My brandy tour continues into Italy with this grappa, a spirit distilled from grape pomace left over after wine making. This particular grappa is made from Nebbiolo pomace and steam distilled, then aged 5 years in a barrel, and 20 days in a barrique.
Smells of toasted wood, dry wine, and floral botanicals. The taste is lightly sweet and medicinal, with flavors of oaked white wine, lemon, and grape juice. The finish is long and has a fairly strong burn, featuring notes of grape leaves, mint, oak, jasmine, lavender, and Mosaic hops. Overall, this a very unique spirit, mostly dry with a little acidity and a lot of woody notes from the aging as well as the grape stems. A rather intense and abrasive sipper, I’m curious to see how it mixes into cocktails…
A sidecar is smooth and balanced with an extra layer of woodiness throughout.
A Jack Rose is similar but the grenadine balances out the woody flavors a bit better in my opinion.
A “Grapple Jack” is probably the best at masking the woodiness, with just a touch of mint and grape leaves underneath the lemon and apple flavors.
The cocktail that was by far the most pleasing to my palate, is an Old Fashioned; the woody and aromatic intensity of the grappa is tempered and balanced perfectly by the bitters and sugar.