Tastes

At my in-laws. Couldn't say no to a glass without risking a shooting war. Tasted neat. Golden copper in the glass, average coating legs. Light floral nose--grain but not a lot of vanilla. BANG. There it is--vanilla and white sugar in the mouth. Sweet, floral, a little artificial/chemical, and thin. And that's the finish too... short, with a little rye tingle on the lips. I can see drinking too much of this under the impression that it's not 80 proof, whisky, or even alcohol. It should come with emergency flashers, but you can use the fabric bag to flag down folks for help. Seriously, it's just sweet Canadian whisky, nothing more, nothing less. Were you expecting more? If you’re mixing it with kind of soda pop just consider holding the soda and enjoying it as is--you won't know the difference... unless you're pouring 10 oz highballs. At that point, refer to use of the bag above. That's what my in-laws do, eh?

Been holding on to this bottle way too long. Tonight's the night. Batch 12, 2019, 66.15 ABV, 132.3 proof, tasted neat. Dark brown copper in the glass, with strong coating legs. Nose is sweet corn and cereal, brown sugar, vanilla, and toasted oak. That follows in the mouth--sugar sweet, vanilla oak, leather and tannic, and dry rye spice. A little char smoke and ethanol, but not that hot given the proof. Full oily mouthfeel. Here's what I love--a lip tingling (even numbing) finish. Dry mint and nettles, with a smoky grain sweetness that takes you through a looong finish. An ice cube tames the ethanol and tannins to a degree, but leaves that lip tingling feeling intact. Yeow! Just gets softer and more savory as the ice cools and melts. Love that time-lapse transformation. Big and brawny, full of flavor, just like the other Stagg Jrs. Perfect on a cold fall evening--I can feel snow in the air. Breakingbourbon.com rated this their #1 bourbon of 2019. That's awfully high praise. I'm not going to argue with them--seems deserved.

Single barrel select rye for Utah Dept of Alcohol Beverage Services. Warehouse 1, floor 4, rick 049, barrelled 12/16/2016, bottled 8/2/2022, 5 years 7 months, 115 proof. Tasted neat. Color is dark copper, average legs in the glass. Nose is earthy, sweet grain, dry straw, and oak. Light caramel and floral hints. In the mouth sweet vanilla and tannic oak, and a big burst of astringent ethanol. Earthy leather depth, but mouthfeel is thin and sweet. Rye spice comes on, but more grassy than baking spice or pepper. Mint and dry nettles tingle the mouth in a long finish, with sweet and sour notes. Kinda a push and pull set of flavors in the mouth, and ice doesn't sort that out. It's assertive, tannic, maybe more sour with ice. That's not bad, just distinctive. Loved the nose and the finish, and ice doesn't wash out that mint rye spice tingle finish. Nice. Nothing wrong with this that time and a few more glasses won't sort out, so...I'll revisit this over time.

Stranahan's Blue Peak single malt, solera process, 43% ABV, purchased at Jackalope Liquors in Fruita, CO, March 2023 (so maybe a 2022 bottling?). Tasting neat. Light copper color and moderate coating legs in the glass. Nose is light cereal and floral, vanilla and sweet. Dry and tannic oak in the mouth over the top of sweet cereal oatmeal and tart grapes or apples. A little baking spice in that oaky dryness. Finish is smoky oak tannins, dry almost to the point of puckering, but looong and with enough sweet to restart the saliva. In general, I'm impressed by Stranahan's upper end single malt whiskies and how they're making and experimenting with them. Also love the packaging-- bottle and label! Something satisfing about a longneck bottle of beer or whiskey. Not sure this is quite as good as their single barrel cask and wine barrel expressions--a little rougher around the edges, but an ice cube takes care of that. Very drinkable, and gives you something to think about while you do. Will revisit this.

Bourbon whisky aged 8 years and bottled at 45 ABV. Tasted neat. Dark copper color and good coating legs in the glass. Nose is sweet corn and light sugar, with dry grass and a little sour to temper the sweet. In the mouth, thin sweet followed by tannic oak and then dry spicy/grassy rye, and an ethanol (even menthol?) burst. Mouthfeel is dry deep, and maybe a little sour, through the long finish. Ice smooths down the rough edges and makes this easy to drink or mix, if a little thin. So, I have a soft spot for Dickel from college in the 1970s. It's nostalgic for me. Lots better whisk(y)ies out there, but this 8 year is not bad, maybe better than the 13 Year Dickel in my Distiller tasting notes. I still think the #12 at 45 ABV beats both, especially for $23.

Bottle computer marked L15210TD, 24/10/2022, 13:23. Tasted neat. Light orange copper color and good coating legs in the glass. On the nose, sweet grain, cut apples and grapes, with floral jasmine, vanilla, and refined sugar. In the mouth, SWEET, then sweet floral and tropical, then more sweet with some grain backbone. There's a little dry spice in that cereal grain, and a hint of ethanol, but not much. Finish is still sweet, a little orange citrus sour/bitter, with a little mint tingle on the lips. Short to medium finish duration. For how sweet this is, the extended aftertaste is nicely, pleasantly, thankfully dry. So I've tasted the Tullamore DEW and the 12 year DEW which were ok, but both down my list of Irish favorites (the Spots, and Redbreast). Still, this is very good and quite unusual given the pronounced rum cask flavors. It's easily quaffible given the sweet-and-floral-over-earthy profile. That's not a bad thing--not every whiskey needs to be a challenge. Ice makes it dangerously punch-like, which, again, is good and bad. The more I sip this the more I'm enchanted by the very different Irish blend profile. I can see this as a nice late night tipple, a warm evening respite, a hot afternoon Whiskey Highball. Ohhh, I've gotta try out that idea! Will get back to you.

47% ABV, Tasted neat. Copper red color and light legs in the glass. Brown sugar, floral vanilla, and peanuts on the nose. In the mouth, sweet corn syrup and light brown sugar, vanilla oak, dry coco powder. Coating mouthfeel, soft and forgiving. Finish shows some rye spice and more oak tannins. Full, sweet, spicy, but relatively short. Has the classic Makers Mark profile with a little more proof umph and oak. Easy to sip, a pleasure to mix in cocktails like a Manhattan where the extra alcohol content makes this a no brainer. But then I came of age on Makers Manhattans and Old Fashioneds. So it's familiar and comfortable (as I wrote before) like old shoes.

Batch 20-01, 55.05 % abv. Sweet meadow grass, floral grain nose. Big fruit, vanilla, oak char, giving way to spicy rye in the mouth. Not overly hot, but an expansive first taste followed by a medium mouthfeel. Finish is char and eucalyptus, saline and pepper, lingering a good while. A really lovely wheated high rye bourbon at a proof that blunts the sweetness of regular Makers.