SmokyBeast: September 2014

September 29, 2014

Armagnac Tasting With J!

Well, it's not quite bourbon season just yet. All the big releases of the year should be hitting the shelves in the next month or so. So as we officially say goodbye to summer, enjoy our last long sunsets of the year, and get ready for the serious whiskey months of fall and winter, we figured now would be a good time to branch out a little bit. Admittedly, we know nothing about brandy. It's liquor made from grapes? Distilled wine? It looks like whiskey, and it's aged like whiskey, so will we like it? As a first stab into brandy we called in a friend and Armagnac lover, Jayson Orozia, to educate us with some gems from his personal collection.

J with some of his fav's

Armagnac is in fact distilled from wine. It comes from the Gascony region of France and is aged in oak barrels just like whiskey. Armagnac is often described as earthy and mellow with tastes ranging from sweet and fruity to woody and spicy.

We tried two bottles from the western Bas Armagnac region which is famous for their sables fauves (aka tawny sands) varieties with robust acidic, tannic flavors; and three bottles from the northern Ténarèze region, which is known for the strongest, fullest flavored varieties. All were well-aged, with vintages ranging from 1973 to 1982 and ages from 29 to 40 years in the barrel. Well, what are we waiting for?? Let's jump in for our first try at some Armagnac!

Bas Armagnac Marie Duffau 1973/2003

Ok this is pretty much what we'd expected from Armagnac. A lot of big grapes, almost like a very mellow Speyside malt with a ton of sherry barrel influence. On the palate some stone fruits come out: plums, cherries, also a little maple syrup. The finish goes a bit sour with a lot of tannins.

Bas Amagnac Domaine D'Ognoas 1973/2012

Wow now this one is surprising. We've got a lot more oak this time, the grapes are hiding in the back and the big wood barrel flavors are way out front. Beautifully balanced dram showing off the maturity of 39 years in the oak without going bitter or stale. On the palate there are a lot of floral notes. On the finish it all comes together with a little berry sweetness, strong spirit warmth with no burn, and a good leathery grape eaux-de-vie thing going on. This one was Jayson's favorite and that's no surprise, a real gem.

Armagnac Tenareze Chateau de Pellehaut 1973/2013 Ugni Blanc

The eldest of the bunch, at a full 40 years in the barrel, this one sort of combines the characteristics of the first two. Like a deep wood with red wine soaked into the cracks. It's right in the pocket, not too sweet, not too woody, but very enjoyable. The D'Ognoas is still the favorite, but this one would definitely go nicely with a good cigar after dinner.

Armagnac Tenareze Chateua de Pellehaut 1983 / 2013 Ugni Blanc

The one was most bourbon-y of all of them. Big oak, wood, just a little sweetness. The palate carries through the combination of bourbon and grapes, very sweet, kind of like a port finished whiskey. Surprisingly even though this was the most whiskey-like of all the armagnac, it was probably our least favorite. Still a lovely drink, but it doesn't feel quite in the same league as the others.

Armagnac Tenareze Chateau de Pellehaut 1978 / 2014

Holy spice! Now we're into almost a rye flavor profile, really interesting. Rye + grapes, big wood, spice, some grassy flavor. On the palate it's very interesting with lots of layers of flavor. It starts sweet, then woody, then vanilla and pepper. The finish goes quickly from the spice to wood, and then finally is very sweet, the grapes lingering the longest. A very unique drink. We could see how the D'Ognoas is J's favorite, and it is probably the all-around best, but this one is really unique and just has a certain something that may get us into this whole Armagnac thing after all!

Thanks J for an awesome tasting, and don't worry we'll be back to whiskey in a big way next week!

Cheers/SB

September 15, 2014

On Temper Tantrums, Meltdowns, Heartburn, and Italian Digestifs - Fernet Branca Review

"I NEVER WANT TO POOP AGAIN!"

Imagine these words echoing off the walls of the handicapped stall in the men's room of the Museum of Natural History while you're getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly by a squirming, crying, red-faced toddler.

Little Rock Star (LRS) had quite a weekend. No matter how good a parent you are, they don't call 'em "The Terrible Twos" for nothing. You can try to be patient, you can try being stern, sometimes it just doesn't matter. They're going to freak out.

It started when the security guard broke the news to LRS that she couldn't actually climb on the triceratops. Tyrannical bastard! Why put a perfectly good sixty-eight million year old dinosaur-shaped jungle gym up if you can't play on it?? Sometimes life just doesn't make sense. And just when the tears started to bubble up in her little eyes, I saw it coming. The knees pulled inward, the stomach clenched, her face made that little flatulent pucker... She was about to take a crap on the floor of the museum.

Up she went into my arms, stroller in tow, in a b-line to the nearest facility. Toss the stroller outside, try to avert her eyes from the row of exposed penises at the urinals, lock the stall, pants down, praying I have a few precious moments to mop stranger urine off the seat before it's too late.

Already aggravated by the egregious dinosaur regulations, LRS is having none of it. Screaming, crying, "NO DADDY, NO NO NO! I DON'T HAVE TO GO! I NEVER WANT TO POOP AGAIN!!!" You know how loud it sounds against the harsh acoustics of men's room marble? Like a combination of Kindergarden Cop and Jurassic Park.

