Tastes

Tasted neat from a rocks glass at an airport. This is my first business trip in a year and a half, I guess I'd forgotten how much I detest travel. Anyway, whiskey always makes it better. The nose is a sweet blush of honey riding on a raft of ethanol fumes. Clear, yellow gold, thin in appearance. On the palate this is very much what the nose suggests. It's thin, it's sweet, it has a slight alcohol bite, and it is not at all challenging. It's a pretty good choice of whiskey if you're going to have a beer and a bump at an airport bar. No this isn't going to be in my regular rotation. This is just a straight up average Irish whiskey.

I'm a serious fan of the Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, but not so much the other expressions. Old No. 7 is a mixer with cola when I'm on a flight, otherwise it doesn't rise to the occasion. Gentleman Jack is fine if I'm in a so-so restaurant and they have a very limited selection. I'm really a fan of JD's rye, but here I'm looking at Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select. This isn't my first taste, but its the first time I've recorded my thoughts. This was tasted neat from a glencairn. The color is a brassy walnut and there's ample sheeting with small, slow tears running into the bowl of the glass on a swirl. The nose is subdued but with a bit of patience I'm getting circus peanuts, peeps, some vanilla, a bit of warm banana bread, caramel and maybe a bit of allspice. There's a slightly astringent ethanol note that seems to stick around. On the tongue this starts with a soft entry. The taste profile isn't as sweet or detailed as the nose hinted. Overall this is slightly creamy, sweet vanilla and caramel, a bit of creme de banana, some tart oaky bitterness and a slight nod towards some cinnamon and ginger. The finish is fast, faded and without heat. Overall I'd say this is an okay whiskey, but at $45 or so I think its overpriced. I'll take WT Rare Breed, Old Granddad 114, Evan Williams Single Barrel, Chattanooga 111, or even WT101 over it. The SBBP has magic in the bottle, this one doesn't. It's just slightly better than average, but a good choice if you're looking for a soft and non-challenging dram. Kind of JDs answer to Beam's old school Baker's.

I should have reviewed this long ago. It's been in solid rotation in my liquor closet for about 3 years now. This bottle is 2/3 full and has been open for a few months. The pour is tasted neat from a glencairn. The color of this whisky reminds me of my son's rose gold trombone. On the nose this is sherry forward, rich, fruity and brassy over a frame of malty barley. The nose is splashy in an enjoyable technicolor way. Slightly complex, I find the aromas in the glass to be fully enjoyable. On the palate this comes off as tamer than its nose might suggest. The sherry is forward, its a bomb. Mouthfeel is rich, creamy even. There is very little ethanol heat, but there's a touch of cinnamon red hots on the mid palate. There's a really nice basket of orchard fruits ripe for exploration and enough complexity to keep one's attention for the full dram. There's a nice blush of wood and the malt comes in towards the mid and back palate. I also get some walnuts and sweet orange marmalade. The finish is short, sweet and warming. I like this Highland malt a lot. It's very easy to like. There's really nothing off-putting and overall this is just as tasty as I could ask for a sweet, fruity, friendly quaff. Nicely done. I rate on a simple scale where 1 = something I hope to not taste again and 5 = I can stop looking now because it's as good as good gets. I think most products follow a bell curve with the average mass market solution falling into a 2 to 3 range. Glenfarclas 17 is far better than that. This belongs between 3.75 and 4.0 .

