Clear Libations

Some sources translate quetsch as damson, some as prune plum. I will simply call it a wild plum: it seems to be a cultivar unique to the region.

Nose Much bigger than the others. Very jammy but not immediately plum, more prune. Tons of prune in fact. A little bright headiness, orange and lemon oils. A little almond, and later prune ice-cream. Big, but a bit monolithic. I am guessing this is the Nusbaumer.

Palate Quite a hot arrival, then immediately jammy prune, and quite a bit of florality - that stewed jasmine tea from our last session again, but it does not dominate. Not much development, but it holds on quite long. Water helps a lot, making the arrival much more measured. Still mostly on prune, without cloying, and nicely balanced by mild tannic tea and floral notes.

Comments Lacks some complexity, but delivers a lot of flavour at a fair price.

Price around €36 per 70cl.

Score^?6/10

We weren't too impressed with the rowanberry, but let's give them another shot.

Nose Quite muted, the fruit is slightly anonymous but there are definitely whiffs of plum, slightly underripe. Also a hint of straw.

Palate Better here, quiet arrival backed up by a slight sweetness with lots of (mostly) unripe plum and a touch of rubber. Not much development, but a little white pepper shows up in the finish, which is medium at best. Water doesn't help either the nose or palate.

Comments Not much to smell, but easy to sip, if very simple.

Price around €35 per 35cl.

Score^?4/10

The meaning of Kriecherl seems to vary: sometimes denoting a mirabelle, sometimes a damson. Here, Gölles explicitly state the plums are blue, and claim 13kg of fruit per litre.

Nose Again slightly quieter, and not very plummy. Pencil eraser, rubber band, plum stones, a little sea water. Water helps, adding a touch more sweetness and fruit, mostly underripe, but it remains a bit quiet. I don't love the rubbery notes here.

Palate Slightly hot at first, then some fruity green peppercorns, crunchy green plums, that sea water again, fruit stems, a distant florality, and plum vinegar. This is weirdly funky, not an easy one. With water it sweetness up a bit, a tiny dollop of compote made from underripe plums. More mixed peppercorns, all the colours. The finish is medium, with some tannic dryness.

Comments A bit weird, the nose is too quiet and it's hard to see the plum here. Still, it's original and I kinda like it.

Price around €70 per 70cl.

Score^?6-/10

This older miniature from an eBay job lot had a good cm or two of evaporation. Fougerolles has long been noted for its Kirsch, which finally acquired AOC status in 2010.

Nose Rich and ripe. Cherry drops, menthol cherry 'Tunes' lozenges, cherry gummies (sour and non-sour), cherry wood. Very round, super aromatic without attacking the nose at all. Blind, this has the same general (still?) signature as the KeT quetsch, I would bet money on the identity. I like this a lot, although it is a bit more rustic compared to the others.

Palate Punchy but a tad muted at first, perhaps reduced by strength. With water, mineralic, powdery, at first, then jammy cherry, a touch of tannic cherry skin, cherry menthol lozenges, and an old smoking jacket. Flavour-wise it's a touch hollow. Quite a nice oily finish though, holding on medium long.

Comments It falls down on the palate, but still rather good. I love that there is a shared identity between this and their plum distillate, while not sharing any "flavour" notes. Perhaps not in the best condition given the evaporation. If the quality is anything like this in today's bottlings, this is a steal.

Price unknown, but €31 per 70cl on the 2019 price list.

Score^?6/10

Gölles claim 10kg of fruit per liter. Rested 2 years in glass.

Nose Slightly more sour, brighter than [the Ferme Chassard] more on high quality cherry yoghurt with sweet and sour cherries. Actually lots of dark cherries now too, very fresh and ripe ones. More nuanced than [the Ferme Chassard], also moving in a slightly more floral cherry blossom direction, and cherry pits. Like this a lot, although it's a hair quiet.

Palate Mild arrival, suggesting a lower strength, and quiet at first before stretching out nicely on that dark cherry yoghurt, becoming sweeter at first, cherry gummies, then a touch tannic, on cherry skins. The finish is medium long, with a touch of menthol, cherry wood, and black pepper. It drinks best without water.

Comments Very well made, aromatic and tasty. Asking for just a little higher strength, 48%?

Price around €70 per 70cl.

Score^?7/10

Sour cherries (meggy) are perhaps more common in the world of pálinka, but this one is from a more typical cultivar.

Nose This one is quiet, and fairly neutral. I would struggle to say this has anything to do with cherry. Raw asian pear, almonds, lemon juice? A little alcohol nip. Perhaps cherry stones if I'm reaching. It can take a drop of water, which gives a touch more sweetness.

