Tastes

This is a new brand and expression for me. Picked up a store-pick selection, bottle 109 of 129, from Gaspar's in Tampa about 3 months ago and I'm finally getting around to opening it. It's labeled as 50% ABV and not much else. I did sample it at the liquor store (Gaspar's is known for their liberal tasting library) and was impressed enough to put it in the cart. The pour is an "old penny" color. I'm not sure who's review I lifted that from, but I first saw a color described that way on this site. There is substantial sheeting and big, slow legs on a swirl. This taste is neat from a glencairn. I'm allowing a solid 15 minutes for the liquor to settle as this is a first pour. The nose is powerful. The immediate ethanol hints at a proof I'd believe was higher than 100, but it soon fades to a more "normal" level. Once a little time has passed I start getting strong notes of cola, cherries, apples, dill, menthol, ginger, cloves, vanilla, banana, caramel, oak wood, cut lumber, and rich nougat. Wow, this is intense! Barrel char, ginger, black pepper, sweet creme brulee, Banana's Foster, cherry cola, cloves, brine and a slight mineral flavor all are delivered on the palate. This is GIANT in flavor. Everything is turned up to 11, but it leans decidedly towards a high rye profile. This absolutely isn't an "approachable" or "friendly" dram! This is serious whiskey! Don't make this your first of the night or everything else will taste pale and washed out in comparison. And please don't give this to someone who's not ready for a powerful flavor profile. It might scar them for life! Seriously, though. This is of the same vein as a Booker's, Stagg Jr or JDSBBP. Tasty and drinks big -but this isn't 130 proof. And there-in lies the problem. I like this a lot, but its unique enough that I feel like I need to ding it a point for just being too loud. Comparisons to the competition aside,this is a great bourbon. I think the biggest weakness I'm tasting is a shorter-than-ideal finish that fades cleanly and elegantly. Somehow I feel cheated. A whiskey this big deserves a bit more time for an ovation. Spicy, bold, complex, unapologetically forward, tidy and powerful all describe what I'm tasting. Try it with a peppery, full-flavored meal or with a perfectly smoked brisket. I can't imagine a better pairing! I'm saying this is a 4.0, but it might deserve a quarter point more if the bottle mellows out just a bit over time.

I've been enjoying this Irish whiskey expression for over 20 years now. This is my first review. This bottle is about 4/5 full and has been opened for about a month, so it's rested. The taste is neat and from a glencairn. The pour is a crystalline brassy gold. A swirl demonstrates thin sheeting and fast, small tears on the side of the glass. The nose isn't what I'd call spectacular by any means. It's really not remarkable; its got a sweet fruited sherry note, honeysuckle, ethanol, and just the slightest touch of malty grain. It's certainly acceptable. Inviting, even. There's really nothing negative here, but there's also nothing that would make me do a double take. Billed as containing 80% malts and aged for 8 years, the flavor reveals a soft, sweet and completely approachable Irish whiskey. There's a solid dose of vanilla, some slight orchard fruits and a surprising creaminess to the mouthfeel. Altogether this is a pleasing package. I really enjoy this neat, on ice and occasionally in a dessert-sweet Old Fashioned. This is one of those bottles that you can have on your bar for those moments when a cocktail "candybar" hits the spot and its a great whiskey to share with friends new to whiskey flavors. I rate based on a 5 point scale where a 1 is a drain pour and a 5 represents the perfect example of the expression. Any good, average product from a major player should land in the 2 to 3 range, and this one does, even coming in slightly above average.

