The Cinder and the Dew

Issue No. 123 — July 27, 2026

Your daily discovery of 8 exceptional wines and spirits

In This Issue

Bourbon Scotch Whisky Irish Whiskey Tequila Gin Rum Red Wine White Wine

Classification: Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Martinique Rum, Madeira, and Apricot Brandy Barrels

Brand: Barrell Craft Spirits

Distillery: Barrell Craft Spirits (sourced, blended in Louisville, KY)

Proof: 130.82 (65.41% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Rich amber with copper-gold highlights

MSRP: $80–$90

Mash Bill: Undisclosed (high corn with rye)

Barrel Type: New charred American oak, finished in Martinique rum, Madeira, and apricot brandy barrels

Nose: Opens with an unusual marriage of tropical fruit and charred oak, layered with butterscotch and dried apricot. Beneath the initial sweetness, toasted coconut and a whisper of rye spice emerge. Give it time and the florals surface — faint carnation, almost perfumed.

Palate: Full-bodied and complex, with immediate caramel richness that gives way to baking spice and rye grain. The rum barrel influence delivers a tropical undertone — almost buttery mango — while the Madeira contributes dried fruit depth. The apricot brandy finish adds an unexpected tangy sweetness that prevents the proof from becoming monolithic.

Finish: Long and layered, with charred oak, lingering butterscotch, and a final note of toasted almond that carries the dram to a graceful close.

Bourbon Kit Aromas: Butterscotch, Charred Oak, Rye, Nut (Almond/Coconut), Floral (Carnation)

The Verdict: Barrell's Seagrass is a master class in multi-cask finishing done with restraint. The three cask influences don't compete — they collaborate, each contributing a distinct frequency to the final chord. At cask strength, it rewards patient sipping and a splash of water.

Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Brand: Talisker

Distillery: Talisker Distillery

Proof: 95.6 (47.8% ABV)

Age: 30 Year

Color: Deep burnished gold with amber edges

MSRP: $800–$1,000

Region: Islands (Isle of Skye)

Mash Bill: 100% malted barley

Distillation: Double distilled in copper pot stills with worm tub condensers

Maturation: 30 years in refill American oak and European oak casks

Cask Type: Refill American oak and European oak

Peat Level (PPM): 18-22 PPM

Chill-Filtered: Non-chill filtered

Nose: Rich maritime smoke rolls in first, followed by dried stone fruit and dark honey. A campfire-on-the-beach quality emerges — sea salt and charred wood — with gentle waves of vanilla and floral rosewater behind the peat.

Palate: Astonishingly balanced for its age. The signature Talisker peppery smoke is present but tempered by three decades of maturation into something more like smoldering embers than open flame. Dark caramel and dried fig coat the palate, while a distinctly woody, oaky core provides structure. Hints of cocoa develop mid-palate.

Finish: Extraordinarily long and evolving, with peaty warmth that fades to coastal minerality, then a final note of clove spice and dried peach.

Whisky Kit Aromas: Smoky, Peaty, Honey, Dried Fruit, Cocoa (Dark), Clove Spice

The Verdict: This is Talisker at its most contemplative. Thirty years on Skye has softened the distillery's volcanic character into something almost meditative, but the maritime soul remains. It's the cinder and the dew made literal — smoke meeting sea mist across decades of patient aging.

Classification: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Brand: Midleton

Distillery: Midleton Distillery

Proof: 114.2 (57.1% ABV)

Age: NAS (estimated 15-22 years)

Color: Deep polished gold with reddish-copper tones

MSRP: $280 – $300

Mash Bill: Malted and unmalted barley (single pot still)

Distillation: Triple distilled in copper pot stills

Maturation: Aged in ex-bourbon barrels, finished in virgin Irish oak from Bluebell Forest

Chill-Filtered: Non-chill filtered

Nose: Lush orchard fruit and raw honeycomb open the glass, followed by toasted hazelnut and gentle vanilla. The native Irish oak contributes something entirely unique — a spicy, almost eucalyptus-like woody character that standard bourbon barrels never achieve. Faint rosewater adds elegance.

Palate: Viscous and commanding at cask strength. The pot still spice is front and center — clove, white pepper, baking spice — wrapped in rich butterscotch and dried fruit. The virgin Irish oak imparts a tannic, woody grip that gives the whiskey remarkable structure, while the underlying creaminess of the Midleton distillate keeps everything in check.