Palate Relatively hot, and again relatively little to do with cherry. Raw asian pear, becomes quite spicy. I don't like this unfortunately. It's a bit of a mess. A drop of water does help, and there is the faintest suggestion of cherry, with an emphasis on suggestion.

Comments This one just did not stand a chance. At best we can say the nose isn't too bad, and it can take a little water. At least it's fairly inexpensive. We have Savanya's apricot, so they have another chance!

Price around €20 per 50cl.

Score^?3/10

Not sure about the vintage, but probably the 2008 or 2009, rested for 12 or so years.

Nose This is delicious. Closer to [the Gölles] now, but with the volume turned up a bit. It feels quite dense, concentrated and pure. Full of dark, ripe cherries, compote, yoghurt, a few sour cherries too. Certainly blossom as well, and perhaps a cherry hand cream. It's just a hair spiky, but we'll see about water. It certainly takes a drop, remaining delicious, with cherry sherbet and uncooked pastry [Ed: is this a Rochelt signature?] joining. The best nose here but only just ahead of [the Gölles].

Palate Neat, again really rather concentrated. Perfumed at first (blossom), gradually unfurls on sweeter dark cherry compote. With water it unwinds a bit, again on blossom at first, then fruit, rather creamy and sweet. The finish is medium long, a touch salty, mineral, ethereal. This screams Rochelt to me. [Ed: not wrong.]

Comments I would buy the Gölles, even if this shows a touch more finesse and volume – not enough to earn a higher score.

Price around €280 per 70cl.

Score^?7/10

One of the more premium cuvées from Bologne, with a premium price tag. There are several batches of this now; this one is a blend of red and black cane, but there is also a 100% black cane version. Rested for 18 months. Check out Dunder Punk's review for another take on this, and the black cane version!

Nose Almonds, oranges, slightly high toned, a bit closed but noseable at strength. With water, mineral oil and ripe pears in the distance, a little rubber dinghy.

Palate Neat, it's clean but closed. Gets hotter with water at first, but eventually opens up. Very mineralic, salt, rubber dinghy (but nice), quiet. Sloes, and a mild perceptual sweetness (cane juice). Finish is medium, with black pepper joining.

Comments Requires a fair bit of water. Well made, elegant, but lacks some excitement; especially for the price. You have to like this more ethereal style.

Price around €70 per 70cl.

Score^?6-/10

Organic juice, still strength. This one hugely impressed the Lone Caner. I had been less impressed until this semi-blind revisit. Nothing better than a blindsiding.

Nose Pungent, briny, slightly burning rubber, slightly nutty, lime and orange wine gums. Feels rather closed, under the veil of the strength. With water, remains briny but the fruity side gains enormously: ripe pears, orange and mango juice. Lots of olives now too. Very nice!

Palate Neat, it's closed but rather palate enveloping, oily. With water, it becomes creamy, and a lovely fruit structure appears, reminding us of Neisson. There is a long development, gradually unfolding fresh orchard fruits and fruit gums, coconut flesh, walnuts, some distant blue cheese, fresh cane and peppermint. Long, elegant chewy finish that clings.

Comments A great surprise. I have tasted this briefly before but was underwhelmed, so did not suspect this was the Saint James. Recommended, but play with dilution.

Price around €50 per 70cl.

Score^?7/10

Père Labat is the make from Poisson distillery. Ed: score revised from 6 to 7- on retasting.

Nose Very distinctive, frankly easy to identify. Freshly opened tennis balls, slow cooked tomato soup, basil, brine, mixed olives, this is deeply savoury and rather funky, nice! This all remains with dilution, if losing some concentration.

Palate Big, hot at strength, but many characteristics of the nose present. With water, it's not so impressive as the nose, but still nice, rather on tennis balls, brine, and spearmint. With water, quite a long finish, remaining minty, briny, and slightly nutty with a touch of rubber.

Comments Unusual, distinctive, rather good. The 72 hour fermentation is felt, with those sauvage, clairin-esque edges.

Price around €55 per 70cl.

Score^?7-/10

According to sutotokinfo.hu, Hungarian pumpkin distillate cannot legally be called pálinka because pumpkin is not a fruit. Interesting, because it is a fruit, but I suppose we get the idea. Párlat is the term that stands in. Sziczek are a well regarded producer who also operate the House of Hungarian Pálinka shop in Budapest. I do find it curious that their brand does not appear on the front label, though it does on the back.

Nose Woah, this is some weird stuff – in a good way. Barnyard, overripe/spoiling raspberries, pet shop, bitter gourds, spaghetti squash, and yes, pumpkin (cooked, sweet). Pungent, estery and aromatic, a lot going on. Rather wild, risks being sickly and offputting but doesn't quite go there. Water brings out a little fruity bubblegum (mango?).

