Issue 148: The Flint Beneath the Finish - Mineral Truths Surface

Issue No. 148 — August 21, 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: Boone County Distilling Co.

Distillery: Boone County Distilling Co.

Proof: 94 proof (47% ABV)

Age: NAS (minimum 4 years)

Color: Burnished copper with amber highlights

MSRP: $45

Mash Bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley

Barrel Type: New charred American white oak, #4 char

Nose: Limestone-cool at first pour, then warming to toasted almond, dried orange peel, and a whisper of honeycomb. Vanilla bean and light char emerge with time in the glass.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a distinctly mineral spine — think wet stone under layers of caramelized brown sugar, baked apple, and cinnamon-toast. A subtle herbal rye lift arrives mid-palate before yielding to toasted pecan.

Finish: Medium-long and clean, with lingering oak tannin, dried tobacco leaf, and that persistent chalky minerality that defines the house style.

Bourbon Kit Aromas: Vanilla, Oak, Brown Spices, Nut (Almond/Coconut), Caramel, Tobacco

The Verdict: A quietly confident Kentucky bourbon that lets terroir speak — proof that the limestone water narrative isn't just marketing when a distiller commits to it. An excellent everyday sipper that rewards patient attention.

Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Brand: Laphroaig

Distillery: Laphroaig Distillery

Proof: 96.0 (48.0% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Bright gold with greenish glints

MSRP: $50–$65

Region: Islay

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley

Distillation: Double pot still distillation

Maturation: First-fill bourbon barrels, then quarter casks (125-liter)

Cask Type: Quarter cask (ex-bourbon)

Peat Level (PPM): ~40-45 ppm

Chill-Filtered: No

Nose: Immediate peat smoke and iodine, with an undertow of creamy vanilla and coconut from the quarter cask maturation. Beneath the medicinal punch, there's a surprising sweetness — ripe peach and a trace of honey.

Palate: Richly textured for its age bracket. The peat is assertive but not overwhelming, layered with butterscotch, coconut shavings, and a briny mineral note. The smaller cask influence adds a creamy, rounded mouthfeel that balances the phenolic intensity.

Finish: Long and warming, with lingering smoke, dried seaweed, and a clean mineral bite that recalls wet slate.

Whisky Kit Aromas: Peaty, Medicinal, Coconut, Vanilla, Honey

The Verdict: The quarter cask format accelerates wood interaction without drowning the spirit in tannin. The result is a remarkably balanced Islay malt that delivers Laphroaig's signature medicinal peat alongside a surprising creaminess. An excellent entry point to heavily peated whisky.

Classification: Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Brand: Kilbeggan

Distillery: Kilbeggan Distillery

Proof: 86.0 (43.0% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Light straw gold

MSRP: $40–$55

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley

Distillation: Double pot still distillation

Maturation: Ex-bourbon casks

Chill-Filtered: No

Nose: Clean and cereal-forward, with fresh green apple and a light floral note. Underneath the brightness, there's a warm honey sweetness and a whisper of toasted almond. Subtle vanilla rounds it out.

Palate: Delicate but not thin. Honeyed malt leads, joined by orchard fruit and a gentle earthy quality that recalls the limestone bedrock beneath the distillery. A trace of clove spice emerges mid-palate, adding welcome complexity.

Finish: Medium length, clean, with lingering malt and a pleasant drying oakiness.

Whiskey Kit Aromas: Honey, Malt, Green (Cut Grass), Clove Spice, Vanilla

The Verdict: Kilbeggan's small-batch single malt showcases what double-pot distillation and Westmeath's limestone-rich water can achieve without heavy cask influence. It's a whiskey of quiet confidence — the kind that rewards attention rather than demanding it.

Classification: Añejo Tequila

Brand: Don Fulano

Distillery: Tequilera Corralejo / NOM 1499

Proof: 100.0 (50.0% ABV)

Age: 3-Year

Color: Rich amber with mahogany tints

MSRP: $80–$100

Agave: 100% Blue Weber Agave (Highland)

Cooking Method: Slow brick oven cooking, natural fermentation, copper pot still distillation

NOM: NOM 1499

Additives Free: Yes

Nose: Roasted agave and baking spices open the nose, followed by dark chocolate, dried orange peel, and a persistent earthy mineral note. Vanilla and butterscotch emerge with time, adding sweetness to the savory core.

Palate: Dense and full-bodied at 50% ABV. Cooked agave remains the anchor, joined by cinnamon, toasted oak, and a rich caramel sweetness. The mid-palate reveals coffee and a leathery dryness that keeps the sweetness honest. The mineral thread runs throughout.

Finish: Very long. Dark chocolate, pepper, and a fading echo of roasted agave that persists for minutes.

Tequila Kit Aromas: Agave (Cooked), Chocolate (Dark Chocolate, Cocoa), Cinnamon, Oak, Earth (Mineral, Soil Notes), Pepper

The Verdict: Don Fulano's Fuerte expression takes their standard añejo and bottles it at a higher proof, preserving the agave's intensity through three years of oak aging. The result is an añejo that tastes like tequila first and barrel influence second — a balance many producers struggle to achieve at this age.

