Spanish Whisky from Navazos Palazzi

Navazos Palazzi, the joint venture between spirits bottler Nicolas Palazzi and sherry bottler Equipo Navazos has previously released sherry aged brandy and rum. Recently, they introduced their first sherry aged whiskeys.

There are two single cask Navazos Palazzi whiskeys, a malt and a grain whiskey. Both were distilled in Spain at the Beam Suntory owned DYC distillery in Segovia. They are around five years old, and the grain whiskey is made from 100% corn.

The whiskeys were aged in Palo Cortado sherry casks and released at cask strength.  Palo Cortado is apparently a very rare sherry, but I couldn't tell you much more than what I've read on a particularly unhelpful Wikipedia post about it, so feel free to add info in the comments if you're a sherry buff.

Navazos Palazzi Malt Whisky, 52.5% ($100)

This has a sweet, fruity nose with apples and cherries. The palate is a light, sweet sherry with just a touch of malt underneath, leading to a fruity finish.  This is a nicely done, sweet sherry cask whisky that's easy to drink.

Navazos Palazzi Grain Whisky, 53.5% ($100)

The nose has very sweet sherry notes, like a Spanish brandy.  The palate is a massive hit of dry sherry with lemon rind and vanilla which ends in a deep sherry finish.  Given that this is a grain whiskey, I wasn't expecting a lot from it, but I really like it, maybe even more than the malt.  It might taste more akin to a brandy de Jerez (or just sherry) than a whiskey, but it's very tasty and I like those drier sherry notes.  It's also fun to drink in tandem with the Malt, just to note the differences.

The thing I love about these Navazos Palazzi spirits is that they really push the boundaries of sherry cask aging, infusing more sherry into the spirit than you might think was possible and just barely retaining the character of the original spirit, though it is retained.  It's fun and interesting stuff.

 

Ron Navazos Palazzi: Sherried Rum

Earlier this year, I enjoyed Navazos Palazzi Brandy, a sherry aged brandy that was a joint project between spirits importer Nicolas Palazzi and sherry bottler Equipo Navazos.  Nicolas Palazzi recently sent me a new Navazos Palazzi rum finished in sherry casks.

This rum was distilled in the Caribbean from molasses on a column still.  It was aged at the distillery for five years and then shipped to Spain, transferred to Oloroso sherry casks and aged for an additional ten years. It was bottled in July at cask strength. They are planning on releasing 1,500 bottles per year for the next four years. 

Ron Navazos Palazzi, 51% abv ($150)

The nose on this is a deep sherry with just a hint of brown sugar at the end.  The palate begins with a thick sherry with fruit; it goes on to reveal the sweetness of the rum which creates a candy-fruity melange like candied, dried fruit.  The finish is back to a pure sherry.

At first taste, this is very similar to a Spanish brandy, but beyond the sherry notes in the late palate, you can pick up the molasses.  I'm not generally much of a rum drinker, but this is excellent stuff.  The rum and sherry combination is really gives this a rounded, full flavor. I bet it would be great on the rocks as well.

Navazos Palazzi: Sherried Brandy from Jerez

Today we move over to Spain with a Spanish brandy from the Alvisa Distillery in La Mancha made from airen grapes. This was sourced by brandy importer/bottler Nicolas Palazzi and aged for six and a half years. For the last four and one half years, it was aged in a very old Oloroso sherry cask from Equipo Navazos, one of the most well regarded sherry bottlers in Jerez. It's bottled without coloring or additives.

There are only 720 half bottles from this cask. As the back label states, its goal is an authenticity that is currently difficult to find in Spanish brandies.


Navazos Palazzi, Single Oloroso Cask, Brandy de Jerez, Bottled March 2012, PM Spirits, 375 ml, 44.2% abv ($80)

The nose on this is pure, dry sherry with tons of dried fruit notes and some wood. The palate continues along the same lines with a dry wine feel, with some sweeter grape juice notes in the back. The finish has prunes and dried apricots.

This is fun stuff, and the strong sherry notes should appeal to lovers of sherried Scotch. At $80 per half bottle, it's not cheap, but it's extremely drinkable. Most of the brandies we've sampled in this series have been fairly old, but this bottle shows that brandy can do well at a younger age as well.