Tastes
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Old Weller Antique - Old Style Bottle
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed July 22, 2024 (edited July 23, 2024)Purchase from the early 2010s. Drank many, but put away this bottle until last week. Tasted neat. Fruity sweet grain nose, with a little ethanol shining through. Big warm sweet cereal, vanilla, dried fruit, and an ethanol burst on first taste. Warm and viscous, soft and rich, with a warm red-copper color in the glass. Spicy rye and pepper builds in a long finish. Great taste and price point, although it has gotten harder to find and more expensive than mid-2010s when I bought this regularly to mix Manhattans. Soft sweet wheated bourbon worth sipping, with some umph at 107 proof. I like the new bottle style vs this rounded bomb with a neck, but the juice isn't different from what I can tell. Still quality wheated bourbon at an elevated ABV.21.0 USD per Bottle -
Westward Oregon Stout Cask Finish
American Single Malt — Oregon, USA
Reviewed July 17, 2024 (edited July 21, 2024)Tasting neat. Color is a dark brown copper with average coating legs in the glass. The nose is full of malted grain and chocolate, sweet and even floral. Straight up Whoppers malted milk balls. In the mouth, chocolate malted milk, sweet floral grain, light white sugar. A little smoke and an ethanol hit in the back. Coating oily mouthfeel, rich and sweet. Finish is more dark chocolate, oak barrel smoke, light grassy spice, and mint tingle. Sweet, soft, and long. Westward is making some really great single malt whiskies. This one--finished an additional year in one of their own barrels traded to and used by Oregon brewers making cask-aged stout beers-- takes on the chocolatey characteristics of the stout. Maybe too much. It's delicious and chocolate lovers will find this easy to drink, but it's also one dimensional--nose, mouth, finish, all heavily influenced by the creamy stout finish. Whoppers from end to end! Ice thins the chocolate flavor and lets more malt through. I applaud this experiment in stout cask finishing, but it makes me appreciate Westward's single malt even more for the more complex range of flavors it contains on its own.80.0 USD per Bottle -
Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength (Batch 18)
Bourbon — USA
Reviewed July 4, 2024 (edited July 9, 2024)Four Grain Barrel Strength bourbon is blended from three different MGP bourbon mash bills and aged in new American oak barrels, staves #4 char, heads #2 char. Mash Bill: 74% Corn, 16% Wheat, 7% Rye, 3% Malted Barley. Uncut, not chill-filtered, 57% ABV. Aged 4 to 6 years. Light brown straw color and light coating legs in the glass. Nose is floral vanilla oak, berry, and sweet malted cereal grain, with a whiff of spice in the background. Sweet grain and caramel corn in the mouth, with grassy rye spice, mint, and tannic oak. Mouthfeel is light and soft for a 57% bourbon. Finish is long: sweet and spicy, dry oak, and tart cherry. An ice cube softens the tannins and ethanol... maybe too much. Penelope has done a great job blending quality MGP whiskies (and being transparent about it)--so good that MGP recently acquired Penelope to blend and market their best barrels. Expect more quality batches to come.69.0 USD per Bottle -
This is NOT supposed to be available in the USA... until recently. Found bottles at Total Wine in Spokane, WA, June 2024. 100ml bottle at 69% ABV in a wooden form-fitting box for $60. Label is different from the one on this page (see below)--doesn't say "Elixir Vegetal", just "Vegetal." But it's the same. Directions are to take a few drops in chilled water or on a sugar cube or to use like bitters, for health. I'm tasting sips, neat then chilled neat. Chartreuse color (but not as electric green) with strong coating legs in the glass. Classic Chartreuse nose--intense herbal, mint, anise, and softly floral sweet. No ethanol. That shows up in the mouth, BANG. But it comes with an intense herbal, minty, anise, peppery, earthy, medicinal flavor that's very different from the regular green Chartreuse (or the VEP which is barrel aged). It's deeper, like it's been distilled down, concentrated, strained through an old funky sock. Oily coating mouthfeel that tingles and lingers. Almost feels like it gently effervesces or foams if you let it linger on your tongue and breath in. There's some sweetness, but not much--just enough to make the medicine go down (yes, Mary Poppins). Taste chilled is quite nice, tames the ethanol just a bit, but the funky herbal shines through. Such a slurge, but cheaper than the flight to Paris I was considering (OK, the Elixir was a secondary point of a trip). Now that I'm looking online, it appears you can find it at some CA liquor retailers for half what I paid... but that's another trip. Right now, I'll just experiment with what I have and enjoy it, hoping I won't have to test its medicinal efficacy on a cold anytime soon. Shhhh, silent monks!60.0 USD per Pour
