Tupelo – Reisetbauer Ingwer

Well, I came up with this drink as a kind of „Scotch Zombie“, but it did not quite make the cut into „Tropical Month“. While the drink is very good, it did not feel „tropical“ enough. Instead, it reminded me of a more powerful Penicillin Cocktail. This is why I am writing about it now and besides that I am also introducing a ginger eau de vie to you! Yes, you read right, the Reisetbauer Ingwer is not a liqueur, but instead is distilled from fermented ginger roots.

I did not even know that it is possible to get enough sugar for fermentation from ginger. Yet, Hans Reisetbauer did it. The ginger for the eau de vie comes from China and the fermentation is quite difficult. Nevertheless, the resulting mash is distilled twice on pot-stills and bottled at 41,5 % ABV. For one litre of ginger eau de vie Reisetbauer uses 35 kg of ginger roots.

Hot ginger essence

What can I say, the Reisetbauer Ingwer tastes of – ginger. However, the drinking experience is like sipping the pure essence of ginger. Besides the typical hot spicy note, the eau de vie also has some citrus notes reminding me of lemons and limes. Apart from that, you can also taste a certain spice component, tending towards red and Szechuan pepper corns. I enjoyed this exceptional eau de vie very much!

The famous peat monster

The second spirit I want to talk about today is the Compass Box Peat Monster. While it is no secret that I am a big Compass Box fan, I never actually tried their famous smoky bottling. The main part of the new bottling consists of 46,2 % Coal Ila single malt from re-fill Hogsheads. Besides that, the recipe includes 35 % Laphroaig single malt also from re-fill Hogsheads, 14,5 % Coal Ila single malt with a clean-smoke flavour profile, 3 % Coal Ila whisky with delicate smoke, 1 % Coal Ila whisky with fruity smoke and 1 % Highland malt blend from custom French oak casks with a heavy toast. On top of that, the new Peat Monster bottling supposedly also includes older and more delicate Islay whiskies.

Peat smoke and salt

Yes, the peat smoke of the Peat Monster is the first thing that hits your palate. The intense smoke notes tend towards Iodine and ham instead of the dryer bonfire smoke direction. Apart from taht, you also can taste some briny and saline notes. Beneath it all lies a certain fruitiness reminding me of gooseberries and you can also find some pink peppercorn notes.

Zombie or Penicillin cocktail?

When coming up with the recipe for the „Tupelo“ I took inspiration from the „Gin Zombie“ the Winchester. So, I also combined three different Scotch whiskies. Yet, I only chose Compass Box whiskies, the Transistor and the Spice Tree to be exact. Just a quarter of an ounce of the Reisetbauer Ingwer seemed enough for the drink. Besides that, I added Peychaud’s Bitters, because they work exceptionally well with Scotch and Tiki Bitters. All in all, the combination of lemon and lime juice forms a complex sweet and sour base with the Palm’s Sugar Syrup.

Intense ginger and scotch notes

Reading the list of ingredients, the resemblance of the „Tupelo“ with a Penicillin Cockail actually does not come as a big surprise. Besides multiplex blended Scotch notes, the Reisetbauer eau de vie shines through beautifully. It is powerful enough to keep the other ingredients at bay. In the end, I also noticed a difference between the cocktail and a Penicillin: The sweetness tends more towards molasses than towards honey notes.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The eau de vie was provided by Reisetbauer.