Classification: London Dry Gin

Brand: Archangel

Distillery: Old Curiosity Distillery

Proof: 86.0 (43.0% ABV)

Age: NAS

Color: Crystal clear

MSRP: $40–$50

Style: London Dry

Botanicals: Juniper, angelica root, coriander seed, lemon peel, orris root, cassia bark, black pepper

Base Spirit: Neutral grain spirit

Distillation: One-shot distillation in a copper pot still

Nose: Clean juniper leads, with a piney, resinous quality rather than green or herbaceous. Angelica root provides an earthy, musky depth, while coriander seed adds a citrusy warmth. There's a faint floral lift — violet or iris — that hovers in the background.

Palate: Dry and crisp on entry. The juniper is front and center but not overpowering, giving way to lemon zest, angelica's earthy bitterness, and a peppery mid-palate. The texture is silky, with a minerally quality that reads almost like wet stone.

Finish: Medium, clean, with juniper and angelica trailing into a pleasantly bitter, rooty dryness.

Gin Kit Aromas: Juniper (Pine), Angelica, Coriander, Lemon, Peppery

The Verdict: Old Curiosity's Archangel is a juniper-and-angelica-forward gin that leans into the earthy, rooty end of the botanical spectrum. It's a gin that tastes deliberately austere — built for structure rather than fruit, and all the better for it in a classic Martini.

Classification: Rhum Agricole Blanc

Brand: Bielle

Distillery: Distillerie Bielle

Proof: 118 proof (59% ABV)

Age: NAS (unaged, rested in stainless steel)

Color: Water-clear

MSRP: $38–45 (750ml)

Base Ingredients: Fresh-pressed sugar cane juice (jus de canne) from Marie-Galante

Distillation: Single-column Creole still distillation; rested in stainless steel to preserve varietal cane character; bottled at 59% ABV, the traditional Marie-Galante proof.

Nose: A bracing lift of fresh-cut sugar cane and lime zest opens the glass, followed by wet river stone, crushed white pepper, and a faint whisper of green olive brine. Underneath, ripe banana and a floral note of hibiscus give the high proof room to breathe.

Palate: Muscular yet articulate — sugar cane sap coats the tongue with grassy sweetness before a wave of saline minerality and cracked black pepper takes over. Mid-palate reveals green mango, ginger root, and a chalky, almost oyster-shell texture. The 59% ABV is remarkably integrated, more warming than hot.

Finish: Long and dry, with lingering white pepper, lime pith, and a distinctly stony, mineral tang that recalls sea spray on volcanic rock. Cane sweetness returns faintly at the very end.

Rum Kit Aromas: Agricole, Banana, Citrus (Generic), Tropical Fruits, Spice (Generic)

The Verdict: A gold-standard expression of Marie-Galante terroir — muscular, mineral, and gloriously unpolished. Essential for the agricole shelf and a Ti' Punch weapon of choice.

Classification: Crozes-Hermitage AOC

Brand: Domaine Alain Graillot

ABV: 13.5%

Primary Varietal: Syrah

Blend: 100% Syrah

Vineyards: Les Chassis, Crozes-Hermitage AOC

Maturation: Destemmed, fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts, gentle extraction

Color: Deep ruby with violet rim

MSRP: $30–$40

Nose: Ripe blackcurrant and cracked black pepper open the nose, joined by a floral violet note and a stony, almost granitic minerality. Beneath the fruit there's a savory, gamey undertone — cured meat and dried herbs.

Palate: Medium-to-full bodied with supple tannins. Dark berry fruit leads, but the wine's real story is its texture — silky, with a granite-like mineral backbone that adds length and tension. Mid-palate brings cedar and a subtle green olive note that speaks to the Syrah's savory character.

Finish: Long, with lingering blackcurrant, cracked pepper, and a clean mineral close.

Wine Kit Aromas: Blackcurrant, Violet, Cedar, Gamey, Cherry

The Verdict: Graillot's benchmark Crozes-Hermitage demonstrates why this appellation deserves more respect. The 2020 vintage delivered concentration without losing the nervy acidity and mineral tension that separate Northern Rhône Syrah from warmer-climate expressions. Drink now or hold through 2030.

Classification: Chablis Premier Cru AOC

Brand: Domaine Vincent Dauvissat

ABV: 13.0%

Primary Varietal: Chardonnay

Blend: 100% Chardonnay

Vineyards: Séchet Premier Cru, Chablis

Vinification: Hand-harvested, whole-cluster pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts in old oak and steel, extended lees aging

Color: Pale gold with green reflections

MSRP: $70–$95

Nose: Crushed oyster shell and wet flint leap from the glass, joined by lemon zest, green apple, and a subtle honeyed note that hints at the wine's ripeness without tipping into richness. There's a faint herbal quality — tarragon or chervil — that adds intrigue.

Palate: Taut and linear, with a razor-sharp acidity that carries flavors of citrus pith, green apple, and chalky minerality across the palate. The texture has a slight waxy quality from extended lees contact, giving weight without obscuring the wine's transparency. A saline finish pulls everything into focus.

Finish: Long and precise, with lingering citrus, stone, and a clean, almost marine salinity.

Wine Kit Aromas: Apple (Green), Citrus (Generic), Honey, Woody, Marzipan

The Verdict: Dauvissat's Séchet vineyard sits on the right bank of the Serein, its Kimmeridgian limestone soils producing a wine of crystalline purity and mineral intensity. The 2022 vintage adds a touch of generosity to the house's typically austere style, making it approachable now while retaining serious aging potential.

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