Palate Strong arrival, rather intense and concentrated. Goes on to present most of what's there on the nose, balancing fruit, farm and cucurbits galore, with a mild perceptual sweetness. The raspberry-driven fruity side is really unexpected but very nice. Just a tad hot, but mostly tamed by a small amount of water. Hangs on quite long too, without much development.

Comments Now this was unexpected! Hard to score. Slightly more intellectual than quaffable, but pretty damn good and absolutely recommended as something to try. Parts of this were reminding me of Vaval's clairin, strangely enough.

Price around €35 per 50cl.

Score^?7/10

A fairly small operation in the south, who also distill for home producers. Savanya bottle some of their stuff at 50%, but judge a lower proof to be more suitable for their Aranyszalagos range. The "best before" reads "unlimited time", reassuringly.

Nose Very earthy, just handfuls of dark earth. Second to that, the sweeter side of beets. Some ethanol, a little thyme.

Palate Quite hot, mineralic (vermiculite?), then settles down on straight up raw beetroot and earth. Quite a long finish, with the earth hanging on.

Comments Not bad, worth trying but not really memorable, unless you adore earthy beets.

Price around €47 per 50cl.

Score^?4/10

We'll follow the French term spiritueux to categorize distilled infusions. It seems that several producers in Alsace distill cumin infusions. Black caraway, aka nigella seeds were used here.

Nose Very aromatic: lemon zest, toasting cumin, caraway seeds, mint, anise - all jumping out of the glass, and calling to mind some dishes making heavy use of these herbs and spices.

Palate Balanced delivery, I think this strength is perfect. The spices grip nicely but there's also a sweetness, with anise and spearmint being more pronounced here. Caraway is out in force, and it becomes more herbal, on peppermint, eventually giving way to citrus oils in the finish, particularly lemon. Hangs on quite long.

Comments Couldn't drink a lot of this, but it's pretty fun; a great digestif option.

Price around €40 per 70cl.

Score^?6/10

Made from Besztercei plums. For whatever it's worth, this one has won quite a few national awards, it seems. Also available at 55% ABV.

Nose Expressive and inviting, plum jam tarts, plum ice cream. Quite floral too (jasmine), a little ethanol. Not super complex, but enough to keep interest. Responds well to water, amplifying sweetness slightly.

Palate A bit nippy at first, starting with a grippy floral, slightly tannic element, eventually giving way to slightly underripe, creamy plum, a tad spirity. Medium finish. With water, slightly more balanced and more of the sweetness from the nose. Remains spirity in the finish, preventing a higher score [ed: this really played higher proof than 40%].

Comments A good nose, less approachable on the palate but still decent. Resolves somewhat with water despite the low proof.

Price around €26 per 50cl.

Score^?6/10

Csalló have been distilling since the early 90s, but my understanding is that their own brand was launched in 2005. The bottle reads Kisüsti, indicating batch distillation in a still with a capacity less than 1,000 litres.

Nose The most muted in this line up. Would I know this is plum? Doubtful. Slightly rubbery, slightly burnt (plum?) jam, rather dark. A crack of black pepper. Not bad, but not very inviting. Water doesn't change much.

Palate Powerful delivery, quite some clout but less nippy than [the Zimek], quickly gives way to quite a strong floral-bitter side: overstewed jasmine tea. Not overpowering, but that certainly dominates. Holds on quite long with that bitter side, becoming more on underripe plum. Water helps here, unravelling the concentrated bitter side slightly, though it remains a bit hot.

Comments You have to like bitterness here! Quite unconventional and hard to score. I don't like the nose nor could I drink a lot of it, but it's interesting.

Price around €27 per 50cl.

Score^?5/10

Kirsch et Terroir is a group of ten producers in Fougerolles, selling their kirsch and other eaux-de-vie since 1970. This particular wax-topped miniature was purchased as part of a job lot on eBay. There are various reasons to believe this one was bottled several decades ago, but I can't be sure exactly when.

Nose Darker, sweeter pluminess (charred?), rather creamy and fat, a touch of burnt orange. Less classical than [the Zimek], but equally expressive. The most intriguing nose here.

Palate Very nice arrival, quite a luscious mouthfeel but also a decent grip. Much more immediately on plum now, both perfectly ripe and a rich plum ice-cream. Great balance. Holds on rather long, remaining fat but becoming drier, not much development but still rather good.

Comments This is the easiest pleasure for sure, love the texture and balance. Very well made, probably on a tiny wood-fired still. Is bottle aging playing a role here? Looking forward to trying their kirsch.

Price €29 per 70cl on the 2019 price list.

Score^?7/10