Issue 31 · April 26, 2026
As It Comes
Theme: Minimal Intervention
Eight bottles that refuse intervention — unfiltered, unfined, uncorrected, with nothing added and nothing taken away, letting the raw expression of ingredient and place speak for itself.
Most bottles on the shelf tonight have been adjusted. Chill-filtered to keep from clouding in ice, caramel-tinted for visual consistency between batches, sugar-dosed to soften a young edge, sulfured to survive the long journey, and filtered to a polish that removes the texture along with the haze. These interventions are not secret — they are the standard operating procedure of the drinks industry, because consumers punish a label that looks, tastes, or feels different from the last bottle they bought.
Today we pour eight bottles that refuse that compromise. A bourbon bottled straight from the barrel at its natural proof, a Scotch at cask strength with no color added and no filter pulled across it, an Irish whiskey with no water cut, an additive-free tequila, a gin with three botanicals and nothing else, a pot-still Jamaican rum without caramel or sugar, a Sicilian red wine made with wild yeast and no filtration, and a Sicilian white wine fermented in clay with no intervention at all. These are the bottles that arrive As It Comes. Nothing added. Nothing taken away. What the maker made is what reaches your glass.
Today's Selections
BOURBON • SCOTCH WHISKY • IRISH WHISKEY • TEQUILA • GIN • RUM • RED WINE • WHITE WINE
BOURBON Maker's Mark Cask Strength
Loretto, Kentucky, USA — where Maker's Mark Cask Strength is the same wheated bourbon the distillery has made since 1958 — pulled out of the barrel and bottled without water. No dilution means no muting: the caramel is darker, the wheat is rounder, and the oak is fuller than the standard bottling. Because it is bottled at natural barrel proof and only lightly filtered, this is Maker's closest to how the spirit tastes when a cellarmaster draws a sample straight from the rickhouse. For a wheated bourbon, it is remarkably free of heat — the proof is noticeable, but the mash bill keeps it friendly.
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Company: Beam Suntory
Distillery: Maker's Mark Distillery, Loretto, Kentucky
Proof: 108.2–113.2 (54.1%–56.6% ABV, varies by batch)
Age: No Age Statement (approximately 6 years)
Mash Bill: 70% Corn, 16% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 14% Malted Barley
Color: Deep copper with bronze highlights
MSRP: $60–$75
Nose: Rich caramel and vanilla lead, with baked apple, toasted wheat bread, and a layer of cinnamon-sugar. A backdrop of charred oak and dark honey emerges as the glass opens.
Palate: Full and concentrated. Caramel and brown sugar arrive first, then soft wheat pillows the palate before cinnamon, dried stone fruit, and vanilla custard build mid-palate. The proof is present but never sharp — the wheat recipe keeps everything round.
Finish: Long and warming with toffee, baking spice, and a final note of lightly charred oak. The wheated mash bill leaves a softness that lingers without heat.
96 points, Whisky Advocate; Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition; repeatedly named a top cask-strength bourbon by Breaking Bourbon and Distiller.
SCOTCH WHISKY Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength
Ballindalloch, Speyside, Scotland — where Glenfarclas 105 is one of the longest-running cask-strength single malts on the market — the distillery released it in 1968. The Grant family, who have owned Glenfarclas since 1865, have never chill-filtered it, never added color, and never cut it with water. What you pour is the spirit as the warehousemen taste it: concentrated, sherry-soaked, and deeply textured. At 60% ABV it handles a few drops of water beautifully, but the point of the bottle is what happens without them. Very few sherried Speyside malts at this price deliver this much flavor per sip.
Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky (Speyside)
Company: J. & G. Grant (Grant family, sixth generation)
Distillery: Glenfarclas Distillery, Ballindalloch
Proof: 120 (60% ABV)
Age: No Age Statement (core expression, batched from casks approximately 8–10 years old)
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Distillation: Direct-fired copper pot stills (one of the last distilleries in Scotland to use direct-fire heating)
Maturation: Predominantly first-fill and refill Oloroso sherry casks (European oak)
Filtered: Non-chill filtered, natural color
Color: Deep amber with mahogany highlights
MSRP: $85–$100
Nose: Rich Oloroso sherry, Christmas cake, and dark dried fruit. Walnuts, orange marmalade, and a whisper of leather follow. Adding a drop of water unlocks toffee and milk chocolate.
