Text 1124, 83 rader
Skriven 2013-06-01 20:28:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: tastes 645
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Tastings of brandies and other hard stuff

Lilli, hearing that I was about to endure a number of
trips in coach, smuggled me an assortment of brandies,
which provided the basis for a series of tasting notes.

Lepanto brandy de Xeres (Spain) - these are 15-year-old
brandies from Gonzalez Byass, aged a decade in the normal
fashion and then given another 5 in casks that had previously
held various sherries that supposedly impart their
character to the finished liquor. I was dubious but tasted
two against each other and found them quite distinct.

Oloroso Viejo - dark in color, with rich raisiny figgy
aromas. Moderately sweet, a little harsher than I had
imagined. Less sweet than the below, but that's to be
expected, as PX is the wine that gives cream sherry its
sugary hit; what wasn't expected was that the difference
was not huge.

Pedro Ximenez - not nearly so sweet as the reviews indicate;
actually after the sweet opening, a nice tartness. The flavor
reminiscent of raisins or prunes, fairly smooth, medium finish
sort of peculiar and solventy but with a lingering raisininess.
But hardly worth the 50-something bucks a bottle it goes for.

Domaine de l'Esperance Armagnac 1990 - vanilla and bubble gum,
nice toffee and nuts on the palate. Smoother than average. An
attractive but still youthful liquor.

Vecchia Romagna black label brandy (Italy) - quite harsh,
vanilla, orange notes, very sweet. I might have thought it
sweetened and flavored, as this was hit you over the head
Juliosity, and not in a good sense. Something to get drunk
on, or perhaps to get sick on.

Osborne Veterano brandy (Spain) - pretty harsh, sweetish,
fruity chocolaty notes, heavy burn on the way down. Not a
classy product but pleasing enough in its cheap way.

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UV chocolate cake flavored vodka - really more a liqueur; cola-
colored, thickish, extremely sweet. Good aroma and flavor of
chocolate and vanilla - the nose hit chocolate cake on the nose,
as it were. 30% alcohol. I bought this because it was $8.99 a
bottle marked down to $6.99. The cashier charged me full price,
which I didn't notice until I got home. Sigh. She also charged
me $.50 too much on each of two bottles of wine. Double sigh.
Check your receipts, that's the lesson.

Jim Beam Devil's Cut - really rather nice, especially oaky,
understandable as this is blended from whiskey that has been
salvaged from used barrels. A tad sweet. I wouldn't pay a
premium for this, but as 90 proof for 80 proof prices it was
a nice bargain.

Kirkland bourbon - Hap's friend in the back room at Costco
notwithstanding, this is not first-run Knob Creek. It's harsher
and less tasty. The label claims 103 proof and 7 years age, the
Knob 101.5 proof and 9 years. I'd drink it again, as it's half
the cost of the Knob, but it's substantially less nice.

John B. Stetson named after that hat enterprise - this 4-y-o
isn't bad for that, a slightly harsh characterless whiskey
with notes of citrus and vanilla. I'd drink it again as well,
but I'd not pay the going price, which is higher than the
Evan Williams with which I would compare it.

George Dickel No. 8 Tennessee whiskey - pleasant, woody, just
a touch of banana, tropical fruit, spice. Odd very persistent
brown sugary aftertaste with the wood lasting a really long time.

Kellan's Irish whiskey - opened with the usual almondy blend
aroma, but on the palate a surprisingly bit of unadvertised
smokiness. The finish was similar to a decent middle-of-the-road
blended Scotch. I would have been hard pressed to call this an
Irish. Nonetheless, I dumped part of it into part of a Coke
and found it good. Not unpleasant on the whole. This product is
said to be 1. Certified Kosher (what spirits are not Kosher?)
and 2. discontinued.
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