Tastes

This review is based off a few drinks from a bottle that belongs to my father-in-law, and which dates back to the early 2000s. He originally bought this bottle intending to open it to celebrate my wife's college graduation. But that passed, and the bottle remained unopened. Then the plan shifted to celebrating her law school graduation--which also passed, without any Blue Label. This bottle somehow made it through those significant life events and our wedding, which to be fair happened out of state for him. Finally, when we moved back to Miami this year, he opened it upon our arrival. Blue Label has a nose that recalls certain other luxury items like cigars and perfume. It's not like a single malt where certain characteristics jostle their way to the front, but falls within the classic jack-of-all-trades school of blending. I detect an oily smoke, dates and raisins, kiln-dried, unpolished wood, and roses. Light, sweet, and smooth is the target that Johnnie Walker aims to hit in the palate, and they hit it. The entry is sweet cream at first, followed by apples and orchard fruit, then some soft wisps of hookah smoke. The overall flavors do not stand out enough to be challenging, and the overall aspiration seems to be to impress people with how smooth and easy-drinking this blend is rather than how much complexity it has. The finish follows through on many of those notes, as I get something reminiscent of cookies-and-cream ice cream, apple skin, honey-coated cereal grains, and the faintest trace of oak spice. Again, the goal doesn't seem to be complexity but rather as smooth an experience as one can create in a scotch, which also explains why Blue Label is bottled at a weak 40% ABV. This is a respectable but unchallenging scotch, and not one I'd buy myself.

The funny thing is that Tullamore DEW is one of the first "nice" whiskies I ever heard of, but it ended up being the 100-120th that I've tried in my life. This blend is a great bienvenue to Irish whiskies, with a nose of orange citrus, honey, malt, and very little acetone. The palate again is strong on the orange and fruit notes, with a little bit of pine nut and malt development in additional sips. The finish is short and smooth, without any discernable bitterness but also not a high amount of flavor. Very solid.

Michter's is one of these brands that has created a more upscale brand image despite not actually producing its own whiskey. That's changing with the opening of their own distillery in Kentucky, but the current juice all comes from somewhere else. I've heard Heaven Hill or Old Forester, and either make sense to me given the flavor profile. The nose has aromas of cherry, oak, chocolate and vanilla swirl, and wood chips, with a little alcohol heat. It tastes of sweet butterscotch, Werther's candies, mild oak, syrup, and furniture polish. The finish is spicy and hot, full of caramel and coffee, with the most unique note being a grassy parsley, which hints at it being a year or two younger than ideal. At about $35, it's a good bourbon and feels a lot like Elijah Craig Small Batch (which, to be fair, is $5 or so cheaper).

The younger age and lack of sherry aging bring this scotch closer to Ardbeg 10. Its scents are mild smoke, lemon rind, petrichor, and a wildflower bouquet. The palate features smoke, iodine, lemon again, cured ham, and some cereal grains. The finish is hookah smoke, citrus, and flower stems. The price varies a lot but, at $60 or so, seems like a good value, right in the same category as Ardbeg 10 or Kilchoman Machir Bay.

What a rush of flavors right off the bat.  I have to believe there are a lot of fortified wine casks in this blend:  sherry, moscato, port, and plum wine all jump out of the glass.  The heavy, rich fruit flavors of raisins, apricots, and plums combine with a bloom of smoke and heat to form a first-rate nose. The flavors carry through from the nose, with luxurious fortified wines and their attendant fruit notes swirling around the tongue, which lights up with a spice cabinet.  It's the nose all over again, with less smoke and more spice.  There isn't much nuttiness or bitterness at all, so this falls squarely in the rich-fruity-spicy end of the spectrum. Nikka Whisky from the Barrel has a long, warm, lingering, and spicy finish.  My wife and I happened to pick it up about a year ago, on vacation, and were amazed by the quality. This is one of the best whiskies I've found for cigar-pairing, as the higher ABV and robust flavors hold up well even with a full-bodied cigar.