Palate: Full, oily, and generous. Raisin, fig, and sticky toffee pudding lead. Brown sugar, a flash of clove, and mocha arrive mid-palate. The proof is substantial but not aggressive — it is the weight of the spirit rather than heat.
Finish: Long and layered. Dried fruit, dark chocolate, and soft oak persist for minutes, with a final return of sherry sweetness.
92 points, Whisky Advocate; Gold, International Spirits Challenge; regularly cited among the best-value sherried single malts by Serious Eats and the Whisky Exchange.
IRISH WHISKEY Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength
Midleton, County Cork, Ireland — where Redbreast 12 Cask Strength is the uncut, non-chill-filtered expression of the whiskey that revived Irish single pot still as a serious category. Midleton bottles it batch by batch at each cask's natural proof, meaning every release has its own number and ABV printed on the label. The result is the pot still recipe at its most expressive: pepper and clove at full intensity, the sherry and bourbon casks both audible, and a waxy weight that only unfiltered whiskey carries. If Redbreast 12 is the reference bottle for pot still, this is the reference amplified.
Classification: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Company: Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard)
Distillery: Midleton Distillery, County Cork
Proof: 115.4–115.8 (57.7%–57.9% ABV, varies by batch)
Age: 12 Years
Mash Bill: Single Pot Still — mix of malted and unmalted Irish barley (traditional pot still recipe)
Distillation: Triple-distilled in copper pot stills
Maturation: Combination of first-fill ex-bourbon American oak and first-fill Oloroso sherry European oak butts
Color: Deep gold with amber highlights
MSRP: $95–$120
Nose: Rich, concentrated pot still spice — clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon — over dried apricot, vanilla, and toasted oak. A polished sherry note of fig and dark honey sits underneath.
Palate: Oily, full, and undiluted. The classic Redbreast pot still character arrives at full volume: baked apple, black pepper, dark chocolate, and toffee, with dried fruit from the sherry cask lending richness. The mouthfeel is striking — the absence of water cut leaves a waxy, coating texture that persists.
Finish: Long and spicy. Pot still pepper, clove, and dried orange peel fade slowly, with a final return of oak and toffee.
World's Best Single Pot Still, World Whiskies Awards (multiple batches); 97 points, Whisky Advocate; Irish Whiskey of the Year, Jim Murray's Whisky Bible (past batch).
TEQUILA Tapatio 110 Blanco
Arandas, Los Altos (Highlands), Jalisco, Mexico — where Tapatío 110 is the still-strength expression of the Camarena family's Tapatío Blanco — the same highland tequila that put La Alteña on the map, bottled without any water cut at the 55% ABV it reaches in the still. Carlos Camarena has run the distillery for his family for decades; the recipe is uncompromising (brick-oven cook, open-air fermentation, copper pot stills) and the still-strength release is the purest form of it. Tequila Matchmaker verifies La Alteña as additive-free. At under fifty-five dollars, this is the unedited voice of highland Jalisco — nothing added, nothing cut, nothing softened.
Classification: Tequila Blanco, 100% Agave (Still-Strength, Additive-Free)
Company: Tequila Tapatío (Camarena family, La Alteña Distillery)
Distillery: Destilería La Alteña (NOM 1139), Arandas, Los Altos
Proof: 110 (55% ABV, Still Strength — Bottled Undiluted)
Age: Unaged Blanco (bottled shortly after distillation)
Agave: 100% Blue Weber Agave, mature (7–10 years), grown in the red volcanic soils of the Jalisco Highlands
Production: Brick-oven cook, roller-mill extraction, open-air natural fermentation, double-distillation in small copper pot stills, bottled at still strength with no water added
Color: Brilliant crystal clear
MSRP: $45–$55
Nose: Concentrated cooked agave, fresh lime zest, and black pepper lead, layered with green herb, wet limestone, and a whisper of cinnamon. The still-strength proof lifts the bouquet without overwhelming it.
