As the Manchester Food and Drink Festival proved too much for my diary, the ever lovely Kat (of Crass Stitch fame) leapt to my rescue this weekend. Her tasting talents were put to the test at The Liquor Theatre….

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Synesthesia is a condition where upon experiencing something with one of their senses, a person will have a secondary experience that is usually associated with another sense.  For example, when some people listen to music, they will make an involuntary association between the sounds and a particular colour, taste or shape.  In one scenario I heard, a man actually had to break up with his girlfriend after the flaky pastry “taste” of her name (Tracey) went from being the treat of a Saturday morning croissant to the relentless onslaught of buttery greasiness every time someone spoke about her.

 

But what has this got to do with liquor tasting?  As a very mild and occasional ‘sufferer’, when trying my favourite sample at the Liquor Theatre tasting event at Rosylee Tea Rooms, I was struck by an overwhelming sense of ROUNDNESS.

 

By this point I had already tried tasted the G’Vine Floraison (a soft floral gin) and had sampled the vanilla toffee flavours of Old J rum (both on its on and with a little Ting lime – delicious, although we couldn’t taste the advertised Persian lime in the rum itself).  I had sipped three tequilas of varying ages (my notes read: tobacco, agave, and for the final 18 month aged tequila “whiskeyish”!) and supped on Esprit de June, a delicious liquor with the comforting warmth and sweetness of the childhood medicine Calpol.

I’d even had a spirit made of four types of ginseng root, dressed in a beautiful medicine bottle and promising energy, a memory boost and even freedom from sexual dysfunction, the flavour went from slightly bitter when neat to a clean, freshness when topped with lime juice and ice.

 

So when it came to the beautifully “round” flavour of Broken Shed vodka, I have to admit, my description  may not have been quite so clear or concise as the one above.  “It’s… round!” I blurted. “Smooth?” said the (tolerant) man on the stand? “No, er… round, you know like when people see music?”

 

But smooth it is.  With an amazing creaminess that I would not associate with neat vodka, I would happily drink this on its own.  From the same supplier, I also really enjoyed the Lighthouse gin, a light, subtle (and round!) tipple which had none of the harshness I would usually associate with neat spirits.  Coming from Wanaka in New Zealand, I was whipped away to gap year visions of mountains and lakes…

 

… before snapping back into reality and returning to the other delights on offer.  From the snatched conversations around the room, probably the most popular choice was the vodkas from Davna: one flavoured with the herbally delights of bison grass (like its famous twin Zubrowka, but slightly less sweet); one flavoured with cherries (slightly too cough sweety for my liking!) and one flavoured with honey, which could’ve been fresh from the hive it tasted so “real’.  This was definitely amongst my favourites of the drinks I sampled, and I could see myself sipping on this after dinner as a replacement for dessert wine.  Sloane’s award winning gin was infinitely drinkable, although a highlight was the Rebellion spiced rum from the same suppliers (my notes, going ever more downhill, read “fucking lovely”- sorry Charlie, you knew this would happen!), which had a Christmassy quality that would perfectly lift a hot chocolate or steaming glass of apple juice on a cold winter’s night.

 

Moving round the tables, there were too many other spirits to mention, of varying degrees of subtlety and palatability.

 

None, however – not even one! – came close to the slightly transcendental quality of a truly round (and delicious) vodka.