Tastes

Tried a slug of this at a local, just wanting to give another Japanese product the rundown. The squarish dimpled (IWHarper like) bottle is unmistakable with the large Yamato under lined in red. This is intriguing stuff, if about what I was expecting. Nose: Dry fruit forward,, tart pear and crisp apple, slight sweet hints like a honey dew nectar with some warmer spices as well. No hints of malt yet, yep, that's what I was hoping for. Front: Ah there's the malt, knew it, but that's ok as the dry fruit holds up and keeps pace, here is where the Eastern influence takes over and we find small nibs of barrel and garden herb with florals, the sugars are mild as this is a dry note work, the spectrum is very agreeable but unfortunately not for long. The middle is very swift to give way to a finish of nice dry black pepper and salt, warm not hot, fading out. For a cask strength this seems entirely mild and pleasant and while the malt is obvious this one carries the variety I like not found in the pure malts ala Nikka, which I find bland and not worthy of review. Some youngish juice probably belies the NAS as it seems a little thin, yet blended well enough to hide any glaring deficiencies. No idea on the cost so rated purely on taste. Cheers!

Found this at a good price (21$$) so elected to get the bottle(proof=92, batch 119) as a high rye bourbon this falls in line with my recent samplings of hi corn ryes, hi rye-corn etc. Totally by accident of course(wink wink). Ryan's front page notes seem pretty spot on, yes the "cinnamon, anise, clove" rye influence opens up quickly and the late subtle "undertones of fennel, dill and mint" eventually arrive. The complexity and variety for a "youngin" is fairly impressive, and the base bourbon stays put to the back ground so to speak. Not completely unlike the Old Forester Rye also found at a noteworthy price point as well, there are some interesting rye-corn-malt notes at play in Redemption High Rye that I think totally redeems it in the face of other, pricier, "genteel" ryes and bourbon-rye treatments. Yes it's Indiana "heartland" rye whiskey and no that should not automatically scare you away. The fat cork cap bottle is also a nice touch that I always enjoy pouring from, and neat, w/ water or drafted into a OF, Manhattan, Derby or Sidecar look for this bottle at a good price and you won't have gone wrong. Cheers!

"Hey! You got Rye in my bourbon" "hey! you got bourbon in MY RYE!" "hey......" "HEY!!!!!" So Chris Morris didn't want Woodford Rye to be just another green labeled bottle, and that may have just worked out. The great tastes that taste great together, bourbon and rye are pretty well cobbled together here, off the top I get the expected redhot-cinnamon and clove rye warmth but also a nose full of sweet vanilla and caramel notes with some malted milk thrown in just to make sure my sweet tooth is satisfied. A distinct cola-cake thing going on which I never liked cola-cake when I was kid, but now I'm thinking it's not so bad. Now the rye purist may balk at that sweet cinnamon mouth full and again that cola-cake taste, a tad of orange citrus sweetness with just a hint of spearment bubblegum as the warm amber juice fades out in the end. This is some pretty unique stuff going on even high rye bourbons don't usually come near, but as we can expect from Woodford, with plenty of good things going on there is also a distinct lack of anything bad. The finish is incredibly smooth and just leaves me wanting another sip to remind me how gorgeous this concoction truly is. Perhaps not a purists favorite rye but certainly a bourbon lover rye, this green labeled bottle should turn heads. cheers!

Take the last train to Pikesville and I'll meet you at the station, be there by 4:30 for I've made your reservation.. Ok enough Monkeeying around, (inspired by Olddude and maybe 4 other guys), Pikesville is a pretty heady rye, with a rich nose of sweet red hots and oranges and a touch of lemon grass, a nod of leather(old english) I like the direction Heaven Hill is going with this one. Front: as advertised it is a rich dose of hot and spicy rye, there is no mistaking the distinct rye grain taste with some chaff and dusty barrel treatment riding shotgun. Some dark brown sweetness, almost a molasses, makes a short appearance in the middle. Anise and clove with nibs..(thanks Fafnir) FInish: tapers off warm and salty, the rye grain is never ending loads of it and still warm burning down the gullet and yet smooth with hints of citrus. After all this is a stout and only mildly cut, high proof libation, this may be a serious rye drinkers rye as much as Willet or Whistle Pig considering the full bodied notes and lack of impurity. The pricing on this bottle tends to be a bit high but there is a lot to offer here, I can get behind the idea of this being a "go to" bottle, much like the Knob and Russels Single Barrell ryes. It seams Heaven Hill has their own entry in the serious but not exorbitantly priced ryes market as well. Certainly a bottle any serious rye drinker would want but maybe not one that a novice rye drinker is ready for, a decent HH product all the same.