Finish: Long and drying with persistent clove spice, toasted wood, and a lingering honey sweetness that refuses to fade.

Whiskey Kit Aromas: Honey, Clove Spice, Woody, Nut (Hazelnut), Dried Fruit

The Verdict: The Dair Ghaelach series represents Midleton's most ambitious exploration of terroir in Irish whiskey. The Bluebell Forest edition demonstrates how native Irish oak — sessile oak harvested from a single estate — can completely reshape a mature pot still whiskey. This is Irish whiskey pushing its own boundaries.

Classification: Blanco (Silver)

Brand: Fuenteseca

Distillery: Distillery La Tequileña

Proof: 92 proof (46% ABV)

Age: NAS (Unaged, single-vintage 2016)

Color: Water clear

MSRP: $130 - $150

Agave: 100% Blue Weber Agave (Agave tequilana), estate-grown in the highlands of Los Altos

Cooking Method: Slow-cooked in autoclaves, roller mill extraction, open-air fermentation with proprietary yeast, double-distilled in stainless steel pot stills with copper coils. Bottled unaged from the 2016 harvest at 46% ABV.

NOM: NOM 1146

Additives Free: Yes

Nose: Bright cooked agave leads, layered with lime zest, green apple skin, and a whisper of white pepper. Underneath sits a wet-stone minerality and faint olive brine — the counterpoint that gives the spirit its tension.

Palate: Silky and full-bodied on entry, opening to sweet roasted agave fiber, crushed pineapple, and cracked black pepper. Mid-palate turns savory with green herbs, chalky earth, and a saline lift that balances the ripe fruit sweetness.

Finish: Long and layered — warm cinnamon and citrus pith fade into a mineral, almost briny echo. The heat is gentle despite the elevated proof.

Tequila Kit Aromas: Agave (Cooked), Citrus (Lemon, Lime, Orange, Grapefruit), Pepper, Earth (Mineral, Soil Notes), Fruit (Apple, Pear, Pineapple, Mango), Herbal (Mint, Thyme, Eucalyptus)

The Verdict: A vintage-dated blanco that captures a single moment in the agave's life — proof that unaged tequila can carry as much complexity and contradiction as any extra añejo.

Classification: Dry Gin

Brand: Hernö

Distillery: Hernö Gin Distillery

Proof: 86.6 (43.3% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Crystal clear

MSRP: $80 - $90

Style: Dry Gin (Nordic)

Botanicals: Juniper, meadowsweet, cassia bark, coriander, orris root, lavender, lingonberry, lemon peel

Base Spirit: Organic wheat spirit

Distillation: Pot distilled in a custom 250-liter copper still; individual botanical distillation and blending

Nose: Juniper leads — piney, resinous, deeply green — followed by a wave of meadowsweet and lingonberry. Fresh coriander seed and a gentle lavender note provide complexity without masking the herbal Nordic backbone. A faint whisper of lemon oil appears beneath.

Palate: Beautifully structured, with waxy juniper upfront and an almost creamy mouthfeel. Cassia bark warmth develops mid-palate alongside orris root earthiness, while the meadowsweet keeps the profile lifted and fresh. The balance between the herbal and the spiced is remarkably precise.

Finish: Medium-long with lingering juniper, a touch of white pepper, and a clean meadow-like herbaceousness.

Gin Kit Aromas: Juniper (Pine), Juniper (Herbaceous/Waxy), Meadowsweet, Lavender, Coriander

The Verdict: Hernö has built its reputation on textbook juniper-forward gins, and this terroir-focused edition is no exception. The Swedish botanicals give it a distinctly Nordic character — clean, herbal, and slightly wild — while the distillation technique ensures every ingredient reads clearly on the palate. A gin for gin lovers.

Classification: Single Still Aged Demerara Rum

Brand: El Dorado

Distillery: Diamond Distillery (Demerara Distillers Ltd.)

Proof: 80 proof (40% ABV)

Age: Distilled 2009, bottled 2020 (approx. 11 Years Old)

Color: Deep amber with copper highlights

MSRP: $110 - $120

Base Ingredients: Molasses from Demerara sugarcane

Distillation: Double wooden pot still (the historic Port Mourant still), aged tropically in ex-bourbon casks in Guyana

Nose: Immediate hit of pencil shavings, licorice root, and dark molasses, giving way to overripe banana, damp earth, and a whiff of anise. There's a savory, almost briny undercurrent alongside sweet toffee and dried fig.

