Gary

Managing apostle and whiskey enthusiast

Santa Fe Apple Brandy

/ / Other Spirits, Review /

Santa Fe Apple Brandy

40% ABV
$45
Website
Santa Fe Apple Brandy

What the Distillery Says

Northern New Mexico with its centuries-old fruit orchards of apple, peach, pear, and cherry has been producing top-quality brandies for years. What better way to preserve one’s crop of fruit than to ferment it into wine and distill it into brandy? The end product is like taking the mountain air, water, and earth, ripening these elements into a sweet nectar, and then distilling that nectar down to its bare essences. The finished brandy stores for years, refining its inherent complexity with age. Traditionally, it is coveted for its quality and only shared with family; it has never been publicly available.

But Colin Keegan has been looking forward to sharing the fruits of his apple orchard in Tesuque with the general public for years. Originally homesteaded by Archbishop Lamy’s groundskeeper (who is rumored to have resorted to water theft in order to keep his high-desert oasis in Tesuque thriving) the Keegans’ orchard produces apples that express the singular uniqueness of the lush, green, riparian valley at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where they struggle to grow.

By blending his own apples with the fruit of neighboring New Mexico orchards, Colin has finally achieved his goal of producing Santa Fe Apple Brandy for the general public. Overtones of apple peel, vanilla, fruit, and cinnamon yield to hints of granitic earth, sweet water, and dry air. Each bottle is truly a treasure: a gift from the Keegan family for your enjoyment.

What Gary Says

DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Brandy (so read at your own risk!)
Nose:  Green apple, toasted oak with cinnamon and honey, slight grassy note.
Palate:  Vanilla, honey, apple cider cut with apple juice.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, damp with apples and cinnamon.
Comments:  Again – NOT a brandy connoisseur, but for me this was pretty one dimensional. If you really like apples (insert Goodwill Hunting joke here), this might be right up your alley. I do like Apples, but personally would prefer a lower ABV and sweeter apple wine over this.

Rating: Average

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Cooper & Kings American Craft Brandy

/ / Other Spirits, Review /

Cooper & Kings American Craft Brandy

45% ABV
$35
Website
Copper & Kings American Craft Brandy

What the Distillery Says

A blend of superb exclusively copper pot-distilled brandy with real character and depth of flavor mingled in a unique, modern American style. Small batch distillation of superior, highly aromatic wine selected for exceptional quality.

Non-Chill Filtered For An Authentic, Uncorrupted Natural Flavor and natural color. Some Cloudiness, faint suspension or light sediment may be apparent at colder temperatures. Our ambition is to retain the integrity of the distillate with minimal intervention, with our signature mouth-feel and definitive aroma.

Matured in Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey and medium-char American white oak barrels for balance, complexity and a polished, velvety finish. The approximate blend is 90% Kentucky Bourbon Barrels & 10% New American Oak.

Tasting notes
Appearance: golden, caramelized oats, darkening harvest sun.
Aroma: caramel, honey, cherry wood, honeysuckle with a hint of melon and subtle floral bouquet.
Taste: luscious, ever so slightly oily & viscous. Honey, toasted oak, tobacco, dried stone fruit, feisty spice on the mid-palate.

What Gary Says

DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Brandy (so read at your own risk!)
Nose:  Honey, fruity with cherry, apples and kiwi, floral with subtle notes of tobacco.
Palate:  Sweet with honey, cherry, melon pepper (and maybe a bit of chili) spice.
Finish:  Moderate in length, damp with fading fruit and pepper spice.
Comments:  Of the three samples included in the Flaviar tasting box (The Brandy Bunch Vol. 2), this had the most complexity – but it still left me wanting more. Which might just mean I don’t care for brandy.

