What non Whiskey or Rum Spirit (Cognac, Mezcal, Calvados etc) are we drinking?

Cazale

A thread for those spirits that don't fit into the whiskey or Rum threads. Recently getting into Cognac so hoping to educate myself more on that and other spirits along the way.

Cazale

First reply has to be this bargain from Tesco. Hennessy Xo Cognac reduced from €152 down to €75. Celtic Whiskey have it for an eye watering €205. Picked up the last bottle in my local Tesco this afternoon and a friend tried a few branches with no luck later.

Cazale

Weepsie wrote:

Can we get on the white port train here.

Haven't tried Port much. Got a mini pack of Graham’s Port which includes a Fine White Port. I'll have to give it a go soon. Any brands to recommend?

odyssey06

Having a Delamain XO Cognac... average age 25 years. How to describe it... after the first sip there is like a secondary reaction / flavour explosion kicking in.

Am also partial to:
Martell VSOP
Courvoisier VS
Sainsburys 12yo Armagnac
Sainsburys Calvados X.O. 12 Year Old

odyssey06

Weepsie wrote: »

Can we get on the white port train here.
White port and tonic with a garnish of orange and some ice. Lovely stuff.

Aye the OH likes the Niepoort white port in summer in similar manner.

odyssey06

Cazale wrote: »

Haven't tried Port much. Got a mini pack of Graham’s Port which includes a Fine White Port. I'll have to give it a go soon. Any brands to recommend?

You wont go wrong with Niepoort for anything Port related.

Offies eg Martins sometimes have half bottles which are a good way to try / sample occasionally.

Black Sheep

Weepsie wrote: »

Can we get on the white port train here.

White port and tonic with a garnish of orange and some ice. Lovely stuff.

I love a dry white port!

dobman88

Posted in whiskey thread earlier, so thanks for starting this off Cazale. Hopefully someone can give some pointers

Never got into brandy. Used to drink it sometimes when I was locked with diet coke and it wasn't unpleasant.

I'd have a general idea of what I like and what to look for in whiskey. What does brandy bring to the table and what should I be looking for when I drink it?

BonnieSituation

odyssey06 wrote: »

You wont go wrong with Niepoort for anything Port related.

Offies eg Martins sometimes have half bottles which are a good way to try / sample occasionally.

I got herself into port on foot of our local cafe set up a port club to keep them ticking over before Christmas. Weekly fills of the hip flask. Nice way to contribute without buying their overpriced grub.

Loads of it was Niepoort. Very nice stuff alright.

Been at a fair few rum (and cheese) tastings over the years and they're incredible but as a drink it's a dangerous drop. Moreish is not the word!

On the shelf right now:

BonnieSituation

killbillvol2 wrote: »

I got the box!

I got a box as well.

It's an awful shíte box for the RRP!

The bottle and the colour, notwithstanding the caramelized nature of it, is just sumptuous!

Dont be at yourself

Picked up some Pisco for Pisco Sours, lovely drop!

Cazale

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Picked up some Pisco for Pisco Sours, lovely drop!

A description of Pisco below from Celtic Whiskey for the uninitiated. I've only tried it once in a cocktail bar in Belfast. Attached the description of it. I remember it was a mighty fine cocktail. Any tips on what to buy and where etc?

Pisco is the native spirit in Peru and is also distilled in Chile. A wide variety of grapes can be used although the most common is Quebranta. The brandy is only made in pot stills and is bottled at its natural strength. It is more similar to an unaged brandy than a grappa and is the essential ingredient in a pisco sour.

Cazale

Celtic Whiskey are doing a Chateau Du Breuil Calvados Tasting at the end of March.

5 x 30ml which includes samples of the Chateau Du Breuil 8 Year Old, 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 20 Year Old and Sauternes.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Chateau-Du-Breuil-Calvados-Tasting-Pack-31st-March-Eu

BonnieSituation made me sign up to this one. I have a couple of other Calvados miniatures that I've yet to try. There has been a few Irish Whiskey Calvados finishes recently so it'll be interesting to try the source.

