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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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August 30, 2015 |
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No Malternatives,
a rubbish session for rubbish noses |
Bad nose days at WF Towers, but I don’t like to let this lousy website lying fallow for too long. On the other hand, I don’t feel like I could do justice to some complex old whiskies or armagnacs or rums, so let’s simply go plunder the bar underneath the telly and see what we can find. It’s going to be unlikely… |
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Koskenkorva Salmiakki (32%, OB, Finland, +/-2014)  I often use the descriptors ‘salmiak’ or ‘tar liqueur’ in my notes, and although we’ve already tried another brand a few years ago (Terva Snapsi, WF 75, which is a lot), we could try another one, just to make sure. Colour: as black as a Lincoln Continental from the White House. Or as crude oil. Nose: less on tar than expected, and more on herbs, mint, caraway, liquorice and such. In a way, we’re rather closer to aquavit than to pure tar liqueur. Well, that’s what I can feel with this bad nose… On second thought, maybe this is simply not tar liqueur. Mouth: LOL! No tar, rather a load of salt and liquorice. Liquid salmiak indeed, and it is extreme. I do enjoy this – although it’s very simple liqueur – but I guess 90% of your friends won’t. Unless they’re Finnish, haha. Thick mouth feel, but any excessive sugariness is kept at bay. That’s good. Finish: very long, extremely salty, but balanced, quite curiously. The aftertaste lasts for hours. Comments: so, no tar liqueur at all, my bad. Quite an experience, this, and I’m wondering if one couldn’t use it in fusion cooking. Ideas ideas… Anyway, I like this, even if – or maybe because? – my nose is impaired. SGP:660 - 75 points. |
We’ve started this session with something extreme, so let’s not shuffle the desks… |
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Génépi des Hautes Roches (40%, OB, Favier, France, +/-2010)  The kind of stuff that you buy in winter sports resorts. And that you’ll never drink once back. Génépi/genepy is an herb that grows in the Alpes, and they make this kind of liqueur out of it. Some drink it in the morning before a skiing day. Indeed skiing can be dangerous. Colour: as white as the snow on the Mont Blanc. Nose: we’re all on fennel-like scents, aniseed, dill, wild carrots, with a small earthy/grassy side that reminds me of turnips. BTW, have you heard that Black Adder should be back soon? Mouth: same aromas and flavours, plus a little lemon, but there simply is too much sugar. This stuff moves like oil in your glass, and indeed, that’s the sugar. A crying shame. Finish: long, with hints of toothpaste, and always a load of sugar. Bwaaah! Comments: I’ve tasted some artisan genepy that was quite great, and indeed this one is good spirit, but they simply buried it under approx 500g of sugar per litre. Or maybe a little less, I couldn’t tell you. SGP:860 - 40 points. |
This is becoming difficult… |
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Bündner Chrüter (41%, OB, Kindschi, Switzerland, +/-2014)  I brought this baby back from Davos last year. It’s made out of 50 different herbs and spices. Colour: as white as the Matterhorn in January. Oh whatever. Nose: bigger and more complex than the genepy, well in the style of the Kraüter liqueurs our grandpas used to quaff in the olden days. You get caraway, wormwood, menthol, lemon, perhaps gentian, liquorice, fennel and star anise… I don’t think I could get all the 50 plants and spices, having said that. Remember, bad nose days ;-). It’s a rather refreshing nose. Mouth: hurray, less sugar, and more herbs! That makes this a little bitter – well, quite bitter – and rooty, so pretty unsexy. But I remember my grandmas used to consume these spirits and liqueurs as ‘canards’ (ducks), which means by putting a sugar cube onto a spoon, pouring 1 or 2cls of the liqueur onto it, and just swallowing the whole. Finish: long, very grassy and bitter. Jaegermeister isn’t very far, but Jaegermeister is much sweeter. Comments: very retro, and probably not for the fainthearted. Unless you do ‘canards’. SGP:380 - 60 points. |
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Unicum (40%, OB, Zwack, Hungary, +/-2013) Only 40 herbs in this well-known thing, but that’s already a lot. Colour: deep garnet. Almost old Port. Nose: I like! It’s fresh, slightly fruity, herbal but without any aggressive cumin or aniseed-like notes, and it’s rather bitter oranges that are playing first fiddles – although I don’t think there is any inside. Liquorice, myrtle, pinesap… Mouth: harder. Starts sugary, gets bitter. But once again, it’s saved by this feeling of bitter oranges. And lime, celery, lemongrass… Actually, I’m sure it would be rather good on ice. Finish: long, with a little peppermint, ginger, caraway and more bitter oranges. Comments: a kind of stronger Campari, I’d say. We’ve seen much worse… SGP:670 - 65 points. |
My nose is weak, but my heart is willing. Let’s go on! |
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Licor 43 (31%, OB, Spain, +/-2014) This comes from Cartagena. The label is tricky, it could make you think it’s bottled at 43% vol. It’s not, its rather the number of ingredients that are in the combo. Colour: orangey gold (caramel). Nose: fun! Sandalwood, incense, oranges, Armenian paper, rose liqueur, tinned litchis… This really noses ‘antique’, and I find it rather complex. Intriguing, as they say. Mouth: way too much sugar! It’s a plain and utter sugar bomb, which simply kills anything else. You just can’t swallow this without ice, water, tea, Schweppes, or any other liquid you fancy. Just not pure… Finish: quite long, but again, this is sweeter than the sweetest honeys. Can you further concentrate glucose? Comments: what a disappointment after the very sexy nose! SGP:910 - 25 points. |
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Langatum ‘Gold Bee’ (28%, OB, Switzerland, whisky liqueur, +/-2013) Swiss whisky mellowed down with Mexican honey from Yucatan, does that make any sense? And more so given that the Swiss make some totally excellent honey? Let’s see… Colour: pale gold. Nose: honey! Really, it noses just like all-flower honey from a good beekeeper. In the background, a few spices, perhaps, but that’s all. Not that we shall complain, I love good honey. Mouth: yeah, honey, honey, honey and honey. The spirit is barely noticeable – which makes this little baby very tricky. Perhaps a little caramel and vanilla? I find this good. Finish: not too long, but if you like honey, whether Swiss or Mexican, you may love this. Comments: I find this very good, really – but then again, I’m also a honey and bee freak. Well done Langatum. PS: don’t try this thing in the open in summer, coz it seems to attract wasps. SGP:720 - 76 points. |
Right, perhaps a last one. And why wouldn’t we check one of the weird things the Scots are sometimes making out of their (very rare, very old, very premium) whiskies?... |
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The Famous Citrus (35%, OB, Scotland, +/-2015) According to the label, this is ‘infused spirit drink’. Not very sexy, is it. To think that this thing comes from the house that also make Macallan. I mean, The Macallan. Colour: dark straw. Nose: no no no no no. Look, I’ve made limoncello and other lemon liqueurs myself, and I know it’s extremely difficult not to come up with smells of… well, toiletry or even air freshener, but that’s well what’s happening here. Or even worse, Fanta Lemon. Mouth: what is this? Dry, acrid, messy, lacking focus, and pretty chemical. Indeed, Fanta Lemon. Finish: long – and that’s the problem. Comments: totally odd, undrinkable, and frankly, it’s a torture. I think it’s a strong contender to the Worst Spirit Of The Year Award. Typical late-June idea at marketing departments, when it’s becoming a chore to build good focus groups coz everyone’s already on holiday. But then again, my nose is impaired these days (better like that, you may think.) SGP:230 - 5 points. |
Phew, I agree, a rubbish session. I hope I’ll soon get my nose back, so that we can try more serious stuff! |
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