Day 19: Grappa Wine from Poli Distillery

Grappa is one of those after meal drinks from my investment banking days which I never would have because unlike the partners, I always had to go back to work after meals. But I decided to give it a try the other night to see what all the fuss is about.

Certainly this is an acquired taste, but I can see how it can be immensely refreshing after a large meal, the same way peppermint tea helps you digest your food.

I found the odour familiar, like pine wood - somewhat reminiscent of the times when my parents were building the cottage. The colour was brownish-yellow.

The taste was stronger than I expected, the texture disguising itself as syrupy, and it hit me with a vengeance, but when I finally came to and my mouth was conditioned to the flavour, I came to taste the peppermint and cinnamon, and and aftertaste like a very light cognac. Again, a bit of an acquired taste.

A little background on grappa from wikipedia:

Grappa is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant grape-based pomace brandy that contains 35%–60% alcohol of Italian origin

Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the pomace) left over from winemaking after pressing the grapes. It was originally made to prevent waste by using these leftovers. A similar drink, known as acquavite d'uva, is made by distilling whole must.

In Italy, grappa is primarily served as a "digestivo" or after-dinner drink. Its main purpose was to aid in the digestion of heavy meals. Grappa may also be added to espresso coffee to create a caffè corretto meaning corrected coffee. Another variation of this is the "ammazzacaffè" (literally, "coffee-killer"): the espresso is drunk first, followed by a few ounces of grappa served in its own glass. In the Veneto, there is resentin: after finishing a cup of espresso with sugar, a few drops of grappa are poured into the nearly empty cup, swirled and drunk down in one sip.

On Poli Distillery:

Founded in 1898, this distillery solely owned by the Poli family, founded in 1898 in Schiavon, near Bassano del Grappa, in the hearth of Veneto, the most typical region for Grappa production. They are one of the largest exporters of Grappa, and in fact run the grappa museum in Veneto

Day 9: VSOP Brandy from St. Remy

VSOP (Very Special Old Pale) is a grade of brandy or cognac - somewhere between VS (Very Special) and XO (Extra Old). VSOP means that it's been stored in a cask for at least 4 years, although the wood of the cask could be more.

This particular bottle I picked up on the impulse counter at the LCBO right by the checkout. It was in the $8-$9 range, but I figured that with the VSOP label on it, it would have a standardized quality.

The smell is slightly offensive , with the overtones of petroleum. The initial taste is sweet, slightly toffee-like, the fumes of the brandy rising up your nose. But the flavour is not altogether awful, in fact, as your mouth opens up to the flavour, the grapeiness starts to come through and starts to become enjoyable as the alcohol numbs your tastebuds. A decent brandy for its price point

From wikipedia:

"Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn—"burnt wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, while some are simply coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of such aging (and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring)."