Tastes

My wife bought a bottle of the standard Jameson and it came with a miniature of both the stout and IPA editions of the Caskmates expressions, so I decided to do a side by side. The Stout Caskmates is the standard Jameson that is finished in casks that once held stout beer. It’s bottled at 40% ABV and is chill filtered and has colorant added making it a honey gold. The nose is very similar to the standard Jameson in that it has lots of honey, very malty and grainy. This version seems to be creamier than any other Jameson I’ve had. A very light oaky note, some light vanilla. The stout casks are not very dominant here but I do detect a roasted malt feel that is typical of dark stouts. A very light citrus note, fairly floral and a touch of butterscotch. The palate is better than the standard Jameson, less harsh with a darker feel to it. Cereal malt, fairly grainy with creamy vanilla. Butterscotch, very light lemon peel. The metallic note that I get in most Irish whiskies is still present here but is minimal. A touch of pepper. Fairly boring, but inoffensive. A light bodied mouthfeel that is creamy and mouthwatering. The finish is medium length, malty, some grain alcohol and vanilla. What can I say...it’s Jameson. This one is the same, only different. I would take this one if I had to pick a Jameson, but given the choice I’d rather not have to drink Jameson at all. I liked the nose on this one better than the IPA Edition, but I think I preferred the palate of the IPA to this one. For $33 it’s not terrible, but I’d rather get something else. 3.25 Cheers

Decided to go with another bourbon tonight. This review comes from a sample by way of @pollywollydoodle I’ve never heard of Backbone Bourbon before, but to be fair there are a lot of bourbons I’ve never heard of. Apparently this is a product of MGP in Indiana that was bottled in Kentucky. The standard bottling is at 58.2% ABV, but this was from a single barrel pick that was bottled at 57.3%. Natural color of dark copper and I’m fairly confident that its non chill filtered. Barreled in May of 2012 and bottled in November of 2017. The nose is predominantly oaky and dry grass with lots of cinnamon and cloves. Plenty of vanilla. No real bite to it considering the high ABV. A touch of mint and a very light dill note. A bit of cherry and tobacco as well. With water there is more oak, corn and rye with light brown sugar. A VERY big, hot, spicy arrival. The ABV really hits you and wakes up your senses. A huge charred oak profile, pepper, cinnamon, tobacco and leather. I couldn’t get much more because my tongue was on fire. Water made the heat much more manageable, but didn’t do much in the way of allowing more flavors to come through. Still very oaky with some caramel. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is hot and mouthwatering. The finish is long, heat, strong oak, cloves and leather. This is either lacking in depth or it’s so powerful that you just can’t get anything out of it...or both. Just too hot for my liking. Not enough nuances and I just couldn’t enjoy it from the heat. Thanks for the sample John, it really woke me up this afternoon. Cheers

As I’m sitting here watching the Saints and Rams make for an entertaining Sunday afternoon I decided to pour a bourbon sample that was given to me by @pollywollydoodle. Early Times BiB uses a mash bill of 79% corn, 11% rye and 10% malted barley. Bottled at 50% ABV and is natural color of dark rusty copper and I suspect is chill filtered. The nose starts with toasted oak, lots of cherries which is a nice find, grilled plums and caramel. Corn, but not too intense, especially considering the high percentage being used, mint and vanilla. Candy corn and some faint cotton candy. Overall not very sweet though. Almonds, anise and some light ginger. At the bottom of the glass I swear I got some toasted sesame seeds, really interesting. Water brings out more vanilla, some maple syrup and faint barley. The palate is all oak, pepper and wood spice on the arrival. Vanilla and light caramel with some faint cherries. Barrel char, black tea and brown sugar. Slightly harsh at times but it too bad. Water takes the spice down a little but adds nothing. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is oily, mouthwatering and tongue coating. The finish is medium length with oak, tea, pepper and anise. Not bad for a younger bourbon, but not too complex and the harshness that comes and goes on the palate is a negative hit. Good base flavors, somewhere between a sipper and a mixer. Water really helps you sip a little easier and I suspect this would be pretty good over a big ice ball. 3.5 Cheers

