Tastes

Yet another blind tasting... Light golden, sparse quick legs. Nose: Butterscotch funk. Then the peat comes through with pleasant phenols but only faint barbecue smoke. There are lovely fruit and vanilla notes - pear, mango, plantain, dark vanilla extract. A hint of earthy wood spice. This is a symphony of aromas in wonderful harmony. Heavy mouthfeel with fried plantains and a bit of smoke from the oil burning in the pan. Oh this goes on and on... it sticks to every corner of the mouth. Bits of butterscotch, walnut and oak flicker in and out. The phenols come out with subsequent sips but are never outdone with rich, heavy sweet notes. There is nothing burnt here. No ash. No embers. All is in balance. The finish is sticky and sweet, just slightly dark and goes on for several minutes. There is no heat in the chest or nares. Everything about this dram is pleasant. Impression: This dram doesn’t have a single rough edge. It is elegant, proper and doesn’t rely on a fancy barrel finish or cloud of smoke. While the fruit that the nose offered up never landed as discrete flavors on the palate I don’t really miss the notes so much as I enjoy the chord. Empty glass is filled with wet tobacco, caramel and sea salt. Reveal: Pure Scott Virgin Oak Another generous sample from @Contemplativefox. And this is one I’ve never heard of. Being that it is a blend it has some unfair advantages and likely explains the balance. I should have been suspicious as the balance is almost a little too good. It reminds me of JW green label but with a butterscotch hard candy or two dissolved into the mix. The sweet, coating finish on this is really enjoyable (for a bourbon drinker). The virgin American oak really showcases the vanilla and caramel sugar qualities I love. Not ashamed to say this is now among my favorite blends. I looked up reviews of their base product and doesn’t seem to receive much love. I will say if you like bourbon that this virgin oak expression is one to consider! Considering price I would go a quarter point up. Considering that this is a blend - well is that an unfair advantage or does blending itself deserve some credit? I'm almost ashamed to rate this as highly as I do but on a personal, superficial level I truly enjoy it.

Another blind tasting. Rich golden color and rather than legs a belt begins to migrate from the whisky laced glass. Odd. Dusty oak, fruit and Heather. Hey, honey and pear. Golden raisins, raw pistachio, leather, fig, oak, chocolate, light cigar wrapper. This immediately makes me think of Glenfarclas 25 and to a lesser degree Glendronach 15. Sweet caramel malt, chocolate, PX Sherry and then slight bitter walnut, a waxy and nutty profile that fades gently into one of tobacco and raisin. Tannic oak hangs around as well making me think some age is hiding in there. Shit. This is Glendronach 18. I asked Fox for a sample of GD 15 or 18 and forgot and ordered a sample... Reveal: GD 15 Well. I was close. But this is interesting - this sample is a good bit more tannic and slightly more bitter than the 2021 bottle I recently was able to find. I’ll spare the diatribe and refer back to my review of the 18 year GD. The question of older stock being better is one without a clear answer. I owe a big thanks to @Contemplativefox for sharing this with me but the 2021 bottle is more my profile. It goes to show that profile drift as a result of blending (or still upgrades, barrel sourcing, etc, etc) does have an impact.

Blind tasting. Dark golden, thinly coats the glass, whispy plentiful legs. Nose: Slightly sweet smoke, charcoal, heather, clover honey, barbecue, hey. The smoke is too light for most Islays I’ve tried. There is dried pineapple, burnt sugar, bits of fig, slight sea spray, cinnamon roll. Sweet dried fruits, intense burnt sugar and cerasote with a coating sensation - short of being viscous. Slight barbecue out there nares and lip smacking burnt sugar, fig and clean ash on the finish. There’s a slight bit of phenol noticeable on second sip but the sweet, charred malt notes are really coming through. The finish is long and satisfying with nicely balanced dark caramel and smoke flavors. There might be a bit of dried fig or other dried fruit but I’m possibly making it up. This is solid - like a smokey sticky bun with just a bit of supporting wood notes. Campfire desert time. Nothing comes across as fru fru - no big fruity wine notes are coming through for me. I would guess lightly peated, smoked malt aged in second or third fill bourbon barrels. Proof and body make me think this is around 48% ABV and in the 12-15 year range Cambletown? Not briney enough, no kippers. Skye? Possible. Oban? Too Smokey. Bowmore! Wouldn’t know, haven’t tried it. Could be a younger Lagavulin but the intensity of the ash isn’t there. Empty glass is rich with dark salted caramel, barbecue and for the first time a bit of spent pipe bowl. Delightful. Not as deep or complex as a Lag 16, Ardbeg Cory or Talisker 10 and a bit more bold but less complex than JW Green. Above Laphroig 10 and years beyou d JW double black. Probably puts this at a 3.75-4.0. I’ll go with the latter because overall this is really good but not a standout. Reveal - Talisker DE (year unknown) Was this DE finished in bourbon barrels or port instead of Sherry!? Is this Amoroso finished, really? Could this be the 2020 edition using recharged American oak splashed with Amoroso for a short 6 months??? I just don’t get the sherry notes the way I do with the 10 year. The 10 year makes me feel fancy. It comes across as complete across the spectrum and in wonderful balance. This is complex and well balanced but not as bright. Honestly I wouldn’t give up the 10 for this. I wouldn’t pass on this either because frankly Talisker can do no wrong in my book. If they were the same price I might trade them off but keep at least one on my shelf at all times. I owe @Contemplativefox a big thank you for sharing this sample!

