Tastes

Picked this up looking for something new from Beam, hoping for something as good as the Black label but with a little more kick. Unfortunately this is nothing like Beam Black. An aside, I have no idea how this gets a 90 here. This whiskey is a standard BiB offering from Beam. It pours a medium gold in the glass and leaves a few skinny legs with some water droplets. The nose was a little surprising: it’s fairly hot with musty corn, light cinnamon spice, and very little sweetness. So far it’s more reminiscent of the White label than the Black and that’s not good. The palate echoes the nose with oak, some heat, and some dry spice. The typical bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla are pretty much non-existent. The finish hangs on a while with more dry, musty, oaky spice. This bottle was pretty disappointing even considering the source and the price. I paid $23 for this locally, but it comes off more like a $15-20 bottle. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between this and the white label other than the proof. Not recommended for sipping neat but it’s fine for mixing. Its dry profile actually makes a decent Old Fashioned, so not a complete loss. 2.75/5.

This was an impulse buy at my local Kroger and turned into one of my better decisions. I didn’t know anything about this bottle when I picked it up. The bottle itself is intriguing: the label is an eye-catching blue and orange with an old-time style script proclaiming its name and the year that William and John Snyder founded their distillery on the banks of the Ohio in northern Kentucky: Eighteen 33. There is a great story on the label about the hard work and sacrifice of those early distillers and it concludes with the phrase, “Made by Ghosts”. With all that I’d probably like it even if the whiskey was mediocre. Fortunately, it’s much better than that. Boone County Eighteen 33 straight bourbon whiskey is a ten year old distillate produced by MGP. There is a great story out there from the founders of this distillery about how they came across these 1000 barrels of whiskey that they purchased to sell while their distillery gets up and running but I’ll be damned if I can find it now to provide the link. Oh well, on to the tasting. This whiskey is derived from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. It’s bottled at a respectable 45.4% ABV. It’s a gorgeous dark amber in the glass and forms long, slow developing legs when given a spin. The nose is a beautiful sweet bomb of buttery caramel, brown sugar, a hint of vanilla, and light cinnamon. It’s a Cinnabon sweet roll in a glass. In the mouth it’s more of the same: butterscotch and warm baking spices with hints of tobacco and leather. Considering it’s 10 year age, there is very little oak; just that amazing sweet roll. If sweet whiskey is not your thing you might want to think twice about this dram. But the rest of us will just keep enjoying. The rye kicks in in the finish with cinnamon and pepper. It’s nice and warm and leaves you wanting more. This was $65 locally. At that price it’s definitely at the top of my bourbon price range. But I have to say I’m not disappointed. This is one of the better bourbons I’ve had lately and I’m glad took a chance on it. I will probably replace it when it’s gone, it’s that good. 4/5 even considering the price. Cheers!

Originally posted on Barreled 2/6/19. Bowmore was my intro to Islay almost two years ago and I really liked the 12 yr. I’ve been wanting to get a hold of this bottle for quite a while and when Ace Spirits had it on sale for Burns Night I jumped on it. This 15 year expression is aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels and then another 3 years in Oloroso sherry casks. It’s an absolutely gorgeous dark red/mahogany color in the glass. It’s bottled at 43% ABV and leaves a nice oily coating with abundant legs. Initially the nose had lots of sherry: dark fruits - raisins, grapes and blackberries, along with a fair amount of smoke. The smoke seemed to intensify after sitting in the glass for about 15 minutes. Really nice. Almost Lagavulin like. The palate was a little one dimensional after the nose with dry smoky red wine. It was really hard to pick any individual notes out of it. The finish was decently long with BBQ meats and a little pepper. This dram changed pretty significantly with the addition of just a 1/4 tsp of water. Although the water just about killed the nose, it balanced the palate by bringing out more of the sherry against the smoke. It also enhanced the finish somewhat in the same way. This whisky is very good, if not just a little one dimensional. The smoke was stronger than I remember with the 12. Unfortunately it’s almost too strong as it tends to overwhelm the sherry notes. Water seems to help this but weakens the wonderful nose. Overall it’s pretty good. I got this on sale at $76; I’m glad I didn’t pay full price. Good but not great. 3.75/5. Cheers

