Unnumbered review: wine gums

it's been a bad week

So, I have a cold, and although I still have my sense of smell, I think, I really don't feel like drinking whisky. (I do, but I also don't.) So here's something I've been wondering about: what are wine gums. They're mentioned here and here and here, for example, but I don't think I quite get the concept. I'm not sure that it makes sense to open a bag of candy in the aftermath of Halloween, but here goes ...

they're weird-tasting gummi bears that aren't bear-shaped. They're maybe a little firmer than gummi bears, so maybe a little closer to movie-theater candy. But they're the basic corn syrup/gelatin/wax composite that we all love.

the red ones seem to have the word "claret" printed on them. and also the yellow ones and the green ones and the orange ones. ok, so the words don't correlate with color. some of them have "sherry" and "port" and "champagne" and "burgundy" printed on them, too. the rest have brand insignia.

the red ones seem to have a very faint berry/cherry flavor, regardless of what's printed on them. the yellow ones are lemony, the green ones have I guess a lime flavor, the black ones have a weird grapey flavor, and the orange ones are orangey. I like the black ones best. It must be a weird historical accident that they name their gummi bears using English names for French wines. (clearly God wanted gummi candies to be bear- or worm-shaped.)

this has been a pretty uninspiring tasting, but I can see why one would use it as a tasting note: it's a kind of direct fruitiness that isn't fruit, along with some waxiness. there's also a bite to these: I notice that the ingredients list "vegetable extracts (black carrot, spinach, stinging nettle, turmeric)" and I can feel it a bit.

well, that's that. maybe next time it'll be salmiak or speculoos or gentian eau de vie.

Unnumbered review?: some honeys

wild honey try


A while back I noticed the appearance of "acacia honey" in tasting notes (for example, here and here and here.) Of course, I was immediately stricken by panic and fear: I have no idea what acacia honey tastes like -- maybe I've been tasting it all the time without even knowing it, or maybe -- even worse -- I haven't been tasting it at all, just emptiness where there should have been flavor, for lack of recognition. And then, of course, I was also confused, since I associate acacia trees with koa wood and things that giraffes eat, neither of which seemed appealing in whisky.

The last part I figured out, sort of: "acacia" is apparently used to mean locust, which makes a little more sense as a kind of honey. As for what it tastes like, I'll have to try. It was hard to find, but now I'm set. I'll try it along with a couple other kinds because it's honey and what the fuck they all taste alike.


Honey#1: store brand Clover Honey

Darkest of the bunch. (I'll put a picture below.) It's, um, sweet. Like honey. It does have a strong, direct flavor, almost demerara-like, and maybe some nettles, and it finishes with a bright apple note.

here's a picture, to show color:

Honey #2: "Pure Honey" (Spring)

This is from a lady at the Farmers' Market. Come to think of it, she was sort of near the Farmers' Market rather than at the Farmers' Market. You could see the farm stalls from her folding table, anyway. She said that this one was from a springtime batch. It's the one on the left.

This one is really fragrant -- like jonquils and damask roses. (The clover honey had almost no aroma at all.) Hyacinths, too. Very rich, spicy floral nose. Tastes like it smells but more so, with a much silkier mouthfeel than the clover honey. Slightly citric finish, but mostly it's like swallowing a very soft, sweet bouquet of spring flowers.

Honey #3: Breitsamer Acacia Blossom Honey

This is the one on the right. Hey, look it has a bottling code, just like whisky: L1741241. It says "mild" on the label, but I think that's just a descriptor rather than a separate category of acacia honey. (It also says "pure natural mild").

Faint floral nose, with just a tiny spicy-musky-lemony scent. A very tiny version of locust blossoms, I guess. Has a much cleaner, brighter taste than the other two -- it's like a archetype of honey, just pure honeyness, without much else going on. It such a blank slate you can almost taste the beeswax. But it abruptly becomes a little dull and cloying on the finish. 

Bonus honey: squeezy bear Orange Blossom Honey

I found one more, so I guess I'll try this one, too. I have to say, the squeeze bottles make tasting a hell of a lot easier, so I think I can handle this without the keyboard getting too sticky.

Faint but distinct floral note. I guess that must be orange blossom. (The closest I have around here is philadelphus and a potted grapefruit tree.) Noticeably more unctuous texture than the others, although that might be storage conditions -- but it really is thicker on the spoon and on the palate. Spicy-orangey flavor. 

I found #2 completely amazing, although I'm not sure how I could use it to take advantage of its flavors. #1 and #4 were intense but a little rough and single-minded (like foxy American grapes, if that means anything to anyone). #3 had a nice straightforward flavor -- it wasn't very floral compared to #2, and I don't think it's going to help with whisky tasting. (Based on this one example, I think what everyone's been calling "acacia honey" is what I meant by "honey".) All good stuff, though, even the stuff in the squeezy bottles from the supermarket.