Spirit
Poire Williams
Poire Williams is a clear, unaged fruit brandy distilled from the Williams pear — the same variety sold as the Bartlett — and made above all in Alsace and Switzerland; bottled at around 40 percent alcohol, it is bone-dry rather than sweet, and famous for its intense, almost startling perfume of ripe fresh pear, the most vivid of the classic eaux-de-vie.
Dry & cleanSpirit-forward
At a glance
Signature
Ripe pear & Pear skin
Floral
Strength
Spirit-forward
by taste profile
The nose is startlingly vivid and sweet-smelling — ripe, juicy Williams pear flesh and fragrant pear skin with a musky-floral lift and a faint almond-kernel and honey note — yet the palate is bone-dry, the fruit sugar fermented clean away. What arrives is lifted pear aromatics carried on light, warming spirit at around 40 percent alcohol, a touch of green pear-skin bitterness, and a clean, dry, slightly peppery finish. Served chilled the perfume tightens and sharpens; at room temperature it opens and floods the glass with fresh pear.
Taste balance
BitternessMedium
SmoothBitter
StrengthStrong
LightStrong