My second Woodford Double Oak review. Store Pick Entry: Sams Liquor -Johns Creek Happily I have a sample remaining from my original Double Oaked review for purpose of comparison. While the original had a huge floral presence, I would say this SP is about 15%-30% lighter in that category, however that portion has been replaced by a tree-fruit note of tart pears and apples. The tart pear/apple combines with a strong caramel and toffee accent on the nose. A little deeper and richer in the traditional bourbon notes than the non-store pick. Kicking it back, the front yields that great baking spice with lemon aspect while the tart wood fruit and sweet brown bourbon notes form up next. This is some real kitchen spice rack and candy store richness. Finishing I get just a little vanilla and acetate with a hint of cherries jubilee. This reminds me of why I love the Double Oak treatment from Woodford so much, it packs a punch of so many great flavors with clarity and keeps me wanting more. As a footnote I happened to see a store pick at the local Total Wine at nearly a full 10 dollars more than this one! So now I feel like I got a great deal to boot. Safe to say this is an easy recommend.

Procured Dec 18, for 85USD and I call that a bargain. I put The Easy up against George T Stagg (2017) and found it could go toe to toe, now let's see what Noe Simple Task is made of-- opened in Dec 18 and sitting minus a shot for over 6 months now. Nose: Spiced rum cake yes, sweet caramel toffee(werthers), some dark, tart jams, currant maybe. The rye spice is a secondary hint with the alcohol, both being barely noticeable. This is one tempting nose and certainly a great start. I get no barrel wood, nibs or bitters, whatever the 40 year juice is contributing it certainly doesn't register as a standard northern whiskey. Perhaps The Enigma would have been another good name for this one. Front: There's that canadian hooch, and there's the high proof heat with it, the dark and low fruit from well aged juice is apparent, as is the nice corn-rye blend but also a rich and spicey combo of really good rye spices and fruit sugars. I can see why this throws off some tasters as an unusual juxtaposition of flavors, it is a fairly unusual profile but also a delicious and richly satisfying treat. Finish: some small salted nibs but mostly sweet leftovers of caramel and fruit, no real changeup to the profile on the backside while it tapers down easy. This is another really smooth high proofer that shows the care and craftsmanship from the best of the best of Master Distillers. On repeated tastes the rich corn bourbon sugars step up and dark fruit sweetness keep pace with all that rye spice, this is actually much better balanced than I had initially thought on first appearance and tryout. The first sample from months ago clearly needed some opening up and patience is a virtue for those who acquire this bottle. My initial thought was this was a bit of a disappointment as a follow up to The Easy, after all you don't see a bottle that can stand up to the best of the G.T. Stagg offerings every day, but this is clearly another huge power player in the best of custom crafted whiskeys. Another thumbs up for Booker's kid.

The standard Dickel bottle only with the bright blue background label is already a bit of a punch to the nose, this is no Dickel you've ever seen. Found for the MSRP of 36USD, while it isn't allocated in GA,, YET, it also isn't universally available either, as some of the larger stores hadn't gotten it in yet. Having let this "open" for a few days I believe it's putting out an even sweeter profile on the nose. So how sweet is that nose? Really sweet, damn sweet, awesomely sweet, what a great reminder of just how sweet a bourbon-whiskey can be without actually adding it after the fact. Speaking of sweet, while I don't normally pay much attention to it, this one is a nice deep, rich amber "honey" color, appropriately enough, and glazes the glass with a thick coat that beads after some seconds. Nose: Rich sweet, honey-corn sugar is huge and bold, some feint red fruit sugars, all spice, butter and salt, remarkably smooth and almost alcohol free for being a BiB dram. Letting this juice open up for 48 hours with a little O2 in the bottle is a definite plus. Front: All that corn sweetness lands first, hints of dark spice come in with a wave of salted, buttered garden corn and butterscotch-toffee. While some may detect fruit jam sugars and other notes, for me the well buttered and salted sweet corn is so in your face it doesn't leave room for much else. Finish: The buttered corn and salt linger on whispering the words "I'm G.A. Dickel, now have another sip". Any harsh barrel tannins are appropriately reduced to salt that complements the buttered corn profile so perfectly it simply disappears on the night air. I can safely say this is the smoothest 100 proofer I've had since the Col Taylor SiB, finding a BIB strength whiskey this smooth is not something that happens every day and I'm going to mark up appropriately for that fact. Also getting a well aged liquor for such a reasonable price has to be factored as well, this is really a gift from the Dickel Distillery. Sure you can complain about the lack of complexity and I get that, this isn't going to knock Little Book or GTStagg off their perch, but like the standard Dickel products, it has a lot to say for itself by staying true to it's roots while offering so much. Well thought out and well done by Nicole Austin and the folks at Cascade Hollow.

