Fuller bodied than the Poggione despite lower proof, and the wood tastes…

TDL 22 year 2003 Planteray (47.8%) N: grassy, minty caramel, rosemary salt, banana and citrus P: soft butter and caramel leads, then makes way for a fresh blast of mint and lemon zest and newly cut grass. Love all the freshness, that’s what I want from TDL above all, but I do wish it had…