Rating: Stands Out

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McConnell’s 5 Year Old Irish Whisky

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

McConnell’s Irish Whisky Aged 5 Years

42% ABV
$30-$35
Website
McConnells 5 Year Old Irish Whisky

What the Producer Says

It’s all in the Blend: Creamy, Citrus, Floral, Fruity & Smoky.
The perfect blend between malted barley & grain and the special handpicked bourbon barrels add a delicate and subtle sweetness with a deep oak woodiness & light char to the finish.
Nose: Light citrus notes, peppered spice and vanilla undertones.
Taste: Earthy fruits, butterscotch & vanilla sweetness from the bourbon casks, white pepper followed by an oak woodiness.
Finish: Sweet, spice, oak, with lingering ripe fruits.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla sponge cake, orange creamsicle, cereal grains, touch of oak.
Palate:  Creamy vanilla, sweet malty grain, subtle lemon candy note with honey.
Finish:  Short with a bit of pepper, honey and a salty, sour oak note.
Comments:  Not objectionable, but also not particularly memorable. Both the nose and the palate have a thickness to them which I do appreciate, as well as the age statement (even if 5 years old isn’t that old – I always appreciate transparency). I enjoyed this, although the maturation in ex-bourbon casks only does leave it with less complexity. In a blind side-by-side with Jameson, whose blend includes some ex-sherry casks, I preferred the Jameson personally as it brought some fruit to the party. And given that Jameson is less expensive, I’d go that route (although if you value the packaging, this is a more attractive, heavy bottle). You may be wondering “Hey, don’t they use the ‘e’ in whiskey for Irish?”  You wouldn’t be wrong, but either is acceptable, and their site explains that the ‘e’ was added to differentiate Irish whiskey in the 1900s and their brand didn’t need such nonsense.  That’s not what Irish Distiller’s purports here, but regardless – at this point it’s really just marketing.

Rating: Average

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Benchmark Bonded Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Benchmark Bonded
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

50% ABV
$20-$23
Website
Benchmark Bonded Bourbon Whiskey

What the Distillery Says

The Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897 set strict standards for bonded whiskey. This 100 proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey aged four years to meet those standards. Enjoy the rich flavor and long smooth finish.

TASTING NOTES
A nose of citrus and honey follows through on the palate, with a touch of light oak, caramel, and vanilla.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Burnt caramel, charred oak, vanilla and tobacco.
Palate:  Vanilla, caramel, oak, cinnamon, pepper, hints of orange bitters and anise.
Finish:  Short and drying with pepper, oak and vanilla.
Comments:  I’m always happy to see more bonded offerings in the bourbon aisle, and this is about what I’d expect. Not objectionable, but also not special – and a tad sharp. Even a bit of water didn’t really do much to tamp the edges. As this is from Buffalo Trace’s mashbill 1 (shared with Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Stagg and others) which has less rye than their mashbill 2, I assume this is aged pretty high up. In a blind side-by-side-by-side against Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch (which is actually $1.5 less) and Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond ($5 less), I liked this the least of the three – finding it just too cutting/sharp and not having as much going on.

Rating: Average

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Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

45% ABV
$20
Website
Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch

What the Distillery Says

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch honors the year that Evan Williams founded Kentucky’s First Distillery. Pulled from fewer than 300 barrels, this extra-aged small Batch Bourbon won the 2019 Consumers’ 2019 SIP Award.

Proof: 90 Proof
Age: 6-8 Years Old

Tasting Notes
Color: Brilliant honey
Aroma: Oaky vanilla, sautéed butter, and sweet corn
Taste: Semi-sweet, oaky, and honeyed
Finish: Lean, off-dry, and regal

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, vanilla, richhouse mustiness with a hint of cocoa.
Palate:  Sweet vanilla, caramel, honey, bit of clove and cinnamon with subtle mint.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with oak, caramel and bitter chocolate.
Comments:  One of the first dusty bourbons I ever had the good fortune to buy was the 10 year age stated Evan Williams 1783.  From what I recall from that, it had quite a bit more mint than this – although it would have been pre-fire Heaven Hill – so entirely different distillate. This is not that whiskey. When I first tried this, I thought it was quite nice – a solid albeit, sweet bourbon. It got me thinking how it might compare to Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (which is a few dollar cheaper, but higher ABV).  In a blind side-by-side-by-side (which included Benchmark Bonded), this was very similar/close to the Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. On the nose, they were incredibly similar, with this having just a touch more oak, and on the palate, this had a bit more spice – although these differences were subtle.  I actually preferred the BIB over this by a hair, but both were quite nice – and liked both more than the Benchmark Bonded (which was the most expense in that three-way tasting).

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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