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From
the Vault
All rights reserved
©2010 F. Paul Pacult
The following reviews first appeared in the June, 2010 issue of F. Paul Pacult's Spirit Journal.
LIQUEUR REVIEWS
GIN - INTERNATIONAL
Nolet Finest Gins Silver (Holland; Nolet Spirits USA, Aliso Viejo, CA); 47.6% abv, $50.
Evaluated three separate times. Pewter color; flawless purity. Upfront aromatically, a deep rose petal/flower shop/summer garden/summer orchard perfume dazzles the olfactory mechanism; following seven minutes of aeration, scents of peaches, nectarines and ripe raspberries match the floral concentration and then in the final sniffs the juniper/pine forest/Christmas tree crispness and woodiness closes the deal in phenomenal fashion. Entry is oily, viscous, silky and displays amazing depth of flavor, particularly in the forms of rose oil, plus peaches and cream; midpalate offers broader peach/nectarine impact than the entry stage while the raspberry fades, yet the cedary juniper and earthy orris root core flavors grow in intensity. Concludes full-weighted, racy, but concentrated, and exceptionally long in fruity/floral/herbal length. The new face of Holland gin, in my view, and a groundbreaker of impeccable quality and attention to detail in pot still distillation. An instant classic that’s so flavorful it can be enjoyed on its own. Few gins can say that.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
 Highest Recommendation
VODKA - INTERNATIONAL
 AYA Vodka (France; Winery Exchange, Novato, CA); 40%abv, $20.
Pristine, flawless appearance. Delicate opening aroma is softly grainy, totally dry and like dry breakfast cereal; additional air contact doesn’t move the aromatic ball forward at all. Entry is light, smooth, dry and biscuity; midpalate displays a slight element of mint/fresh herbs that are added to the cereal base flavor. Impeccably clean, easy to drink and grainy. What most consumers want a vodka to be: smooth as goose down, dry and a touch cereal/snack cracker-like.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Highly Recommended
Esmé Vodka (France; Winery Exchange, Novato, CA); 40% abv, $20.
Spotlessly clear and clean. The unusual, atypical nose is minty, decidedly herbal and woodsy in the first whiffs; the botanical, gum-like, root beer/orris root scent carries on after further aeration, making me ponder gin without juniper. Entry is strangely minty and toothpaste-like and not at all what one normally expects from unflavored (?) vodka; midpalate stays the mint course to lesser degree, allowing for grain to emerge in dusty, dry tastes that last well into the comely finish. A weird one that freely plays against type, but certainly recommendable.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
Grand Traverse Distillery Wheat Vodka (USA; Grand Traverse Distillery, Traverse City, MI); 40% abv, $22.
Shimmering clear; minor debris seen floating. Smells upfront of Wheat Thins and charcoal; secondary sniffs encounter a charred/toasted, almost sweetish (burnt maple or sugar) scent that's mildly pleasing. Entry reflects the sweetness/toastiness of the latter stage bouquet; midpalate is succulent, burnt marshmallow-like and mapley. Thick/chalky, sweet, peppery aftertaste. Some vodka aficionados might balk at the charred sweetness and heavy texture.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
Noble Motif Vodka (France; Winery Exchange, Novato, CA); 40% abv, $32.
Crystalline except for a couple of debris nuggets floating about, possibly from the plastic cork. Showcases a proper, nondescript vodka opening aroma of neutrality and dryness; further air contact fails to release anything more beyond the fundamental established neutrality. Entry taste is keenly peppery and spicy, which surprises me; midpalate is firm, acutely acidic (and therefore refreshing), dry as desert sand and intensely grainy/breakfast cereal-like. Aftertaste is long, silky, medium-textured and dusty dry. The near-epitome of unflavored vodka. Classy and sleek.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Highly Recommended
Schramm Small Batch Organic Potato Vodka (Canada; Pemberton Distillery, Pemberton, BC); 40% abv, $50 Canadian
Minor floating particles spotted; silvery transparent. Comes across right out of the gate as highly vegetal, moderately sour and peeled potato skin-like; aeration opens other levels of aroma, most notably a clean, garden-like fragrance that’s alluringly earthy and soil-like. Entry is dry at first then bittersweet and like roasted nuts; midpalate is even sweeter and creamier in texture, yet there’s a balancing acidity that keeps the freshness degree high. Clean, dry and slightly toasted finish.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Highly Recommended
RUM – INTERNATIONAL
 Denizen Rum (Trinidad & Tobago; Associated Rum Importers, Cleveland, OH); 40% abv, $16.
Clear as rainwater clean and unblemished. Smells mildly funky, gummy and cosmetic-like in the first bursts of aroma; further air contact brings about some minor fruitiness and refined sugar notes that smooth over the funkiness. Entry is keenly oily, vanilla bean-like and pleasing; midpalate turns a bit hot and aggressive in a candied, burnt orange and toffee-like manner. Finish is sugary sweet and succulent.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
La Mauny White Agricole Rum (Martinique; The Other Wine and Spirits, Manhasset, NY); 40% abv, $20.
