About the Producer
Argonaut is an interesting brand. It is the mid-tier brandy label for E&J Gallo, the largest wine producer in the world which accounts for an estimated 3% of the world’s wine production. In addition to wine, E&J produces several brandies beyond Argonaut; E&J , the largest American brandy brand, and Germain-Robin, one of the original high-end American brandies.
Argonaut is a relatively new brand, launched in 2017, and specializes in blends of pot and column still distillate or well-aged column still blends. The column stills used here are not the giant multi-column stills used for creating the bottom shelf brandies like E&J or Paul Masson but coffey stills that the company claims produces a more flavorful spirit. The pot still component is distilled at the McCall distillery, which Gallo purchased in 2017. Since the blends include aged pot still components, I imagine the purchase includes the aged stock from the distillery as well.
One nice thing about the brand is the transparency. The age, grape varietal and percentages are included in a handy table on the back. I’ve included a picture so you can see the blend for this batch. The company claims that there is no color or sugar added as well, which is a nice plus.
Fat Thumb is positioned at the top of the core Argonaut range and includes a large portion, >50%, of pot still brandy. In addition they have the entry level Speculator and the higher proof Saloon Strength, both of which I have yet to try.
Details
• Distilled from Prulho alembic pot and Vendome coffey column stills.
• Pot still component from McCall distillery in Sanger, CA.
• Coffey column still component for the E&J Gallo Distillery in Modesto, CA.
• Blend FT-002
• Blend of ages 4-16 ys. Avg ~8.5ys.
• Exact details in blend in pics.
• Aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Stated to be mostly 2nd fill in interviews.
• No coloring or sugar.
• 43% abv.
• Got for $50
Nose
Medium sweet with lots of bourbon like flavors caramel and vanilla. Good amount of fruit, marmalade and bittersweet orange oil. Light oak and clove spice. Medium intensity. Very pleasant with some complexity and a good balance.
Palate
Sweet with a lot honey, orange marmalade. Caramel and vanilla again but a bit less prominent that the nose. Light oak and tannins. Not much spice. Medium weight and good viscosity. Mouth coating with surprisingly good texture. Very tasty and again has some complexity.
Finish
Short to medium. Orange peel. Sweet honey.
Rating: 6
Overall
Very solid representation of an American style brandy and it is very different from Cognac, Armagnac etc. Closer to something like Copper and King but with more restrained oak and more fruit. It’s tasty and balanced and has some complexity. A bit pricy at $50-60 but it’s a rebuy for me. After buying this it inspired me to try out some of the other bottles in the Argonaut range so I’ll be trying out the Saloon Strength soon.
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