Blind Tasting. Golden with thick, slow legs. Sawdust, canned peaches, lime, saline, cranberry juice, a bit of vanilla and prickly wood spice and perhaps oaky Chardonnay. Definitely some ethanol as well. Nose: At no point does the ethanol on the nose make itself apparent on the tongue or chest. Medium body and gobs of peach cobbler, walnuts, bit of brine, hint of vanilla. On the back end some lightly caramelized malt and hey underneath all of the stone fruit. Finish: Mango, lime and peaches carry on into a moderate to lengthy finish with just a bit more sour than sweet quality. Impression: The nose might be the best part of this dram. The finish, however, carries on like a good cognac. I honestly could almost be convinced that this is a cognac except for the bit of malty hey that hits mid-palate. White grapes and stone fruit make this something a Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or possibly a Sauvignon Blanc fan would likely go for. For me, I can’t say I love it as I miss the earthy chocolate and tobacco notes and I feel like a puff of smoke would balance this out nicely. That said, this has a Buffalo-Trace-of-whisky sort of jam. Reveal: Lismore 21 The Legend This is a tropical and citrus fruit bomb on my palate and burns about as much as room temperature water. I had no idea this was from Glenfarclas. I have to say they are near to top of my favorite Scottish distilleries. The differences between their 105, 25y, this and their cask-strength 28y are remarkable. I struggle to see the silver lining that ties together their offerings the same was as I can with a handful of major bourbon and scotch distillers. Thanks to @Contemplativefox for helping me discover some of what these guys are capable of. I’ll gladly support them as a family run operation with amazing variety and value for their offerings!

Blind Tasting. Light golden, multiplicity of thin legs and very slow drops. Nose: Wet wood, caramel malt, butterscotch funk, blue agave earthiness, boosey bread pudding Palate: Hits hot and fast - there is a prickling, almost burning heat. The flavors are all turned up to 10 or 11 with butterscotch, hey and clover honey, oak and cardamon, white pepper, maybe even cayenne. There is a bit of astringent varnish, possibly some sauternes as well. Water: No real change to the palate with a drop added. More of the malt and spice come through than ever and the harsh edges soften but no revelations here. My guess would be Speyside or Highland, bourbon cask and/or French oak limousine. Age >18 years and 55-60% ABV. I could be completely wrong and this is 6-12 years and just NCF and barrel proof but suspect relatively unused wood casks. Glenfiddich on steroids? Not really sure what this is. So much wood spice and yet so much malt sweetness, but funky. Reveal - Glenfarclas 105 Well, that’s not what I expected. The butterscotch is somewhat extreme in this expression and the raisin and earthy notes of the 25 largely absent in comparison. It’s like looking at my high school self and comparing him to my current self and having no idea how the two could be related. As much as I love the 25 I think this is one I would likely pass on. This one certainly delivers on the proof (which I learned is actually closer to 120 American proof, makes sense now). The burn punishes above a 120 proof Knob Creek but below a Bookers or Makers CS. Just more flavorful options out there with less heat, especially in the scotch world. Definitely and interesting try thanks to @Contemplativefox and would recommend that everyone try at least once but don’t be mistaken - this is not an amped up, older Glenfarclas expression but a different beast entirely.