Palate: Oily and full-bodied, the palate opens with concentrated muscovado sugar and burnt caramel before pivoting to bitter cocoa, black tea, and camphor. Mid-palate reveals prune, black cherry, and that unmistakable Port Mourant wooden pot-still funk — resinous, herbaceous, and layered.

Finish: Long and drying, with lingering espresso, tobacco leaf, and a faint medicinal note of eucalyptus. The sweetness recedes to leave charred oak and licorice.

Rum Kit Aromas: Molasses, Muscovado, Dried Fruit, Tobacco, Oak, Coffee

The Verdict: A profound showcase of the last operating wooden double pot still on Earth. Its opposing forces — sweet tropical fruit against dry, resinous funk — resolve into something singular and haunting. Essential drinking for anyone serious about heritage rum.

Classification: DOQ Priorat

Brand: Clos Erasmus

ABV: 15.0%

Primary Varietal: Garnacha (Grenache)

Blend: Garnacha, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon

Vineyards: Clos Erasmus estate vineyard, Gratallops, llicorella slate soils

Maturation: Hand-harvested, destemmed, fermented in small stainless steel and concrete vats with native yeasts, gentle extraction

Color: Inky, opaque ruby-violet with dark purple core

MSRP: $200–$250

Nose: An explosion of crushed blackcurrant and violet, layered with smoked herbs and graphite. Beneath the dark fruit, subtle cedar and a toasted quality suggest the oak aging, while a green garrigue — rosemary, thyme — adds a distinctly Mediterranean dimension.

Palate: Dense and concentrated but never heavy. The tannins are polished and fine-grained, carrying intense blackcurrant and cherry across the palate. Toasted oak provides structure without dominance. A mineral, almost slate-like quality emerges mid-palate — this is the llicorella speaking — and the finish builds toward an herbal, mintlike freshness that lifts everything.

Finish: Extremely long with persistent blackcurrant, cedar, and a lingering violet perfume that resolves into quiet minerality.

Wine Kit Aromas: Blackcurrant, Violet, Cedar, Toasted, Mint, Cherry

The Verdict: Daphne Glorian's Clos Erasmus remains one of Priorat's most profound wines. The 2019 vintage captures the tension between the region's extreme heat and the llicorella slate soils that force the old Grenache and Syrah vines to dig deep. It's a wine of fire and stone — powerful but breathtakingly precise.

Classification: Vino / Skin-Contact White Wine

Brand: Movia

Distillery: Movia (Kmetija Movia)

ABV: 13%

Primary Varietal: Ribolla Gialla

Blend: 100% Ribolla Gialla

Vineyards: Estate vineyards in Ceglo, Brda, on marl and sandstone (ponca) soils at the Slovenia-Italy frontier

Vinification: Whole-cluster fermentation on skins in open vats with native yeasts; extended maceration for approximately eight months; unfined, unfiltered, no added sulfur; decanted according to the lunar calendar

Color: Deep amber-gold with copper reflections

MSRP: $55 USD

Nose: Dried apricot, bruised apple skin, chamomile, beeswax, and a whisper of walnut oil, with citrus peel emerging as it opens.

Palate: Textured and grippy with tannic pull unusual for a white — layers of quince paste, orange marmalade, hazelnut, and salted honeycomb over a core of bright lemon pith.

Finish: Long, savory, and mineral with lingering dried herbs, tea leaf, and a saline echo.

Wine Kit Aromas: Honey, Apple (Green), Citrus (Generic), Nut (Almond/Coconut), Floral (Rose)

The Verdict: A masterclass in controlled wildness: ancient technique yielding a wine that is simultaneously primal and polished — the definition of opposites in harmony.

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Robert R. Mohr, CPA, CGMA, WSET Level 3, WSG Certified Spirits Specialist — author of America's Spirit, Scotland's Spirit, Ireland's Spirit, The Ultimate Northern Italian Wine Journey, The Tequila y Mezcal Revolution, The Definitive Pocket Guide to Chablis, The Definitive Pocket Guide to the Côte d'Or, and Strategic Tuning. Published author of the Aroma Academy Tequila/Mezcal and Distiller's training kits.

The Still & The Vine is a daily publication of the School of Wine and Spirits.

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