Phenomenology of Spirits

One more modern, first fill Oloroso malt as a nightcap… Caol Ila 18 year 2007 Signatory Vintage Cask Strength (58.1%, first fill Oloroso cask 1) N: honeyed ham, South Carolina bbq, candy-crusted almond P: pretty much the same, though it’s a little too hot for clarity. With a few drops of water: more vegetal peat…

Three IB Speysides of similar vintage and age, all in rather modern first fill Oloroso casks. Let’s see if distillate character comes through, or if the casks dominate. Linkwood 15 year 2009 Gordon & Macphail Connoisseur’s Choice (53.8%, first fill Sherry, cask 22605907) N: dark, sweet, spiced nuts, no mistaking which century or cask type produced…

Coquerel Calvados 35 year single cask (42.8%) N: a liqueurish intensity, almost Amaro Montenegro levels of sappy, floral, and mildly bitter citrus, but dense apple too, in that irresistibly rustic wild cider-Calvados way P: not quite so syrupy here, pretty dry and moderately tannic, but again loads of apple density and now also iced tea…

I’ve been looking forward to doing this tasting formally for a long time. The 1987 Marolo was a life-changing spirit for me, really my introduction so the greatness that pomace brandy is capable of and still my favorite that I’ve tasted. All of these are made exclusively from Barolo pomace. Marolo 9 Year (50%) N:…

Grosperrin x Aficionados Michaud 37 year 1985 (49%) N: cherrywood, sappy but drying cherry-raspberry fruit, woody spice, plenty of rancio for its age, a bit of buttered pastry dough on the verge of burned P: in the palate this moves a step toward sweet spice, sweeter than the Bellair, again with a more vinous (and…

Savanna L’Absolu 2023N: I haven’t checked information about what’s in any of these blends, if it’s even public, but at a sniff this seems like moderately aged juice with a bit of estery distillate included, but not dominant. Bourbony wood, somewhat grapey fruit, black licorice candyP: pretty syrupy in feel and fairly sweet, grape flavored…

Savanna Art of Rum by Vast (52%)N: sweet, light (yellow-orange-pink) fruited, and, well, rummy, with young fermentation character showing and yellow caramel and a kiss of oak…some gummy glue as well. With water: toothpaste showed up late to the party, and the fresh, light esters claim more ground from the berry and citrus fruitP: again…

Jean-Luc Pasquet Lot 70 – Aficionados x Fine Drams (52.1%)N: super classy old wood spice without any dark tannins in the way, the fruity caramel from inside a gourmet chocolate, golden plumP: gorgeous fruit core of yellow plum and apricot with some sharper apple, cedary spice, sweet tobacco leaf, a bit of copper, modest rancio…

Velier Providence 2019N: definitely a gluey young agricole feel, some new tire rubber, a slightly wintry-piney berry thing like holly or juniper, something sweeter like raisin cookies, mint toothpaste. There’s just the faintest fermenty weirdness here that recalls clairin, which is missing in the 2020…P: hmm, less complex here, initially. Varnish and modeling glue, quite…