Dont be at yourself

Cazale wrote: »

A description of Pisco below from Celtic Whiskey for the uninitiated. I've only tried it once in a cocktail bar in Belfast. Attached the description of it. I remember it was a mighty fine cocktail. Any tips on what to buy and where etc?

Pisco is the native spirit in Peru and is also distilled in Chile. A wide variety of grapes can be used although the most common is Quebranta. The brandy is only made in pot stills and is bottled at its natural strength. It is more similar to an unaged brandy than a grappa and is the essential ingredient in a pisco sour.

I'm an ingenue, picked up the below bottle from CWS as a punt. Very different to your regular aged brandy -- plenty of sweetness, and closer to a light rum than a cognac to my palette.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/capel-pisco-especial

odyssey06

Cazale wrote: »

Celtic Whiskey are doing a Chateau Du Breuil Calvados Tasting at the end of March.
5 x 30ml which includes samples of the Chateau Du Breuil 8 Year Old, 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 20 Year Old and Sauternes.
https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Chateau-Du-Breuil-Calvados-Tasting-Pack-31st-March-Eu

I thought about signing up for that tasting but reckon I'll use the budget to buy a bottle of the Chateau Du Breuil instead, when I have shelf space!

killbillvol2

Cazale wrote: »

Celtic Whiskey are doing a Chateau Du Breuil Calvados Tasting at the end of March.

5 x 30ml which includes samples of the Chateau Du Breuil 8 Year Old, 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 20 Year Old and Sauternes.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Chateau-Du-Breuil-Calvados-Tasting-Pack-31st-March-Eu

BonnieSituation made me sign up to this one. I have a couple of other Calvados miniatures that I've yet to try. There has been a few Irish Whiskey Calvados finishes recently so it'll be interesting to try the source.

I'm going to have to add you to my ignore list!

Looks like a good way to try out some Calvados. I've had it a few times and liked it but never think of buying it.

BonnieSituation

Cazale wrote: »

Celtic Whiskey are doing a Chateau Du Breuil Calvados Tasting at the end of March.

5 x 30ml which includes samples of the Chateau Du Breuil 8 Year Old, 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 20 Year Old and Sauternes.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Chateau-Du-Breuil-Calvados-Tasting-Pack-31st-March-Eu

BonnieSituation made me sign up to this one. I have a couple of other Calvados miniatures that I've yet to try. There has been a few Irish Whiskey Calvados finishes recently so it'll be interesting to try the source.

Oh yeah, it's ALL my fault.

Cazale

BonnieSituation wrote:

Oh yeah, it's ALL my fault.

I have to blame somebody.

Cazale

killbillvol2 wrote:

I'm going to have to add you to my ignore list!

I wish I could ignore myself at times.

Effects

Cazale wrote: »

Celtic Whiskey are doing a Chateau Du Breuil Calvados Tasting at the end of March.

I might try that tasting. I've only done a quick calvados tasting before, in France.
I generally only drink one bottle a year. But I prefer the bottle I bought in 2019 compared to the 2020.

limnam

Got this in over xmas as i couldn't get my hands on a bottle of dows.

Was very enjoyable lovely clarity on the fruit with a bit of a nutty spicey kick.



Paired beautifully with some mature Reypenaer

Cazale

limnam wrote:

Was very enjoyable lovely clarity on the fruit with a bit of a nutty spicey kick.

limnam wrote:

Paired beautifully with some mature Reypenaer

Now we are talking! Where did you pick up the Reypenaer?

Cazale

Reading up Armagnac recently. It's another spirit I intend to start collecting. I'll start off with samples and progress to some large bottles. I'll post a series of information over the next few days on its production, history and bottles to try etc.

The Armagnac region, in the very heart of Aquitaine, is west of Toulouse and south-east of Bordeaux. Wine has been made there for over 2000 years, and white wine has been distilled there since the Middle Ages.

Armagnac is the oldest wine spirit in the world, as attested to in a document written by the monk Vital du Four in 1310. He describes an “eau ardente” – or pungent water, and praises its medicinal properties. Today, Armagnac is obtained by distilling white wine in a column still, though the still has evolved over time, as is described further on.

