Spirits

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Various Brandies at Hawksmoor

October 28, 2009 in Brandy by Stephen | No comments

For a while, we were stumped as to where to go to taste Cognac, Armagnac, etc, as not many bars have a wide selection of them and these drinks do tend to be expensive, so finding a bar with a low markup is something of a necessity.  A quick visit to the Hawksmoor for lunch included a quick browse of the “digestif” menu, which included 3 or 4 each of Cognac and Armagnac, as well as Calvados and a few other curiosities in addition to their impressive and well renowned cocktail menu.  A quick chat with the very knowledgeable barman about rum, tequila and also brandies convinced me that it was the place to go.  So a week later, on a relatively quiet Tuesday night, we set about our task.

Francois Voyer XO Cognac
Medium amber with a brown tint
Medium(+) intensity, very aged nose of dried fruit, raisins, prunes, spice, vanilla, wet leaves, rancio and richness.
Soft, integrated alcohol with medium body and prunes, spice and rancio.
Complex, balanced finish with smooth alcohol fading to spice and fruit with rancio notes.

Hennessy VS Cognac (tiny sample this one)
Medium amber
Short aged, medium intensity nose of walnuts, spice, waxy, caramel.
Medium sweetness, medium body and integration alcohol with caramel, dried fruits and chocolate
Balanced finish

Armagnac (can’t remember the specifics – probably VS)
Medium(+) intensity, tinned prunes, Christmas cake, vanilla and marzipan.  Toast, waffles and maple syrup.

Armagnac 1968
Medium brown (no tawny, etc, just brown)
Chocolate, rum + raisin, dried fruits, prunes, caramel, Christmas cake
Very smooth, rich, medium sweet

Busnel Calvados 12 year old
Tropical fruit, apples, caramel, toffee, blossom
Caramel, apple, vanilla, dried fruit, toffee
Long length with balanced, complex finish

Grappa
Clear
Oily, cheese, socks, MSG, pear drops, vanilla
Full body, oily, cheese, strange cereal notes

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Rum and Tequila at La Perla in Covent Garden

October 28, 2009 in Rum, Spirits, Tequila by Stephen | No comments

A few rums and tequilas tasted at La Perla one evening.  First the rums, then the tequilas, with some Mexican staples to eat along the way.  We had planned to taste tequilas here, but on arriving found that they had a fair range of rums too, so started on those.

Appleton Estate (Didnt’ take down specifics, but generic entry level version I expect…)
Pale amber
Pronounced nose of caramel, banana, cooked banana, vanilla, dried fruits, aniseed, pungent
Off-dry, medium(+) body, warming alcohol
Long length, balanced but simple finish

Angostura 1919
Medium amber
Pronounced nose of marzipan, praline, chocolate, coconut, vanilla, fudge
Medium, soft alcohol, medium body, similar characteristics to nose
Long length, balanced and complex

El Dorado 12 year old
Medium amber / brown
Pronounced nose of nuts, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, cherry, vanilla
Sweet, soft alcohol, medium body, patisserie
Long length, balanced and complex

Cachaca is related to rum but is made from sugar cane juice instead of molasses and unintentionally bridged the gap between rum and tequila here quite well, because it had some rum-like notes but also had the pungent vegetal notes of tequila…

Sagatiba Aged Cachaca
Pale tawny
Pronounced, savoury, vegetal (sage?), grassy, fresh leaves, sugar, slightly fishy
Soft alcohol
Balanced finish

Then onto tequila… these are all 100% agave tequilas, so have a more distinctive flavour than the mass market tequilas which can be up to 50% “other fermentable sugars” in addition to the agave, which muddies the taste.  Reposado means “rested”, which is three to six months ageing.  Anejo means “aged”, which is at least a year of ageing.

Tapatio Reposado
Pale gold
Pronounced white pepper, lemon, fruit – mango?, pungent vegetal
Medium length

Tapatio Anejo
Medium gold
Pronounced white pepper, pungent vegetal, cabbage, tinned asparagus, savoury, lemon zest
Medium(+) length, complex finish

1800 Anejo
Medium tawny
Pronounced, pungent, vegetal, salty, spice, vanilla, caramel
Medium body, smooth alcohol
Long finish, balanced

Matusalem 10 year old (notes getting sketchy here…)
Soft, sweet, sugar, vanilla

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Irish Whiskey at The Toucan

October 28, 2009 in Irish Whiskey, Spirits by Stephen | No comments

Various Irish whiskies tasted at The Toucan one evening.  The descriptions are generally in 3 or 4 parts – colour, nose, palate and maybe a comment on the finish.  The colour comments may well be meaningless as the light made it hard to tell.

Bushmills Malt 10 year old
Medium gold
Clean, medium intensity, aged nose of grain, biscuit, vanilla, dried orange peel, touch of smoke
Dry, integrated alcohol, full body, medium(+) intensity palate of barley, biscuit, smoke, spice, dried fruit and vanilla.
Medium length with complex, balanced finish.

Green Spot (pot still)
Medium amber
Clean, waxy, soapy, grain.  Spice – coriander / cardamom.
Dry, integrated alcohol, full body, medium(+) intensity palate of grain, barley, wax and spice.

Greenore single grain whiskey
Grain, spice, vanilla, spirity
Dry, warming alcohol, full body, spice, vanilla

Red Breast 12 year old (pot still)
Light amber
Floral, grain, dried fruit, sherry
Smooth alcohol, medium body, medium intensity palate of grain, malt, biscuit, dried fruit, spice – cumin?
Long length, balanced finish with grain / malt and fruit.

Hewitts
Medium amber
Sour, burnt sugar, fruit, raisins, orange zest
Dry, aged, honey, spice, grain, malt

Locke’s 8 year old malt
Medium gold
Grain, malty, lemon, spice, honey, anise / carraway
Dry, medium body, integrated alcohol, medium(+) intensity palate of grain, anise, dusty spice, malt
Medium(+) length, malt lasting with light spice

Dunville’s
Pale gold
Spirity, heady, grain
Full body, warming alcohol, grain, spirit, spice, cumin, white pepper
Medium length with unbalanced alcohol, spice reminiscent of American rye whiskey

Connemara
Peaty!

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