Spirit rally

[Thor]

Hospices de Beaune 1993 Marc de Bourgogne (Burgundy) As red-Burgundian as a marc can be, full of the lovely blended fruit and autumnal richness of a nicely-aged wine and a warmness that never tips over into burn. (8/10)

Old Rip Van Winkle 10-Year Bourbon (Kentucky) As with the superior bottlings from this distillery, the wood-infused peach and caramel are more lively and less barrel-deadened than many other commercial bourbons. And while I dont mean to suggest that this isnt good it is; in fact, its better than most it rather obviously doesnt have the complexity of the longer-aged and more eccentric bottlings. This is carping, I know. (7/10)

Peconic Bay Spirits Signature Grape Brandy sono rinata (New York) Apparently merlot, and be warned that its a clearer, more grappa-like style than it is a deep, wood-aged style. Or rather, I wish someone had warned me. Because I dont care for this at all. It tastes like corn, and the alcoholic bite is harsh and ungainly. (8/10)

Marian Farms Epirito de la Valda Brandy Private Reserve (California) Supple, with good acidity and a fun side. Lots of wood, though. A little more than it can handle. (8/10)

Marian Farms California Style Pisco (California) Orange bubblegum. In a pisco? Welcome to California! Sweet and soft; not bad, necessarily, but certainly not what any knowledgeable pisco drinker is looking for. (8/10)

The Speyside Scotch Whisky 12 Year (Speyside) Iodine, but not too much. Peat, but not too much. Flavor, but not too much. Sweet oak? Yeah, theres a lot of that. Straightforward, really. (9/10)

The MacPhails Selected Single Distilleries Collection (Bunnahabhain) 8 Year Scotch (Islay) Boring. How do you make an Islay whisky boring? Well: exhibit A. Iodine, but only just, with a clammy boredom resting atop an alcoholic nonentity. The most flavor of the three from this lineup that Ive tried, but in service of naught. (10/10)

The MacPhails Selected Single Distilleries Collection (Tamdhu) 8 Year Scotch (Speyside) Boring, with a side of tedium. Sweet and a little vegetal. Still boring, after all these words. (10/10)

The MacPhails Selected Single Distilleries Collection (Highland Park) 8 Year Scotch (Orkney) Boring, though slightly less so than its stablemates. A little sweetness, a little spice, a little of not enough thats nice. Just barely worth the $25 I paid for it, though one of the better blended whiskys would have been just as good, and probably cheaper. (10/10)

Ferrand Cognac Grande Champagne 1er Cru du Cognac Rserve (Cognac) A little over-succulent and almost candied on the nose, at first opening. Lets let it breathe for a bit. [] And were done. Blood orange? Yes, that and butterscotch. Were verging into California chardonnay territory here. More air? Yes, please. [] Settling down, at last, but theres still an inexorable pumpkin pie element, both aromatically and texturally, that I cant quite get past. A lot of soil is to the good, but its not enough. I admit that all beverages of this type are almost exclusively aromatic pleasures for me; I can enjoy drinking them, but were that all there was to them Id still to wine. So that the palate here is a little diagonal and slashy, bringing a great deal of heat and white chocolate for which I dont care, is no big deal. I want to smell, not quaff. And thus, I wish the nosegrab was more enticing. [one hour later] Starting to get a lot better, knitting and filling out, with less of the fetid and more of the elegantly feral. I suspect it might be days before this rounds into form, though. More later. (11/10)

Ferrand Cognac Grande Champagne 1er Cru du Cognac Rserve (Cognac) Third night after opening. All the faux candied sweetness is gone, leaving something a lot more elegant. No, thats not the right word. Sophisticated. Perhaps a little over-jacketed in layers of formality, to be honest. Loosen the bowtie! Theres a lota lotof soft, loamy earth, which I like and find intriguing in a Cognac. But theres also a planar stuffiness to the finish, as if the brandy has a slight head cold. Or as if that aforementioned bowtie is a little suffocating. (11/10)

Ferrand Cognac Grande Champagne 1er Cru du Cognac Rserve (Cognac) Over a week after opening, and everything difficult about this spirit is now gone, replaced by subtleties and shadings. Really quite lovely. Does it live up to its price? Probably not quite, but then I find most Cognac to be rather aspirationally priced to begin with; in context, its probably more or less OK. (11/10)

 

[Tom Glasgow]

A string of bad luck or one hell of a disinformation campaign,

 

[Thor]

I doubt anything, except maybe that first bottle, is all that difficult to find. Though judging by the date, I probably had it in NYC (maybe at Marea?), so maybe it's not either. Dunno how much disinformational advantage I could gain.

