About the Producer
R. Jelinek is one of the most prolific eau-de-vie producers available in the US. If your local store has any plum or apricot brandy, there’s a good chance it’s from R Jelinek. Because of that and the reasonable costs, it makes sense to try their products at least once if you’re into fruit brandies.
R Jelinek was founded by Zikmund Jelinek in the southern Czech Republic in 1891. The distillery was passed to his sons Rudolf (after whom the modern brand is named after) and Vladimer in 1919. Sadly the family hit a fair amount of tragedy a few decades later when most of the family, include Rudolf, was killed by the Nazis. Then in 1948, the company was nationalized by the Czechoslovakian government following the communist revolution and the remaining family was forced to flee the country. The company remained under government control until it was privatized in 1994. After several chaotic year the company’s fortunes started looking up and planted new orchards in 2003. This brand has a lot of interesting history behind it. I recommend reading through the company’s website; a lot of good info there.
The modern company now has ~200 hectares of orchards growing plums, pears, apricots and cherries. In addition to this plum brandy reviewed here the company produces oak-aged plum bradny, pear brandy, apricot brandy, pear brandy, apple brandy and a whole range of liqueurs.
Details
• Aged 5 yrs in stainless steel.
• Made from 9 different plum varieties.
• Kosher.
• Fruit from Bohemia
• Tripled distilled.
• <$30 per 750ml
• 50% abv.
Nose
Syrupy plums. Very subtle hint of artificial sweetness but not much. Good but not super refined. Intense.
Palate
A lot of plums, like you’d expect. Traces of almonds and nutmeg. Medium weight, body and viscosity. Texture is syrupy. Medium sweet but again with a little bit of the artificial sweetness. Very pleasant to drink though overall.
Finish
Medium and sweet with plums and syrup.
Rating: 5
Overall
This is a quality product and probably the best value eau-de-vie that I’ve found. Will probably be the benchmark plum brandy for me going forward due to the quality, cost and availability.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
Leave a Reply