Tastes

2oz neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is a dry hay fire in a cornfield, with an oak toothpick dipped in apple juice. Taste is more of the same, dry and hot, with a lingering bitter astringent aftertaste. This is rough stuff. Not a fan. 10/16/2020.

50ml neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is fruit forward, with banana over some apples, pineapples, sugar cane, with a note of damp hay underneath. Not offensive, but I am not a big fan of banana-dominant whiskies. Taste switches the apple and banana in prominence; I definitely get a rummy ethanol presence coming through after the fruity front, with sweetness coating the gums after the short finish. I tend to find Glenlivet rather boring; this is not great, for me, but it is not boring either. I am growing to like it a bit, actually. I will also give it an extra tick for calling it "Reserve" instead of "Cask." 10-5-2020

I am shocked to find this on Distiller. My mate Matt the Lion procured a 2oz sample of this last year and brought it for a pre-tasting treat (along with some other gems). So we split the 2oz mini into two Glencairns and dove in. I didn't take specific notes, but we both agreed this was the best and most complex Scotch we have ever had. Period. Just wave after wave of goodness. Too many notes to list. Up, down, sideways, in perfect harmony. I can recall our reactions perfectly. This was, for both of us, the best whiskey we have ever had. I know I already said that, but it is true and worth repeating. Perfection is impossible. This was as close as I will likely find.

Second New Riff bottled-in-bond, tasted right after the bourbon. My BIB obsession continues. 2oz neat in Glencairn at home. Nose: tons of rye spice with some heat. Not too sharp, which is notable for a 100% rye offering. I can find some apple peel, hint of banana, and maybe cedar lurking underneath. Really straightforward quality high rye. Taste: more rye spice, but again not too overwhelming, as there are some definite pronounced sweet notes coming through that temper the burn. But the burn is there, lasting through a long finish. The sweetness on top of the rye spice is unexpected, and it actually returns as the lingering finish dissipates. This evokes, for me, a Sazerac-on-steroids result. Which is a really good thing. 8/21/2020

The bottom-in-bond saga continues with New Riff. Have heard great things about them for a couple years, but they are not sold in VA. Finally got a friend to bring back some from OH (the only thing OH is useful for, IMHO). But I digress. Great expectations. Really nice looking modern bottles, too. Let's go. Pause ... the cork is a black rubber thing. No, no, no. Over the line in coolness-factor attempt. Looks like a stopper for some fluid reservoir from a Chevy engine bay. Sigh. Let's hope the aesthetics people are not the distilling people. 2oz neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is full of sweet apple pie, some caramel, some clove. Hint of the oak, but just a hint. Really nice. Taste has a lot going on, with apple peel over baking spice, some field grains, orange zest, marzipan. Lingering and complex finish, with a hint of dryness on the very tail. The aesthetics people are definitely NOT the distilling people. This is a very well executed BIB bourbon. Great layers, maybe not exactly nuanced but very enjoyable. Strongly recommend. 8/20/2020

Batch No. 15801. I don't know what that means in this particular case, but hand-applied numbers on bottles are a thing now even when they don't actually tell you anything. Probably fair to assume that 15 refers to distilling in 2015, as this is a bottled-in-bond bourbon with no age statement, and lately any BIB older than 4 years is labelled with the age. So I am assuming this is a 4.5 year-old BIB. But I digress. I am trying this one just after the WT Single Barrel BIB, which I found to be very disjointed but drinkable. Let's go. 2oz neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is quite fruity, with apple, pear, and some citrus coming through; mild spice and oak peek out on the back end. Taste inverts that equation, with the spice and oak dominating, and the fruit and floral notes coming through past mid-palate. The finish brings everything together, with a pleasant linger. In the end, I like it well enough. Today was my first tasting of Wilderness Trail whiskeys, and between the Small Batch and the Single Barrel, I am intrigued by what they are doing. It is like they have a Nose Dept and a Taste Dept and the two seldom have meetings. None of it is bad, at all, but wow are these all over the map. And to tell the truth, that kinda makes me really interested to try more of them. 8/20/2020.

Barrel No. 1500120B, bottle 29 of 230. My quest to try all the current bottled-in-bonds continues. 2oz neat in Glencairn at home. Nose is a like a liquid candy bar, with caramel and cocoa and nougat, some light spice and grains on the tail. Smooth and rich. Taste is radically different, with spice and oak completely dominating a now more subtle caramel and vanilla. The aftertaste lingers briefly, and ends on a dry-ish note. This is an odd one, with the nose like smooth jazz and the taste like hair metal. Both are fine and have their place, but you probably shouldn't do a mixtape alternating the two. I will say that it is interesting as hell. 8/20/2020

2oz neat in Glencairn at home, courtesy of Matt the Lion. Cheers! Nose has oak, cherry, cinnamon spice, some light dry grass. Taste is similar, with the spice coming on strong, then charred oak and light cherry, followed by a second wave of cinnamon spice that dissipate and lingers. This is not a subtle bourbon like the base 94. Slightly xerostomic, with the dried grass and hay notes reappearing, but only for a moment. Overall a very enjoyable bourbon. 8/20/2020.

I am generally a big Ardbeg fan. I do however have some apprehension about this one, fearing a total ashtray-licking experience due to its youth. Let's go. 2oz in Glencairn at home. Nose is big smoke, definite ash, with some hints of seaside trying to poke through. Taste is more of the same, with a lingering bitter ash coating the back of the tongue and down into the throat. Maybe some iodine, maybe some seared brisket, but then maybe that is me just hoping to find something besides a campfire in my mouth. This is, well, rough. No nuance or balance. I don't hate it, but I can't say I enjoy it so much as tolerate it. You want to scare a neophyte away from single malt Scotch for life, this is your dram. 8/7/2020

2oz in Glencairn at home. I liked the 13 year old from last year, so have high hopes. Nose has cinnamon and apples, some baking spices and a touch of heat. Very pleasant. Taste is similar, with some nutty notes and more spice lingering in the finish. Again, a touch of heat, which brings a nice Kentucky hug. This juice I quite like. 7/31/2020