Impact
An emasculated phantom, the equivalent of a snake complaining its an amputee, missing limbs that were never there. Summer Solstice kind of fare, when appetites slacken in the heat & light, & little wavy watermarks are in order. Tops off that beach-breaker luncheon filled with iced cocktails, fruit salad, lobster roll, another iced cocktail, raspberry pie... & more cocktails to go flush with that sunburn.
Appearance 4 / 5
| Color: | stun-gun: maroon-shot brown |
| Surface: | collected a few scuffs; otherwise among Amedei’s best |
| Temper: | high shellac |
| Snap: | limps, exposing early signs of bloom |
Aroma 6.4 / 10
defeat seems automatic: worrisome coffee & cardboard covered over by tobacco & celery root; sweaty rubdown; watermelon once it aerates
Mouthfeel 13.1 / 15
| Texture: | starts seized, slight grit, cures into lush stuff |
| Melt: | longest day of the year |
Flavor 41.2 / 50
melt combined w/ generally shy approach creates slow developer -> finally punches thru a seedling of chocolate (timid & hiding) -> sprouts vegetal green... celery -> stalks up a tree... sandalwood, spiced w/ coriander -> grows into.... watermelon (of sorts) -> peaks on shimmering chocolate swell (sweet moment indeed, right up there w/ Elvis waiting long enough to make his comeback, knowing the audience would just be happy that he showed at all -> escapes not a hound-dog, or even a teddy-bear, but cub scout brownie
Quality 16.3 / 20
Emasculated; lacks any real mass to leave much impression other than vertical motion thru an under-developed flavor progression. So what’s learned / gained in Amedei’s Toscano Suite (three bar blends of varying strength: 70% - 66% - 63%)? A bit of a feudal society in which just 6 or so degrees separate Warriors from Merchants from Peasants, reinforcing the conviction that the concept “cacáo content”, which has taken on the rhetoric of sacred theology, is more marketing hype than any measure of strength.