My first exposure to this expression was a BenRiach tasting at my local liquor store. I've finally ponied up and put a bottle in my cabinet. It's been open for a couple weeks now. Here is my updated take on this whisky, tasted neat from a glencairn. This is such a light colored pour. It hits the glass in very pale straw that's perfectly transparent. The nose is unremarkable in the truest sense. There's just nothing there that I don't expect in a scotch. I get notes of peat (of course), smoke and brine all subdued and in line with its Speyside origins. Continued examination reveals green apples, quince, and a bouquet of floral notes. Its nice in the glass, but what about on the tongue? The taste profile is dry, opening with both peat and honeysuckle but never leaning too far to either side. There are almost three discrete elements here: sweet barley grain and grain sugar, peaty smoke and bitter oak. They seem to overlap in some kind of psychedelic Venn diagram where I can taste the intersections but I just cant define them. The finish is a bit surprising in that it seems short, but there's a sweetness left in the mouth for several moments after the swallow. The immediate finish is slightly hot with ginger and just a brush of sage. Again, I'm left to consider the dry personality of this whisky. This is pretty good as a neat pour, but its profile is also amenable to cocktails. This scotch likes oranges and citrus - try this in a Blood & Sand but go light on the cherry so as to keep balance. This is KILLER in a Rob Roy - I may even enjoy a perfect variation next, but it's lovely with sweet vermouth and a dash of Peychaud's bitters. I need to try this also in my interpretation of the Drunk Uncle, which is 1 oz scotch, 1 oz Cynar, 1 oz Cocchi di Torino served in a Negroni style. I like this malt just fine, but at $65 bottle its a bit rich for what it is. I'm happy I bought a bottle and I'm impressed enough with BenRiach to get more of their product. I don't know that I'll be buying another of this expression simply because there are other options at this price that I enjoy a bit more (Ardbeg for peat, Glenlivet Nadurra, etc) I rate on a bell curve where 1 is a just not worth drinking and 5 is the perfect incarnation of an expression. Average products will score around 2.5. This is a 3.5. It's very good, not great. The separation of sweet, dry, smoky and floral keeps this from getting closer to the 4+ that motivates me to stock-up.

New bottle, first pour. I'm a MM fan and I typically enjoy 46. I've been drinking the core expression for at least three decades, but it's really not part of my regular rotation anymore. I'm looking forward to trying out this new expression and the cask strength, which are both new to me. This taste enjoyed neat from a glencairn. The whisky rested for more than 10 minutes after the pour and before tasting. The burnished copper pour has a nose that's full with cinnamon, brown sugar, allspice, tart cherry, and a healthy dose of ethanol. This is not the bouquet I typically associate with MM, which is far less complex and not quite as full of bakery notes. First taste, this is sweet and better than the nose let's on. Not to say the nose is bad; its apropos for a sub $40 bottle. But the aromas only hint at what is coming on the taste buds. This 101 is toasty and delicious. It reminds me of Cinnamon LIfe breakfast cereal. Through the mid palate and finish I get notes of sarsaparilla or root beer, brandied cherries, graham crackers, caramel, brown sugar, and baking spices. There's a nice depth to this. The finish is moderately warming and medium long. This is an easy sipper. This is a nice dram and a good value for a sub $40 bottle. Recommended!

Not my first taste. This neat, rested in a glencairn. The nose is a Mars Bar candy bar drizzled with a lovely, light and tasty peated Islay. It's a delicate scotch with a good smoky Peaty balance. This has a wonderful demarara sugar flavor right at the very front of the flavor curve, which immediately melts into vanilla and caramel. There are notes of barrel wood and some slightly echoes of ginger The upfront is definitely sweet and accommodating. It offers a gentle entry. In mid palette the sweet ramps up and meets the smoke with a slight sour note that devolves into a slightly bitter wood tone. The finish is short, primarily of ginger and with just a bit of white pepper. This is not the most complex dram I've ever had, but definitely is one of the more interesting. It's quite delicious when drunk neat, especially if you have an adventurous palate. For a real treat, try adding 1/4 oz of this to 1 1/2 oz of Botanist gin and 1/2 oz of Dolan dry vermouth in a traditional silver bullet martini. Serve up and we'll chilled with a twist for a garnish. This is not a liquor that needs to be in my cabinet everyday. It's definitely something I have enjoyed having in my cabinet and will purchase again. If anything, it has lit a flame of curiosity inside of me regarding how far blends can be taken. I am much more fascinated with scotch blends and blended American whiskeys now that I have tasted the kind of work coming out of this distillery. Kudos and recommendations.

