The Corona Gorda Crush - Punch Punch (REG ENR19) – Seppeltsfield Barossa Shiraz 2020 Gin - Glenfarclas 15-Year-Old Malt Whisky.
The Punch Punch will surely be a cigar familiar to most, as we come towards the end of our little journey through the Corona Gorda world, as brief as it has been.
And what a joy it turned out to be. They come in good old-fashioned boxes of 25 (none of the ten or eight or whatever malarkey). 143 x 46mm.
Opened with a good draw. The construction looked fine, though obvious box press. A fine wrapper with plenty of those attractive russet notes. The opening flavours were dominated by a lovely walnut character. Some earthy tones, woody, spicy and perhaps even a smidge of vanilla. Some leather. Richly flavoured and sitting above medium-bodied. Earthy notes emerged more and more. This is a cigar which no one would have thought was refined in any way, but it delivered flavour in spades. About halfway through, dark chocolate kicked in. It took around 90 minutes. Loved it. What more could you want from what really is a solid, everyday smoke. For me, 92-93. This was one of the better Punch Punches I have encountered.
Two options for the drink matches. The first, the Seppeltsfield Barossa Shiraz 2020 Gin, was a terrific match. Plums and nuts, bold mulberry and cranberry. A barrel note? Spices, ripe flavours and as for flavours, packed with them.
A decade ago, a Shiraz Gin might have seemed like a magical concoction more likely to be served in one of those weird Star Wars bars than the household favourite it has become. Four Pillars from the Yarra Valley took the early steps when distiller, Cam MacKenzie, decided he wanted to do something like a sloe gin, but not a sloe gin as he was not a fan of that style. The colour and sweetness in Shiraz grapes gave him the perfect alternative. From a toe dipped in the water, production of their Bloody Shiraz Gin is now approaching 100,000 bottles.
Others have followed, which was inevitable. As Oscar Wilde said, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ (he goes on to say ‘… that mediocrity can pay to greatness’ but here, this does not apply). Those who have also trod this path can claim to have made some superb, exciting spirits. For me, the more the merrier. Keep them coming.
The Barossa, seen by many as home to Australia’s best Shiraz, is an obvious place for distillers to source grapes for this style of Gin. The guys at Seppeltsfield Road Distillers are seventh-generation Barossans and, amongst an excellent array of Gins, have a delicious Shiraz Gin. Their latest is their 2020 ($80/50ml, 38.5%). Production has apparently skyrocketed from less than 1,000 bottles to almost 3,000, for this their 3rd release, so although perhaps not as ubiquitous as Four Pillars, fans should be able to locate it.
The most obvious question asked is how does it compare to Four Pillars. This might be power of suggestion but to me, what is absolutely obvious is how both are true to their origins. The FP has an elegance about it and the flavours are more refined. The Seppeltsfield is rich, ripe, bold and oozing flavour. So pretty much along the lines one might expect from a bottle of wine from each region, as a generalisation. But that extra flavour makes this a cracking match for cigars, and it really worked here.
Inky black/purple, this is plush and full of delicious mulberry and plum notes, black fruits and a little bit of sweetness (which, as I have now said several times, actually makes it a fine option to match with a good cigar – far more suitable than a red wine). Even with flavours to burn, this is nicely balanced. Soft texture and excellent length. A little different, but a joy to drink. Hard to imagine that this will not sell out quickly.
I also had the Glenfarclas 15-Year-Old Malt Whisky as well. Another fine match, but as we have looked at the various Glenfarclas malts numerous times, 25, 30, 40-Year-Old malts, plus their 1971, you probably do not need me to bang on about it again. But it worked superbly.
Two for two and a top smoke. Happy days.
KBG