Indeed eau-de-vie has been made in Armagnac since the Middle Ages, however trade in spirits only started in an organised fashion in the early 18th century, with the development of commercial contacts with Dutch merchants. This is precisely the era – 1711 – that Château de Lacquy was purchased to produce Armagnac. The Armagnac region is landlocked and never benefited from the extraordinary commercial development that Cognac enjoyed due to the navigability of the Charente river. As a result Armagnac remained an artisanal product which today endows it with its specific aura and its character.

The appellation was created in the 20th century, first by the Decree of 25 May 1909 which defined the production area, then by the Decree of 6 August 1936 which created the AOC.

Today there are 5,135 hectares identified in the appellation, of which 1,980 were used in for distillation in 2016. This contrasts with the 75,000 hectares for the Cognac appellation. 3 million bottles of Armagnac are sold each year, approximately half in France and half on the export market. Another contrast with Cognac: the Hennessy firm in Cognac sold 72 million bottles of Cognac in 2015, which is more than 20 times the entire Armagnac appellation.

Armagnac is indeed a rare and deluxe product.

interlocked

About eight years ago, I was in Paris, drinking in a bar and I decided that when in Paris I might as well drink Armagnac, the Frenchman beside me was doing the same and we started chatting, he told me that his job was a photographer for a magazine for the watchmaker Patek Philippe. he said that once you bought one of their watches, you got this regular magazine that was sent to you for life and it continued to their children or grandchildren until you told their company to stop. He said that he was heading off in the morning to some exotic location that I cant remember.

Now, I had heard of the brand and I knew that they were seriously high end, so I asked him would €10,000 be a ballpark figure for a watch, he put down the glass, looked at me and said with a laugh, "That would be considered a first communion watch"

As he said himself, he didn't own one, and neither will I, but it's amazing the stories you hear when you say hello at a bar. And no, I didn't wasn't cultured enough to sniff the Armagnac, was amazing I think!

limnam

Cazale wrote: »

Now we are talking! Where did you pick up the Reypenaer?

A friend coming through schipol airport picked it up for me.


But you can buy it online on their website.


I've purchased from them a few times in the past, no issues.

Cazale

interlocked wrote:

As he said himself, he didn't own one, and neither will I, but it's amazing the stories you hear when you say hello at a bar. And no, I didn't wasn't cultured enough to sniff the Armagnac, was amazing I think!

Great story. One of the greatest casualties of the pandemic is stories like that. I've tried many a great whiskey over the last year but I don't have stories or memories outside of the kitchen table for most of them.

Cazale

The story of Armagnac continued.

The Armagnac region is divided into 3 growing areas: the “Bas-Armagnac” (3,480 hectares in 2016), the “Ténarèze” (1,588 hectares in 2016) and the “Haut-Armagnac” (68 hectares in 2016), and spreads over 3 French counties, les Landes, Gers and Lot-et-Garonne. The vines that grow grapes for the production of Armagnac cover between 5,000 and 5,500 hectares depending on the year, whereas the entire vineyard for the region covers 15,000 hectares and is primarily destined for the production of Côtes de Gascogne wines and Floc.

What is the difference between Haut-Armagnac and Bas-Armagnac?

Bas-Armagnac is the northernmost part of Armagnac. Its name comes from the fact that it is quite simply the lowest geographical area in Armagnac: 60 to 120 metres altitude as compared to 150 to 200 metres altitude for Haut-Armagnac. Bas-Armagnac spreads across county Gers and the county of Les Landes and is considered to be the region which produces the finest and most aromatic eau-de-vie spirits. The most famous area within Bas-Armagnac used to be called the “Grand bas-Armagnac » or “Grand-Bas”.

The primary differences between Armagnac and Cognac relate to the soils, the varietals, the artisanal nature of Armagnac production, and the type of still that is used for distillation. The Cognac still is a pot still whilst the Armagnac still is a continuous column still.

Thus, Cognac is distilled twice. The first time between 28% and 32% alcohol (the first distillate, known as “brouillis”) then this brouillis is redistilled between 68% to 72% alcohol. Armagnac, on the other hand, is distilled only once, generally between 52% and 56% alcohol.

