Other Spirits | Whisk(e)y Apostle: Proselytizing the way of the malt

Opihr Spices of the Orient London Dry Gin

October 28, 2021 / Gary / Other Spirits, Review / Average

Opihr Spices of the Orient
London Dry Gin

40% ABV
$30
Website

What the Distillery Says

A unique London Dry Gin made using hand-picked botanicals, including spicy cubeb berries from Indonesia, cardamom and Tellicherry black pepper from India and coriander from Morocco.

The heritage of OPIHR Spices of the Orient Gin is firmly rooted in the ancient Spice Route. Traditionally merchants would travel thousands of miles along the route, trading exotic spices and botanicals from distant lands.

OPIHR Spices of the Orient Gin is crafted with a selection of exotic hand-picked botanicals, carefully chosen by OPIHR’s Master Distiller, including spicy Cubeb berries from Indonesia, Black Pepper from India and Coriander from Morocco.

The botanicals in Opihr Gin make the journey to their final destination, the oldest distillery in England, where quality gin has been traditionally distilled, using the same London Dry Gin method, since 1761. Here the botanicals are married with fine English spirit to produce an exotic oriental spiced gin.

This intense, exotic spiced gin exudes the character of the Orient, incorporating hand-picked botanicals from along the Ancient Spice Route.

Aroma: A rich and robust gin with a smooth perfume and sharp bursts of citrus. Key notes of cumin and cardamom provide a warm, earthy background balanced with grapefruit peel.
Taste: Soft camphor, some sweetness and Oriental spices create a warm mouth feel that lingers but does not increase intensity.

What Gary Says

DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Gin (so read at your own risk!)
Nose: Coriander, subtle lime, hints of carpet cleaner.
Palate: Rich mouthfeel with citrus zest, pepper.
Finish: Short with pepper and lemon.
Comments: The nose on this is really subtle, while the palate has more zip. By comparison with the Cotswolds Dry Gin, this was much less complex (and of the three samples, was my least favorite). Not off putting necessarily, but didn’t excite me in any way.

Rating: Average

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Cotswolds Dry Gin

October 26, 2021 / Gary / Other Spirits, Review / Must Try, Stands Out

Cotswolds Dry Gin

46% ABV
$50
Website

What the Distillery Says

Our Cotswolds Dry Gin is a delectable blend of nine carefully-considered botanicals, including local lavender from nearby Snowshill and freshly-peeled pink grapefruit and lime zest. Due to the unusually high volume of botanicals we use, our gin causes a beautiful pearlescent cloud to appear when ice or tonic is added. To make the ultimate Cloudy G&T, mix with premium tonic water, lots of ice and garnish with a bay leaf and a slice of pink grapefruit.

The finest ingredients
Juniper berries, coriander seed and angelica root form the classic foundation for our London Dry-style Gin. We then add Cotswold lavender from nearby Snowshill and bay leaves. The citrus element comes from freshly-peeled lime and pink grapefruit zest – unusually we use fresh peels rather than dried because of the greater quantity of essential oils. This entails peeling several hundred limes and grapefruits per week, by hand! The final botanicals are cardamom seed and black peppercorn, to give a hint of spice.

Lovingly crafted
Quantity matters. We put about 10x the average volume of botanicals used to make most premium gins in our copper pot still. This process creates the richest possible flavours and mouthfeel due to the high proportion of essential oils and botanical extract. These flavour-rich oils are the reason our gin goes from clear to cloudy when tonic or ice is added. The pearlescent glow, also known as a ‘louche’, happens because we choose not to chill-filter our gin to remove the oils as this would reduce the rich flavour and mouthfeel.

What do we mean by purity? It’s what we throw away that makes what we keep so special. The slower we run the stills and the more heads and tails (unpleasant beginning and end of the run) we discard, the purer the gin will taste. Our ‘heart cut’ is rested for 5 days to allow the flavours to marry. The only thing added before bottling is demineralised water to reduce the strength. This process, known as ‘single-shot distillation’, creates a superior gin. We never ‘stretch’ the batch by adding more neutral spirit (known as ‘multi-shot’), so the gin we distil is the gin you drink.

Tasting notes
Nose: Fresh notes of grapefruit with earthy coriander backed-up by sweet, piney juniper. A hint of perfumed Cotswold lavender.
Palate: Clean, pine juniper spice with fresh citrussy grapefruit. A touch of dryness from the angelica root, with eucalyptus notes from bay leaf. Subtle lime and lavender.
Finish: Clean and balanced. Juniper, citrus and some cooling notes from bay leaf and cardamom.

What Gary Says

DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Gin (so read at your own risk!)
Nose: Lavender, lime, pink grapefruit, botanicals, pine and a hint of juniper.
Palate: Lime, lavender, pink grapefruit and a bit of pepper.
Finish: Short to moderate in length, with lime and grapefruit.
Comments: Usually the nose and palate of spirits are similar, but I was struck by how nearly perfectly aligned they were in this case. I haven’t been a fan of gin; not sure what I had tried before but it left me feeling like gin was just a juniper bomb (probably how someone who hadn’t ever had whisky and tried Laphroaig might think all whisky is like chewing on peat!) This was a refreshing education. I still get this “cleaning product” vibe, but that isn’t meant to be negative (again – Laphroaig has notes of bandaids and earthy peat, which wouldn’t sound appealing – but I love it!) This was the first of three samples I tried, and was the most complex and my favorite.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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PM Spirits Single Cask XO Grande Champagne Cognac