High West, yet another western state startup using eastern state sourced juice. Ok this isn't a completely bad idea, Tin Cup, Stranahans etc are doing some good work with this model as well. Not gonna lie to you though, I don't think much of millionaires who want to get their name up in lights by starting their own craft distillery/vineyards in some hoity toity tourist ski town, to me this is just a sign of exuberant arrogance and hubris. As a purist, give me a trusted (East of the Mississip) century plus year old name label any day over these johnny come lately wannabes, but they are becoming too common place to ignore, so here goes. Batch: 18A3(D or 0) Pint Nose: The young mgp high rye spice is evident here as the spice jumps up first, caramel corn sugars arrive but also some nice, very sweet dark plum and apricot notes, something I would not have expected at all. The aged Kentucky juice is clearly giving this a nice boost. This is a really promising nose. Front: Hot, sweet start, the young mgp is again the more prominent and easily notable element with a prevalent rye factor. A few hints of average sweet bourbon notes, vanilla and toffee are barely detectable. Finish: It ends as fast as it started with no real change to the profile, for a 90 proofer this seems entirely thin in the middle. It's not bad it just never really develops beyond the nice nose, as it's simply too watered down with the young Indiana juice. This comes off much more as an American whiskey than a bourbon, even with some well aged Kentucky juice blended in. Like David Perkins, I too have been to Loretto Kentucky and seen the beauty and grace of a perfected craft, this does not, however make me a master Distiller, and I too, given the bank roll could import a large amount of Fred Noe, Chris Morris or Eddie Russells well aged juice and blend something pretty acceptable out of it. I'd like to say this is better than it is, if only to recommend the work of MGP and other venerable distilleries. Maybe I will grab a bottle of Dickel BiB and Old Forester Rye and concoct a blend that can match or beat this for equal or less money. High West's American Prairie isn't a bad effort but being just ok isn't exceptional. I'm fairly certain I could do just as well on my own blending bourbons. If you're skiing in the Rockies and find yourself in a nice resort bar by all means sample some "local" product, but when you want the real thing, skip these gimmicky marketing labels and remember where "the juice" really comes from, you'll be glad you did.

The Tennessee whisky has no less claim to being part of Americana as Kentucky Bourbon and if you want proof here it is. G. Augustus Dickel immigrates to Tenn, in the early 1800's, he is a Nashville cobbler who dabbles as a whiskey salesman. George leverages the expertise of distillers Maier Salzkotter, as well as brothers Victor and Emile Shwab to procure the best product. The sister of his new wife marries Victor and together they start the Cascade Hollow distillery. State prohibition comes to Tennessee and their operation is relocated to Lousiville joined by the Arthur Stitzel distillery, shortly federal prohibition slows the production to a trickle and George, well into his 70's retires. When prohibition is finally lifted descendants of Dickel and Shwab relocate back to the Cascade Hollow area to start the second Tennessee Dickel Distillery. In spite of all this including the war and prohibition era, Dickel to this day is one of the truly American whisky(spelled like scotch) experiences thanks to the Dickel/Shwab families dedication to keeping this heritage alive. If you're heading up 24 in Tennessee and see the Tulahoma exit you are but a few miles from the site of one of the real pioneer whiskey distilleries. So about Dickel No 12, those of you who grew up in the country no doubt at one time or another stuck your head in a corn bin, they are big round metal housings for raw corn storage that are anywhere from 500 to 150,000 bushels, and when filled with yellow gold all have a distinct smell of corn and corn dust. With Dickel there isn't any mistaking that this is corn whiskey, the real thing, the heart of the run. Nose, corn rows, row after row that go on for miles, on top of it the buttered popcorn affect and some hints of caramel and butterscotch. Front: sweet corn popped with butter and a nice werthers butterscotch, little bits of rye spice and malt tag along. Finish, just smooth butter, all that extra charcoal filtering pays off and you get no harshness of finish just a nice smooth ride out the gate reminding you of what corn liquor is all about. The Dickel No 12 is smooth, really REALLY smooth. Maybe not all that complex but an ultimate example of what smooth corn shine is like and perhaps maybe the last word on what Tennessee whiskey really is all about.

Irish whiskey is Irish whiskey am I right? no, ok maybe but the general take is from Redbreast to Bushmills you can find an Irish whiskey that is approachable, easy to enjoy and maybe even a tasty treat. I'm no Irish whiskey expert but I certainly enjoy the Irish whiskey experience from a "highlanders pov" so "my Island" and such to the experts and blarney stones and haggis for all . As I was about to pick up that pint of Jamey I thought you know what lets give this Paddy's a whirl. Here's to the joy of trying something new. Not only is Paddys NOT rot gut, cheap swill, it actually flys the green white and orange proudly. I'm almost amazed how absolutely smooth it is and while maybe not as lusty as a pricey bottle of ole Irish it still comes through with the quality of a nice malt and toast spirit with a sweet warm character and only the mildest of a burning tinge. At only a half to 2/3s of the price of the familiar green or square bottles, Paddy's stands up for itself in a bit of a proud Irish, "toe the line", tradition, maybe not a fantastic bottle, but nothing to be ashamed of either, it's a great value Irish whiskey, worthy of the genre. For a cheap bottle of "mud in yer eye" you could do far far worse. Cheers!