About the producer:
The John Emerald Distilling Company was founded in 2014 (or maybe 2015, saw competing facts online) in Opelika, AL about 1hr east of Montgomery. It seems like their flagship product is a malt whiskey that’s smoked with pecan and peach wood. The company claims this is the first legal AL whiskey since prohibition.
They do a lot with local specialties, especially pecans, which grow all over central and southern AL. Their rye is finished with pecan wood chips and their spiced rum and gin are both flavored with pecans. In addition, their rum is made with AL cane syrup and their brandy, the topic today, is made with muscadines from the southeast.
For those who haven’t had a muscadine before, it is a type of grape that is native to the American southeast. They differ from normal table and wine making grapes in that they grow individually instead of in bunches, they have very thick and tough skin, have very large seeds and are noticeably less sweet. They really aren’t very good in my opinion, but some people love them. I was very excited to try this since as far as I am aware, this is the only muscadine brandy on the market.
Details
• Aged for 3 years in ex-American malt whiskey barrels. Presumably from their own whiskey.
• Made from SE grown Muscadines
• 43% abv.
• Batch 13
Nose
Lots of raw wood and saw duct. Jam and caramel. Tons of muscadines. Smells exceptionally heavy for the low abv. Light sweetness.
Palate
Raw wood and a bit sour. Again, tons of muscadines. Kind of harsh but in the same way that a muscadine is. Don’t think there’s anything wrong with the spirit, I think it’s just capturing the flavor of the muscadine. Bit of caramel and quite spicy. Very hearty and heavy texture. Excellent weight and viscosity. Feel is easily the best part of this brandy.
Finish
Medium and spicy with more raw wood.
Rating: 3
Overall
There is a lot to both love and hate in this brandy. This is kind of painful to review since it actually seems to me that this is a well-made brandy; it has an excellent texture and weight to it that I love. The problem is it does a great job of capturing the muscadine flavor and muscadines just suck. If you like muscadines though you might like it for me it’s a pass. If they made a brandy from a different AL fruit, like peaches or apples, I’d 100% try.
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
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