After a day like that there's only two things you can do. Call in reinforcements and pour yourself a drink. Wifey arrives armed with chocolate milk and an iPad full of Dora the Explorer. We get LRS fed and calmed down, home, dinner, bath, story, bed, and retire to our blissful cave of whiskey and silence.

The only problem? The episode leaves me with crippling heartburn. Chalk it up to the combination of verbal abuse, bad parent guilt, testicle pain, and a questionable Cobb Salad from the diner, but my stomach was not in a drinking mood.

What to do when your brain needs a drink but your intestinal tract throws a veto? There's only one answer: Fernet Branca. This amazing digestif has calmed the stomacos of generations of Italians after they spent the day drinking coffee and red wine, smoking cigarettes, and screaming curses at their extended families.

Since it's creation in 1845, the Branca family has passed down the secret recipe of their family bitters from generation to generation with only one Branca to ever know its exact details at any given time. Fernet is a mixture of herbs like Myrrh (you always knew it was used for SOMETHING right?), linden, galangal, chamomile, saffron, iris, and gentian. Here's how they describe it:

"Take the first sip and pause a few seconds to introduce yourself to the decisive bitter tone of the Colombo and Aloe and the unmistakeable character of Gentian. The second sip will reveal the distinct spiced flavor of Zedoary and the full flavor of Chamomile.But the overall richness of Fernet-Branca is not revealed until the third and final sip when the balanced bitter aftertaste prevails over the spicy tones of Myrrh."

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Dark dark dark. Midnight black with little highlights of plum when you hold it up to the light.

Nose: What can I say, it's bitter! There's a lot of menthol / cough syrup going on. Some dry strong herbals. I guess it's all those things they described above, but they're hard to differentiate. Definitely some fresh earth, mud, roots, and general garden rot.

Palate: It's thick yet dry and, surprise surprise, extremely bitter. I love bitters, but even for me this is something I that requires a particular mood. It's actually very drinkable, sort of like gin on crack with botanicals, quinine, anise, it's extremely powerful but goes down smooth. Kind of like Jagermeister with a lot less syrup and a lot more finesse and class.

Finish: Crisp finish, the herbals cancel out any alcohol taste and leave you with a nice sensation of menthol numbness and herbal vapors. It's 39% abv, so it packs a lot of punch for such a smooth finish.

Punchline: The great thing about this stuff is that it really is a magical digestif. It kills heartburn, upset stomach, any of the side effects of a big meal. Wonderful stuff to drink after dinner if you have a touch of toddler-induced heartburn, or you just want to recover from overindulgence and still be able to go out and party afterwards. There are some recommendations for cocktails, but I'd just skip all that and take it neat, perhaps with a little chaser of Pellegrino and lime if you wish.

A life-saver with a little buzz to boot. Grazie molto, Fernet!!!

September 11, 2014

A Pair of Single Barrel Gems from Kilchoman - Impex and Binny's Exclusive Barrel Picks!

We're really quite nuts for Kilchoman. They've got this raw young energy bursting with peat, smoke, and fresh farm-to-bottle quality that sets our senses reeling. When we found out that our friends at Impex (the guys that import The Exclusive Malts) were doing a barrel pick of Kilchoman - aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels and finished in Pedro Ximinex sherry barrels (did we mention that's our favorite combination??) we got very pumped indeed. Very pumped indeed. And how better to taste this new young Islay beauty than head-to-head with another Impex Kilchoman private cask, the "Barrel Room" pick from Binnys? Here for your reading pleasure are these two new sherried beauties lined up for a classic SmokyBeast kind of evening...

Impex Exclusive Kilchoman, Cask 494
Distilled 10/2/2008, bottled 1/29/2014, 119.2 proof

Nose: Classic Kilchoman: smoldering peat, fresh farm grains, white chocolate, sweet grapes, little flecks of celery, pepper flakes, mint, tarragon, thyme, and a hint of vanilla / baking powder.

Palate: Again. like we've come to expect from Kilchoman... While the nose is big in-your-face peat smoke, the tongue is soft, round, and mellow. Chewy and thick for such a young malt, we get black licorice covered in chocolate (Good & Plenty anyone?), smoked trout, and crispy sage. An all out fresh attack on the senses, totally unexpected and totally awesome.

Finish: And we're back to the deep long smoke & peat finish. Living right up to its expectation as the new young beast from Islay. Smoke just crawls up your jaw and the sides of your mouth. The little plums and strawberry jam of the sherry make themselves present on the finish. And the big cask strength spirit warmth doesn't shy away, but also doesn't overwhelm - just sitting perfectly in the pocket with the big flavors of this whisky. We didn't even think of adding water at almost one hundred and twenty proof! Enough said...

Kilchoman Single Cask 3010

"The Barrel Room" for Binny's Chicago

This awesome bottle was one of the warriors in our Battle of the Beasts and scored really well against some legendary peat monsters. It's still available at Binny's. Granted $110 is a little expensive for a 5-year malt, but this may be the last cask strength single sherry cask Kilchoman you'll be able to get for a while. (we bought two, one for drinking and one for good measure!)