Palate: Full, warming, and uncompromising. Cooked highland agave arrives at full volume, followed by black pepper, dried chile, crushed mint, and a mineral, limestone spine. There is no vanilla, no caramel, no softening — this is the spirit as it came off the still, bottled and sealed.
Finish: Long, dry, and peppery. Cooked agave and black pepper linger with a final flash of mineral stone and citrus zest. The proof warms the chest without ever turning hot.
Certified Additive-Free by Tequila Matchmaker (NOM 1139, La Alteña); 94 points, Tasting Panel Magazine; repeatedly named among the best value still-strength tequilas by Distiller, Breaking Bourbon, and The Agave Social Club.
GIN Sipsmith V.J.O.P. (Very Junipery Over Proof)
Chiswick, London, England — where Sipsmith founders Sam Galsworthy, Fairfax Hall, and Jared Brown launched V.J.O.P. as a response to the modern trend toward softer, botanical-led 'contemporary' gins. V.J.O.P. triples the juniper bill of the standard Sipsmith London Dry and introduces juniper at three distinct stages of distillation — macerating with the grain spirit, suspending in the vapor basket, and boiling directly with the botanicals in the final run. The result is the most uncompromising London Dry you can buy under fifty dollars: nothing disguised, nothing softened, juniper at the proof at which it was meant to be drunk.
Classification: London Dry Gin (Overproof)
Company: Sipsmith Distillery (Beam Suntory, distillery remains in original Chiswick site)
Distillery: Sipsmith Distillery, Chiswick, London
Proof: 115.4 (57.7% ABV, Navy Strength)
Botanicals: Juniper (at three stages — macerated, vapor-infused, and boiled), Coriander Seed, Angelica Root, Orris Root, Licorice Root, Cassia Bark, Cinnamon, Sweet & Bitter Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Almond Powder
Distillation: Single-shot copper pot still distillation in 'Prudence,' 'Patience,' and 'Constance'
Base: Wheat grain neutral spirit
Color: Crystal clear
MSRP: $40–$48
Nose: Juniper first, juniper second, juniper third — pine resin, crushed cone, and green herbaceous notes dominate. Coriander seed, orange peel, and a whisper of licorice sit underneath.
Palate: Bold and assertive. Pine-forward juniper fills the palate, followed by citrus oil, warm coriander, and a low hum of cassia spice. The overproof strength broadens the botanicals rather than burns — this is juniper at full volume, not restraint.
Finish: Long, dry, and piney. Juniper resin persists with a final lift of citrus and a whisper of warming spice.
Gold, International Wine & Spirit Competition; 95 points, The Gin Guild; repeatedly named among the best overproof/Navy-strength gins by Diffords, The Spruce Eats, and Gear Patrol.
RUM Foursquare Probitas White Rum
Barbados & Jamaica (blended; bottled by Foursquare, St. Philip, Barbados) — where Probitas — Latin for 'honesty' — is a collaboration between two of the most respected traditional rum producers in the Caribbean: Richard Seale's Foursquare in Barbados and the Hampden Estate in Jamaica. The blend pairs Barbados column distillate with high-ester Jamaican pot still rum, bottles it unaged at 47% ABV, and adds absolutely nothing — no caramel, no sugar, no additives whatsoever. At under thirty dollars, this is the finest bar-back white rum available: it will elevate a daiquiri beyond recognition, and tasted neat it is a graduate seminar in what pot-still funk tastes like next to clean column spirit.