August 9, 2021 / Gary / Other Spirits, Review / Must Try

PM Spirits Single Cask XO Grande Champagne Cognac

42.6% ABV
$110-$135
Website

What the Producer Says

(Below notes are from K&L Wine’s website)
This single barrel of eau-de-vie was acquired by Nicolas Palazzi over 10 years ago. It was already at least 10 years of age at the time with some eau-de-vie slightly older, around 15 years old, all distilled at a renowned single estate. With the help of the incredibly knowledgeable Jean-Noel Pelletan, a local artisanal cooper, Nicolas spent the next ten years researching age old techniques to bring the most out of this cask. Pelletan has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things cognac and a vast collection of historic technical manuscripts. It’s the secrets that were held in those books and his mind that brought this special cognac into existence. Bottled without additives or chill filtration of any kind at a cask strength of 42.6% alc by vol. Bottled in July 2020 at between 20 and 25 years of age.

What Gary Says

Nose: Rich perfume, floral, fruity with apricots, melon, kiwi, apples, bit of caramel, oak and subtle spices.
Palate: Rich mouthfeel, fruitcake with cherries, apricots, apple, bit of pepper spice, clove, a note of molasses, and a hint of mint.
Finish: Long and dry with oak and honey.
DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Cognac (so read at your own risk!)
Comments: Insanely intense flavor and nose for 42.6%! Not really a cognac drinker let along afficiando, but I know what I like – and I liked this. A lot. I didn’t have the prior 3 cognacs to try side-by-side with this, but of the others I sampled this spring, this was my favorite by such a wide margin, that’s inconsequential.

Rating: Must Try

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Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. Cognac

August 4, 2021 / Gary / Other Spirits, Review / Stands Out

Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. Cognac

40% ABV
$35-50
Website

What the Producer Says

VERSATILE / ELEGANT / ICONIC
The icon: generous and audacious

Rémy Martin VSOP embodies the perfect harmony of powerful and elegant aromas. It is the symbol of the Cellar Master’s art of blending.

Rémy Martin VSOP is composed of eaux-de-vie coming exclusively from the highest-quality vineyards of Cognac, the Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. Such eaux-de-vie offer an exceptional ageing potential and are known as Cognac Fine Champagne.

In 1927, Rémy Martin’s Cellar Master André Renaud created the very first VSOP Fine Champagne—a truly visionary and audacious decision. This prestigious appellation would be officially recognized 11 years later as an AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée – a specific growing area protected by French law).

In 2010, Rémy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac won a gold medal at the Spirits Business Cognac Masters (UK).

FRUITINESS: 4/5 | Aromas coming from the still wine’s fermentation, distillation on the lees and ageing

SMOOTHNESS: 3/5 | Sensation on the mouth giving mellowness, balance and perfect harmony

OPULENCE: 3/5 | Defines the intensity of richness in the cognac’s aromas.

LENGTH: 3/5 | The length of time for which the tastes are expressed after a sip

CHARACTER
NOSE: Dominant notes of vanilla thanks to longer ageing in French Limousin oak barrels, followed by ripe apricot, baked apple, and an elegant floral note.
TASTE: A perfect harmony between the firm character of ripe fruit and subtle notes of liquorice, offering a great complexity of elegant and powerful aromas.
BODY: Well-balanced, structured, and multi-layered, it combines the roundness of ripe fruit with a silky texture.

What Gary Says

Nose: Floral, fruity with plums edging towards citrus, tropical candied pineapple.
Palate: Fruit, spiced apples and pears, cinnamon, nutmeg, a hint of anise.
Finish: Short to moderate in length, drying with dark berries.
DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Cognac (so read at your own risk!)
Comments: More rich and more spice than the Courvoisier V.S., I definitely liked this better – although not my favorite of the three.

Rating: Stands Out

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Courvoisier V.S. Cognac

August 2, 2021 / Gary / Other Spirits, Review / Average, Stands Out

Courvoisier V.S. Cognac

40% ABV
$26
Website

What the Producer Says

THE BLEND
A youthful and lively blend of cognac, delivering a spectrum of sensations.
Courvoisier® VS Cognac is a blend of several crus aged between three and seven years (four to eight for Russia), composed principally of Fins Bois with a balancing hand of Petite Champagne.

TASTING NOTES: The fusion of younger and older cognacs gives Courvoisier® VS a fruity, delicate taste and a bouquet filled with ripe fruit and spring flowers.

Ripe Fruits | The chalky soil in Fins Bois delivers a hint of ripened fruits that is its signature aroma.

Spring Flowers | Inhale deeply for the bouquet of spring flowers, which is a hallmark of grapes harvested at their peak from the Fins Bois crus.

Fresh Oakiness | The rich, fresh oak bouquet is controlled throughout the aging process to make sure it doesn’t dominate the young cognac.

What Gary Says

Nose: Floral, grapey, honey suckle, fruity with apples and pears.
Palate: Sweet, floral and fruity with apples and pears, hint of cinnamon, vanilla, and white wine.
Finish: Short to moderate in length, drying with apple.
DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Cognac (so read at your own risk!)
Comments: A crisp and fruity dram. Nothing offensive or off-putting, although not especially interesting either (at least to me). This was the first of three Cognacs I sampled side by side, and spoiler alert – was my least favorite.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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