Partagas E2 – Seppeltsfield Barossa Savoury Allsorts Gin - Hennessey Master Blenders No 3.
Couple of very interesting matches here, one quite bizarre.
But first, as is traditional (when I remember), the cigar. The Partagas E2. The more I see Partagas, the more I love them. And I have seen a fair whack, so I love them a lot.
This Kenfession is from back just before Premier Pumpkin (very cruel to call her Princess Penelope, even if she is the spitting image) slammed the borders shut. Down at Hastings Point in NSW. Was down there for some quiet to get some work done, but also a bit of fishing, which went well. could not resist a few pics.
The Partagas E2 – surprised to learn that they did not join us until 2011. Robusto Extra size. 54 x 140mm. Have always liked these. So was expecting a lot. Whoops.
Slightly ratty wrapper. There were some lovely nutty notes to start. Then quite a woody note. The burn was a little ragged. Medium to full-bodied. Then a little earthiness crept in. I say earthiness, but I mean a grubby character. It became a bit harsh. Then a lot harsh. Then very harsh. Aside from a pleasant opening, which did not last very long at all, I was thinking that this was far from the best E2 I had tried. Before long, I was thinking that it was not just not the best, but actually the worst E2 for ages.
Then it got worse. Bitter, dirty and extremely HOT. By the end, my notes said that this was the very worst, most awful cigar I had had in years. A disaster. 50. What a shame.
So not even an Isla del Tesoro rum or a 1978 DRC Romanee-Conti would save this cigar, if used as a match. But fear not, one soldiered on to review the drinks (and this won’t come as a shocker but while they might have been thoroughly enjoyable, they did not make for a good match – nothing could).
The Seppeltsfield Barossa Savoury Allsorts Gin was a joy. Go back to your childhood and those licorice allsorts we used to scoff. This gin tastes exactly as advertised. It tastes like a licorice allsort. Who would have thought?
Made in the Barossa, right in the spiritual home of Aussie wine, by brave distillers. They talk about anise – definitely prevalent – plus thyme, marjoram, borage and gentian. If I had any idea what some of those were, perhaps I'd agree. Cracking gin for the right cocktail.
The Hennessy Master’s Blend No 3 has appeared as a drink in Kenfessions before. To recap, Hennessy is one of the oldest and most famous of all the Cognac Houses, having been with us for more than 250 years. These days, it is part of the mega-empire, LVMH (as indeed the named implies – Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy).
The House rather bizarrely describes this Master’s Blend as ‘jovial’. If anyone can enlighten me on what a jovial Cognac is, please do so. Still waiting. They also state that it was introduced “for no other purpose than complete freedom of expression”. Which is terrific but who or what was preventing that in the first place or at any time in the past 250 years? It is, apparently, “designed to be a personal statement, composed for no other reason than the pleasure of intimate creation”. Sure, I imagine that the bottom line played no role at all. Seriously!! But I guess whatever the PR blurbs may claim, and they are so far more moderate than some of the stuff I have seen, in the end, it is what is in the bottle.
The Master’s Blend No 3 is a single batch Cognac and the first of this type made by their 8th generation Master Blender, Renaud Fillioux de Gironde. 8th generation. Think about that! Renaud succeeded his uncle in 2017.
More from the PR supremo – it is “unique and innovative by virtue of its hand-selected blending process. It is composed exclusively of high-quality eaux-de-vie with great potential that have been set aside specifically to be used at the Master Blender’s discretion”. Fair enough, but I suspect a few of the other Houses might claim a similar ‘uniqueness’. Also, it says it is “characterized by… gourmandise”. Again, I look forward to assistance in understanding that. They also claimed a note of ‘French sponge cake’. Quite seriously, I wonder if French sponge cakes are different to normal sponge cakes? I have no idea but I would be interested.
The eaux-de-vie used in the blending are at least seven years of age and it was bottled at 43%, ‘also known as “cask strength”’. We do agree that it is best enjoyed neat or “over large rocks”.
But what makes this worth chasing, aside from the fact that it is undoubtedly a very fine Cognac, is that is a genuine single batch Cognac and is never to be replicated. They have, in the typical tradition of Cognacs from many Houses, provided packaging of the appropriate quality.
And it would have been a good match with a decent cigar.
KBG
