I thought about putting this under tasting notes but then I didn't know where to put it there.

A blind tasting of four Grappa;

Mark Jensen, wine director at Bernardus Lodge, brought our table a lineup of four different glasses of Grappa. The glasses were labeled one thru four on the bottom and we procedded to pass them around the table first to sniff and then to taste. It was amazing.

#1 promised gasoline on the nose and when tasted kept its' promise.

#2 smelled like turpentine and sure enough delivered the taste albiet with quite a bit of oak. I think we figured this out because the color was that of a very light scotch.

#3 kerosine. Completely different from #s 1 and 2.

#4 no one could get close enough to smell. We immediately extinguished all the candles on the table. He did bring me a straw and I ventured a sip. Cough, cough, eyes tearing.

OK, the, uh, grappa???

#1 Angelo Gaja - Gaja & Rey.
#2 Araujo - Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa.
#3 Angelo Gaja - Darmagi.
#4 Angelo Gaja - Sperss.

The GOTN was very difficult to pick out. They all seemed equally amazing. The Araujo won by a point in my book because of the oak. I'd gave the three Gaja's 36 points each and the Araujo was a clear winner at 37 points.

Anybody know anything about this stuff?

What was the year of the Eisele Araujo Grappa? I've got an (inadvertent) vertical of the stuff.

I don't know. I didn't see the bottle and it doesn't say on the wine list.

This all took place about 12:30 am. The dining room was empty except for us.

Before we left we all took a breathalizer test with a device I had brought along. Each and everyone of the others registered .12 on the scale (actually it only goes as high as .12). Me, and I probably drank more than any of them, registered .02. The legal limit is .07. There is something to say about body mass.


We had a driver from Spanish Bay pick us up and take us home

This sounds like something a southern redneck would have, some sample notes:

I got some 1996 Chevron that runs pretty good in the General Lee. Lacking in the front end but good pull through the middle and decent finish.

The 1997 Shell really starts well in the Old General but peters out at the back end. Good pull through the middle though.

The 1994 Union 76 is just awesome. It roars to life in the front end with great pull through the middle and awesome top end with a good explosion at the finish. The General barely survived that one.

The newer vintages just don't have the same punch as the older vintages with the 2001 Phillips barely getting things started. The middle is totally lacking with no finish. Got last place with the General barely taking off.

Both of you... LOL

I'd do anything for the Catherine "Daisy Duke" Bach of my youth.

Woo Hoo, gotta love those shorts!

Well, I don't know about Southern Rednecks, but I've had some wonderful homemade grappas from Italy. That concludes the extent of my knowledge .

I had grappa for the first (and last) time on my wedding night in Florence.

It was in such a beautiful bottle. A wolf in sheeps clothing if there ever was one.

Although I was by no means intoxicated at the time, I knew I was going to be ill before that foul-smelling sh*t ever hit the bottom of my stomach.

Needless to say, it never did hit the bottom of my stomach.

Wino, I'm with you on this one. Last real hangover I had was back in '94 after a neighbor broke out his bottle of grappa from a recent trip to italy. uggg

i am amazed that anyone ever drinks this $hit a second time.

Grappa... rhymes with crappa!!!

Last summer went to a tasting in the Sierra Foothills where one of the eineries was pouring their Grappa! I damned near burned my palate off I tried to keep my composure and describe the taste but ...........blagh!

Grappa with espresso can be quite good.

tj, I can't imagin. What's the mix %? 99 and 1?

Actually, we were told by a local dude who ws showing us around Northern Tuscany (this was the individual guide thing Mrs. TJ got me for our anniversary). We'd just finished a 3 or 4 hour long lunch and we were stuffed. An espresso sounded great to me, but he insisted on asking them to mix in some grappa with it. They forgot to, but instead brought the grappa out separately. I tried drinking some espresso and then grappa and vice versa. It was pretty good both ways, actually. Surprisingly so.

Went to Esca a few years ago. That's Mario Batali's seafood restaurant that he owns with David Pasternack. After our meal, I told the sommelier that I had never had an enjoyable grappa, and asked him to please bring me a grappa that would make me understand why people enjoy it. I figured that if I was ever going to get a "great" grappa, Mario and his crew would not let me down.

Well, needless to say, even their "top shelf" stuff tasted like high test. I just don't get it. And I doubt I ever will.

Jimmy V,

My thoughts exactly asking for the Grappa at the #1 rated Zagat restaurant in California.

The Somm said they were all great so I ordered one of each. Four glasses for five of us; we could drink that. We didn't even come close to finishing any one of them.

Like you, I don't get it. I guess it is an acquired taste (yuch)!