Well here I am at my 300th taste, and I’ve been saving this one for the occasion. Way back in April of 2018 @LeeEvolved cracked open this bottle when we were in DC for Whiskyfest. I brought back a sample and decided long ago that it was for reserved for a milestone review. The Fine Oak series focuses on high quality casks and is triple matured in a combination of sherry seasoned American and European oak and ex bourbon American oak. I’ve had the 15 and 17 year old Fine Oaks and found them to be...average and highly overpriced. Let’s see how the 21 does. Bottled at 43% ABV and is natural color of dark amber and I believe it is chill filtered. The nose is rich, elegant, nutty sherry. Heavy raisins and honeyed dates, blackberries, chocolate, oranges, and chocolate oranges. Really beautiful oak, brown sugar, molasses and toffee. This really is a fantastic nose. Sweet pipe tobacco, vanilla and apricots. Caramel cream candies, hazelnut, walnuts and Brazil nuts. Strong breakfast tea with a touch of mint. Very refined and perfectly aged. The palate has just the right amount of wood spice to wake up the senses. Pepper, nutmeg and cloves. Tobacco, dark sherry, the kind of darker sherry that comes with great age, not young sherry that is full of the much sweeter fruity notes. Vanilla cream and lots of caramel and hazelnuts. A light to medium bodied mouthfeel that is lightly oily and mouthwatering. The finish is medium long with caramel chews, vanilla, sherry and is fairly dry. When we had this in DC it was the clear winner of the night, and we had some impressive bottles that night, including Ardbeg 23, GlenDronach 21, and Bruichladdich Black Arts. Trying this again was a treat, but sadly didn’t carry the same magnificence it did them. The nose is still fantastic, but the palate was somewhat less than I remembered it. In no way is it less than great, but that night it was a solid 5 star dram, now it is a “mere” 4.5-4.75. Looking back on my bottle of GlenDronach 21 I think I would choose that one in a head to head. Same age, similar sherry profile, but the GD clocks in at 48% vs the Macallan’s 43%, and its half the price. This Macallan Fine Oak 21 is like a low yield sherry bomb. It won’t saturate your senses with over the top sweetness like some other sherry bombs out there, but it more than gets the job done and still leaves you ready for more. This is exponentially greater than the 15 and 17 year expressions and is worthy of its moniker. Thanks for going all out Lee, it was a real treat. Cheers

John Paul is an Indian distillery and one that, until tonight, I had never tried. I’ve heard good things so let’s see what it’s all about. This is the 2018 Christmas Edition (I assume there are editions from previous years as well but I truly don’t know), which is sherry matured, lightly peated, bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered. I don’t know if Paul John adds colorant to their whiskies but this one is an amber honey. The nose starts with lots of oak and wood spice. This soon transitions into the most incredible fruitcake profile I’ve ever nosed. The fruitcakiest fruitcake that ever fruitcaked even. Intense dried fruits, raisins, prunes, apricots, peaches, and most of all, cherries. There’s also candied ginger and cinnamon. A nice earthy peat that adds complexity and a nice counterbalance to the fruity notes. It’s really amazing how much this smells like fruitcake...just smacks of Christmas. A light minty/herbal note. Sherry, but not overpoweringly sweet like some others. Semisweet chocolate sauce, toffee and maple with some tobacco. A little wood smoke and barrel char, but it’s far in the background. A great nose, no ifs ands or buts about it. The palate mimics the nose almost perfectly. Lots of wood spice (without being spicy) and dried fruits. The same dried fruits as the nose with the cherries and raisins really standing out. Dense spiced fruitcake, chocolate sauce and black pepper. Earthy peat but no real smoke to speak of. Unfortunately the peat does not integrate well with the fruity notes like it did on the nose. The peat and fruits seem to be at odds with each other. Otherwise a great palate as well. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is thick and oily. Mouth coating and luxurious. The finish is long with fruity sherry, fruitcake, chocolate and light peat. Wow, this is a damn fine whisky that just screams Christmas. Super fruity but not overly sweet. Spices but not too spicy. Very well balanced. My only complaint is the way the peat comes across on the palate. While not necessarily bad, it just doesn’t mesh with all the other flavors the way it should. If this Christmas Edition is anything like the rest of the Paul John lineup then I would very much like to try them. A solid 4.25 that could easily be a 4.5 depending on the mood. A big thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers

This is a first for me, a Swedish single malt. From what I know, Mackmyra is a big name in the Swedish whisky game and they have many offerings. Vinderdröm is one of their NAS limited edition seasonal releases. It is aged in American ex bourbon casks and finished in Caribbean rum casks. Bottled at 46.1% ABV and there is no information regarding colorant or chill filtration, but given the ABV I would suspect it is not chill filtered. The golden color might suggest a bit of colorant may have been added. The nose opens with fresh oak and musty cardboard. Dry grass and barley malt are strong as well. Prominent anise and black licorice with some allspice. Nutty - pecans and Brazil nuts, earthy. Fairly fruity, but not really sweet. Lemons, oranges and apricots. A bit of menthol or eucalyptus and light molasses and rum notes. This is very similar to a Highland or Speyside style scotch, a very favorable comparison. After time more sweetness develops in the form of butterscotch, vanilla cream and brown sugar. The palate has a peppery wood spice arrival that is immediately followed by juicy tropical fruits. Kiwi, apricots, oranges, coconut, pineapple and cantaloupe. Earthy with something akin to a light Highland peat even though I don’t think this is a peated malt. Again, very much a scotch-like profile. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is both dry and mouthwatering at the same time. The finish is medium long, very fruity with brown sugar. I initially tasted this blind and was convinced it was a scotch. I have to say that if other Swedish single malts can produce this same quality and overall profile then we may have to consider them serious participants in the whisky game. I’d like to see what can be done with a wine finish or with a heavy peating. Vinterdröm isn’t exceptional but it is solid. 3.75 and a thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers

Well it’s the new year. I was so close to hitting 300 tastes before the end of 2018, and if it wasn’t for a nasty cold that hit me on Christmas I probably would have made it. C’est La Vie. I’m finally feeling more like myself so I figured the best thing to do was have a dram, one that’s older than I am, and thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine I just so happen to have one. Light Fruity Sherry is a 44 year old blended scotch from Cadenhead. Bottled at 43.4% ABV, natural color of a dark copper and is non chill filtered. Only 346 bottles were released. The nose is light, fruity sherry...I guess they were quite literal with their naming process. It starts with melons, both cantaloupe and honeydew, then transitions into berries, raspberry and blackberry. Oranges, mangos and apricots. Soft sherry notes but very pleasant. Vanilla, apples, even a faint apple cider vinegar and grapes. The general rule for whisky is to let it sit a minute in the glass for every year in the cask, so I let it sit a while longer. Coming back to it I got chocolate notes, caramel and chocolate licorice. Wood spices, cloves, nutmeg, chai spices, and a salty note appears. Not a sweet dram, but quite savory. The palate has plenty of wood spice up front, but also plenty of fruits. Tropical fruits - mango, oranges, pineapple juice and even some faint banana. Spice cake, nutmeg and light oaky notes. Caramel and creme brûlée. Not a very deep or complex palate considering it’s advanced age, but nice nonetheless. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is quite oily and mouth coating. The finish is medium short which is surprising again given its age. Mango, oranges, banana and caramel. While this is definitely a mature whisky, there really isn’t much that separates it from others less than half it’s age. No trace of any grain harshness, which is quite welcome. It’s good, but it just didn’t do much for me. 3.75 Cheers

I received a 5 sample blind tasting challenge from @PBMichiganWolverine and this straight rye from E.H. Taylor was one of them. I only had 1 ounce to work with so I used half for the challenge and saved half for a review. This is a BiB rye that contains no corn, bottled at 50% ABV, natural color of a dark amber. I don’t know if it is chill filtered but I suspect that it is. The nose is sticky sweet and very confectionary/fruity. Nothing like any rye I’ve had before in that there is none of the rye grain/spice profile that is typical of a rye whiskey. Blackberry jam, grape jelly, blueberry pie filling and, oddly enough, donut glaze. Some wood spice starts to show after some time. This noses more like a quality blackberry brandy (if such a thing exists) than a rye. After more time the rye starts to come through, but in very small quantities. There is also some mint, plums and possibly fennel. Lots of spices on the palate, both wood and rye. Not intense or hot spices but the flavors are there. Light oak, blackberries, blackberry brandy. Cinnamon, clove and barrel char. A bit of an alcohol bite but not bad. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is dry and mouth coating. The finish is medium length with blackberries, wood and rye spice. During the blind tasting I really disliked this rye, but that very well could have been due to the fact that I was trying 4 others with it and you can never completely clear your palate between each one. I really believed it was a blackberry brandy, and with the lack of rye spice/flavor, and the abundance of berries I think I was justified to think that way. This goes for $70 locally and I would never pay that much, probably wouldn’t buy it at any price honestly. Sampled on its own it’s much better than it was during the challenge, but still not that great. 3.25 and a thanks to Pranay for the sample. Cheers