Lined up and ready to go

It's that time of year again, and this morning I took a number of my distillates down for judging in this year's competition.

Here are all my little soldiers, lined up in a row, ready to go into battle...

Left to right - Vodka, Gin, White Rum, Chilli Vodka, Pommeau de Normandie, Bourbon, Golden Rum, Malt Whisky and Cherry Brandy.

The Vodka we've discussed before, and is a sugar wash distilled twice through the alembic still.
The Gin and White Rum are essences added to a neutral spirit.
The Chilli Vodka we've also talked about earlier, but I chickened out which the 'in your face' boldness chosen by The Siberians and opted for the diced cayenne without seeds.
The Pommeau is 'Pacific Rose' apples with caster sugar and a splash of natural vanilla soaked in neutral spirit and is one of the top things I've made.
The bourbon is a Kentucky Bourbon essence with neutral spirit, but back blended with a portion of a 2 year old batch that had been on wood.
The Golden Rum is a surprise success. It was a mix of 2 essences that I'd had lying around but I dropped the alcohol content way down and it's been around since November.
The malt whisky was fermented from malt extract and then casked in a sherry-soaked 1L American oak barrel for 14 months. When I took it out and bottled it I was disappointed that the sherry flavour was very dominant and the the oak almost wasn't there. It was the third time I'd used the barrel and I think that it could do with re-charring. I've lifted the oak a little by using chips after bottling.

We'll know in December what the judges think.