1.20 - Kalevala Small Batch Distilled Gin & Kyrö Koskue Small Batch Rye Gin

In this episode of the Spirits Blind Tasting podcast I'm doing a blind tasting of Kalevala Small Batch Distilled Gin & Kyrö Koskue Small Batch Rye Gin. If you'd like to support this podcast and get access to the behind the scenes video recordings from this episode, please join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/spiritspeople

Feel free to follow along with a dram of any of these or any other spirit you enjoy as I try to uncover the aromas and flavors of these 2 spirits. My tasting notes from this episode can be found below:

Spirit A - Kalevala Small Batch Distilled Gin (46.3% ABV)

Appearance

• Clarity: Clear
• Intensity: Waterwhite
• Color: Colorless
• Suggested texture: Medium

Nose

• Condition: Clean
• Intensity: Medium
• Aroma characteristics: Juniper, lime zest and pith, licorice root, hints of aniseed and cumin, mint
• Other notes: Has an earthiness to it, but also has a quite sharp and acidic citrus spike on that lime note. A mint leaf note appear after a while, almost like the leaf before you smack it to extract the oils. Quite a dry minty note.
• ABV: ~45%

Palate

• Sweetness: Dry
• Texture: Silky, low > medium viscosity
• Intensity: Medium
• Flavor characteristics: Earthy, herbaceous, bitter lime pith, licorice root, aniseed
• Other notes: No juniper or other sweet/fruity notes on the palate, just very earthy and quite bitter.
• Finish: Short > medium with some complexity (lime pith and licorice root)
• ABV: 40%

Conclusion

• Quality level: Very good
• Blind guess: A dry gin

Spirit B - Kyrö Koskue Small Batch Rye Gin (42.6% ABV)

Appearance

• Clarity: Clear
• Intensity: Pale
• Color: Lemon
• Suggested texture: Medium

Nose

• Condition: Clean 
• Intensity: Medium
• Aroma characteristics: Juniper, all-sorts licorice and gummy bears, star anise, sage, cloves, cardamom, black currant, beeswax
• Other notes: Very sweet up front with those all-sorts licorice shining through quite a lot. Much less Juniper forward than spirit A. A light beeswax or honey note comes up after a bit.
• ABV: ~45%

Palate

• Sweetness: Dry
• Texture: Watery, low viscosity
• Intensity: Medium
• Flavor characteristics: All-sorts licorice, sage, cloves, cardamom
• Other notes: Flavor profile is very aligned with the aroma profile, but it’s very thin in the mouth.
• Finish: Medium to long very complex (all-sorts licorice, sage, cloves) 
• ABV: ~45%

Conclusion

• Quality level: Outstanding
• Blind guess: A dry barrel aged gin

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me at any time on Instagram @spiritspeople