A Flowery Song

Background: ‘s cognac. Made from grapes, aged at least two years.

Nose: Sharply spiritous, violets, roses, and vanilla.

Taste: Bitter, and not in a good way. Very muddled, impressions of tobacco and vanilla toffee.

Overall: Missable. Neither refined nor easygoing, this sits squarely in the “do not buy” category for me.

Background: This debut offering from Cooper Spirits made quite a splash in the spirits and cocktail world, with enterprising bartenders eager to take advantage of its unique flavour profile. Made from fresh, hand-picked elderflowers which are macerated in a proprietary process, the extract of which is then mixed into a base of grape eau de vie and sweetened with cane sugar.

Nose: Pink grapefruit, peach, and floral hints of lilac.

Taste: Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. Mingled notes of lychee, guava, citrus, stone fruit, and pear.

Overall: Delicate yet complex, and somewhat suitable for sipping solo. Despite not being as sweet as many liqueurs, there’s still a sugary edge so it really comes into its own when mixed, even just with soda water. Plus, check out that cool bottle.

Background: Distilled in Paris based on a traditional recipe, but obviously (and heavily) artificially coloured.

Nose: Sharply spiritous, with a sugary edge and lots of anise.

Taste: Sharp, almost piny resinous edge, a bit woodsy, with an uninteresting anise flavour. Very rough aftertaste.

Overall: Could be worse, but definitely not one I’ll be buying again.

Background: Similar to the regular Un Emile 68, this absinthe adds resinous pine buds to the mix of herbs.

Nose: Harsh and spiritous. Hints of wormwood, and the normal anise scent is upstaged by a sweet resinous pine odour.

Taste: Oily green anise and pine on the front, strong wormwood influence in the finish.

(Drip the water in.)

Starts as a pale yellow, barely louches at all.

Nose: Pine fades into the background, wormwood moves up. Anise level is about the same.

Taste: Follows the nose. The wormwood taste provides a nice solid background for the pine and anise, and there are some other vague herbal influences.

Overall: Decent. The pine buds add an interesting flavour dimension which is fairly well integrated with the other components.

Background: Lucid was the first absinthe made legally available in the US since 1912. Availability is still fairly limited, but for those who can't find it at their local watering hole there are several retailers with an online presence that stock it.

This spirit is crafted at the Combier distillery in France by T.A. Breaux, the man behind the popular Jade absinthes. Like Jade, Lucid follows a traditional manufacturing process. The flavouring herbs, which include fennel, green anise, and Artemisia absinthium, are macerated in neutral spirits (beet, if you were wondering) which is then redistilled. The resulting liquid is strongly flavoured but clear. In order to achieve the desired colour a secret mixture of herbs is steeped in the spirit, imparting a green tint.

Nose: Sweet, fruity, and herbal. Medium anise presence, and some vegetal wormwood is there too.

Taste: Complex herbal flavour dominated by sweet anise. Long, oily finish.

(Absinthe is quite difficult to taste straight, designed as it is for dilution. So we dilute.)

Nice louche action. Colour goes from a yellow-tinged pale green to an attractive off-white.

Nose: More herbal notes. Pepper, mint, coriander, and lemongrass.

Taste: Huge herbal presence, with spicy pepper and fennel notes. The anise is a bit more in the background than is perhaps normal, but it's definitely a large component. The slightest hint of bitterness, accompanied by a lovely wormwood character. The wormwood slowly drops away as the drink trails off into a long, oily fennel finish.

Overall: Nice balance and a wonderfully multidimensional herbal component. It's good. Quite good, in fact.

Background: This unique liqueur is crafted by T.A. Breaux at the Combier distillery in France. The base spirit is a grape eau de vie, which is combined with a distillation of Perique tobacco and then sweetened with sugar. Perique comes from a small area of Saint James Parish in Louisiana. Once picked, the leaves are partially dried, cleaned, rolled into small bundles, and packed into whiskey barrels. The tobacco is then placed under pressure and fermented for at least a year, at which point it is ready for consumption.

