Phenomenology of Spirits

Riravo Pumpkin Wild Fruit Spirit (38%) N: cucumber, green tropical fruit (soursop?), aloe, basil seed, raw pepita P: again quite green, exotic, and sweet. Basil seed above all (falooda). More underripe summer squash than pumpkin, but of course when we think pumpkin we think of it roasted, and this is more seedy than fleshy in…

Let’s celebrate yesterday’s Serbian election results with some Serbian spirits. Yebiga “PRVA” Plum Rakija (43%, min. 18 months in Serbian oak) N: sweet, radiant fruit, plum obviously but also blueberry and blackcurrant, creme de violet, clover honey. After half an hour a bright grapefruit note too P: grapefruit radler, esprit di biere, currant and violet,…

Pelacañas Solera Aged Mexican Rum (47.7%) N: light wood shavings and a savory, not quite meaty or smoky note. Mealy and malt-adjacent P: full on savory: dehydrated meats, mushroom dirt, oily skillet cornbread, apple skin. Again, very malt-adjacent 82 Sol Tarasco Charanda Añejo (46.5%) N: not far off from an old school sherried malt profile:…

Worthy Park 9 year Rest & Be Thankful Wu Dram Clan/Kirsch (50%) N: caramel and butterscotch and peanut butter cookie subdue fruity esters (pineapple, green strawberry). With water: greener and fruitier, soursop or guava P: sharper and spicier than 50% would suggest, and also drier and more watery than the nose. Peanuts and butterscotch again.…

These notes were taken over the course of about a week, two bottles at a time, so not a direct comparison of all of them but close. Villa de Varda Grappa di Gewurztraminer Monovitigno (40%) Unaged. N: half-baked challah bread, pepper, shampoo,  bubble blowing liquid P: oily feel, but too softened by low proof. Sweet…

TDL 12 year 2009 Swell de Spirits Wonders of the World (64.5%) N: minty amaro sweetness with saffron and orange, apricot, mint chocolate, tea, a wisp of smoke (dirty, like a fire built from cow patties) P: apricot jam with hints of mint and clove, toasted marshmallow 86 TDL 16 year 2010 RumClub Edition No.…

Rum Rogues Australia (Beenleigh) single barrel 16 year – Swashbucklers at the Gold Coast (55.3%) N: gasoline, wood glue and wet wood and antique books, lighter notes of pineapple and orange and peach P: broadly rummy—light tropical esters, glue and nail polish, caramel, the smallest amount of mint—and less distinctively Beenleigh. Feels much softer than…

Sgnape dal Fogolar Stravecchia (45%) Distillery in Friuli, pomace from Campania. Aged in oak for 18 months. Bain marie still. N: stemmy, the wooden table at a fish market, peppery bread dough, floral yeast like Q recipe Four Roses, raw walnuts P: sweet, floral, yeasty, peppery, nutmeg 85 Donnafugata Grappa Ben Ryé (42%) Donnafugata is…

Invitti Grappa Arpepe 2016 (43%) Invitti is the distillery, ARPEPE is the winery the pomace comes from. This is made from 100% Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) from a single vineyard, Rocce Rosse, in Valtellina. N: extremely floral, not in a soapy stemmy way but like candied rose petals. Candied apricot and orange too, or fruit leather, and…

Ten Cane 14 year 2008 Rum Artesanal (58.2%) N: of the three this has the most of that wintry, sloe character I love in Ten Cane. Syrupy pine, cool woody spice P: wintry wood and spice and blue fruit. Cool Mint Listerine. So cool and fresh, but richly woody and spiced too 88 Ten Cane…