Pale gold. The nose is an appealing mélange of pineapple, pears and tangerine. Full-bodied and rich, featuring ripe pear flavours and lemony acidity. Complex, with a nutty bitterness on the finish. Handy to keep in the fridge; will competently pair with a wide variety of foods.
Intriguing floral, fruity and herbal aromas. Flavours of damson plum, Rainier cherry and spicy sassafras delight the palate, along with lingering meaty notes. Quite robust for a ruby pink–coloured quaff. Delicious with sandwiches ranging from sliders to porchetta Panini.
After decanting, is a clear, medium-deep maroon. Mature, healthy nose of fruits stewed in brandy, sweet black liquorice and a hint of varnish. Surprisingly light-bodied and light-flavoured, tastes of blueberry and cherry and even overripe peaches. Mature now, but good acidity will keep it fresh-tasting while it plateaus for a few more years.
Maraschino cherries and wood-soaked spirit — together with an array of spices and clove in the foreground — open the way for sweet red fruit, plenty of spice and milk chocolate against a background of drying tannins. Finishes with a welcome touch of fiery warming alcohol.
This fruity Canadian corn whisky aims to please the bourbon-drinking masses. Toffee, dark fruit and rock candy on the nose with a wine-tinged wood character that reveals itself in background whiffs of marzipan and cinnamon bark. Sweet and lengthy on the palate with a mulled fruitiness that points to time spent finishing in vintage port pipes after 10 years in first-fill white American oak.
This is a pretty, red-fruit scented Franc — raspberry and cherry — as well as tobacco leaf, turned earth, leather and violets. Medium body with beautiful freshness, which makes for a perfect pairing with red-sauce dishes and grilled vegetables. Reminiscent of a Saumur-Champigny!
Pale ruby. Inviting nose of red fruits, spices, fine oak notes. Firm on the palate but the tannins are finely grained and the fruit is generous. Compact, firm finish. Will improve another 3 to 4 years.