St. Julian is a winery in Michigan. They have billboards in Michigan advertising Grey Heron vodka. “Vodka made from grapes”. WAT? I thought that was brandy. I thought vodka was from grains. Well I guess you can make it out of potatoes, so why not grapes? But labels are subordinate to taste.
Anyways, they do have brady. Hey, if they have a still they might as well put some of their “vodka” in a barrel for a few years. Each bottle is hand numbered, and if memory serves me correctly costs about 35 dollars. I can’t remember if they sourced the oak someplace special like in the state of Michigan. They might.
Unfortunately I left my bottle in Michigan, so no pictures. But I did drink a fair amount. The verdict?
St. Julian has a good base for the brandy. It doesn’t have a lot of fusel oils and it won’t give you a hangover. It has a peculiar sweetness that is a bit different from other brandies. It is hard to describe, but almost an acidic or citrus sweetness. Unfortunately the best way I can sum up this brandy is “needs more time in the barrel”. The flavor is rough around the edges, a bit thin, and a rough finish. I think they have a good start, and if this were priced more reasonably – say ten to fifteen dollars a fifth – I would call it a buy. But priced around Hennessey I am going to say that, until they age it more, it is a pass. Hopefully in a few years they will have a product that is worth the price tag.
No comments:
Post a Comment