...where distraction is the main attraction.

Friday, September 25, 2015

A week of wut? Teemu's Mystery Spirit sample

Earlier this year I had the distinct pleasure of completing a sample swap with Finland's own Mr. Whisky Science himself: Teemu S.  If you haven't gone to Whisky Science yet, you should leave this post right now and go there.  You will learn something there.  Comparatively, this blog don't learn you nothing good.

Anyway, when I received my parcel I discovered what I thought was an error......there were too many bottles.  Oh shoot, had I accidentally requested a higher number than I had thought?  And the extra one had no label.  Turns out, the extra sample was purposeful.

MK's email: What is the 7th mystery dram???
Teemu's email: For me to know and for you to find out.. I'll tell after you have tasted it.

Of course, just then Southern California was hit with a 90-95ºF heat wave.  But I couldn't wait, a week later I tried it and send him my notes.

MK's email: The nose is full of bourbony goodness. Vanilla and butterscotch. Minty menthol, anise, and ripe banana. Hints of charred meat, butter, and buttermilk pancakes. My empty glass has a maple syrup thing going on. The palate is less sweet than the nose leads on. A little woody and salty, but still some corn syrup and creamed corn. A little bit of spice, menthol, and (maybe?) sweet basil. Pretty lengthy finish. Sea salt, caramel, and slightly dusty.  I'm going to go with my nose and say it's bourbon. The nose reminds me of my favorite old-style bourbon by the defunct National Distillers. If it's a current bourbon, I'd be pretty excited.

Yes, sadly, I email my notes in a similar fashion to the way I post them on this site.  But how close was I?  This was good stuff, especially the nose!  Teemu responded quickly:

Teemu's email: Your notes are spot on, very much a "sugarfree heavyhitting spicy bourbon"
It is actually a great old rum.
Albion Velier 1994/2011 casks 7100-7103, distilled in a wooden coffey still in Demerara.
Very much a whisky drinker's rum.
This is "a light young version" of Albion ;)


Well, shoot.  When I drank the second half of the sample, four months later, I found a little more molasses in the nose and palate, but it was never a sugar bomb.  Judge me as you'd like, but I liked this Albion better than the majority of whiskies (and definitely better than any bourbon) I've tried this calendar year.

There's a good reason why a number of prominent whisky bloggers are now reviewing non-whisky aged spirits (or malternatives).  Okay, two good reasons.  Firstly, whisky prices have ascended quickly while the quality has at best remained the same.  Secondly, the universe of hedonistic pleasure gleaned from spirits doesn't end at whisk(e)y.  In fact, there's a lot of sensory overlap between aged rums, brandies, mezcals, and whiskies.  Many of us have been ruined by the goopy sweet bestseller rums, the Korbels and Martels of the brandy shelves, and J. Cuervo.  Had we written off whisky after only drinking Dewar's White and Johnnie Red, then we wouldn't currently be in the middle of our personal whisky voyages.

That's just something I'll ponder for now.  While I doubt there will be any non-whisky reviews this year, I cannot say I'll never go that route...

12 comments:

  1. Old, full strength rums can be amazing. Unfortunately we don't get many indie rums in the States and the few that do make it in tend to be extremely expensive (I'm looking at you, Samaroli).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. Many of our favorite international whisky sites are short on indie rums as well.

      Delete
    2. K&L has gotten some great rums recently but all of them are pretty pricey. I grabbed an $80 bottle of an El Dorado single barrel from their wooden pot still (El Dorado blends a variety of rums produced from various still types including wooden pot stills and a Jenga style wooden column still). It's very good rum but not really worth the money since it was bottled at 40%. The indie rums they have on sale are cask strength though but, again, really expensive.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, K&L is one of the very few US retailers to get into the single barrel rums. But I wonder how many more they'll bring in due to how slowly the cask strength ones are selling.

      Delete
  2. You might like Rhum Clément 10yr Rhum Agricola. One of my favorite spirits of any sort: fruity, oaky, char, salt, and a hint of grassy honey on the finish with loads of dry baking spices throughout. A bit pricey for a 10yr r(h)um, but I think it's worth it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately agricoles (other than Barbancourt) are just expensive. I think it's a combination of very small scale and high angel's share.

      Delete
    2. Oh, you're very welcome to most of my Clément 10yr Rhum Agricole, Michael! (Of which you probably have a sample.)

      This is just me - but it's just so much fucking work...

      Delete
    3. I do in fact have a sample of the Clément 10yr Rhum. I'll have to politely turn down or delay acceptance of the rest of the bottle because I don't have room for it.

      Delete
  3. I also like the note on the back label, it's so Umberto Eco: "After a raid to Marie Galante, Guadalupe and Barbados, we selected together with Daniele Biondi (his first time) four barrels of Albion 1994. Luca Gargano".

    I had never heard of Velier, it seems that they must be a premier boutique Italian importer of spirits and wine, and the timeline on their website indicates they've been into rums since late 90's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your Umberto Eco observation gave me a great idea that I dare not mention. I just need the time and focus to carry it out. :)

      Delete
  4. In my experience old rums do tend to taste like bourbon with the molasses character often getting hidden by bourbon notes. I've had the Mount Gay Extra Old, Appleton 12, and El Dorado 15 and all three were very bourbon-like (though the Appleton 12 has the Jamaican rum funk). That said I prefer the older rums over the clear stuff which is usually a bit rough. Might just be due to being used to the wood influence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Though I normally like the weird and funk when it comes to rum, this Albion had a gorgeous bourbon barrel which won me over.

      The only white r(h)um I've purchased more than once is Barbancourt's. It makes for very good mojitos. Plus I actually don't mind sipping it on its own.

      Delete