Review #63: Glenlivet 12yr, Clear Creek Distillery Apple Brandy, Skyy Citrus

some minis

somehow, after Christmas, I ended up with a more or less random assortment of minis. It's time to get rid of them.


Glenlivet 12yr Pure Single Malt Scotch Whisky, OB, 40% abv

I believe this is the most popular (in some sense) single malt in the world. I don't know why: it smells like fermenting cider when it hits the glass, then a blast of vanilla and some wood that's been left out in the rain. The vanilla's even a little weird -- like the artificial flavor in a cheap pastry. On the palate: might as well be water. A little bit of lager and some deciduous fruit on the finish, and a nicer vanilla. I'll have to try this again sometime -- it can't really be this bad.

score: 60 (the gentleman's D-)


Clear Creek Distillery Apple Brandy, 40% abv

It says "golden delicious" on the label, so it's a varietal. Has a kind of tinny new carpet smell alongside the apple. The apple is tart and interesting, but a little one-dimensional. A little hot on the palate, but the fruit flavor is intense and persistent. Has a spicy, almost raisiny note next to the tartness, but generally a very lean profile. This isn't their best spirit; I don't know why. Go for the pear or the grappa instead.

score: 78


Skyy Cirtus, citrus flavored vodka, 35% abv

According to the label it contains "all natural essence of orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, and tangerine." I can't think of any other way to introduce citrus flavors into drinks, so I'm glad they provided this service. I like the smell, actually. It is a nice citrusy smell. I have some orange bitters that smell a little like this. On the palate it seems medicinal (not in a good way). Finish really, really lasts. I'm not sure that I want it to. I like it better than the Glenlivet, though. A few points for the nose.

score: 65

Review #15: Christiana Ultra Premium Vodka, Ketel One Vodka, TIto's Handmade Vodka, Grey Goose Vodka

I'm not sure there's any point to this.

I'm curious about all this, but the whole thing seems a little bit stupid -- who can purify and filter their ethanol the best so that it doesn't taste like anything. But maybe I'm wrong about all that. I guess I'll see.

Day 1 - fridge cool, sipped neat, lowball glass. all 40% abv.

Christiana ($33): pleasantly sweet, not at all hot. palate: nothing. velvety a little heat going down. ethanol sweetness with a bit of oily texture. like a soft vodka-flavored vodka (?)
packaging: Scandinavian modern, plastic stopper

need to find a palate cleanser, I guess. should have planned better. or do I need to bother? here's some bread and almonds, anyway. but who bought dill pickle flavored chips?

Tito's ($19): nose is a little feinty (?), but faintly. palate is both a little sweet and a little rough, but sort of trivially so. somehow rounder than the Christiania. finish is more nothing, but leaves an aftertaste of not much.
packaging: crudely crude -- generic bottle with a coarse paper label with copper foil stamping

Ketel One ($22): "inspired by small batch craftsmanship," ha ha ha. nose is even fainter than the Christiana -- the smell of almost nothing. maybe a little graininess, less sweetness. a little hotter on the palate, but not much. otherwise not much hint of any flavor or texture. maybe a very mildly acidic note, like cucumber water. finish: pronouncedly nothing.
packaging: faux gothic minimalist. 2-color label with some metallic ink.

Grey Goose ($28): nothing on the nose. faintly vodka-like. a little bit of graininess and heat, maybe. sort of pleasant. palate is sweet-ish, soft-ish, hot-ish. squishy that way. it somehow manages not to come together for me. (how?) finish seems somehow empty.
packaging: graphic designer pretty. if you look past the geese, and through the transparent goose, then you can see more geese. none of them are grey, but the bottle is mostly frosted.

Should I explain to my wife what I was doing with all these glasses, or just wash them and put them away before she notices?

Day 2 - 1:1 OJ and vodka.

Ketel One: a little vodka-y. the roughness even stands out more against the OJ.

Tito's: this tasting is stupid. I should have bought a bag of limes.

Christiania: vodka slightly less noticeable until finish. velvety finish again.

Grey Goose: most noticeable on palate of the bunch. otherwise about the same.

**

So this was pretty pointless for me: I like my alcohol with flavor. I'm impressed that the Christiania managed to stand out, but the whole thing still seemed pointless. I can imagine someone being excited by it, and even managing to appreciate the subtle distinctions between the vodka -- for there are differences! -- but I can't: I just don't drink enough vodka, or find enough occasions to drink vodka, to care at all. (I do care about water, oddly enough, but I drink a lot of that!)

bonus analogies: Christiania: Acqua Panna, Tito's: Apollinaris, Ketel One: Vittel, Grey Goose: Evian