 

[Tom Glasgow]

originally posted by Thor:
I doubt anything, except maybe that first bottle, is all that difficult to find. Though judging by the date, I probably had it in NYC (maybe at Marea?), so maybe it's not either. Dunno how much disinformational advantage I could gain.

Bad luck.

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

originally posted by Thor:
Spirit rallyHospices de Beaune 1993 Marc de Bourgogne (Burgundy) As red-Burgundian as a marc can be, full of the lovely blended fruit and autumnal richness of a nicely-aged wine and a warmness that never tips over into burn. (8/10)

I take it this was a barrel-aged Marc. I've had a couple of pretty fine Marcs de Bourgogne and Marcs de Champagne over the years, makes you wonder what they could do if they really put some effort and euros into it.

Marian Farms California Style Pisco (California) Orange bubblegum. In a pisco? Welcome to California! Sweet and soft; not bad, necessarily, but certainly not what any knowledgeable pisco drinker is looking for. (8/10)

I've been told good Pisco uses a lot of Muscat. Maybe they used Orange Muscat? >:^)

Ferrand Cognac Grande Champagne 1er Cru du Cognac Rserve (Cognac) .... Blood orange? Yes, that and butterscotch...theres still an inexorable pumpkin pie element... A lot of soil is to the good... And thus, I wish the nosegrab was more enticing.

Blood orange, butterscotch, pumpkin pie, soil - sounds pretty good to me. How much more do you want?

 

[Thor]

I take it this was a barrel-aged Marc.

Based on color, yes, but there wasn't a whole lot of said color, so maybe I'm wrong. To be honest, I suspect a lot of the differences in marcs between regions is based on the stylistic preferences of the region. In Alsace, with intensity or bite prized in the wines, both show up in various distillates of whatever. In Burgundy, where finesse and sophistication are more the order of the day, that's how they want their marc. In Iroulguy...contrary, culturally distinct, and a little wild...they get that character from all the distillates (not just grape versions). But that's just a first-order supposition. More booze may prove otherwise.

makes you wonder what they could do if they really put some effort and euros into it

You know, given the amount of time I've spent in Alsace, I've had a lot of clear stuff (a little of it browned in wood, but it's the exception rather than the norm), and they've probably done more with the technique than anyone else in France...though the majority of it is obviously not grape-based. (I've only ever had one riesling distillate, which surprised me until I tasted it. Ugh.) What I've learned, at least for myself, is that not everything that can be distilled, should be. And that the way certain distillates are prized (based on price) over others has some basis. Poire william really does allow more complexity than cherries. I do love mirabelle eau de vie, but absent flaws the differences from one to another are not enormous, and yet the same is not true for other plums. Alisier distillates are amazing, blueberry distillates can very easily suck. (Generalizations, obviously.) And gentian should never be distilled. Holly...well, probably better for lighting on fire to Christmas-scent your house than for drinking, though it's got a particular sort of appeal. And so forth.

But there are houses that make an effort, and the results really do pay off. the ones that seem to say "deliver the ingredient and we'll make it boozy," offering scores of options, usually suck. The specialists (which, in Alsace, means a dozen or so options) do much, much better.

Blood orange, butterscotch, pumpkin pie, soil - sounds pretty good to me. How much more do you want?

At the price of a pumpkin ale, nothing. At the price of mid-range Cognac...

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

I think of Alsatian eaux-de-vies (and their central european relatives) as a completely different thing from both unoaked/unaged grappas and marcs and from oak-aged brandies, whether Calvados or wine-based. The fruitiness and aromatics of Alsatian eaux-de-vies distract me sufficiently from the raw alcohol flavor so I can enjoy them. Can't say the same for most (not all) clear grappa, which don't seem too different from vodka to my palate.

The Marcs de Champagne and Bourgogne that I have enjoyed in the past are more along the lines of Armagnac or Cognac, with significant oak aging.

 

[Thor]

If we're restricting ourselves to grapes, then honestly the subject is so complicated and diverse we might as well be talking about wine. But I tend to agree with you that clear grape spirits are the most challenging of the various categories.