Cognac is primarily made from distilling wines made from Ugni-blanc grapes, whereas Armagnac is primarily distilled from wines made from Ugni-blanc, Baco and Colombard grapes.

A further difference is that Armagnac is generally an artisanal product that remains closely connected to its terroir and the grape varietals, whereas Cognac is for all practical purposes an industrial product. In 2017, worldwide, 3,000,000 bottles of Armagnac were sold compared to 197,000,000 bottles of Cognac. 80% of the Cognac sold is sold by Hennessy, Martell, Rémy-Cointreau and Courvoisier.

the beer revolu

It's most odd the the more artisnal armagnac uses the more industrial, modern type of still, isn't it?

It seems by the figures that they use the column stills in an unusual way, producing a relatively low abv spirit.

BonnieSituation

Her birthday finally came and the XO was greatly received.

Never seen her enjoy spirit neat before. Though round two got some ice stuck in. Good times.



Caramel or not it's a serious colour on it.

Black Sheep

Wasn't Hennessy X.O mixed with Coca Cola the previous North Korean dictator's drink of choice?

Ah here we go- https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/12/23/hennessy-responds-to-the-loss-of-its-best-customer/

Marcusm

There was once a fashion in Hong Kong for Johnnie Walker Blue mixed with cold green tea. A very expensive cocktail.

Cazale

Celtic Whiskey Quinta do Noval Tawny Port Tasting €45

What's in the pack?
5 x 71ml samples
Join us for a virtual tasting with the fantastic Quinta do Noval Tawny Ports! This tasting pack features samples of the Noval Tawny Reserve, Noval 10 Year Old Tawny Port, Noval 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Quinta do Noval Colheita 2005 Tawny Port and Quinta do Noval Colheita 2000 Tawny Port.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Quinta-do-Noval-Tawny-Port-Tasting?search=quinta%20noval%20tasting

BonnieSituation

Cazale wrote: »

Celtic Whiskey Quinta do Noval Tawny Port Tasting €45

What's in the pack?
5 x 71ml samples
Join us for a virtual tasting with the fantastic Quinta do Noval Tawny Ports! This tasting pack features samples of the Noval Tawny Reserve, Noval 10 Year Old Tawny Port, Noval 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Quinta do Noval Colheita 2005 Tawny Port and Quinta do Noval Colheita 2000 Tawny Port.

https://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Quinta-do-Noval-Tawny-Port-Tasting?search=quinta%20noval%20tasting

Thought you'd be al over that. But the fruit brandy one below that in the mail piqued my interest more tbh:

Eau de Vie Distillerie Nusbaumer
Tasting Pack - 28th April


How does it work? Buy > pack gets delivered > join us for a Zoom tasting!

What's in the pack?
5 x 30ml samples
Join us for a virtual tasting with Eau de Vie from Distillerie Nusbaumer! This tasting pack features samples of the Framboise des Bois, Kirsch de Merise, Mirabelle Tres Ville, Poire Williams Rouge, and Prune de Ferme.


When?
Zoom tasting will take place on April 28th at 8pm with a representative from Distillerie Nusbaumer and Celtic Whiskey Bar's Luke Crowley Holland.

https://celticwhiskeyshop.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2ab1a525f2ea2c7498cf3bca0&id=872f249a53&e=63d4106ad4

---

My Calvados samples arrived this morning, and they smell lovely. Looking forward to that.

Cazale

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Thought you'd be al over that. But the fruit brandy one below that in the mail piqued my interest more tbh:

Eau de Vie Distillerie Nusbaumer
Tasting Pack - 28th April

.

Spent a load this week so have given the Port a miss. If it's still on sale next week though..... Got the Eau de Vie pack. Another new one for me. Should be interesting.

Cazale

BonnieSituation wrote: »

My Calvados samples arrived this morning, and they smell lovely. Looking forward to that.

Same here. Smells like an orchard!

BonnieSituation

Cazale wrote: »

Same here. Smells like an orchard!