Classification: Unaged White Rum (blend of Barbados column and Jamaican pot still)
Company: R.L. Seale & Company (Foursquare Rum Distillery) in collaboration with Hampden Estate, Jamaica
Distillery: Foursquare Rum Distillery (Barbados) & Hampden Estate Distillery (Jamaica)
Proof: 94 (47% ABV)
Age: Unaged (bottled clear without cask maturation)
Base: Molasses (Barbados column distillate blended with Jamaican pot still high-ester rum)
Distillation: Double-distillation: Barbados component in column still; Jamaican component in copper pot still
Color: Crystal clear
MSRP: $25–$32
Nose: Bright tropical fruit — banana, overripe pineapple, and a whiff of acetone-lifted Jamaican funk — tempered by gentle coconut, cane syrup, and a clean column-distilled sweetness.
Palate: Full-bodied for an unaged rum. The Barbados column spine brings cane and soft caramel; the Jamaican pot still lifts it with banana, pineapple, and a distinct high-ester perfume. The proof gives backbone without heat.
Finish: Medium-long with lingering tropical fruit, a mineral note of white pepper, and a final whiff of pot-still funk.
Best White Rum, Rum Journal's annual reader poll (multiple years); 94 points, Distiller; featured on 'Best Rums for a Daiquiri' lists at Difford's, Punch, and Imbibe.
RED WINE Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 2021
Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy — where Belgian-born Frank Cornelissen moved to Mount Etna in 2000 with a single thesis: the winemaker's job is to transport the vineyard to the glass without adding or removing anything. Munjebel Rosso is fermented with native yeast in inert vessels, never fined, never filtered, and given only the minimum sulfur required for stability. The wine that results is polarizing by design — there is no oak, no extraction, no correction. What there is: the taste of Etna's volcanic north face at altitude, with all of its wildness intact. If you have never tried natural wine made with seriousness, start here.
Classification: Terre Siciliane IGT Red Wine (Natural / Minimal-Intervention)
Company: Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen
Winery: Frank Cornelissen, Solicchiata, Mount Etna
ABV: 14.0%–14.5% (varies by vintage)
Primary Varietal: Nerello Mascalese
Blend: Predominantly Nerello Mascalese with a small percentage of Nerello Cappuccio and other native Etna varieties
Vineyards: High-altitude vineyards on the north face of Mount Etna (600–1000 meters elevation), volcanic black soils
Maturation: Fermented and aged in fiberglass and epoxy vessels without added yeast, no fining, no filtration, minimal to no added sulfur
Color: Translucent garnet with brick-red highlights
MSRP: $45–$60
Nose: Wild red cherry, dried rose petal, and volcanic wet stone lead, followed by blood orange, tea leaf, and a whiff of the cellar — earthy, alive, and unmistakably native.
Palate: Light-to-medium bodied with vibrant natural acidity. Fresh pomegranate and sour cherry drive the palate, with a chalky, almost salty minerality beneath. Tannins are fine but present, like dried tea. There is a slight wildness — a reminder that this was never filtered — but it reads as texture rather than flaw.
Finish: Long, mineral, and savory. Volcanic ash, dried herb, and blood orange echo for minutes without any oak to dull them.
93 points, Wine Advocate (recent vintages); Three Glasses, Gambero Rosso (past vintages); repeatedly named among the essential natural wines by Jancis Robinson, Decanter, and Eric Asimov in the New York Times.
WHITE WINE COS Pithos Bianco 2022
Vittoria, Southeastern Sicily, Italy — where COS is one of the founding houses of the natural wine movement in Sicily. Pithos Bianco is fermented and matured in terracotta amphorae buried in the cellar floor — a technique borrowed from Georgian qvevri winemaking that predates stainless steel, oak barriques, and every modern winery device. There is no temperature control, no added yeast, no filtering, and no fining. What reaches the glass is 100% Grecanico translated through clay and skin contact. This is what white wine tasted like for most of its history — and what it can still taste like when the winemaker decides to stay out of its way.