Very minor sediment, which is not unusual for rhum agricole, but other than that clean and limpid. Initial whiffs detect Petri dish smells of mold, swamp water, wet grass and minerals; additional air contact releases scents of metals, coins and grass/vegetation. Entry is minerally, earthy, dirt-like and metallic tasting; midpalate flavors turn more vegetal, bittersweet and chalky/limestone-like. Finishes medium-long, bittersweet and caney/grassy. A poor man's Neisson Rhum Agricole Blanc, Rhum Clement Premiere Canne White Rhum, or Rhum J.M. Blanc.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
La Mauny 1749 Aged Agricole Rum (Martinique; The Other Wine and Spirits, Manhasset, NY); 40% abv, $25.
More large sediment than I'd like to see even for an agricole; topaz colored. The wood influence rounds off the edges of this bouquet, leaving behind softly peppered and lightly toasted aromas in the first sniffs; additional aeration doesn't stimulate any further scent change; aroma is a zero. Entry is lamely timid and thin, with little rhum agricole sass or grass; midpalate opens up marginally in terms of elevating the sweetness of the cane but it's too late for me since the cause was lost in the anemic bouquet and entry. Hollow aftertaste. Nothing horribly flawed about it; just regrettably shy and weak in the knees, which is not what rhum agricole is supposed to be.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Not Recommended
TEQUILA - MEXICO
Corrido Cristalino Blanco 100% Agave Tequila (Mexico; True Blue Imports, Scottsdale, AZ); 40% abv, $38.
Transparent in color, but shows way too much sediment, both chunks and threads, for a $38 tequila. Owns a genuinely pleasing agave/vegetal/dill aroma right out of the gate; additional time in the glass allows for a creamy, peppery smell to emerge that is nearly, but not quite, agave syrup sweet. Entry is keenly peppery, vinyl-like and dry; midpalate displays more of a textile fiber/flaxen quality in the core taste that also has a milky/lactate/estery aspect that somehow works. Ends up concentrated on the agave pulpiness and vegetative qualities. Kind of messy and undisciplined, but it works in spite of itself. Tell you one thing: if the appearance was cleaned up, I'd give it a fourth rating star.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
Corrido Extra Añejo 100% Agave Tequila (Mexico; True Blue Imports, Scottsdale, AZ); 40% abv, $100.
Golden maize color, with lighter sediment than the Blanco. Smells upfront of brown butter, light toffee and margarine; further aeration fails to release any more aromas. Entry is bitter, vegetal, grassy and warm in abv; midpalate is spicier than the entry and more volatile in abv heat, but it's agreeably tasty, reedy/swampy and as unruly in mid-flavor stream as the Blanco, but there's a thread of quality that I nonetheless detect and respond favorably to. Concludes saline-like, a little bitter and almost like a mild-mannered mezcal, the way many tequilas were in the 1970s and early 1980s before they turned respectable.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
MEZCAL – MEXICO
Ilegal Mezcal Mezcal Joven Special Edition Lot 01 (Mexico; Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY); 40% abv, $55.
Pewter colored, but with copious amounts of unsightly debris floating about; unacceptably murky-looking, even for mezcal. Displays that iconic burning tire, acrid, burnt match aroma right from the start; with time in the glass, a pleasing green vegetable aspect emerges, giving off acceptably bitter scents especially of asparagus, kale and broccoli rabe. Entry is charred, bitter with smokiness and rubberiness, yet alluringly vegetal and peppery; midpalate is particularly spicy and piquant. Might have scored higher had the appearance been more appealing.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
 Ilegal Mezcal Mezcal Reposado Special Edition Lot 01 (Mexico; Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY); 40% abv, $70.
Flaxen yellow color; superb clarity. Smells out of the gate like chalk/limestone soil; additional aeration brings about minor scents of dill and brine. Entry is very tart and acidic and therefore fresh and nearly biting; midpalate is lean, agile, medium-smoky and peppery. Finishes focused and slightly bitter in the throat. The agave is more apparent in this sinewy mezcal than in the Joven. The pick of the Ilegal Mezcal bunch.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Highly Recommended
Ilegal Mezcal Mezcal Añejo Special Edition Lot 01 (Mexico; Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY); 40% abv, $110.
Amber/old gold color; minor sediment spotted. First sniffs detect rounded, sappy aromas, with just a hint of rubber tire; further aeration fails to stimulate much more in the way of bouquet except for a bit of sawn wood. Entry is nicely bitter and vegetal yet with a fair amount of agave thrust; midpalate showcases a marginal agave sweetness that plays well with the abv heat. Ends on a vegetal, bitter, lead pencil, metal coin note that works.
Spirit Journal 2010 Rating:
Recommended
© F. Paul
Pacult
All rights reserved.
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