Tasting Notes

Nose: Very strong compact and punchy smoke. Like match heads, surrounded by some florals - tarragon, lilies, then the familiar salted nuts, cocoa, olive oil. This one feels less sweet and chocolaty and more punchy and smoky. A diesel peat lovers dream of a nose.

Palate: This one stays strong in the smoke right through the palate. Smoldering campfire rocks, sea air, hot spicy mesquite bbq. The sherry influence is more tannic and adds an herbal tartness that goes really well with the smoke.

Finish: On and on for days, this one is a delicious tight smoky beast. First class peat-head finish.

Conclusions

What is there to say except the Kilchoman is a smoky beast kind of dram! The Impex exclusive barrel is rounder and has more sweetness to it, while the Binny's selection is more straight ahead smoky and powerful. They're both awesome and showcase the freshness and flat out ballsy young Islay style pioneered by Kilchoman. If you haven't yet tried the new Islay (Kilchoman is the first new Islay distillery in 150 years!), start with one of their core offerings: Machir Bay or Loch Gorm. If you fall in love like we did, pick up one of these single casks for a real knock out. You can end any whisky tasting with this bad boy and it's sure to be remembered!

Cheers/SB

P.S.!!! We just got word that Kilchoman is releasing a PX cask as an addition to their standard line. Awesome news! Stay tuned for a review as soon as we can get our hands on some.

September 1, 2014

the big Willett tasting part 7 (24-Year Family Estate Rye Bonili Selection)

Well if you're still here, thanks for sticking with us through the past seven days of Willett madness! It sure has been fun drinking our way through this amazing lineup. Hopefully you've enjoyed the reviews and have been able to track down some Willett of your own and drink along with us.

We've been working our way clockwise around the Willett board the whole week. The bottle on the front left is the 2-year small batch rye, which is the first original whiskey distilled by the Willett/Kulsveen family in Bardstown in forty years. The greatest thing about this whole exercise is dreaming about what this stuff will taste like as it matures through the ages of the sourced products. Hopefully we'll all be around to taste it at twenty-four years old!

The green wax bottle next in line is the 5-year rye, perhaps the least exciting in the lineup but still a great everyday drinker. (By "everyday" we don't mean you should necessarily be drinking every day, just that this is something that price-wise doesn't have to be saved for a special occasion.) On the far left corner is our first bourbon: the blue wax Liquor Barn 9-year. This was unexpectedly good. Just released this year it was a very sweet candy-bar bourbon. That bottle will go quickly! Second from the left in the maroon top is "The Mohawk" - Shorewood Liquor's 10-year bourbon barrel 828. What a beast that was! Just a huge ripper of a bourbon showing off the high-test (almost 130 proof!) George T Stagg qualities you'll find in some Willetts. In the middle the dark purple wax is the 21-year bourbon which was quite a treat, sort of bringing together the freshness of the 2-year rye, the sweetness of the 9-year, and some of the richness of the 10-year, integrating all these elements together magically. Moving back to rye, second from the right is the copper wax 25-year gift shop bottle, which upon its opening was one of our favorite whiskies to date.

And finally we make it all the way to the right to the white wax Bonili 24-year rye.

The first thing you should notice is the barrel number, #446. This is the earliest Willett bottling in the bunch. (Some of the newer barrels have lower numbers, but among the older vintages they're pretty much in chronological order). There's actually a great new resource about all the Willett releases here. You'll also notice that this is a different bottle shape. They used a slightly shorter, squatter bottle back then.

Bonili is a Japanese liquor distributor that has done several private barrels of Willett including the above 24-year rye, another version of the 24-year rye at 110 proof, and two 17-year bourbons. The fact that these bottles were sent all the way to Japan may be the reason that they were slightly more available at this late date than some of the other private barrel ryes like Rathskeller, LeNell's, or Doug's Green Ink. It took a long time but through some connections deep in the whiskey biz, we finally found a bottle of our very own. Check out the date on that back label: Distilled April 10, 1984. What a score!

Tasting Notes

Nose: The big richness is there in spades, but the spice is way more alive - like a big birch fire with fresh mint and tarragon, vanilla, nutmeg, fresh spring ramps and green garlic, sea salt, saddle leather, pipe tobacco, and then the sweets come last with nougat, chocolate, molasses, and honey.

Palate: Wow just a kick of spice that will wake you up in the morning. Ok now we get all the "past its prime" comments on the 25 year. There's a liveliness here, a big bright rye spice explosion, that's missing from the other bottle. It's huge and brings all the taste ingredients together for some of the best juice we've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

Finish: And there's none of the funky bitter digestif quality from the 25 year in the finish this time. It's long and lively and full of spirit warmth with zero burn, smoldering char and spice, and a big sweet kiss at the end. Perfectly balanced and just... DAMN. It's perfect.

Sometimes you get so wrapped up in trying to use all these words to describe a whiskey. Then you just have to sit back and say God Damn This Is Good Shit. And on that note we'll end. Have a great holiday weekend and thanks for reading!

Cheers/SB

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