SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Elder Mother from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle from Appalachian. Stemless wine glass @home. Clear, still, orange & ruby tea. Smells of damp leaves, grape skins, wax, sharp botanicals. Earthy, softly spiced, sour table grapes, apple stems, tea, red wine vinegar. Flat, watery thin, slightly tannic, with manageable alcohol. Wildness kept in check. Surprisingly good.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Aunt Ginny from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 4
Bottle from Appalachian. Baby Duvel glass @home. Opaque, pale straw, Duvel bubbles. Smells floral, dusty, sour, sharp. No certainty of gin yet. Taste is twangy. Sour tomato & lime. Bitter apples, skin, bubblegum backside. Lingering lime pith. Sharp sour white vinegar finish. Super fruity, but is it the gin or the wild cider? This fermented hot & is all over the place. It calms down a bit as it airs out. Feel is thin, well carbonated & just a little yeast. Small props for not trying to sneak this in at 6.9% & listing it for what it is. Not my bag though. Wanted more gin & less natural fermentation juju. Meh.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Clear 375ml bottle from the defunct Tasty Beverage in downtown Asheville. Two years in the cellar, 4 months in the fridge. Duvel glass @home. Dusty piss gold with a little sediment despite the chunky bottom. A bit still, probably intentional. Smell is boozy green smoke, sharp, toffee, onion sweetness. Taste is bitter, yeasty apples, very slight twang. Watery/refreshing almost melon/agave middle, oxidation/toffee, then the boozy warmth on the finish, lingering. Still, slightly yeasty, flowy, refreshing & thin. Not parching. Seems quieter than the listed 7%. I can appreciate a gentle bend over the barrel. Not too stiff. Good.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Mini Dingo from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Single from Appalachian. Tasty Bev pint glass @home. Pale, yeasty straw gold body. Little lingering spritz, no head. Odd, perfume-y, floral honey, Orangina & plastic. End-trail of whiskey & orange warmth. Taste is sharp with bitter orange peel & beeswax. Acidic & very bitter apples, seltzer, lemon-lime, ginger, gum, medicinal whiskey, sufites. Thin, yeasty, good carb, slightly numbing booze. Flavorful, but difficult.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Gingerberry from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Old bottle from the defunct Tasty Beverage Asheville. Duvel glass @home. Two years in the basement, two months in the fridge. Batch: G2018BLC2018 Creamy, amber rosé color, intentionally still. Floral ginger, wild Sidra nose. Tannic grape skins, very yeasty. Taste is a lot like flat ginger soda with added strong blueberry skin tannins. Very tart, wild yeast played down, big apple acid but not a lot of apple flavor. White wine, grass, sour lemon, more blueberry skins. Intentionally flat, super dry, crazy acidic, indifferent booze, tannic berries keep it from hurting. Yeasties never move from the bottom. Honestly good natural flavors, but base cider is lacking, which Botanist seems to continually improving as real cider apples develop in the region. Okay.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed El Draque from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle from the boarded up Tasty Beverage in Asheville. Cellar sleep for 2yrs, fridge chill for 2 months. Mojito glass @home. Clear, slight protein haze, golden straw color. Muted apples, yeasty & with some slight menthol. Taste is much better. Acidic apples, obvious but not intense bitter lime peel, sweet lime juice, bitter core, lingering menthol & cool mint, minimal if any noticeable barrel. Intentionally flat, acidic & thin with a slightly roughed up texture, subdued alcohol. Good natural & light margarita vibes that don't flatten the apples. Tasty.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Plum Cider from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4
On tap @French Broad Brewery 6/10/2020. Plastic cup. Scrumpy-looking dusty brown on red. Sort of like fresh cider sitting on ruby red grapefruit juice. Yeasty, creamy, unidentifiable fruity nose. Half sour, very yeasty, lots of skin that *might* be plum, more yeasty bread notes. Bitter, plant finish. Poor score is probably mad worse by the plastic vessel & probably an unsettled keg. Bad to Meh.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 4.5
On tap @French Broad Brewery. 8oz pour in a short glass. Cloudy, faded yellow on gray body. Lemon, powdered sugar, melon nose. Tangy, dehydrated lemon juice sour, Sidra, powdered sugar sweetness, aspartame, bubble gum. The chalkboard made a point to assure me this was natural. Opinions differ. Dry, seltzer-ish carbonation, drank very easy. Okay.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Stone Fruit Cider from Botanist and Barrel 4 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
On tap @French Broad Brewery. Short 8oz-ish table glass. Cloudy, pale gold straw. Lemon seltzer, dry apple skin scent. Tart, lemony, bitter apple core, leafy. Predominately tart. Dry, yeasty finish. Big carbonation, meaty feel. Okay to good.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
375ml bottle from the now defunct Tasty Beverage of Asheville. Long cellar sleep, 3 month fridge settling. Rounded pint glass @home. Clear, pale cherry red on pink color. Smells of dry raspberry, watery apples, gum, celery, saltwater. Taste is bitter apples, lots of creamy yeast, dry & tart raspberry seltzer that lingers to the finish. Solidly bitter. Raspberry isn't dominate. Good, seltzer-ish carbonation, feels thin despite all the yeasties. Hidden booze. Faded fruit, but somewhat okay.