This bourbon, like most Buffalo Trace products, is becoming increasingly difficult to find. I obtained this sample from a co-worker who had managed to get a bottle from our local Kroger before they sold out. That is, before noon on the day they were delivered. EH Taylor Small Batch is the base offering in the EH Taylor family of products from Buffalo Trace. It’s made from BT’s mash bill #1 which is 90% corn, 10% or less rye, and the remainder malted barley. It carries the Bottled-in-Bond certification guaranteeing it’s at least four years old and bottled at 50% ABV. It’s a nice medium amber in the glass and produces lots of long slow forming legs. The nose of this whiskey was a little hot for 100 proof BiB bourbon. Fortunately the alcohol faded out after about 5-10 minutes leaving behind a nice rich blend of caramel and vanilla with a touch of toasted oak. Typical bourbon notes; nothing special, but nice. The palate has more of the same - sweet caramel, warm vanilla, and baking spices. There’s a fairly thick mouthfeel. The finish is a little short but very nice with warm, sweet oak and mild pepper. This is a good bourbon that should appeal to most people: it’s fairly sweet, doesn’t have a lot of spice or heavy oak notes, and is reasonably priced. That is, when you can find it at retail. I think this goes for $50 locally which is, in my opinion, a little high. It can be found online for $40; much better and not unreasonable. But I have read/seen examples of this going for $80 and up (ridiculous), thanks to the effects of the secondary market inflating all things Buffalo Trace. Given the online price of $40 I give this a 3.5/5. Just don’t waste your money paying more than that. Cheers!

In the summer my preferences turn toward bourbon. I prefer the sweeter dram over ice rather than Scotch’s drier, smoky profile. I bought this with the Glenglassaugh Evolution looking for a sweeter Scotch for summer sipping. The Glenglassaugh fits the bill. This is also a pretty decent summer whisky, but not quite as good as the Evolution. This expression from Glenfiddich is aged for 14 years and finished in new charred American oak. In theory this should add some bourbon characteristics to the final product. I’d have to say it succeeds. It’s bottled at 43% ABV, is a medium gold color in the glass, and forms a few quick forming legs when given a swirl. The nose is sweet grassy barley. The bourbon influence is very noticeable: vanilla and caramel behind the malt. Just a touch of burn, but for a 14 year old malt @ 43% it’s a little much. Water had no appreciable affect on the nose. In the mouth it’s sweet honeyed orchard fruits, and buttery malt with a thick mouthfeel. Again, water doesn’t seem to have much effect. The medium finish is sweet malt with a hint of smoke and pepper. There’s an odd sour note after everything else fades, or maybe it’s just me. This is the one aspect that water affects: Water seems to extend the finish. Overall for $40 this is a good deal. A 14 yr old age-stated Scotch for under $40? Yessir! Good but not great. 3.5/5.0.

I started looking around a few weeks ago for some scotch that would make a good summer sipper. I generally prefer bourbon in the summer, usually with a rock or two. So I wanted something on the sweet side that would stand up to ice. After reading a few reviews I found this. It fits the bill very nicely. Glenglassaugh Evolution is an NAS expression aged in first fill ex-Tennessee whiskey casks. It is non-chill filtered and has no color added, being a pale gold in the glass. It produces a few skinny legs when given a spin and is bottled at a respectable 50% ABV. The nose is wonderful sweet honeyed barley, orchard fruits, hints of dark malt, caramel, vanilla, just a slight burn. A few drops of water kills the burn and turns the nose slightly darker, more malty. Either way it’s really nice. In the mouth it’s sweet honeyed barley, mild heat, caramel, and vanilla. Wonderful bourbon influence, like blending bourbon and scotch. It has a fairly thin mouthfeel, but this does not detract from the experience. Water does the same for the palate that it does for the nose: tames some heat and brings out a darker, maltier tone. The finish is medium with oak, pepper, and hints of smoke. Water has no effect on the finish. Overall this is an excellent whisky that will make a pretty good summer sipper. Add to that a sub-$50 price tag and you have a winner. Solid 3.75/5.