Classification: Terre Siciliane IGT White Wine (Amphora-Fermented / Natural)
Company: Azienda Agricola COS
Winery: COS, Vittoria, Sicily (founded 1980 by Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti, and Cirino Strano — the 'C-O-S' of the name)
ABV: 12.0%–12.5%
Primary Varietal: Grecanico (Grecanico Dorato)
Blend: 100% Grecanico, estate-grown and hand-harvested
Vinification: Fermented and aged in 400-liter terracotta amphorae (pithos) buried underground, on native yeast, with skin contact; unfiltered, unfined, minimal added sulfur
Color: Deep amber-gold with a faint cloud — unmistakable orange-wine hue from extended skin contact
MSRP: $35–$45
Nose: Candied orange peel, dried chamomile, and a layer of mineral chalk open the glass. A light phenolic lift — like fresh hazelnut skin — sits beneath the fruit.
Palate: Medium-bodied with a gently tannic grip from the skin contact. Flavors of apricot, orange pith, and beeswax mingle with a salty, almost preserved-lemon minerality. The texture is the point: this drinks like a cross between a white wine and a very light red.
Finish: Long, dry, and salty. Persistent citrus peel and dried herb close the palate with a faintly chalky grip.
Three Glasses, Gambero Rosso (multiple vintages); 92 points, Wine Advocate; featured in the Slow Food guide to natural Italian wines; repeatedly cited as a benchmark orange wine by Jancis Robinson and Eric Asimov.
Train Your Nose: Today's Aroma Spotlight
Daily Nose Training — Issue 31
Today's exercises are built around a single concept: tasting intervention by comparison. Most drinkers never get to directly compare an intervened bottle to its unintervened twin — the difference is rarely displayed on the label and almost never on the shelf. Pour a standard bottling next to one of today's selections and you will begin to feel, rather than read about, what filtration, dilution, and additives do.
Pour any standard-proof whiskey (Bourbon or Scotch) at around 40% ABV next to one of today's cask-strength selections. Nose each glass for a full minute with your mouth slightly open. You will feel the alcohol in the cask-strength version — but you will also smell more caramel, more oak, and more dried fruit. Now add two drops of water to the cask-strength whiskey and nose again. This 'opening up' is what dilution does for you. Decide which version you prefer, and remember: cask-strength gives you the choice. Reduced-proof bottlings have already made it for you.
Place three small glasses side by side: one with Munjebel Rosso (natural wine, unfined, unfiltered), one with any conventional Chianti or Pinot Noir under fifteen dollars, and one with a glass of still spring water. Nose the water first to reset. Then nose the conventional wine — clean, bright, often with a woody note from industrial oak chips or staves. Finally, nose the Munjebel. Note the layered earth, the faint savor, the trace of the cellar itself. What you are nosing is the difference between a wine designed to taste the same in every bottle and a wine designed to taste like its place.
Today's Kit Reference
| Today's Product | Key Aromas | Train With |
|---|---|---|
| Maker's Mark Cask Strength | Caramel, Vanilla, Wheat, Brown Spices, Charred Oak, Apple (Red) | Bourbon Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength | Dried Fruit, Vanilla, Nut (Hazelnut), Woody, Caramel, Buttery | Whisky Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength | Dried Fruit, Honey, Vanilla, Clove Spice, Orange, Woody | Whiskey Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| Tapatio 110 Blanco | Agave (Cooked), Citrus (Lemon, Lime, Orange, Grapefruit), Pepper, Herbal (Mint, Thyme, Eucalyptus), Earth (Mineral, Soil Notes), Floral (Lavender, Rose, Violet) | Tequila & Mezcal Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| Sipsmith V.J.O.P. (Very Junipery Over Proof) | Juniper (Pine), Juniper (Green), Juniper (Woody/Resinous), Coriander, Orange, Cassia Bark | Gin Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| Foursquare Probitas White Rum | Banana, Tropical Fruits, Coconut, Vanilla, Spice (Generic), Molasses | Rum Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 2021 | Cherry, Floral (Rose), Berry (Generic), Woody, Citrus (Generic), Mint | Wine Aroma Masterclass Kit |
| COS Pithos Bianco 2022 | Honey, Citrus (Generic), Apple (Green), Nut (Almond/Coconut), Floral (Rose), Melon | Wine Aroma Masterclass Kit |
Explore the School of Wine and Spirits
Today's eight selections are a study in restraint — and what restraint reveals. Our books on Amazon take you deeper into those places — from the limestone hollows of Kentucky in America's Spirit, the misty distilleries of Scotland's Spirit and Ireland's Spirit, the volcanic highlands of The Tequila y Mezcal Revolution, the ancient vineyards of The Ultimate Northern Italian Wine Journey, and the fossilized seabeds of Burgundy in our The Definitive Pocket Guide to Chablis and The Definitive Pocket Guide to the Cte d'Or pocket guides.
