Tastes
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Rare Perfection 14 Year Canadian Whisky
Canadian — Canada
Reviewed December 7, 2022 (edited December 28, 2022)Rating: 10/23 N: Formaldehyde mixed with orange pith, small amounts of rancid hazelnuts, and just a general oiliness like a single grain scotch. Not an inspiring nose. P: There's a sweet layer of light caramel, but then the bitterness takes over, delivering that single grain profile of bland bitterness with oil and heat. There's a bit of clean water in here as well. I taste the bitter alcohol for sure, though there are hints of sweetness. Maybe a hint of rancidity. The oiliness isn't especially nutty, but there might be a hint of that there too. A little bit of ginger and white pepper, but mostly just spicy burn. F: Burning with unpleasantly bitter oil and hints of white pepper. Bland and not tasty. - Conclusion - This is far from perfection and it's far from rare. I can find this approximate flavor profile in just about any mediocre single grain scotch aged in the high number of teens of years. That high age statement comparison is unfortunately not a compliment so much as it is a statement about the low quality of single grain scotch. A low quality that this shares. I got a bit of funky rum (think Smith & Cross) at one moment, but it was still surrounded by that single grain burn. This just isn't very pleasant. Obtainium 13 Light Whiskey (13/23) has less of a corn scent to it, but it's also less bitter and has a little bit of a fruity vibrancy to it. Sure, the Obtainium burns more, but it's very high proof. This tastes older, but in the sense of spending too long in the barrel. The Obtainium is still not great, but it has cleaner flavors with more complexity and sweetness. It sure does burn, but it's clearly better than this. I'd be very surprised to give this a 12. I'm thinking an 11 is the high end of what I could give this. The Sexton (9/23) has a muddier flavor with more fruitiness and sweetness, but also just a more intense bitterness that is really hard to get past. It's like the difference between licking charred wood and licking ash. I'm not really sure if this is better, but I think that considering how the comparisons are focusing on the is point on how actively bad the drams are, this is probably at least as good as The Sexton. It's either a 9 or a 10 and I'm thinking a 9. Ouch. Some "perfection". Actually, considering the real graininess that The Sexton has, I can imagine giving this an 8. This is actually a bad whiskey. This has enough vanilla decadence though that I think an 8 is unreasonable. Coming back to this, I'm getting a lot more vanilla. It lacks the bold grain and fruit of Signatory's Caledonian 29 (1987) (12/23), but it doesn't burn as much and has some nice vanilla that largely escaped me last time. I overall prefer the Caledonian for its greater nuance, but it's not a massive preference. I think that my earlier 9 was too severe. Pulling out my Compass Box Hedonism (12/23), this is certainly less thin, but there's none of that apricot hint to this and the hedonism is certainly easier to sip. There's more vanilla and coconut here though. Honestly, I'm liking this better side by side right now, which is a real surprise. Maybe I gave the Hedonism too high of a score. There is a hint of something sort of yeasty in the Hedonism that I'm liking though. It's almost like a few drops of Stranahan's Blue Peak snuck their way in. The more I try these two side by side, the less enamored I am with this one. Still, I can't deny that it's better than I thought previously. I'm going with a 10 or 11. It's a tough call, but I'm ending on a 10 here. Thanks @Milliardo for the sample. I'd been very curious about this one and I'm glad to now know how it really is. -
Rating: 17/23 Happy international coffee day! N: Roasted darkly with hints of dark chocolate and mild soy sauce. It's not super complex, but it isn't nice. P: Way sweeter than the nose suggested. I thought this might just be bitter based on the nose. Actually, it's sweet! It doesn't have a confectioner's sugar feel to it at all, but it is full and viscous. There's a definite roasty flavor, with hints of medium roast astringency coming in. I get some chocolate sweetness and also faint hints of soy sauce. This is quite tasty. I see why people like this more than Kahlua. The soy sauce here may be a little heavy, but it's funky and I dig it. Hints of vanilla. F: Vanilla, soy sauce, dark chocolate, some sweetness. The balance somehow deteriorates here a bit, but this is still a very nice dram that is easy to sip. - Conclusion- I'm a fan of this. I'm not entirely sure what to do with it, but it's the best coffee liqueur I've tried. This isn't as sweet and viscous as Kahlua, but the Kahlua tastes too sweet and the sugar really shows in the mouthfeel. In comparison, the soy sauce is quite evident here, which is maybe not ideal, but I'm enjoying this more than even that ancient bottle of Kahlua I unearthed at my parents' house. After shaking this, it's a hair creamier with a tad more soy sauce chocolate, and bite. I'm not sure if I like it better this way. Chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. I dig. Soy sauce - not so much. I like soy sauce sometimes, but not in my coffee. Is this a 19? No. It's more likely a 17 or 18. Mixing 1:1 with bourbon, the result is oddly savory. I love the chocolate and coffee, but the savoriness is not good. A few more cocktails of this with bourbons and bitters later, I'm not impressed. That savory soy sauce note is just out of place. I'd have more confidence using Kahlua. As much as this has great flavors going for it, it has one odd flavor that I just can't fully endorse. I'm going with a 17.22.0 USD per Bottle
