Five-Month Rye Barrel Taste of Hong Kong

This cake is made for experimentation. While I don’t recommend getting the YOT stored cake, I’m really glad LP decided to mess with it. I see beerandbeancurd reviewed this and said “I don’t crave it, but I do find it interesting” and I have to say that sums this up perfectly. The storage that was added to an already strong, wet, and bitter cake adds some more flavors to distract you. It feels like it warms and wakes you up when you drink it. I don’t want to drink this a lot and I never pushed this past a few steeps, but I’m glad I got it and it will spend many years being slowly picked apart.

The rye barrel adds a big spicy note to both the taste and flavor. It also makes the slight sweetness in the tea taste a bit more like cocoa to me. There’s still tons of the dank wet storage and the bitter and astringent flavor from the original cake, but its much more acceptable here. It feels less intense and you can try to focus on the flavors from the rye barrel instead.

6g – 100ml – 15+ seconds – 100C
Smell: Wet, Acidic, Rye, Mildew
Taste: Wet, Earthy, Sour, Bitter, Rye, Char

Hong Kong storage be like AH HERD YOU LIKE BASEMENT SMAK SMAK SMAK SMAK SMAK.

I don’t mind basement, to be honest. I don’t crave it, but I do find it interesting, as it always seems to yield to something curious and a little unpredictable. Here it becomes camphor, deep huigan, some flowers overwintering in the fruit cellar, and dancing astringency. Some cha qi is present, though I’m a bit scattered tonight and not as focused on it as I’d like to be.

Just a little wood, curiously, and no alcohol notes from this barrel-aged beaut. It’s completely satisfying as is… though if I imagine wood resin and booze layered in, my brain does a dreamy drool.