I'm a bit surprised I haven't reviewed this before now. I had a Woodford day at the lls a few months ago and purchased Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Rye and Double Oak. I've recorded my impressions of the latter, here are my thoughts on the first. I just cut up two beautiful ripe peaches, fresh from the orchard, and put them into a mason jar. I poured about 500ml of Woodford Reserve over the fruit to let it infuse. I'll keep it sealed and in the refridgerator for the next week or so. I've previously infused 500ml of Old Tub with Medjool dates (3 weeks) and then California golden figs (2 weeks). That project formed a wonderful thick syrup and I'm hoping combining that syrup with the peach-infused Woodford, a shake of Angostura orange bitters and 2 drops of Woodford chocolate bitters. I hope this will create a lush Old Fashioned I'll enjoy next weekend. What I wouldn't enjoy is drinking the rest of this bourbon neat. Between the ethanol nose, clash of bitter and syrup sweet notes on the palate and discombobulated peppery-sour finish, it's just not a dram I'm very enthusiastic about. This tastes like a fast food lab's take on whiskey. I get leather, chewing tobacco, thin vanilla with a goopy topping of sugar, alcohol and walnuts on the palate with a black pepper note on the finish. It's cloying and is acceptable as a free drink on a flight, but it's not something I'm going to pay for again. This just isn't a good bourbon value for money, even though it is perfectly drinkable. I just find it boring and not satisfying. I'd happily drink Elijah Craig Small Batch over this and save $10 per 750 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. My scale is simple. 1 = just trash and 5 = a perfect example of the expression. A bell curve tells us an average product will likely find itself between a 2 and a 3 on this scale. This is a wholly, totally average product with far too much quality competition at this price point for me to recommend it.

I'm having some fun with a handful of 50ml samplers I purchased at Total Wine. This whisky was tasted neat from a Glencairn. Ample time was given the liquid to get aquatinted with it's new surroundings. Light rosy brass in color, a swirl shows thin, fast legs. On the nose I get sherry and orchard fruits. Apples and pears, grapes and melon. There's a little funk (best I can do) and some ethanol. It's not unpleasant. This is just as fruity on the palate. Sweet tuti fruity without much depth, this is a good choice for whisky noobs, spiking a nogg, or in a highball. It's definitely not a sipper though. This tastes like a cheap sherried scotch. It's about as average as it can be.

I'm having fun with a handful of 50ml samplers I purchased at Total Wine. This scotch whisky was tasted neat from a glencairn. Ample time was given for the whisky to rest and contemplate its future journey. Interesting but faint aromas issue from the glass. A vigorous swirl turns up the volume a bit and I'm getting green apples, syrup, vague fruitiness. There's a wisp of a faint note of rum. Overall the nose is inviting but just not rich enough. I kinda like where its going, though. On the tongue the entry is sweet and creamy enough to be notable. The sweetness has a nicely formed pepper foundation that is just enough to warm the throat and focus the attention. I get honey, green vegetation, coconut, and a tart woodiness that has a bitter element about mid-palate. That bitter note follows a warm fade to a moderate finish that leaves a sweet and peppery reminder. I like this whisky. It's not remarkable in any way, but its tasty enough at this moment. I have no idea what this retails for per 750ml but it will need to be significantly cheaper than something like a Monkey Shoulder, which is both richer and more focused, for me to commit to a bottle. That said, this has been a nice dram and diversion for a stormy afternoon.

I'm having some fun with 50ml samplers i purchased at Total Wine. This is sampled neat from a glencairn. The nose is very faint and nearly non descript. If I give the whisky a good swirl I'll get notes of pairs, apple and green apple, fruity plums, some briny air, & ethanol. It's certainly a speyside signature, and one that is offering some faint promise of a delicate sipper. The first sip shows this to be delicate for certain. It's quite toned back on arrival and offers just the slightest kiss of fruit. The barrel note is dry with a bitter mid palate that is just a bit softened by a lemon zest blush. All taken, this isn't half bad but it is a bit watery. There's nearly no finish, but what does feebly show up is a glow of powdered ginger that leaves a slight tingle on the back of the tongue. This drinks the 80 proof it is and not a bit more. This is a very soft and innocuous dram. I'm struggling with this one a bit. This is almost good enough to be a mixer, but I believe its just too spineless to handle anything more than a clear and bubbly soda. Certainly Dewar's 12yo is a full head and shoulders bigger in profile and depth of flavor, so that makes this an easily sippable "near" scotch for the times when the palate wants a simpler watercolor interpretation of a speyside malt. A fine choice for the whisky shy and the bite averse, but not a bottle that would entertain a spirited whisky adventurer for more than a moment.