That's teetering a bit close to the edge for me.:D:D:D:D

the beer revolu

All this talk about port should really be in the wine thread.

BonnieSituation

It's all brandy talk and fawning?

Cazale

To wash talk of Port out of my mouth I have signed up to Celtic Whiskeys Del Maguey Mezcal tasting. Another spirit I have very little knowledge of. Del Maguey is one of the big players in Mezcal but I'm hoping it'll be a good introduction.

What's in the pack?

4 x 30ml

Join us this March for a virtual Mezcal tasting with Del Maguey! This tasting pack features samples of Chichicapa, Vida, Tobala, and Pechuga.

Black Sheep

Got a bottle of Clase Azul Reposado for the missus.

Impressive bottle anyway, if you can even call it that. More like an urn crossed with a vase.

BonnieSituation

Black Sheep wrote: »

Got a bottle of Clase Azul Reposado for the missus.

Impressive bottle anyway, if you can even call it that. More like an urn crossed with a vase.

Jesus you'd be fierce guilty opening that.

Cazale

Black Sheep wrote: »

Got a bottle of Clase Azul Reposado for the missus.

Impressive bottle anyway, if you can even call it that. More like an urn crossed with a vase.

Lovely bottle. One to keep when finished.

the beer revolu

Cazale wrote: »

Lovely bottle. One to keep when finished.

While it is a lovely bottle, I wonder how much you are paying for the bottle by the time it ends up on the shelf here?

I know if I could buy the same liquid for €20 cheaper, I would.

Black Sheep

It wouldn't my cup of tea, but it's a present for her not me, so...

For what it's worth I gather that this is one of a number of Mexican tequila producers that are circulating on a list online as being considered more fairtrade \ ethical than others. I know my missus and her friends have been discussing it, it's something that's come up after people starting criticising whatever Kardashian unveiled her own tequila lately and got criticised for doing it the wrong way.

Clase Azul seems to be having a bit of a moment, maybe linked to the above. Martins Off Licence told me they sold three bottles this week in online orders. I gather that the idea is that yes, the bottle itself is an artisan product you hold onto itself, I'd say it accounts for quite a bit of the overall cost. I'm not expecting the tequila itself to be any better than Casamigos, 1800 or whatever else. Would you re-use the bottle? I dunno, guess we'll find out.

the beer revolu

Black Sheep wrote: »

It wouldn't my cup of tea, but it's a present for her not me, so...

For what it's worth I gather that this is one of a number of Mexican tequila producers that are circulating on a list online as being considered more fairtrade \ ethical than others. I know my missus and her friends have been discussing it, it's something that's come up after people starting criticising whatever Kardashian unveiled her own tequila lately and got criticised for doing it the wrong way.

Clase Azul seems to be having a bit of a moment, maybe linked to the above. Martins Off Licence told me they sold three bottles this week in online orders. I gather that the idea is that yes, the bottle itself is an artisan product you hold onto itself, I'd say it accounts for quite a bit of the overall cost. I'm not expecting the tequila itself to be any better than Casamigos, 1800 or whatever else. Would you re-use the bottle? I dunno, guess we'll find out.

Fancy bottles seems to be a big thing in Tequila.
Unlike some other products, an extra fancy bottle doesn't indicate that it's an inferior liquid inside.
With many other drinks, I'd be put off by a very fancy bottle - not so with tequila (other than having to pay for it).

At that price, I'd be expecting some top shelf tequila - even if the bottle makes up a lot of the price!

Black Sheep

Yeah, in fairness, I think it is meant to be good tequila too. Any review I've read has been positive, but equally there are great sipping tequilas at a lower price point too so I think you'd really want to have the artisan-crafted decanter bottle... Which (at the risk of being sexist) might be more of a draw to the ladies? Certainly for my missus seems to be.

I'll let ye all know how it is!! Saving it for Mother's Day to give to her :P She doesn't know.

Cazale

The mezcal tasting set from Celtic Whiskey arrived today along with a little bowl. Wasn't sure what it was so looked it up and it's called a copita.