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George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend (2022 Release)
Rye — USA
Reviewed July 2, 2024 (edited July 3, 2024)I've been holding this since October 2023 when I found it during a trip to NC. BIG hype, and a BIG ($110) price, but I popped for it. Time to try it, neat. In the glass, light browned copper, with strong coating legs. Nose is beautiful and delicate--sweet vanilla, malted grain, berry fruit, cherry, and yes, I can see the bubblegum comments, too. A little grassy spice sits at the back. In the mouth, good spice bump and pepper, but not huge, and gives way quickly to cherry, vanilla, tannic oak, sweet cereal, mint and dry grass. Malty, and an oily coating mouthfeel is really pleasant, tamping down the spicy rye introduction (which is good or bad, depending on your taste in ryes). That coating mouthfeel dominates the finish, which is long and soft--softly sweet and spicy, minty, and dry oaky. A little cherry lingers, but with no sour aftertaste. The first taste out of this bottle a few days ago seemed... a little underwhelming, with muted flavors (too soft?), not a big rye spice bomb given the 100 proof and the 100% rye (2 varieties) mashbill on Leopold's side. Whether it's me, a week old bottle, or just the day... I don't much care. Right now, it's feeling elegant and complex and... just right! Of course, I'm still stuck on the price, which is good given the price of Leopold whiskies, but not so good given Dickel's. But hand it to them, Dickel is making their own column distilled rye now, and they're getting good results. So, this is a "splurge bottle," a wonderful collaboration, a nuanced proprietary blend of three chamber and column distilled ryes, and I'm going to enjoy it as such without worrying about what I paid nine months ago. Salut!110.0 USD per Bottle -
Dry Fly, Cask & Release, Straight Wheat Whiskey, Kettlehouse Brewing Beer Barrel Finished
Wheat Whiskey — Washington State, USA
Reviewed June 28, 2024 (edited June 30, 2024)Dry Fly Distilling experiment, releasing their used oak casks--used for 3 years on their wheat whiskey--to craft brewers who then use them to make barreled beer, and then return the barrels to Dry Fly to fill again with their 3yr whiskey and age finish for another year. This cask release was used by Kettlehouse Brewing to age their Coldsmoke, a Scotch style ale (toffee, coffee, caramel, and a hint of smoke), then refilled by Dry Fly with the 3yr wheat whiskey it originally held. Dark copper color and strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is vanilla grain, sugar cinnamon oatmeal, floral, a touch of smoke. Spicy, pepper, and burnt sugar sweet in the mouth. A little sour and smoke/oak flavor, and then chocolate and coffee. Thin mouthfeel. Finish is dry spicy, mint, sweet grass, sweet and sour, bittersweet chocolate. Disappears quickly. More spicy than the regular Dry Fly wheat whiskey, less dry oak (as I remember) and more bittersweet chocolate notes. Flavors shocked me on first try, but I've grown to like this bottle. Ice doesn't do it any favors, really. I like Dry Fly's commitment to local products and sharing casks and experimenting. Their 3 year standard aging is too short--the wheat whiskies they age longer or finish in used casks are much more interesting. Four years should be their base age. That said, they're doing it well their way in the heart of the Inland Empire.58.0 USD per Bottle -
Hayman's Royal Dock Navy-Strength Gin
Navy-Strength Gin — England
Reviewed June 14, 2024 (edited June 16, 2024)114 proof navy strength gin from one of the oldest English distilleries. Tasted neat. Clear with a light cloud in the glass and strong coating legs. Nose is clear juniper up front, then pine, citrus, and floral sweet. Oily coating mouthfeel, evergreen and deep organic spices, and sweet in the mouth. No real ethanol burn given the high proof. Ok, a touch, but very easy. Forceful balanced flavors, yet soft, creamy, and rich mouthfeel. Tingling spices, evergreen, and nettles in a long finish. Sweet, clean, lucious. Tried this in a G&T and Gin Gin Mule with mint. Wonderful--holds its own and isn't overwhelmed. Martini comes next. Would put this right up with my favorites--Plymouth, Sipsmith, Fords. Unfortunately, hard to come by in Utah and surrounds. Will make the search sweeter.32.0 USD per Bottle -
Holladay 6 Year Soft Red Wheat Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon
Bourbon — Missouri, USA