This is reposted from Barreled on 7/7/18. I’m changing my original score of this to a 4/5. This is excellent whisky and I will be very sad when it is gone. I bought two bottles of this back in May when it was announced that they were out of aged spirit and would be discontinuing shipments. Finally decided to crack one open. This is only the second Japanese whisky I’ve had, the other being Nikka Pure Malt Black. It might not be from Scotland, but it’s pure scotch in every other way. The Hakushu distillery is located in central Japan, in the forests on the slopes of Mt. Kaikoma, between Nagoya and Tokyo. This whisky is s little unusual: it is a blend of three different whiskies produced at the same distillery, hence it is a single malt, but a “blended” single malt. The components are a non-peated whisky aged in American oak, a peated whisky aged in American oak, and a non-peated whisky aged in ex-sherry/Spanish oak. As such the peat level is very low (7-9 ppm), but is still noticeable. This whisky is bottled at 43% ABV and is a bright gold in the glass. It coats the glass with a nice thick oily coating, producing nice long legs. So far so good. The nose is pure scotch. Malted barley produces the classic grassy/floral nose, with some darker malty tones underneath. There is little to no alcohol burn, and just a hint of smoke if you try really hard. The palate is more grassy barley with some bright citrus (lemon) tones. Very little sweetness to me, I really couldn’t get much more out of it. It will be interesting to see how this tastes in a couple of weeks. The finish was really nice, medium length with light but noticeable smoke. If Islay scotches are smoky bbq meats with ash, this is a waft of bbq smoke from down the street on a warm summer evening that catches your nose and then is gone. Overall this is a very good whisky and I enjoyed it very much. I paid $90 for these bottles just over a month ago. The whisky market being what it is, the average retail price for this dram is now over $140. This is a good whisky, but I’m glad I didn’t pay $140 for it. Even $90 seems a bit high, considering I can get Lagavulin 16 for less. The price and the hype detract a bit from the score: 3.75/5. Kanpai!

Venturing back into bottom shelf land I picked this up because I loved Ezra Brooks 7 year 101 offering that is, sadly, no longer available in this area. For $11 I figured it would at least make a decent mixer. I wasn’t wrong. This is your basic budget bourbon. It’s made by the Lux Row Distillery in Bardstown KY. It’s a straight bourbon so it’s at least two years old, I’d guess maybe 4-5. It’s bottled at 45% ABV, is a medium amber in the glass and forms sparse fat legs when given a swirl. It’s charcoal filtered after aging rather than before like Jack Daniels. The nose is a standard bourbon profile: caramel, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. Nothing special. The palate is similar but had a bit of an acetone note that prevents this from being an acceptable sipper. The finish is actually the best part of this whiskey with warm baking spices, oak char, and a bitter wood note. For $11 it’s not bad and makes a good mixer. Can’t quite recommend it as a neat sipper, but may not be bad on the rocks. 2.75/5. Cheers!

Bought this just to try something new in the rye department. The JD single barrel rye was pretty fantastic so I decided to try the standard offering. The standard JD rye is bottled at 45% ABV from a mashbill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley. It pours a medium amber in the glass and produces slow forming legs with some water droplets. On the nose there’s a little alcohol burn, JD profile, burnt caramel, bananas and peanuts. Not what you’d expect from a 70% rye. The Lincoln county process definitely makes a difference here. The palate is dry with an oily mouthfeel, more caramel and peanuts, and baking spices on the back end. The finish is fairly short with barrel char, dark sugar, some pepper and rye spice finally making an appearance. This whiskey doesn’t fit in any pre-defined category. A 70% rye whiskey should be spicy with lots of cinnamon and pepper. This is not that. It doesn’t have the bourbon sweetness, but it’s light in the spice department as well. All that being said, it’s not bad. And at $22 a bottle, it makes the best Manhattans I’ve had in a long time. This might be my new favorite Manhattan mixer. 3.25/5.

I picked this up a couple months ago in February, the first time I had heard of it. New Riff is a new distillery in Newport KY, just across the river from Cincinnatti. This review is of the single barrel version of New Riff’s bourbon, barrel 14930. This whiskey is bottled at a hearty 56.45% ABV. It’s made from a mashbill of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. It’s aged “at least four years” and is non-chill filtered. The nose is very spicy, paying tribute to the 30% rye in the mashbill. Lots of cinnamon, red hot candies, caramel, and hints of vanilla and oak. A little heat from the ABV but very manageable. The palate is more of the same: big, bold sweet cinnamon with more of the red hots. This is like cinnamon whiskey without the sickening sweet syrup. There are also hints of vanilla and baking spices behind the cinnamon. The finish is medium length with peppery rye spice, charred oak, and a hint of smoke. I really like this whiskey but I can see where some may not. I like high rye bourbons, and I like the cinnamon flavors. It is a bit one dimensional l, but then again so are most bourbons. This was $50 at my local Kroger and at that price it’s a pretty decent value for a true cask strength bourbon. Very good. 3.75/5