A guy called Cosmo Caddy has started a distillery in Devon making a grape-marc spirit that is technically Grappa but, as it doesn’t come from Italy, has to be called something else. He decided to call it Dappa and our Jack decided to give it a go! A milestone in British distilling? Perhaps…
Rating
Price
£30 for 35ml
In a Nutshell
Pretty authentic, pretty assertive and not for everyone…
Have a Dapper Dappa grappa…
What you see before you is (I think) the first grappa to have been made in the UK. Originating in the Devon Distillery, DAPPA is the brainchild of a guy named Cosmo Caddy (strong name confirmed). The distillery itself is based in Teignbridge (which, if you hadn’t guessed, is in Devon…)
Anyhow, this is the 2013 vintage, the first they have created, and is produced mainly with Rondo and Pinot Noir grape skins. They also use smaller quantities of Regent and Dornfelder – presumably to shake up them spiritous flavours. The grapes are sourced from a number of prestigious English vineyards: think Sharpham, Three Choirs, Bolney, Biddenden and a few others.
Inspired by the style of grappa from Northern Italy, DAPPA is distilled by hand in Devon, using an Italian copper still, and under the supervision of a veteran Italian distiller. As for where to find it? They retail online, but the drink is also quite commonly available around Devon and the more fashionable bars in some of the bigger cities (think the HIX bars in London etc). This vintage also picked up a silver at San Francisco World Spirit Awards 2015 – which can only be a good thing…
We Drink It, Stuff Happens
First Impressions
‘Baiju-esque’ bitter stewed plum and moderate honey sweetness (uhoh)
Very distinctive from the get go…
Nose
Big melon-plum whack (I am going to call it turbo-cantaloupe) turned to dry sharpness and something grassy that is not quite lemongrass or eucalyptus.
Dried fruit coloured by…? Not sure…damp wood? Not quite sulphur? A great challenge trying to describe this in words
Overall: Somewhat formidable (this coming from the cask strength whisky guy) at ‘only’ 43% ABV. But reminds me of Italian grappa, thats for sure
Palate
…pleasing!
First hits the tongue with a bittersweet, dry, sharp, snappy feeling – hints at the grassy flavours to follow.
Swallow and you get more of the grassiness and some white pepper tingling on your tongue. Not as fiery as you might expect.
Wait a few seconds for the attack of the turbo-cantaloupe – which then keeps going and blossoms into a long finish
Finish
Long. Very long….
Turbo cantaloupe assets itself and lingers – very memorable. It really goes on for ages. The last to go will be the honey blossom, grass and the cantaloupe. Maybe they would survive the apocalypse?
This spirit doesn’t fuck around. Further to that point, I wouldn’t want too much of it as I think the plum-cantaloupe finish would be quite overpowering
I am wondering what the shit you’d pair this with? Maybe something sweet to try and bring out the latent sweetness in the spirit…?
It is a LOT better after you’ve acclimatised to it but i think i like it more if the finish were a little more restrained. Can’t say i’ve ever said that about a spirit before!
After a few glasses i could swear there’s a little apple pie strewed apple and ‘biscuitness bidnus’ (like my grandma used to make it) in that lingering cantaloupe…
Verdict
By the pricing, 70ml of this would cost you £60, which feels a bit too much of a price premium for what you could get cheaper from Italy (as grappa is one of the underdogs of the spirit world, you can often get your hands on rather well priced, undervalued ones if you’re willing to look)
However, considering that this is the only British ‘grappa’ style grape-marc spirit (that I know of), maybe some people will be willing to pay a little price premium for its authenticity/rarity/novelty?
All in all, I enjoyed it, and would recommend that grappa fans (and people who have more experience with this style of drink) give it a go and try comparing it to an Italian one. You might be pleasantly surprised!