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Rating: 21/23 This is a mixer, so I won't be doing my usual NPF rating thing. I'll toss it into some drinks and see how it does. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. This with Trader Joe's bourbon in a 1:3 ratio is clearly better than subbing this for Averna. I'm actually shocked because Averna is amazing and also because this is richer and has less of an alcohol flavor, yet this is substantially more alcoholic than the Averna is. This brings some decadent cola and root beer flavors in that I just adore. It's so decadent and hedonistic. Mixing this 1:3 with that Trader Joe's bourbon is just a decadent delight. This does have a bit more of a flat bitter flavor than I'd like, but wow, that hedonism. Licorice and chocolate are definitely here a bit. This doesn't lack subtlety, but it actually has complexity at multiple levels of palate. Amazing! This is a truly decadent mixer that adds some great dimensions. I thought that Averna was great, but this blows it out of the water! OK, this is amazing. How amazing though? I gave Averna a 20, but I think that that this is better. Is it a 23? I'm skeptical. It's at least a 21 and I'm leaning toward a 22 based on this one mixing though. Coming back to this, I'm slightly skeptical of a 22, but it's definitely a 21.37.0 USD per Bottle
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Regans' Orange Bitters No. 6
Non-Potable Bitters — USA
Reviewed November 18, 2022 (edited November 19, 2022)Rating: 18/23 I've been wanting to try orange bitters for a while. They seem like the next natural progression on my cocktail journey. I hear that these are on the more bitter and herbal side, but I'm hoping that the orange still shows through. Making a maple syrup old fashioned with this and Old Forester 100, I find that this makes a more bitter and herbal cocktail than just the Old Forester mixed with maple syrup. This hides the vegetal flavor of the maple syrup though and despite initially seeming a bit more brash, it ultimately seems like this achieves the cocktail's purpose better. Throwing another old fashioned with Angostura together, I find that the Angostura (19/23) goes better with the other flavors involved here than the Regans' does. Combining the two, I find that this is somehow worse than either on their own. It just ends up more muddled with some of the maple vegetal flaws not as covered, while the bitterness of the Regans' comes in. So I'm not finding this to be as good as Angostura. It's quite good and it delivers that orange flavor nicely in a bitter format, but I wouldn't give it a 19. It does improve upon the Old Forester 100 (15/23) though, so I'm thinking a 15-18. I'm out of the Old Forester, so I'm switching to Dickel 15 Single Barrel (15/23) so that I can compare this with Peychaud's (17/23). Side-by-side, this is crushing the Peychaud's. The balance is just so much better - and it's so much better than the Dickel's with maple syrup without the bitters. I'm very impressed now. I'm now thinking that this is a 17 or 18. That's quite good. Throwing an Angostura maple old fashioned made with the Dickel into the mix, it's clear that this and the Angostura are better than the Peychaud's. So this is definitely a 17 or an 18. It's a bit of a tricky call, but at least it's a small range at this point. It's a tough call, but at the end of the day, I'm going to say that this is an 18. It's very nice, but a bit situational. -
Lazzaroni Amaretto Liqueur
Nut Liqueurs — Italy
Reviewed November 17, 2022 (edited November 19, 2022)Rating: 20/23 This is it: the legendary, original amaretto! It's made with cookies that have apricot pits in them, not with almonds, so I'm curious to see how it compares with the usual amaretto profile. I'm hoping that this fills a niche that regular amaretto misses. This smells and tastes a lot like regular amaretto, with that odd almond flavor absolutely pervading it. There's more of a fruity flavor like apricot and peach, with a lingering vegetal, floral, bitterness. It's very sweet, but not as sweet as the like of Disaronno (13/23). Disaronno gives me sweetness and richness that make me think of doughnuts. This is far more complex. It's fascinating. So many more spices and herbs. It's rich and full, but cleaner and more complex. It approaches amaro in complexity. It's not all that bitter, but