Kraken Black Spiced

Kraken Black Spiced 40% (Caribbean/USA)

Eye: Crazy dark, thick Coke

Nose: Loads of marzipan, arrack and modeling clay to begin with. A bit "strong" at first but mellows very quickly and turns soft, almost weak, like an old, used battery you find in a drawer. It actually smells of Coke and perhaps it is designed to function as a mixer? Then artificial vanilla appears together with embrowned butter, burnt sugar, some orange and a second, even stronger, wave of arrack. It's not an off-putting smell, just not a smell that suggests something edible (read: drinkable). It's very artificial, cheap and appears to be very young.

Mouth: Oh dear. Where to start? It's very sweet and one dimensional. It actually hurts, not only me teeth but my intellect as well with its simple and lazy attitude. Lots of arrack of course (we were warned), vanilla, fresh cut, wet tobacco, chocolate and dried orange. It's like drinking "treacle & Coke". We have burnt sugar with some anonymous spices and not much else. But even so, it's not unpleasant. The ABV is actually well balanced and perfect for this one but the sugar level is through the roof and can´t be disregarded.

Reaction: I got a heads up from my friend about this one (an excuse in advance for the sample really) and with that in mind I did expect something quite nasty. This is not nasty, but rather tasty in its own weird way. However, I don't see it as a drink as much as a drink ingredient. Now, I don't tend to drink cocktails and such so for me Kraken Black Spiced will end up on the same memory-heap as many other single dimension alcoholic beverages. I never drink spirits on the rocks but with this one I might reconsider. Maybe it can be a part of an experimental lamb rack glazing or something like that?

68p

Price: 300 SEK
Tasted: 2016, in a Riedel Sommelier Cognac XO glass at room temperature.