Batch 007 - Drinking Laphroaig is kind of like getting into a fight with an angry Scotsman. But drinking cask-strength Laphroaig is more like getting into a fight with an angry Scotsman on steroids and speed. At 56.3%, Batch 007 is a few ticks lower than the strongest batches, but still plenty strong. Even from a foot away, or holding it in hand while standing around, it's easy to pick up the top notes: BBQ lighter fluid and charcoal smoke, coral or seashells dried in the sun, seaweed, and, after a long while, vanilla as it settles down. Compared to Ardbeg and (non-sherry aged) Lagavulin, Laphroaig's distinguishing characteristic is a much lower level of lemon-lime citrus fruit. Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength has a magical palate. It begins with a sweet entry, immediately followed by so much brine and iodine that it feels like dipping your head in the ocean with a mouth full of hard candies. Subsequent sips reveal pickled peppers, some tart fruit or orange creamsicle, bourbon-esque toffee, and flecks of chocolate. Through every sip, waves and waves of smoke drift around. Even in its texture, this scotch wrestles with the drinker, epitomizing what people mean when they say a whisky has an oily mouthfeel. There's a flavorful heat to the end, akin to shisito peppers, balanced by mint, dark chocolate, and a strong oak backbone. Because of the high proof it can feel mildly anesthetizing, so be ready to ride the tiger with this scotch. At $70, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength is a spectacular value.

This review is for Voyage 9. I rolled my eyes at the concept of this bourbon but kept an open mind. This bourbon is aged for 6 years or so then put on ships that sail around the world, purportedly so the exposure to different types of air and the rocking motion of the ship produce interesting effects on this whiskey. In actuality, this is a disappointment. The nose is light and leads with a fair amount of ethanol before transitioning to fruity, sweet, and floral flavors, with some oakiness. The palate is watery, thin, and astringent, with a soapy quality obscuring what seems to be a very sweet, simple syrup palate. The finish all of a sudden manifests a dollop of rye spice and herbs, maybe the most rye-dominant aftertaste I've had in a bourbon. Overall, Jefferson's feels a little young and, at $80, is not a good value.

Westland is a lauded single malt made in Washington state and is one of the leading lights of the American single malt movement. I tend to be quite skeptical of these young, new whiskies, which often haven't had the luxury of aging long enough to develop rich flavors but then get graded on a curve by most reviewers. That being said, this is very promising. After a waft of furniture polish clears out and this dram opens up, apple, sherry, and malt produce a enticing, albeit uncomplicated, nose. Its characteristic flavors are apple and malt, with a little bit of rising heat after a few seconds in the mouth, which is where its youth (two years in the barrel) betrays itself. The finish is where this shines, starting with a brief, young oak note before transitioning to a deep, cherry chocolate cola note. It's one of the best finishes I've had in a whiskey aged 10 years or less, better than many scotches. I'm shocked this is aged in new charred oak barrels, with no sherry involvement. I also love the 46% ABV and dark, rich, caramel color. It's simple, but I'd recommend it, and can only imagine it's going to get better with age. The Kilchoman of the Pacific Northwest.

Bowmore is on the opposite end of the Islay spectrum from Caol Ila -- unlike that sweeter scotch, Bowmore has an almost acidic nose of peat smoke, vinegar, and hints of Starburst candies. The palate also isn't as sweet as its Islay cousins, with a more metallic and tarter malt flavor, salt, smoke again, and a hint of grain. The low ABV and perhaps lower phenol levels make this a milder scotch than Laphroaig or Ardbeg. The finish is where this dram shines, with a combination of smoke and cocoa powder or hot chocolate that's reminiscent of a more heavily peated Highland Park. Worth trying for $50-55, as an alternative to the other Islay drams.

I loved the 10 so was hoping this would blow me away. It didn't quite do that, but it's a lovely dram nonetheless. The nose is somewhat generic for a scotch, and I wouldn't be able to pick it out as a Talisker. There's some chalky gravel and a light touch of smoke to the nose, but the more enduring notes are malt, orange, and apple (not much different than a lot of Highland scotches). In the background, I detect some jasmine. Talisker's signature note is pepper, and it remains prominent even after all those years of development in the barrel. The fruit transforms into sweet plum, and this scotch has an oily, waxy mouthfeel that's quite unique. Then there is a huge, musky floral note that hits right at the swallow. After a slight letdown on the nose, this scotch makes a strong comeback here. Talisker 18 ends with stronger notes of smoke and salt than are present in its flavor profile, although those flavors are still counterbalanced by more floral notes (so in this respect I agree with the Distiller notes). The smoke that emerges on the finish is reminiscent of an older Islay scotch like Laphroaig 18, where it has mellowed out into a toasty, leathery scent rather than being acrid and sharp. There's a cool, interesting, hoppy end, which resembles an IPA. The finish is the best part of this scotch because it lingers with some mild but noticeable features for a long time, and yet it never grows unpleasant, overly bitter, or too drying.