there is some there. This is sweet, but well balanced. I mean, it does have a lot of sugar, but there's so much going on. For cocktails looking of a sweet liqueur, this is very promising. This lacks the bitterness of Averna (20/23), but it's similarly complex. I'm getting all sorts of fruity and floral notes mixed in with some bitter nuttiness that has a lot going on. This is so much better than Disaronno. This is far closer in quality to the Averna, though the comparison is a bit tough. We're talking a 17 at minimum. I really wish that this didn't have a metal screw top. Wow. This has so much going on. Even on its own, it's great. I would absolutely drink this instead of having dessert. Frangelico (13/23) has complexity that's closer to this than what Disaronno has by far, but this is way less stale and funky than Frangelico is. Again, this is an easy 17. I think it's higher. Honestly, the biggest problem here might be that I'm not sure what cocktail to make with this that doesn't just crush its complexity. Maybe this is just best on its own. What a delightful liqueur. Coming back to this, it's quite competitive with Averna. They're very different, but both are very complex. I'm thinking that that this is at most as good as the Averna, but not much below it. My thinking here is that the Averna is great for mixing, whereas, this is more of a decadent after dinner drink. This is a 19 or 20. It's excellent and really demonstrates the capability of the amaretto category as more than a mixer. Coming back to this, I'm thinking a 20 or a 21, so I'm landing on a 20. What a decadent, complex, and delightful liqueur!33.0 USD per Bottle -
Rating: 17/23 What a weird stopper. It's threaded, but screwing is more of a suggestion than a requirement. Yet screwing is easier. It's novel and won't rust and I like it. I expected this to be red. Because I expect dye and can't see through the green glass to tell that this is clear, I guess. So it's clear. Big whoop. I thought that this would just have a sickly cherry sweetness with richness and decadence, but I don't really get that. It's more like those fruity candy canes. I get some herbal flavors at first, with a generic floral sweetness. Cherry comes out, but it's not that maraschino flavor that I expected. I really don't taste how this is supposed to be maraschino cherry. I like this flavor, in a way, but with its clear menthol note that skirts tasting like cough syrup, it strikes me as a risky ingredient to use. I think that tiki drinks make sense for this, but not much else does. And I wouldn't drink this on its own. What do I do with this though? Coming back to this days later, I get those cherry and menthol syrupy notes, but I'm also getting strawberry and other sweet fruit flavors. I think that the cherry might be more of a suggestion from the company than an actual flavor. This is still decadent and enjoyable, but it's not great on its own and it really needs to be a sweet filler to make a fruity drink more decadent. I'm thinking it's intended for tropical drinks. I threw this in with some Rebel bourbon in a 6:1 ratio (I think you can figure out which was the 6) and it burned and didn't really taste good. So I'm thinking tiki drinks for this. This is just really hard to rate. It can add a nice dimension to a tiki drink, but otherwise it's hard to fit in. And it still isn't a defining dimension. It's good, but nothing amazing. Coming back to this and trying it in a lot of cocktails, this ranges from dominating to being almost forgotten. There's nothing that really makes me think that this is a great liqueur. How this got so many awards, I may never know. This is kind of an artificial cherry flavor that only balances with the most precise amounts of other ingredients. A bit too much of them and this just vanishes. But this never shines as a terrific ingredient either. It's just flawed and hard to find a home for. Even going through (mild riffs on) recipes like the last word and the aviation, this isn't impressing me all that much. What is even the point of this? I guess it's good in some drinks, but it's constantly struggling to show its worth, and it's frequently failing. OK, I thought about giving this some credit for the aviation (not at all for the last word though - that's a way too austere drink for this - this needs significant fun to mask its austerity), but then this Hemmingway daiquiri really stole the show. Sure, I tried this in a Martinez, but that was kind of boring. The Hemingway really showed off some sweetness that this could work with when I made it with Plantation Three Stars and light brown sugar syrup. Honestly, the Hemingway version of this is the best. I'm not sure that there's much relation to Hemingway here, but I like the flavors, boldness, sweetness, and complexity involved. Maybe this shines in the Hemingway version, but maybe it just hides behind the curtains. Hard to be sure, but I'm still kind of liking this. The most positive experience I had with this was in the Hemingway version, but even there it was lost in the various mixed