Explore our Aroma Masterclass kits and books at schoolofwineandspirits.com
Join the School of Wine and Spirits Community
Connect with fellow connoisseurs, share tasting notes, and go deeper into every pour. Sign up at skool.com/schoolofwineandspirits
Our kits make the perfect gift for the curious drinker in your life — because once you learn to identify aromas, you never taste the same way again.
Know someone who would enjoy The Still & The Vine? Forward this issue to a fellow enthusiast — or share it on social media and tag @SchoolofWineandSpirits. We grow by word of mouth.
Until tomorrow's pour — cheers.
Robert R. Mohr, CPA, CGMA, WSET Level 3, WSG Certified Spirits Specialist — author of America's Spirit, Scotland's Spirit, Ireland's Spirit, The Ultimate Northern Italian Wine Journey, The Tequila y Mezcal Revolution, The Definitive Pocket Guide to Chablis, The Definitive Pocket Guide to the Côte d'Or, and Strategic Tuning. Published author of the Aroma Academy Tequila/Mezcal and Distiller's training kits.
The Still & The Vine is a daily publication of the School of Wine and Spirits.
Maker's Mark Cask Strength
Beam Suntory
Maker's Mark Cask Strength is the same wheated bourbon the distillery has made since 1958 — pulled out of the barrel and bottled without water. No dilution means no muting: the caramel is darker, the wheat is rounder, and the oak is fuller than the standard bottling.
Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength
J. & G. Grant (Grant family, sixth generation)
Glenfarclas 105 is one of the longest-running cask-strength single malts on the market — the distillery released it in 1968. The Grant family have never chill-filtered, colored, or cut it with water.
Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength
Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard)
Redbreast 12 Cask Strength is the uncut, non-chill-filtered expression of the whiskey that revived Irish single pot still as a serious category. Midleton bottles it batch by batch at each cask's natural proof.
Tapatío 110 Blanco
Tequila Tapatío (Camarena family, La Alteña Distillery)
Tapatío 110 is the still-strength expression of the Camarena family's Tapatío Blanco — bottled without any water cut at the 55% ABV it reaches in the still. Verified additive-free by Tequila Matchmaker.
Sipsmith V.J.O.P. (Very Junipery Over Proof)
Sipsmith Distillery (Beam Suntory)
Sipsmith V.J.O.P. triples the juniper bill of the standard Sipsmith London Dry and introduces juniper at three distinct stages of distillation. The most uncompromising London Dry under fifty dollars.
Foursquare Probitas White Rum
R.L. Seale & Company × Hampden Estate
Probitas — Latin for 'honesty' — pairs Barbados column distillate with high-ester Jamaican pot still rum, bottled unaged at 47% ABV, nothing added. The finest bar-back white rum under thirty dollars.
Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 2021
Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen
Cornelissen's thesis: transport the vineyard to the glass without adding or removing anything. Munjebel Rosso is fermented with native yeast in inert vessels, unfined, unfiltered, minimal SO₂.
COS Pithos Bianco 2022
Azienda Agricola COS
COS Pithos Bianco is fermented and matured in buried terracotta amphorae — a Georgian-style technique predating stainless steel and oak barriques. 100% Grecanico translated through clay and skin contact.
Be the first to comment.