Ararat 3yo (40.0%): Today we have the legendary brandy from Armenia on my desk which is named after the holy mountain of Ararat... It is a double distilled spirit distilled from local grape varieties. Yerevan Brandy Company started the brand all the way back in 1887 but didn't get a steady worldwide distribution till its acquisition by Pernod Ricard in 1998. Today the distillery has a line-up of seven different expressions and this one is the youngest and cheapest in the range being only three years old. They say after being served Ararat Dvin, one of the older expressions of the seven, at Yalta Conference Winston Churchill loved it so much, Stalin started to send him a case every year till his death in 1953.
Color: Medium amber with slow legs. Quite dark for a three year old brandy... Medium amber.
Nose: Young... Cheap construction lumber, saw dust and vintage buckskin jacket. Shoe polish and new make spirit. Let's wait a couple of minutes. Totally worth it, much better now... Burnt sugar, ginger snaps and Ferrero Rocher singles. Caffé mocha, ground nutmeg and ground cloves. Very sweet...
Palate: Pretty thin mouthfeel and young alcohol burn... Cinnamon, powdered ginger and sweet chocolate chips. Burnt sugar again, quite a lot... It gets even sweeter somehow, almost like a cheap rum now. Molasses, candied orange peel and caramel bonbons. Not my cup of tea.
Finish: Medium long with mostly sugar burn. Artificial sweetener, cinnamon and honey...
Overall: This is a quite sweet brandy, definitely too sweet for my palate... I really don't remember this amount of sweetness from my earlier experiences with Ararat but it was ages ago. On the other hand that sweetness probably is helpful to cover the harshness of the young alcohol which was pretty dominant from nose to finish already. Well, the brandy is only three years old to start with... I know that the price tag is very attractive but I don't think that it is worth to purchase a bottle. At least not this one. I definitely would like to try the other expressions of the line-up though...
Color: Medium amber with slow legs. Quite dark for a three year old brandy... Medium amber.
Nose: Young... Cheap construction lumber, saw dust and vintage buckskin jacket. Shoe polish and new make spirit. Let's wait a couple of minutes. Totally worth it, much better now... Burnt sugar, ginger snaps and Ferrero Rocher singles. Caffé mocha, ground nutmeg and ground cloves. Very sweet...
Palate: Pretty thin mouthfeel and young alcohol burn... Cinnamon, powdered ginger and sweet chocolate chips. Burnt sugar again, quite a lot... It gets even sweeter somehow, almost like a cheap rum now. Molasses, candied orange peel and caramel bonbons. Not my cup of tea.
Finish: Medium long with mostly sugar burn. Artificial sweetener, cinnamon and honey...
Overall: This is a quite sweet brandy, definitely too sweet for my palate... I really don't remember this amount of sweetness from my earlier experiences with Ararat but it was ages ago. On the other hand that sweetness probably is helpful to cover the harshness of the young alcohol which was pretty dominant from nose to finish already. Well, the brandy is only three years old to start with... I know that the price tag is very attractive but I don't think that it is worth to purchase a bottle. At least not this one. I definitely would like to try the other expressions of the line-up though...
Price: $23
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