Issue 141: The Hollow Between Notes - Flavor's Negative Space

Issue No. 141 — August 14, 2026

Your daily discovery of 8 exceptional wines and spirits

In This Issue

Bourbon Scotch Whisky Irish Whiskey Tequila Gin Rum Red Wine White Wine

Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Brand: Peerless

Distillery: Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company

Proof: 109.3 (54.65% ABV)

Age: 4-Year

Color: Rich amber with copper edges

MSRP: $70–$90

Mash Bill: 79% Corn, 11% Rye, 10% Malted Barley

Barrel Type: New charred oak

Nose: Butterscotch and toasted corn open first, followed by a wave of dried orange peel and ground cinnamon. There's a thread of fresh leather and charred barrel stave that emerges with time in the glass.

Palate: Full-bodied and coating, with dark caramel and oak tannins building through the mid-palate. Red apple sweetness arrives alongside rye spice, balanced by a dry, earthy undertone that keeps the sweetness from cloying.

Finish: Long and warming, with charred oak fading into butterscotch and a final whisper of vanilla. The heat is proportional, never aggressive.

Bourbon Kit Aromas: Butterscotch, Charred Oak, Apple (Red), Leather, Caramel

The Verdict: Kentucky Peerless represents what happens when a young distillery takes no shortcuts — sweet mash, no chill filtration, barrel proof. The result is a bourbon that's simultaneously bold and disciplined, with enough negative space between its flavors for each to land clearly.

Classification: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Brand: Glenfarclas

Distillery: Glenfarclas Distillery

Proof: 86 (43% ABV)

Age: 21 Year

Color: Deep burnished gold with mahogany edges

MSRP: $120–$150

Region: Speyside

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley

Distillation: Copper pot stills, direct-fired

Maturation: Oloroso sherry casks, minimum 21 years

Cask Type: Oloroso Sherry Butts

Peat Level (PPM): Unpeated

Chill-Filtered: Yes

Nose: Rich dried fruit — fig and date — opens alongside dark chocolate and a hint of old leather. Beneath that, there's a floral sweetness like rosewater and a thread of clove spice that deepens with air.

Palate: Sherry influence dominates without overwhelming, delivering waves of caramel, hazelnut praline, and orange marmalade. The malt backbone provides structure, while an earthy note keeps the sweetness grounded and serious.

Finish: Exceptionally long, with cocoa, dried fruit, and a lingering warmth of clove and woody spice. It fades slowly, like an ember cooling.

Whisky Kit Aromas: Dried Fruit, Cocoa (Dark), Clove Spice, Nut (Hazelnut), Caramel, Orange

The Verdict: Glenfarclas remains family-owned and stubbornly traditional, and this 21 Year is the quiet proof of that patience. It's a Speyside that refuses to shout — the sherry influence is deep but never cloying, and the space between its fruit and its structure is where the whisky truly communicates its age.

Classification: Blended Irish Whiskey

Brand: Dunville's

Distillery: The Echlinville Distillery

Proof: 86 proof (43.5% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Polished amber with faint copper glints

MSRP: $45 USD

Mash Bill: Blend of malted barley (single malt) and column-distilled grain whiskey

Distillation: Pot Still

Maturation: Aged in ex-bourbon barrels then finished in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks

Chill-Filtered: Non-chill filtered

Nose: Restrained at first — dry oloroso wafts of walnut skin and raisin, then soft toffee, orange peel, and a whisper of almond paste emerging from open space rather than shouting.

Palate: Silky and understated: honeyed malt, dried fig, a light dusting of cocoa and clove, with grain-driven brightness threading through the sherry sweetness. There's remarkable clarity between the notes — flavor arranged like well-spaced furniture.

Finish: Medium-length, gently drying, with lingering hazelnut, orange oil, and a faint whisper of tobacco leaf that fades cleanly rather than clinging.

Whiskey Kit Aromas: Dried Fruit, Nut (Hazelnut), Orange, Honey, Almond, Clove Spice

The Verdict: A masterclass in editorial restraint — a sherried blend that trusts silence between flavors, proving that Irish whiskey's elegance often lives in what's left unsaid.

Classification: Extra Añejo Tequila

Brand: Lote Maestro

Distillery: Destiladora del Valle de Tequila

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Age: 3-Year

Color: Deep amber with burnt orange highlights

MSRP: $100 – $130

Agave: 100% Blue Weber Agave

Cooking Method: Autoclave cooked, roller mill extracted

NOM: 1438

Additives Free: Yes

Nose: Cooked agave and toasted oak frame the entry, with caramel and butterscotch developing alongside a subtle leather note. Dark chocolate lingers in the background with hints of vanilla and dried tobacco.

Palate: The cooked agave remains the anchor, supported by waves of caramel, cinnamon, and roasted almond. Oak influence is present but measured, adding structure without overwhelming the agave's natural sweetness. A faint coffee note emerges mid-palate.

Finish: Long and warming, with tobacco, vanilla, and a final echo of dark chocolate. The agave never fully recedes.

Tequila Kit Aromas: Agave (Cooked), Caramel, Oak, Tobacco, Chocolate (Dark Chocolate, Cocoa)

The Verdict: Lote Maestro's Extra Añejo demonstrates the tightrope walk of extended aging — three years in oak could easily swallow the agave, but here the spirit and the wood are in conversation, not combat. The hollow between the sweetness and the oak tannin is where this tequila finds its poise.