Tasted neat. Wow! WT has serious kung fu. I love WTRB and I hoped for a lot from this expression. I'm not disappointed. Fruity, a lot of spices, ginger, mint, forward menthol, bold - this isn't for the rye shy. Compared with EH Taylor rye, this is full color and the EHT is faded, lacking in contrast, and veiled. That's actually a little hard to say because the EHT is a superb rye. This is just in a different class, especially considering its price point. Not cheap, but setting the mark for the style. Highly recommended.

Quickly revisiting this at 25% left in the bottle. This isn't rye. Full stop. Just like Templeton rye isn't rye (confession - I like Templeton for what it is) and Casamigos Reposado or Casa Azul tequila isn't tequila (flame me if you must) - and in that statment I mean that these don't taste very much like taste standards of the category would suggest. They are sweeter. They are almost caricatures. They may be tasty, but they are not representative and, to me this doesn't taste like rye. I'd also say it really can't be used in a cocktail like another rye. Definitely not in a Manhattan. Not in an Old Fashioned. Maybe in a sour for someone with no taste for whisky... This is too sweet to be considered a good rye. It tastes kinda okay at first. But then it becomes cloying and thick and uninteresting. I'm deducting half a point from my first impression. Getting through the rest of this bottle will be a chore. I think I'll finish it off by sipping it with soda in a highball. Hard pass on another.

A brief whiskey review - George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond 2005 13 year old versus 2008 11 year old. Let me start by saying this right up front; I love George Dickel whiskey. Especially this expression. I'd not had any Dickel before trying the first gen BiB and I was an instant fan. There's a reason this took whiskey-of-the-year and for under $40 its a steal. But what happens when one expression is done and another is released? Let's find out... Both are tasted neat, and with a few drops of steam-distilled water, from a glencairn. Plenty of time was allowed for the whiskey to rest before tasting. They are indistinguishable in color and viscosity, showing slight sheeting and thin legs. On the nose the 13 y.o. is a caramel candy bomb with notes of minerality. The 11 hits me as maybe being just a touch more intensely aromatic, but that could be because the is the first pour from a fresh bottle. They are close. Very close. On the palate the 13 delivers on its sweet promise with caramel and cherry notes, barrel char, bitter oak, demarara sugar, and a finish that hints of ginger and clove. It's a classic sweet bourbon taken to a silky, smooth finish by the Lincoln County process of filtering. Lovely. My first impression of the 11 year is that it is slightly more caramel, slightly less cherrry, a bit more oaky, and just a touch drier. I don't think I could tell the difference if I weren't tasting them side-by-side. This may be the better choice for an Old Fashioned or Manhattan cocktail. They are close in character as befits the label. With 3 drops of water (drops) the 11 year old is creamier, a bit less peppery on the finish. In both cases the caramel is pushed forward by the water. These are very, very close. My wife, whose taste buds are not to be dismissed and who often calls my attention to the smallest of details, says the 11 is the better of the two. According to her "it's not close". For me, a blind tasting would be challenging. These are excellent examples of the distiller's art. Nicole Austin, the master distiller at GD Diageo, is a real artist and her touch has pushed these into my regular rotation along with Wild Turkey Rare Breek, Knob Creek, and Old Grand Dad 114. The 13 is gone, but wise money might bunker 1 or 2 for future tastings. The 11 is here and readily available under $40. Definitely a buy recommendation from me! My scale for reviewing starts at 1-star (unacceptable under any circumstances) and proceeds to 5-star (a perfect example of the expression). Most "mass market" whiskies should be on the bell curve at or near 2.5. Good is 3. Anything above a 4 is part of my "curated" collection. Both of these releases sit at a solid 3.75 for me, and lean towards a 4.0 (Rare Breed territory). All I can say is that I don't intend to run out...