Nose: Earthy and spicy, with touches of iodine, sea air, wood, cognac, and pipe tobacco.

Taste: Lightly sweet. Very smooth, lots of spiciness and dry earthy flavours, finishing with wood and leather.

(“You're a nice guy, but I'm going to drown you anyway”)

Nose: An odd wax note surfaces, along with a tangy hint of fermentation.

Taste: The sugar comes a bit more into the foreground, throwing off the balance. In addition, there's an added sharp edginess to the spice that obscures some of the more delicate flavours.

Overall: I've always loved the smell of good tobacco, but never felt like smoking or chewing it. This unusual liqueur does an excellent job of capturing the aroma of tobacco in a complex and interesting drink.

Background: This brandy starts as cider composed from a large number of apple varieties which is then distilled and aged in oak casks for a minimum of four years.

Nose: Hot alcohol notes hit first, followed by a sharp sweetness with some oak and apple notes.

Taste: Oak dominates, showing vanilla and tannins. A slightly sweet middle where the barest hint of apple peeks through, followed by a mildly astringent finish.

(Dilute)

Nose: Very sweet, some earthiness and a lot more apple.

Taste: More balanced overall. A mild apple flavour is present throughout, and subtle notes of leaf mould and maple are detectable.

Overall: Smooth and drinkable brandy with a light apple taste. A couple of drops of water really helps open it up.

Background: This French triple sec uses cognac  as the base spirit.  “Cordon Rouge” means “Red Ribbon” and is the standard version; there are a couple of types made with older brandies, as well as a cheaper Cordon Jaune made with neutral grain spirits.

Nose: Sweet and fruity, showing vanilla and a hint of pith over a background of floral orange.

Taste: Well-balanced blend of orange zest, fruity notes from the brandy, and a bit of oak influence mainly showing up as vanilla.  Lingering oily orange finish.  A bit spirity.

(The water, she likes me.  I can tell.)

Nose: Not much new.  A bit of caramel.

Taste: A lot of the brandy character coming through, though still mainly generic fruit and vanilla.  Some caramel on the front end, accompanied  by the more floral aspects of the orange flavour.  The slightest portion of pith starts to come through in the middle.

Overall: Sipping a glass of this while nibbling on a bar of good chocolate is bliss.  Stands well on its own.

Background: Distilled by Emile Pernot, this verte absinthe is produced to a traditional 19th century recipe.

Nose: Strong spiritous nose, with a smooth fruity anise scent and hints of wormwood.

Taste: Oily green anise on the front, leading into a smooth middle with fennel and a strong wormwood tang.

(I'm stupidly following my normal tasting procedure, so the above was undiluted. Let's treat this thing properly, shall we?)

Pale yellowish-green to start. The unimpressive louche results in a lemonade colour.

Nose: Wormwood dominates, with some interesting nutty notes. Anise is still coming through in the high notes, of course. Not overly complicated, with a nice herbal presence.

Taste: Pretty much follows the nose. Sweet fennel and anise trip lightly on the tongue, with a pleasant wormwood background. Nice thick mouthfeel, slightly drying finish that lingers for a few moments.

Overall: Pleasantly simple. Nothing staggering, just a decently made absinthe for decent folks.

Background: Boutique gin distilled in France by the makers of Ciroc vodka. Though nine of the botanicals used are fairly traditional, the tenth is hand-picked green grape flowers.

Nose: Crisp and floral, definitely some juniper there, though less than might be expected.. Licorice and lime notes.

Taste: Mmm. Juniper, cardamamom, and ginger clearly present. Fruity and smooth, with a mild bite. Anise in the finish.

(Water, water, everywhere…)

Nose: The individual components are less distinct. Very citrusy.

Taste: Maybe some coriander, but the taste is much more muddled and difficult to dissect.

Overall: Nice, complex sipping gin; maybe a bit light on the juniper.