ingredients. Honestly, that brown sugar sweetness makes the Hemingway version clearly the best. It's decadent and complex without being flat. Uh, and that seems like a bit of a... bullshit... Oh wow, this was a big failure. OK, it's been weeks, but I've finally found the use case for this. Mix some bitters into bourbon for added complexity, then add this for sweetness with a bit of cherry that blends in nicely, aside from the flat nature of the alcohol with it. It's still not an amazing liqueur, but it's OK. In contrast, Grand Marnier produces a less sweet and full cocktail, with more spiciness. Combined with bitters, this is the clear winner, especially combined with orange bitters. It's tough to give this a rating. I'm thinking a 16 or 17 and leaning toward a 17. I think it has its niche, but it's hard to use. I'm going for a 17, but it's definitely not an 18.30.0 USD per Bottle
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Booker's Bourbon Batch 2016-05 "Off Your Rocker"
Bourbon — Kentucky , USA
Reviewed November 14, 2022 (edited July 22, 2023)Rating: 20/23 N: Much lighter than I'd expected. Lots of minerality and peppermint mixed with stark tannins. Hints of conrmbread and vanilla, but they're barely present. This nose is unfortunately pretty vacant, with largely unappealing scents filling it. P: This is a lot better than the nose. It doesn't quite have the big boldness that Booker's often does, but there's this vanilla, cornbread sweetness with a faint butteriness that carries throughout. Peppermint comes in and there's a constant spicy bite. I'm getting big mint julep vibes from this and that really isn't a bad thing. There's almost a bit of yeastiness here too. A bigger sip showcases more of a white bread sweetness with a bit of herbaceousness and spices. It's nice, but lacks some of those flavors that I liked in the smaller sips. I get hints of licorice in here as well, which is very typical of Beam and is neither good nor bad in this context. F: Much drier than the palate, with those big, astringent tannins finally coming out. I get some lingering vanilla and butter, with faint cornbread sweetness. Definitely licorice and mint. Kind of off-kilter overall here, but not bad. - Conclusion - I think I might get why this was titled "Off Your Rocker". There's a lot of weird flavors hitting at different angles and plenty of worrying moments, but it somehow comes together and is quite enjoyable. Though maybe I'm just expressing that a very nice palate saves this from the mildly troubled finish and complete mess of a nose. This clearly beats Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (18-19/23) and my bottle of Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (18/23). I'm thinking a 20. I could maybe be convinced of a 21, but I don't think so. A 19 strikes me as more likely than a 21, but it's not like either is out of the picture at all. Coming back to this, I was able to put it up against my bottle of Balcones True Blue Cask Strength (19/23) and this won. I'm going with a solid 20 here. A big thanks to @Milliardo for sharing this dram! -
Booker's Bourbon Batch 2017-01 "Tommy's Batch"
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 14, 2022 (edited April 29, 2024)Rating: 18/23 N: Woody leather with mint, hints of licorice, and some remnants of corn mixed with some vanilla to add a bit of sweetness. It's on the bitter side, but rich and full. The bit of minerality that I get isn't in the way of the rest of the notes and it doesn't weaken the fullness. All in all, quite an enjoyable nose, though one that could certainly prove challenging. P: Sweeter than I'd expected. It starts off with cornbread, vanilla, and bold spices. Hints of medium-light caramel mixed with honey. From there, licorice, mint, and tannic leather come in. Some creosote as well. It gets more bitter as it progresses on the palate, with only faint hints of cornbread and vanilla remaining. Minerality comes in on the later side of the palate, which is OK, but I'd prefer to be without. F: Licorice, leather, creosote, vanilla, mint, and a big vein of minerality. This is my least favorite part of the dram. It isn't bad, but it goes from wowing me to just being OK. - Conclusion - This is a very enjoyable dram overall. Has Booker's gone downhill over the years? The decadence and complexity on display here are really nice. Blanton's (20/23 - really? I don't buy that. I think I need to rerate Blanton's) is far less full, with a more subtle complexity and greater minerality. Coming back to this, I'm finally getting that Beam peanut flavor that I wasn't before. Mmm, I'm liking this one better. This is also beating my bottle of Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (18/23) with its greater complexity and maturity. Based on this side by side, this is easily a 19. It won't be pushing past a 20 though. It really could be a 20 though. This is pretty close to Booker's 2016-05 Off Your Rocker (20/23). Coming back to this, I'm not finding it to be so vastly superior to Booker's 2015-06 Noe Secret (16/23). With its sweet richness, this is still clearly the better dram, but it's no 19. I'm finding this to be reasonably competitive with Russell's Reserve Single Barrel. My bottle of Balcones True Blue Cask Strength (19/23) handily beats this. I'm thinking a 17 or 18 here. I'm tempted to go down to a 17, but considering how much I liked this previously, I think I'll give it an 18. Thank you, @Milliardo , for sharing this one as well. -
