We started the month with an American whiskey and we finish it with an American whiskey. In rhetoric, that is called an epanadiplosis.
Noun
epanadiplosis (uncountable)
(rhetoric) A figure of speech by which an American whiskey is tasted both at the beginning and at the end of a month.
(The above may be made up)
St. George 3yo The Baller (47%, OB, Ex-Bourbon, French Wine Casks + Umeshu Finish): we had this less than a week ago. Let us give it proper time and attention. Nose: just as it did last week, this Baller punches one in the face with all things citrus! Lemon zest, lemon-scented detergent, lemon cream cleaner, lemon curd... No! Scratch that last one; it is lemon sorbet. Those who a regulars at public toilets may decide that it has lemon-scented urinal cookies. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is entirely down to personal preference. One may spot lemon cake too, yet it is merely the lemon glazing on said cake, rather than anything involving flour. This is too ethereal to promise anything solid. The more one sniffs this, the more cleaning products come out, which revolve around cream cleaner and urinal cookies. It does not take much effort to imagine the gunk dissolving under that detergent's action... or, indeed, urine. The second nose has Cologne spilled on a magazine, and a pouch of pot-pourri that contains lime leaves and dried citrus segments. It is now reminiscent of some Christmas-market stalls with their heady scented tat. Mouth: acidic, citrus-y, it develops a mineral touch that provides a certain bitterness, while carried by a fruity undercurrent. Kaffir lime leaves, lime and pomelo foliage, jellied lime zest. Someone wearing green rubber gloves is furiously cleaning one's mouth with a green-citrus-scented cleaner cream. The second sip jacks up the green acidity, which means more citrus foliage and jellied zest. We have old lime drops kept in a tin, and newly-minted coins. What a surprise that is! Finish: with an exquisitely-balanced alcohol, this presents more green citrus of several kinds (lime, Kaffir lime, pomelo, bergamot, kabosu), as well as unripe pineapple and Chinese gooseberry. It is leafy to a point, i.e. a tad bitter, but mostly fruity, or acidic and sweet. Retro-nasal olfaction catches more detergent, yet it is not soapy, here; it Is but the scent of what was cleaned, no longer the cleaning agent itself. Repeated quaffing confirms that it is fruitier and fruitier, and the green bitterness of cleaning agent dwindles away. This feels close to a limoncello (lime-on-cello) than a whiskey, but it is pleasantly refreshing. Hard to overlook the knowledge that it was made to be drunk in a highball, though. It seems to call for adding water. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)
Dryanuary ends tonight. We can finally resume our Single Malt Scotch Whisky adventures.
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