Cazale

An account by the founder of Del Maguey on how copitas became synonymous with mezcal consumption. In the following excerpt from his book, Ron Cooper explains how these tiny terra cotta cups came to be.

As civilization evolved, so did vessels. Humans learned to form and then fire clay. The first pots used for storing food and water probably date to 10,000 BCE. When I started looking for a vessel I could use for tasting mezcal, I settled on clay, an organic material. I wanted to mimic the traditional vessel used to taste mezcal, the jícara, a thin-walled, hollowed-out gourd sometimes decorated with etchings on the outside of the bowl. As a material, the gourd skin is porous, it breathes. When you pour mezcal into it, the jícara drinks its share. Over time, the mezcal cures the bowl, but the bowl imparts nothing to the spirit. When you bend your face to it for a sip, you’re enveloped by aromas from the mezcal. There is no intense alcohol burning your nose, just the smell of roasted maguey, mineral, fruit, flower overtones.

I met the Benítez family in the Central de Abastos market, where I’ve found so many treasures over the years. They were selling their pottery, which they make on Cerro del Fortín. It’s the hill overlooking Oaxaca where the traditional dances for the annual Guelaguetza festival are held. (Guelaguetza, held on consecutive Mondays in the second half of July, celebrates native culture through costume and dance. The event is ancient, with roots in pre-Hispanic sacrifices offered to the god of corn. The word Guelaguetza comes from the Zapotec for “exchange of gifts”; the dances performed are considered offerings from one tribe to another.) I once saw a photo of the Cerro del Fortín from the 1930s or ’40s: there were no roads. Just old cars and people scattered like ants across the hillside. The Benítez family has made pottery there for generations.

I worked with them to design a copita that, like the jícara, would breathe. We worked on the shape, which has morphed slightly over the years, but is basically a squat cup that stands roughly an inch high. It holds a perfect measure of mezcal and sits comfortably in the hand. It’s the perfect size for hiding in your pocket. I always carry mine in my jeans or my jacket—you never know when someone will want to pour you a nice mezcal. No one has ever been able to shape the copitas like the Benítez clan. The family’s old abuelo passed away a while back, but I remember him clearly, leaning against a wall before his wheel, kicking a four-foot-tall volcano of clay around and around, shaping copitas by the hundreds per day.

The copitas have taken on a life of their own. I’ve read misguided articles that claim they are traditional Oaxaca artifacts. They are not. They’re all me. They were invented out of necessity, but I’m always pleased when a bar or restaurant wants to use them for serving our mezcal. When people come to visit me in Oaxaca, I give them a copita and make a little drawing on the foot of it for them. It’s my way of saying thank you.

As I’ve mentioned, vessels are a recurring theme in my art. In my early works, they held water. I’ve always found water to be a beautiful and powerful element to work with. In later works, my vessels held mezcal, the sacred juice. The vessels were like goddesses: the womb, the container of life. Mezcal was the food, feeding the skull, the container of light. For me, a work of art is successful if, in the making of it, a question is generated. The answering of that question becomes the next work. The sculpted vessel led to the liquid contained therein; working in the avant-garde led me to the ancient.

the beer revolu

I have a little coconut copita (edit, now that I've actually read the post above, I know it's a "jícara", made of gourd) that I picked up from a fantastic Mescal producer at a trade show in Berlin when we could do those things!

I really, really like mescal.

the beer revolu

This is the mescal and the little gourd cup.
All gone now.
It was punchy, floral, smoky and delicious.

There's something painful but beautiful about finishing a bottle of something you really like but, most probably, will never taste again.

No mescal in the house, now.

Black Sheep

Got a bottle of Cacique 500 via a Venezuelan business in Ireland. Delivery of various Venezuelan rums to your door. Boderum they are called...

Also, realised I never gave a verdict on the Clase Azul.

First of all, the decanter is legitimately cool, it genuinely is something you would keep and use.

The tequila is very, very good, not sure what else to say. I have had Casamigos, 1800, Cazador, Don Julio etc and I’d say this is the most floral, delicate sipping reposado I ever had. It’s actually nearly too perfumed for me, but the missus loves it.

Would I buy it again? Hell no, but she was very happy.