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What this post is really about for me is testing the birectifiers I produced myself in my glassblowing workshop. I have finally released my own production with a dramatically lowered price. I’ve sunk countless hours into this passion project.
I’m not going to go into what Medronho is, but it is probably part of my destiny. I’ve recently collected numerous bottles for case studies on a trip to the Algarve. This particular Medronho is finer than the last one I looked at with more clearer intensity and persistence.
30% white bubble Test: It is interesting how well the Medronho character stands up diluted. It maintains all the right tension and is still pleasurable to drink. Dilution did not really bring the menthe like character into focus.
Exhaustive Test: 1:200 (this figure matches some Jamaica rums like the Hamilton’s).
Esters increase test: This is a new test and the idea here is to take an amount of fraction 1 and blend it back into the original spirit to get an opinion of whether it can take on more ethyl acetate harmoniously. This test is more aimed at spirits that see oak where increasing esters may enflame the oak, but may hold value for other spirits in ways we don’t yet understand. I started with adding 2.0 ml of fraction 1 to 20.0 ml of original spirit.
My initial reaction is that 2.0 ml may be too much because the esters in fraction 1 are very nearly 10x the original spirit. It ends up smelling like glue and obscuring any nuance. For my next try, 0.9 ml seemed like a better place to start.
This test could start to tell us a lot about both maturation and blending. Hopefully I can expand upon it in the future. Conducting this test is cheap and I may make it a standard practice.
With 0.9 ml of added fraction 1, judgement is tricky. On the one hand, I think I feel a pricked quality as opposed to non-culinary aromas, but also generic life-savory candy notes. This is tasted side by side with the original spirit.
The menthe character here could likely be TDN or TNN which gives reisling its petrol character. It has popped up in numerous rums and is considered a lesser rum oil as opposed to the more noble rose ketones like damascenone.
It is very exciting that Medronhos, just like rums, may be differentiated by their ability to unlock bound aroma. This high value aroma is likely responsible for this particular Medronho having much more persistence than others.
Fraction 1: Concentrated to the point of non-culinary aromas.
Fraction 2: Diminutive version of fraction 1 as expected. A little generic fruitiness.
Fraction 3: Very neutral as expected.
Fraction 4: Easy to detect fusel oil, but nothing out of line with expectations. A little bit of the sharp fusel oil wraith.
Fraction 5: Slightly cloudy. Finely dispersed droplets all over the surface. Very significant floral intensity; almost enough to give you a perfume headache. Oily & acrid on the palate. Everything here has an unbridled intensity and a lot of persistence. The menthe is not obvious probably because there is so much other character?
Fraction 6: Matching fraction 7, but with greater intensity of the menthe character.
Fraction 7: Far more aroma than I expected. Floral quality? Faint gustatory acidity? Almost a menthey character?
Fraction 8: I did not collect this fraction so that I could have an espresso before the coffee shop closed.
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