So the 12 is good, the new 15 (in my book) is exceptional, the 21 is just plain bank busting but the 18... this is achievable for the majority of us if we can be selective about what (and how much) we drink. The pour is a lovely amber with very sparse, very slow legs. For 18 years there is a surprising amount of honey malt on the nose and a blast of sherry. Off the line the nose more closely resembles the 12 than the 15. Odd. There is plenty of raisin, a bit of hey, caramel, slight lemongrass, slight dark cigar wrapper and maybe a bit of leather and buttered toast. The palate... aged wood, slightly bitter walnut, allspice, cayenne, leather and a dark cigar. The youth that the nose would suggest is nowhere to be found. There might be a base of deeply caramelized malt but no hey or honey (think Oban 14) to speak of. The mouthfeel isn't viscous or oily and is honestly a bit hot. The earthy, aged flavors slowly subside through a layer of varnish and then into a light blanket of raisin and tobacco. Breathing out of my nostrils leaves me feeling like I've smoked a cigar rather than sipped whiskey. My tongue, however, says nutty PX sherry well beyond 4-5 minutes So the nose is deceptive and resembles the 12 but the palate is like the 15 cranked to well above 18. Per sordid internet wisdom it may very well be over 18 as GlenDronach was rumored to blend in much older stock for a while (up until 2016?). I would beg the question - is that a good thing? Like 15-18 year bourbon that tends to be predominated by wood and earthy notes (Rhetoric 21, Kentucky Senator 15, Masters Keep BiB 17, etc) this begs the question can scotch be too old? I honestly have no idea. Glenfarclas 25 is something that I find to be amazingly well rounded. This bottling is a bit overboard for my taste buds. It's not that the aromas and flavors aren't there, but rather how they unfold. I would love some of the honey on the nose to show up alongside the earthy notes on the palate and the sherry-forward finish to play a more mid-palate roll rather than appearing like a ghost in the corner. With further sips it does start to come together but unlike the parabolic flavor explosion of 15 this has it's peaks and valleys leaving me puzzled. Wonderful, but puzzling and expensive when the 15 is very reasonably priced and at least for now reasonably available once again. If you like aged wood and earthy notes this is likely to be your jam and could be well worth the price.

10 year Kroger Pick, 94p Rick T floor 6 for $25. That’s right, I said $25. Do you like Elijah Craig? If not you should? Try it try it, if you may. Try a barre pick I say! How many of these have I had tonight? Enough to turn out the Dr Seuss mockery. Bright holden with teardrop legs that arrest midway down the glass. Prickly oak, cinnamon, anise, cigar wrapper, fresh cherries, vanilla and brown sugar with an hint of naval orange. Thin body and immediately corn- forward and sweet, followed with immediate heat, cinnamon, coriander and cayenne, then buttered and roasted pralines into a subtle 2 dimensional wood and vanilla finish. Empty glass elutes oak, creamsicle, cinnamon and tobacco. Well worth every cent. This was $25. Buffalo Trace would roll over if it met this bottle. Honestly this is a stones throw away from Old Ezra 7y BP which is spicier and less oaky but also twice the price. Honestly, the wood with the thin palate make this an excellent, full flavor but lighter sipper. This is not a bourbon that will cause deep, existential introspection. This is a bourbon you drink, enjoy and then go do whatever you damn well please. I will be packing it into a flask, alongside 30 cans of Natty Light as I march into the Indy 500 tomorrow because damnit it’s summer and I need to FEEL the thunder of an unrestricted Honda twin-turbo 2.2L V6 shake me back to life after this past year and a 120+ proof in the heat just won’t end well. Try it if you may, I say!