Reviewed June 7, 2024 (edited June 10, 2024)Holladay 6 yr BIB soft red wheat straight Missouri bourbon. Distilled Fall 2017, aged 6 years in new charred Missouri oak in Rickhouse 3, and bottled at 100 proof in March 2024. Tasting neat. Rosy copper and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is light and fruity, berries and a little sweet orange citrus, and then some vanilla and grassy spice way way in the background. Not much there. Tannic oak and ethanol "BANG" open in the mouth. Sweet corn syrup and honey, and then floral vanilla and citrus. Mouthfeel is thin and dry, even astringent. Pepper and baking spices come on in the finish, sweet grass and mint, and a little sour at the end of a long dry finish. The more I taste this, the more I think the finish may be the best part of this whiskey. An ice cube dampens the oak tannins and sweetens up the citrus/sour notes. Maybe better? Love the distillery's story, label, and bottle, particularly the old school metal screw cap. Why not! As a distilling company they seem to be doing things the right way, even though I'm not totally sold on the taste profile of this particular bottle. It's not the soft wheated bourbon I was expecting--more bite to it. That's ok, and I look forward to trying their rickhouse proof offerings. I have a feeling they're going to be more entertaining. And, of course, I'll come back and revisit this review if the bottom of the bottle changes my mind. Cheers.60.0 USD per Bottle -
Woodinville Straight Bourbon Toasted Applewood Staves Finish
Bourbon — Washington, USA
Reviewed June 5, 2024 (edited June 10, 2024)Tasted neat. Brown copper and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is full of floral vanilla oak, sweet crisp apple, caramel, and grain. In the mouth, vanilla oak and tart apple, chocolate caramel, and a little grassy spice. Coating mouthfeel, little tannic dryness, slight ethanol burst. Finish has a little mint and pepper tingle surrounded by that soft fruit sweetness. Turns a little "sweet n' sour" in a long lingering finish. Very pleasant. An ice cube softens this, maybe too much and not necessarily for the better, taking the oak and tingling finish down a notch and letting the sour through. I've been a fan of the Woodinville whiskies, particularly the port-finished cask strength bourbon. Their Rye is ok too. I like their story and approach to terroir. This shows some innovative toasted stave finishing--especially using applewood. That's a welcome addition to the line. The price, though, is steep at $100. That's a bummer because this is a nice drink, but... premium priced??? Finally, over the years, I've become less thrilled with their signature chunky bottles--fit on a shelf nicely, but heavy, hard to pour and handle. Will revisit this as the bottle drops if I think it warrants.100.0 USD per Bottle -
Penelope Architect Series Build #8 [2024?]. MGP-sourced straight four grain bourbon whiskey (Corn, Wheat, Rye, Malted Barley) blended from three bourbon mash bills, aged four years, finished with two different french oak staves, and bottled by Penelope in Bardstown, KY at 104 proof. Tasted neat. Rose copper in color with strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is prominent and inviting: spicy grass/rye, sweet stone fruit, floral vanilla oak, tannins, and ethanol. Great first impression. Vanilla and tannic oak, brown sugar, and an ethanol burst open in the mouth. Cherry, sweet grain, and leather, followed by a peppery spicy taste that carries through into the finish. Coating mouthfeel that thins in a long lip-tingling finish. No sour or off flavors in this whiskey that drinks like it's higher proof than 104. So it's MGP Ross and Squibb whiskey from Indiana that the folks at Penelope have been tweeking and blending to good reviews. So good that Penelope is now owned by R and S, and as such that team will have even more access to the full range of quality MGP distillates. Yeah, quality. Big isn't always bad. MGP is making better whiskey than plenty of small craft distilleries, and doing so at scale for years. So instead of lamenting their "standardized" flavors that show up in so many other sourced whiskies (many that hide their MGP source, which is really the problem), acknowledge that MGP juice is better than what some of these "craft" distillers will ever make. High West in my state is a classic example of a great blender of MGP product that has ruined the brand by mixing in their own inferior distillate at jacked prices (and I'm being kind). Point is, plenty of people have taken MGP juice and tweeked it to good effect--Penelope among them--and others have just made their own poor "craft" whiskey that we regret buying in the end. Don't get me wrong, I love quality liquor however it's produced, and I celebrate small distillers risking it all to make amazing juice, but it all comes down to quality, not scale. Ok, done ranting. Enjoy whatever you choose to drink. This bottle will divide people over the French oak finish. I happen to appreciate that different flavor profile, and an ice cube changes it again, taming the tannins and ethanol and letting the oak shine. I'm going to keep enjoying this and see how I feel about it next week. Just another interesting day to be alive. Cheers.65.0 USD per Bottle
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