Get in to the Christmas Spirit!

Bourbon Cask 1290 Dist: Sept 1993 Btl: Sept 2017 Tasted: Nov 2017 A woody and chocolaty nose with gritty peat smoke. Beneath lies some lovely sweet barley and honey along with hints of malt. menthol and eucalyptus. A truly stunning old Ardbeg with late notes of salt, baked apple. rhubarb, tar and fragrant barley.

Soft and gentle on the palate, opening with barley, white chocolate and bitter, woody spice. Hints of earthy peat, vanilla and more wood spice. Subtle notes of violets, straw, baked fruit, apricot and lime come through on the middle, along with a touch of salt. Stunningly deep and complex. Long and salty finish with lingering violety, sweet peat, wood spice and heather.

Tasted: Sept 2015 First Fill American Oak Re-Tasted: Sept 2020 An aromatic and quite barley'd nose. A little raw and youthful with strawberry mousse, creamy oak and a touch of pepper.

The palate is elegant and delicate and it feels less raw. Lightly oiled and barley'd, straightforward but pleasantly deep with a touch of apple on the middle. Good length with a soft, peppery finish.

Botanicals: Juniper, coriander, orris, angelica, bay laurel, rosemary, sweet orange, oak bark, Bramley apple Batch 12 Tasted: Dec 2018 An earthy and barky nose with coriander, apple, juniper and hints of sweet orange.

The palate has a subtle apple note, to begin with, followed by sweet orange, juniper and hints of rosemary. Less barky and earthy than the nose, but the coriander comes through strongly on the middle. Long, apply and slightly earthy finish with subtle bark notes.

Tasted: Sept 2021 A deep, mature and aromatic nose with oodles of rich pot still dried fruit. Hints of winey black fruit, molasses, medicinal herbs, tobacco, roasted coffee bean, toasted toffee, wood spice, vanilla and almond. A lovely nose!

The palate is rich, deep and toasty with like the nose suggests plenty of mature pot still character. Coffee, toffee and subtle, almost astringent herbal notes appear. Superb depth with a touch of b lack fruit and vanilla. Intense, tannic and spicy finish with the juicy fruit making sure the finish doesn't dry out. Seriously good stuff!

Blue Agave vodka Tasted: Dec 2020 A distinct, slightly sweet, pulped agave white fruit note on the nose with creamy spirit, pepper, minerals and late foresty notes.

The palate is soft and creamy and subtler agave white fruit and pepper. Full, slightly mineral middle and a long finish with the agave notes coming through strongly along with a touch of pepper and spice.

Is the brain child of the actor Dan Aykroyd and the artist John Alexander who took inspiration for this project from the legend of the 13 crystal heads that have been found in various regions of the world, from the American southwest to Tibet. These heads are rupededly between 5,000 and 35,000 years old have are believed to have been polished into shape from solid quartz chunks over time. According to expert engineers from Hewlett Packard they bear no tool marks. The heads are thought to offer spiritual power and enlightenment to those who possess them, and as such stand not as symbols of death, but of life.

Production of Crystal Head Vodka starts with the finest grains that are grown in the region of Chatham, Ontario. These grains are then processed and distilled four times to produce a neutral grain spirit at 95% alcohol by volume. The raw spirit is then reduced down to 40% alcohol by volume. Hidden deep in the Newfoundland, Canada countryside is an aquifer which slowly releases the perfectly pure water that forms the heart of Crystal Head Vodka. This water seeps to the surface through a bed of porous rock which serves as a natural filter as it has done for many thousands of years. It is this water that is used to reduce the high proof alcohol down to the legal limits required by law.

Crystal Head is quadruple distilled, then triple charcoal filtered. Finally, every drop is filtered three times through 500-million year-old crystals know as Herkimer Diamonds. These quartz crystals are found in very few places in the world, including Herkimer, New York and regions in Tibet and Afghanistan. Perhaps because they share the raw material from which the original crystal heads were carved, they are thought to have similar spiritual qualities. The production process is carried out at one of the last government owned distilling facilities in the world – The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation.

The stunning skull shaped bottle was made by Milan based manufacturer Bruni Glass, and they have declared it to be a bottle of unsurpassed complexity and quality, and it looks pretty cool as well! Thankfully the spirit inside matches the quality of the bottle.

Crystal Head Vodka 40% Tasted: Sept 2011 Quite a corn fat nose with some lovely sweet edgy rye-like grains and a tense minerality. The palate is soft, full and rounded again quite corn fat with a milky/ creamy mouth-feel. There is a pleasant nip from the alcohol. Good length with a touch of citrus and minerality in the finish. Lovely purity and character.

Batch 57 Tasted: Mar 2018 The nose is soft and slightly starchy with smoky juniper, lemon and sweet orange. There's a subtle note of coriander and liquorice root, along with a slight tea leaf note.

The palate is slightly starchy with sweeter juniper, lemon, orange and coriander. Very bold and flavourful with a long, slightly bitter spice finish with peppercorn and lingering juniper. I have to say it's a very impressive finish!

See my review in Episode 258 of the Good Dram Show - https://youtu.be/2UqO_40IutU

The first absinthe to come out of Cornwall. The wormwood is grown on the cliffs of Zennor and they use Cornish seaweed in the recipe. Tasted: Sept 2021 The nose is soft but pungent with wormwood, liquorice/ aniseed and hints of woody spice. The seaweed adds a distinctive saltiness.

The palate is oily and pungent with earthy wormwood and a subtler aniseed note. Masked but spicy and peppery finish with lingering aniseed and salt.

Diluted the nose has surprisingly not gone all soapy! The earthy wormwood notes have been emphasised. The palate is dryer now and quite bitter, in fact it’s insanely bitter, but a whole load of fun! It’s certainly not an absinthe to forget!

Re-Tasted: Sept 2013 A very complex, fresh and herbal nose with smoky Juniper and orange/ lemon peel. Lightly oiled but pleasantly sweet with hints of hawthorn and perfumed elderflower and late notes of peppermint and thyme.

Lightly oiled and gently creamy on the palate with juniper, coriander, cassia bark spices up first followed by some angelica and sweet orange. Lovely building herbal freshness on the middle with a touch of peppermint and bog myrtle. Long, fresh finish with hints of elderflower and salt.

Please note that the branded Glencairn glass is not included with this bottle. It however can be purchased separately for £8.95

Batch 002 Tasted Oct 2019 The nose displays a lovely intensity of earthy juniper and hints of rose oil, dusty coriander, ginger, tea leaves and a very subtle sweetness.

The palate has a more noticeable sweetness and rose oil character but its very well balanced with subtler juniper, coriander, lemon and peppercorn. Good intensity and lightly earthy finish.