Booze reviews: Schonauer Apfel, Ron Roberto Superior Dark
Schonauer Apfel
This is a sort of German apple schnapps, about 21% ABV. I was expecting an apple brandy, something along the lines of an eau de vie, but instead was greeted by a lightly fragrant, lightly sweet liqueur that tasted like biting into a juicy, fresh, ripe apple. Delightful, but confusing. A little research reveals that the Apfel is a mix of grain-based essential spirit and apple juice, which explains how they got that fresh apple flavor to happen in a distilled product.
Bottom line: Tasty but not powerful, this might substitute well for the more expensive Calvados in some lighter cocktails, but is probably best enjoyed on its own or over a little bit of ice.
Ron Roberto Superior Dark Rum
Picked this up looking for a basic dark cocktail rum. It was cheap, so I figured it wouldn't be sipping rum, but thought it was worth a gamble to find something inoffensive to bulk out a Dark and Stormy. I was wrong.
I poured a little into a glass and smelled it. Not much happening, maybe a hint of turpentine. Against my better judgement, I tasted it. Aaaugh. It wasn't even bad rum. Bad rum, I can handle. This was over-distilled and nearly flavorless except for the chemical burn of cheap booze - the caramel coloring was a lie, this was no dark rum. This was cheap, terrible, colored vodka. Maybe it had come from molasses at some point, I'm not sure, but whatever island spirit this "rum" might once have had was long gone, leaving only a slightly toxic flavor and a deep sense of disappointment.
I washed my glass out sadly, and had to pour myself a finger of Laphroiag to restore my faith in alcohol.
Bottom line: Avoid at all costs. Shoot on sight.
This is a sort of German apple schnapps, about 21% ABV. I was expecting an apple brandy, something along the lines of an eau de vie, but instead was greeted by a lightly fragrant, lightly sweet liqueur that tasted like biting into a juicy, fresh, ripe apple. Delightful, but confusing. A little research reveals that the Apfel is a mix of grain-based essential spirit and apple juice, which explains how they got that fresh apple flavor to happen in a distilled product.
Bottom line: Tasty but not powerful, this might substitute well for the more expensive Calvados in some lighter cocktails, but is probably best enjoyed on its own or over a little bit of ice.
Ron Roberto Superior Dark Rum
Picked this up looking for a basic dark cocktail rum. It was cheap, so I figured it wouldn't be sipping rum, but thought it was worth a gamble to find something inoffensive to bulk out a Dark and Stormy. I was wrong.
I poured a little into a glass and smelled it. Not much happening, maybe a hint of turpentine. Against my better judgement, I tasted it. Aaaugh. It wasn't even bad rum. Bad rum, I can handle. This was over-distilled and nearly flavorless except for the chemical burn of cheap booze - the caramel coloring was a lie, this was no dark rum. This was cheap, terrible, colored vodka. Maybe it had come from molasses at some point, I'm not sure, but whatever island spirit this "rum" might once have had was long gone, leaving only a slightly toxic flavor and a deep sense of disappointment.
I washed my glass out sadly, and had to pour myself a finger of Laphroiag to restore my faith in alcohol.
Bottom line: Avoid at all costs. Shoot on sight.