Classification: Distilled Dry Gin

Brand: Capreolus

Distillery: Capreolus Distillery

Proof: 96 (48% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Crystal clear

MSRP: $55–$70

Style: Dry Gin

Botanicals: Juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, orris root, lemon peel, violet root, rose petals, black pepper

Base Spirit: Neutral grain spirit

Distillation: Small-batch pot distillation on Holstein copper stills

Nose: Bright juniper leads, but immediately cedes ground to a perfumed violet and rose petal character. Coriander seed and angelica root provide herbal depth, while a subtle lemon zest note adds lift.

Palate: Silky texture with juniper resin giving way to a floral core of violet and rose. The mid-palate reveals an orris root earthiness and a gentle peppery warmth. Lemon and angelica keep the profile savory and grounded.

Finish: Medium, with lingering floral notes, a dry juniper fade, and a final peppery kick.

Gin Kit Aromas: Juniper (Woody/Resinous), Violet, Floral (Rose), Coriander, Lemon, Peppery

The Verdict: Barrie Lancaster's eau de vie background shows in every sip — this is a gin that understands distillation as an act of capture, not construction. The space between the floral top notes and the woody juniper base is wide and elegant, each element articulated with rare clarity.

Classification: Aged Cuban Rum

Brand: Havana Club

Distillery: Havana Club (San José de las Lajas)

Proof: 90 proof (45% ABV)

Age: NAS (blend of aged rums, majority 14+ years)

Color: Deep amber with copper reflections

MSRP: $65 USD

Base Ingredients: Cuban sugarcane molasses

Distillation: Column-distilled aguardiente, aged in ex-bourbon American white oak barrels, then re-blended and finished for additional aging under the Cuban solera-influenced maestro tradition; bottled at cask strength (45% ABV) without chill filtration.

Nose: Restrained and dry at first — polished oak, toasted almond, and a whisper of vanilla open into subtle notes of dark honey, sweet tobacco leaf, and dried apricot. Air time coaxes out cocoa nib and cedar.

Palate: Medium-bodied and remarkably composed. Toffee, roasted coffee bean, and light molasses share space with dried orange peel, cinnamon bark, and a savory undertow of leather. The higher proof lends structure without heat, and the classic Cuban lightness creates room between flavors rather than piling them on.

Finish: Long, dry, and gently drying — oak tannins, bitter cocoa, tobacco ash, and a lingering trace of candied citrus. Elegant fade rather than a crescendo.

Rum Kit Aromas: Oak, Tobacco, Toffee, Dried Fruit, Coffee, Leather

The Verdict: A masterclass in editorial restraint. Where many premium rums crowd the glass with sweetness, Selección de Maestros trusts the silences — the negative space between notes is where its sophistication lives. Essential for drinkers who mistake Cuban rum for merely 'light.'

Classification: AOC Arbois

Brand: Domaine de la Tournelle

Distillery: Domaine de la Tournelle

ABV: 11%

Primary Varietal: Poulsard

Blend: 100% Poulsard (locally called Ploussard)

Vineyards: Estate parcels around Arbois on marl and limestone soils, farmed organically since inception, biodynamic in practice.

Maturation: Whole-cluster, semi-carbonic fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and old wood; no fining, no filtration, minimal to zero sulfur at bottling.

Color: Pale translucent ruby, almost rosé-like at the rim

MSRP: $32

Nose: Wild strawberry, cranberry skin, dried rose petal, a whisper of forest floor and crushed stone, with a saline lift.

Palate: Weightless yet insistent — tart red currant, pomegranate, sour cherry pit, and a chalky, almost bitter herbal edge. Ethereal acidity carries the fruit across the palate without ever settling into weight.

Finish: Dry, mineral, and quietly persistent — leaves the impression of what isn't there: no oak, no extraction, no cosmetic fruit. Just tension and air.

Wine Kit Aromas: Berry (Generic), Cherry, Floral (Rose), Citrus (Generic), Woody

The Verdict: A masterclass in restraint. Poulsard at its most transparent — a red wine that whispers rather than declares, defined as much by what's absent as by what remains.

Classification: Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC Sec

Brand: Domaine François Chidaine

ABV: 13.5%

Primary Varietal: Chenin Blanc

Blend: 100% Chenin Blanc

Vineyards: Les Tuffeaux, tuffeau limestone soils, Montlouis-sur-Loire

Vinification: Whole-cluster pressing, wild yeast fermentation, no malolactic, minimal SO2

Color: Pale gold with silver-green reflections

MSRP: $22–$30

Nose: White flowers and green apple are immediate, joined by a chalky minerality that defines the tuffeau terroir. Honeyed notes sit in the background, restrained and clean, with a faint hint of citrus zest.

Palate: Precise and taut, with green apple and citrus acidity driving the palate. A subtle honey sweetness rounds the mid-palate without any residual sugar feel. The mineral tension — almost like wet stone — gives the wine its distinctive backbone.

Finish: Long and refreshing, with lingering apple, a chalky dryness, and a whisper of floral character on the fade.

Wine Kit Aromas: Apple (Green), Honey, Citrus (Generic), Floral (Rose), Green (Cut Grass)

The Verdict: Chidaine's biodynamic farming and limestone cave aging let this Chenin Blanc speak with uncommon clarity. Les Tuffeaux is about subtraction — no barrel influence, no malolactic richness, just the grape and the tuffeau stone beneath the vines. The hollow between its acidity and its sweetness is narrow and thrilling.

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