Booker's Bourbon Batch 2015-06 "Noe Secret"
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 14, 2022 (edited November 15, 2022)Rating: 16/23 N: Musty corn and sawdust with a big limestone minerality. The corn's sweetness gradually builds a bit into sort of a cornbread profile. A thin layer of moderately tannic wood in the back. It's a passable nose, but I wouldn't call it good. I like the mustiness mixed with the sawdust and cornbread, but it's such a light and uncomplex nose that they don't really do it for me. P: Much sweeter than the nose suggested, with cornbread, vanilla, caramel, and juicy fruit in the tangerine and cherry range before turning more into orange peel. Big spices kick throughout, with ginger, pepper, and clove leading some cinnamon. There's a clear wood presence, though there isn't a ton going on with it. It's moderately tannic and not at all leathery. That characteristic Beam lightness with minerality and bitterness shows for sure, with its usual licorice flavor. Oh, some mint as well, and hints of root beer at times. This is quite nice and is much better than the nose suggested. It isn't blowing my mind by any means, but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. F: This is fine, but nothing special. It leans hard toward the bitterness and minerality, with wood, licorice, ginger, and clove being the main players. They aren't bad flavors, but they're definitely the aftertaste flavors. A touch of vanilla, perhaps. Quite a forgettable finish. - Conclusion - I like this, but it isn't one of my favorite Booker's releases. It has a really nice fruity sweetness for a bit, but that gets overwhelmed by the other flavors. It ends up tasting a lot like proofed-up Jim Beam Original (9/23), which works out fine, but I don't find the regular Jim Beam to be a very inspiring bourbon. Still, the low proof is a big part of what holds the regular Jim Beam back. Of the three Booker's I'm trying now, I'm the least impressed by this one. It's a clear step down from 2016-05 Off Your Rocker and 2017-01 Tommy's Batch, the two of which are quite different, but are fairly similar in quality. Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23) is in about the same ballpark as this. I'd be inclined to give this the nod, so I'm thinking a 16 here. Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (18-19/23) is lot better than this, though the gap isn't positively enormous. I'm thinking that it's reinforcing this as a 16. My bottle of Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (18/23) is a bit better than this, but they're surprisingly close on a kind of tired palate. I think that this might be a 17, but that's the absolute highest it can go. The base Beam lightness and bitterness are hard to get past, especially with that bit of added tannin. Coming back for a few last sips on a very fresh palate, this has a nice vanilla sweetness to it. Alongside my bottle of Balcones True Blue Cask Strength (19/23), this isn't nearly as complex or decadently vanilla-flavored. This doesn't have that maple-corn sweetness either. The gap is large. Russell's Reserve 10 is still competitive with this. I can imagine this going up to a 17, but right now I'm finding it to still be a 16. Thank you, @Milliardo , for sharing this one! -
Rating: 21/23 I was in the market for chocolate bitters, but I got a recommendation for these "Aztec" chocolate bitters, so I gave them a shot. I'm not sure if they're going to quite be what I'm looking for, but I'm sure I'll find a use for them. Holy cow! These are probably the best bitters I've ever tried! There's so much richness, nuance, and decadence that they add to a cocktail. Just wow. Angostura is already amazing, but these have just raised the bar so much. I don't know. I've spent months trying this at this point and comparing/contrasting it with other bitters. I think that this even beats the excellent Angostura (19/23). It's hard to place this, but I'm inclined to give it a 21. This isn't so revolutionary that I'd consider a 23, but this is so good in most circumstances and add such delicious decadence, that I think this beats the Angostura. I could believe a 22, but I could also believe lower than a 21. So a 21 seems fine. As a final note, I'm shocked by how low the ABV is here. That's neither bad nor good. It's just surprising and worth keeping in mind. I love this, but obviously only for cocktails. There are plenty of things that are only good in cocktails, so a low ABV here doesn't create chaos, especially considering its puncuating flavor. In the end, I'm going with a 21. This is delightful.
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