When you go looking for something different and walk out with a $35 impulse buy - one might ask the question “should I have done that?” At $80 and above the answer is often a resounding “no.” That said, $24-35 is a sweet spot where VFM can come alive in a world of $60 bottles these days. Liquor Barn #4, barrel 7493223. Filled in 9/19/2016 so ~7y. I honestly bought this hoping it would be along the same profile as Old Ezra 7 (58.5 ABV vs 53.5, $55-70 vs $35, both 7 years, both likely Heaven Hill or Beam re-branded by Lux Co). The color is a nice, light amber in a high-ball glass. The nose is hot with with lots of buttered cinnamon toast, cherries jubilee, vanilla and cashew. Might have some brown sugar, allspice and pecan notes as well. Very bourbon - reminds me of Thanksgiving. Palate is very sweet up front with vanilla bean, brown sugar, raw heat, maraschino cherry, almond and a swell of baking spices. The finish is moderate at worst with almond, cherries and vanilla. I’m gonna call this a win. I would likely score this at or above most Knob Creek 9y 120 proof store picks and put it just behind Old Ezra 7 barrel strength. It honestly would score favorably against one of my pillar bourbons - OF 1920, and do so for $20 less! Here’s the catch. Some of us have had less than stellar experiences with these single barrels. I know @BDanner was underwhelmed and who knows where these barrels come from. Are they off-profile or simply not up to Old Ezra 7 BP standards? That I can’t say but I would vote yes on dropping $35 to find out, especially if you know who picked the barrel. On its own this is close to a 4 but considering again that it’s $20 less than OF 1920 or Old Ezra 7 BP I feel like it deserves at least a 4.25 with value taken into account.

So, I’m a sucker for Offerman’s Parks and Rec character Ron Swanson and all of his Lagavulin sipping, skeptical curmudgeon ways. If it wasn’t for Offerman my brother in law never would have gotten a bottle of Lag 16 for his bachelor’s party and I never would have drank half of it and fallen in love with it. I was honestly a bit skeptical of this offering because I couldn’t cypher how Guinness could help Lag out. In the end I’m still not sure if it adds or detracts from the dram but I think I’m gonna call it even and just say “it’s different”. Light golden in the glass, whispy med legs. In my mind I thought this would be darker but not so. Smoke rises from the glass as it would from a campfire that was just doused with cold water. It plays a big role but other parts of the campfire come through - notably the charred wood (actual wood and not the full-on ash of Lag 16). Diving in there is a bit of brine, leather and honey. Rather than the dried citrus fruits of Lag 16 I get saltwater taffy and cinnamon bun (but no vanilla frosting). Smooth with an in-your face barbecue smoke and then burnt wood, dark chocolate, honey and gram cracker. This is basically a smore for those who like their marshmallows blackened. There is no real sting but a mild building heat in the chest. Although not vicious there is a mouth coating that follows the sip and is noticeable into the smokey sweet finish. A bit of phenol sneaks in with subsequent sips but the sticky smores still run the show with a pleasantly charred, dark sweet profile. Empty glass has notes of smoke, gram cracker, burnt marshmallow and salted barbecue. The whole dram reminds me of semi-sweat bakers chocolate with some wood and smoke thrown in. Nothing surprises me about the palate being dark or heavy - I would expect nothing less with Guiness. This seems to lack some of the richness and sweetness of Lag 16. If you like Lag 16 and like Guinness I think you’ll be happy. If you’re an IPA or witbeer lover and seek herbal or fruity notes look elsewhere. If you’re not sure and want to save $10 buy the standard Lag 16 and spend the rest on beer.

