Tastes
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Green Spot Château Léoville Barton Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still — Ireland
Reviewed August 15, 2024 (edited September 4, 2024)Tasting neat. Golden brown straw color and strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is dry grain and musty grapes, sweet plum stone fruit and strawberry. Whiff of ethanol and grass in the far background. Sweet rich fruit and vanilla in the mouth, soft and coating. A little char oak tannins and ethanol bloom, but held in check by the wine influence and caramelized sugar sweetness. The finish is ripe fruit, orange peel, a little grassy spice, soft and looooong. Of the Green and Yellow Spots which I've tried (and tasting the Yellow Spot side by side with this Leoville Barton barreled Green Spot tonight), this is a softer and more wine-mellowed Irish whiskey. It's richer, thicker, more complex (which is saying a lot given how good the Green and Yellow are), less astringent, and more wine-coated. That said, I might still prefer the Yellow which is less opulent in wine flavors, but... that's like choosing favorite children... which we all secretly do. That doesn't make me love this LB Green Spot any less. I'm going to enjoy this bottle.100.0 USD per Bottle -
Tasting neat, cold out of the frig. Color is a deep yellow, but slightly milky, with strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is floral--lemon, vanilla, and sweet. In the mouth, sugar syrup sweet, but with a clear vanilla lemonade flavor. Soft, floral, with just a hint of bitter lemon peel. Mouthfeel is soft, coating, and with little if any ethanol warmth. Finish is short and sweet, but the lemon thru-note holds up and lingers on the tongue, like vanilla and lemon hard candy. Pleasant. I was hoping this would have a clearer, stronger citrus flavor, like Luxardo (my favorite), but it's in line with the more sweet-than-acidic/bitter profile of most Italian limoncellos. Better than most (maybe #2 or 3 on my favorite list), and lower in alcohol content (which is too bad). A very servicable soft after dinner digestif.26.0 USD per Bottle
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Still Austin The Musician Cask Strength
Bourbon — Texas, USA
Reviewed August 1, 2024 (edited September 1, 2024)Purchased at Total Wine, Spokane, WA, $68, June 2024, after tasting a sip at the store. Aged at least 2 years, bottled at 118 ABV. Tasted neat. Beautiful red copper color and strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is strong and rich--floral oak, vanilla, maple syrup, caramel corn, sweet grass, and some ethanol. That's the best part of this taste. In the mouth, thin white sugar (think sweet leche cake or maple flavored syrup/candies at best, but not brown sugar or caramel as other reviews note), vanilla oak and leather tannins, cherry, baking spice, followed by an ethanol bloom. Mouthfeel starts sugar thin, becomes oily coating, but of that sweet profile. Finish remains sweet, but turns grassy spicy with pepper, and then a little sour cherry in the background. Long finish. An ice cube softens that white sugar sweetness and tames (but doesn't erase) the tannic ethanol. I was skeptical about this whiskey because of the 2 year age statement and price, but the tiny taste I had in the store changed my mind. More leisurely tasting reveals some of the youthful flaws--the thin sweetness and tannic ethanol. Don't get me wrong, this is still a really interesting whiskey, and I can appreciate it for what it is, but it's a distillate that will only improve with more time in charred oak, developing a deeper caramelized brown sugar and grain sweetness.68.0 USD per Bottle -
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
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