Previous Kina Lillet rants:

The Quest for Kina Lillet

Kina Quest 2: Necromancing the Stone

Ok, so taste off.

First, Modern Lillet Blanc. Light fresh wine. Strong Orange flavor. Little to no spice or bitter component.

Second, Cocchi Americano. Sweet heavy wine. Strong Orange Flavor. Strong cinnamon spice flavor and lingering quinine finish.

Third, Jean de Lillet 2004. Sweet heavy wine. Little to no orange flavor. Little to no bitter or spice component.

Dammit! I still like Cocchi Americano best!

There’s no denying Jean de Lillet is a nice wine. It’s just not very bitter. It strikes me more as an attempt to produce a relatively reasonable French Dessert Wine (say Sauterne) substitute from blending wines. I like it for that and will happily drink it. It is still cheaper than real Sauterne and nearly as tasty. But it has no real quinine component that I can detect.

Of course that won’t stop me from trying to mix with it.

Barney Barnato Cocktail

1 Dash Angostura Bitters.
1 Dash Curacao. (1/3 barspoon Luxardo Triplum Dry Orange Liqueur)
1/2 Caperitif. (1 oz Jean de Lillet 2004)
1/2 Brandy. (1 oz Osocalis California Alembic Brandy)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass. (Orange Peel.)

This is actually quite nice! Another dash of Angostura bitters and we’d be cooking with gas.