Skip to the end if you want the actual review, otherwise be prepared for wax poetic. The big 200. I have learned quite a lot along the way but am still no where near where I would like to be. But I have an admission. I am not a true whisk(e)y drinker. The true whisk(e)y hero, or locally spotted bourbon hero, is the elderly man or woman in a baseball cap or oversized sunglasses who walks out of the liquor store with two handles of Evan Williams white label or when they're feeling fancy Maker's Mark. Whiskey is a household staple. It is mixed, sipped, cooked with and possibly used to clean. My wife's grandfather was one of these men. After WWII he sipped 7 & 7 highballs until he could afford something more than Seagram's. By the time he died he was well known to Toddy and his famous liquor store in Bardstown. When he was too worn down to get out he would call up and ask for a delivery of a handle of Makers, get and give Toddy a hard time, and then retire to his easy chair with a highball after the Makers was hand delivered. I am not this whiskey hero. I am a nerd, an academic, a questioner. I wanted to learn more about Kentucky's native spirit upon moving here 15 years ago and started with the likes of Elijah Craig, Four Roses single barrel, Corner Creek (thanks to Distiller's recommendation algorithm - I can't say I remember it well now), Eagle Rare, Basil Hayden, Bakers and eventually laid down cash for Bookers. In college I had sipped Glenlivet 12 and Glenfiddich 12 and could appreciate a difference but never knew of the peated and cask finished bottles out there. What a spectrum of flavor and intensity. Then came Weller special reserve and an often failed attempt to separate wheated mash bill from rye. Then more questions, and more questions. Distiller became my only source for what is essentially peer-reviewed whisk(e)y literature. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. Eventually I found reviewers who's palates seemed to match my own or whose opinions I trusted. I made a few friends and spent a fortune on distilled spirits. My mind has been blown and my palate sadly disappointed. My jaded ignorance has also been made apparent. This all leads me back to a fundamental question about what whisk(e)y is all about anyway. ------- Enter Heaven Hill. DSP-KY-1. Home to the Elijah Craig 12 that I first adored and sipped neat. Thus far they remain possibly the least bloated and yet most impressive of the large distilleries in Kentucky. Wild Turkey may be equally "for the people" and Eddie Russel can be found wondering the visitor's center any given day. Yes, Four Roses is probably more innovative and masterful in their blending of so many mash bills. Buffalo Trace - get over yourself. Barton, bless your heart. Brown Forman, well done but I'm on to your marketing game. For #200 I wanted to crack something special. I can't find BTAC (or Old Fitz decanters) and honestly don't want to. Bourbon hunting is exhausting, expensive and sometimes downright degrading. Scotch less-so but uniformly more expensive in Kentucky. Why not then turn to DSP-KY-1's gift to Kentucky itself. An inconspicuous $12 bottle that lives on the bottom shelf. -------- This is Heaven Hill green label. Screw top cap. Six years. Ninety proof. In the glass it is a beautiful amber color. Thin appearance with slow tear drop legs. Nose is full of rich, sweet cherry cola, honey bun and charred wood. It's not, but sniffing this I feel like it could be a proofed-up Elijah Craig (which is actually 47 ABV to this ones 45 ABV). There's also a bit of ginger and brown sugar with faint bubble gum and varnish. A generous sip is full of spearmint, bubble gum, cola, wood and has a nice medium feel to it. The finish is a nice interplay of ginger spice, brown sugar, bubble gum again and wood char. I would say the finish goes on for a good minute if not more. There is no oily or coating feeling to it and just a mild warmth in the chest. Never is there a bite or a burn. To start with several other offerings I would say this is toe to toe with an $18-20 bottle of WT 101 (which I believe is substantially underrated). This could also wrestle with $20 Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond and win 2 out of 3 times. Honestly, I would take this over the standard Elijah Craig small batch or Evan Williams Bottled in Bond some days (though not every day because that would get boring). A $35 bottle of Henry McKenna BiB isn't all that far off but might edge ahead with the few additional proof points, but then again might not. I would say EH Taylor small batch is a contender but I would take this over standard Buffalo Trace, Blantons, Weller Special Reserve and possibly Elmer T Lee. The only place where the Buffalo clearly pulls ahead is Rock Hill Farms or Weller OWA - neither of which are more than $50 (ie none are worth more than a bottle of OF 1920 or RR). So how does this compare to a Rare Breed, Russels Reserve or OF 1920. I would say those bottles are the equivalent to this bottle on steroids. Bigger, bolder nose, flavors and finish but also more than double the price. I couldn't give any of those three up for this bottle. When it comes to ECBP, JD Barrel proof, Bookers and Stagg Jr (you can hate me for including Bookers in that group) it becomes an entirely different ballgame. The rewards in terms of flavor and feel are miles beyond, especially the way they play out in the finish whereas this has a very pleasant but straightforward finish. Regarding the $100+ category of Bardstown Discovery, well that category itself is a mixed bag but again this generally can't contend and for $12 shouldn't be expected to. As for a rating it's hard to say. If you want something as good or better for $20-30 I say good luck and don't over pay. Grab this if you're in Kentucky or an Evan Williams BiB or Elijah Craig if you're not. If you want something to impress yourself or other people then expect to pay around $40-50. If you want your mind blow then grab something barrel proof over 6-9 years (looking at you Bookers) but likely stop once you hit the 15 year mark (and don't buy IW Harper 15 unless you just want the fancy decanter - I kid you not this green label is better). And there you have it. #200 thanks to my Kentucky home and DSP-KY-1 who along with the Russel family still seems to really get it. And again, for those not in KY please do not lust for this bottle. Spend $18 on WT 101 and then sit in the hammock, mow your grass, smoke a cigar, spend time with your family, play games, read a book or do anything besides chase bourbon. Cheers!