Tastes

Oregon Spirit Straight American Bourbon is produced in Bend, Oregon by Oregon Spirit Distillers, a proud "grain to glass" craft operation that opened up in 2009. They source their grains locally and mash, ferment, distill, and age on-site in charred, new American oak barrels. I previously reviewed Oregon Spirit Wheat Whiskey - I ran into these guys while traveling through the Northwest over the holidays. Mash Bill: Undisclosed, but described as a four-grain bourbon with "100% locally sourced” corn, wheat, malt barley, and rye Age: 4 years ABV: 47% Price: $36.99 Nose: I am little surprised it took me this long to place the nose but when sampling spirits, setting is everything. Now that I’ve identified it, it’s unmistakable – this smells strongly of earth and juniper. If I didn’t know any better, I would suspect I might be smelling an aged gin. Skimming through other reviews, I see this bourbon described in polarizing ways – I suspect that the gin-like nose on this dram is unexpected and offputting to many. It’s woody, creamy, earthy, and strongly evergreen with the juniper. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled in bourbon before. Palate: Sweet and silkily bodied. I know “smooth” as a descriptor is the bane of the whisky drinker’s world, but this is smooth, consistent, and lacks the waxing and waning of flavors many spirits have. Creamy juniper with some vaguely sweet corn and floral notes. No heat, no surprises. Finish: Softly sweet and junipery. Very mild oak char. Verdict: My goodness, how do I rate this? As an aged gin, it would probably stack up very well. I almost find that a laughable prospect considering no botanicals have been macerating in this. It’s just 4 grains, yeast, local water, and charred wood. As a classic bourbon, it is less successful in that role. Since I’ve tried their wheat whiskey and got notes of anise, fennel, and some earthy funk, I’m going to guess the juniper note is coming their local rye but I have no way of corroborating that since I haven’t tried their rye. In any case, as a very odd yet drinkable bourbon, I have to give it…. 2.75 ~ 74 ~ Below Average Now to find some gin-centric cocktails for this guy… 😜

I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain I haven't reviewed any independent bottlings yet, which means I have my work cut out for me because I have a LOT of independent bottlings to work through. My overly generic quick take on independent bottlings is this: the distiller either has too much stock on hand (how often does that happen nowadays?), or the cask doesn't fit their typical profile and they are willing to offload. Up for review is Alexander Murray & Co.'s 2002 Glen Moray 13 Year Cask Strength.* It's bottled at 53.4% ABV, it says it’s aged in ex-bourbon casks, it looks to be the same hue as most other Alexander Murray & Co. E150a-drenched whiskies, and I'm going with chill-filtered due to the absence of substantial mist with the addition of water (I’ve pushed this one really far with various water ratios and got a very faint cloudiness at the far end of that spectrum). I've never tried Glen Moray's offerings before (sadly, the 12 year is nowhere to be found nearby) so I am not familiar with the distillery's preferred style. How did I end up with this bottle then? Well for $35/bottle, how could I not give this guy a try to see if it's worth stocking up on before it disappears? Nose: At full strength, it's restrained and very sweet. Almost white sugar sweet. Doughy white bread, but there's a sour note that comes across as a hybrid between white sandwich bread, and a bland sourdough. Dry grass. The bourbon cask influence is apparent, but because of the ABV, it comes across as a muted vanilla and creaminess. However, this next note took me a bit to unravel (and bear with me) - while it certainly has a faint orchard fruit scent to it, this note seems to pair up with the tart, soured cream note to give it a "burped up" milk odor. I know. It's strange. But that it what it smells like. It’s not a wildly offensive note, but then again you’re reading the thoughts of someone who thinks burning plastic, new bicycle tires, tennis balls, and ash can be appropriately pleasing notes when found in the right dram. With a splash, it’s still essentially sweet white bread with fruity and floral notes. The “burped up” milk odor separates a bit to reveal artificial white grape, overripe white peach, and miscellaneous semi-rotting stone fruits (white nectarines, white plums, etc.) with unsweetened, plain yogurt. Palate: Sweet, sour, and crisp as the nose suggests. Medium-bodied. Doughy white bread with lots of oak, but the oak is surprisingly well-integrated here and stays taunt and creamy rather than bitter, dry, or astringent. The sugary sweetness comes across as a blend of refined white and turbinado sugars. Overly sweet sugar cookies with a dusting of the aforementioned sugar blend on top. There is a wallop of heat. I have to try to look past the “burp up” note at full proof. With water, this softens up but it is still a sweet dram. More doughy white bread, plain yogurt, and a tart, overripe fruit salad note (like it sat in the heat too long). Finish: Without water, the finish is a sweet burn with creamy, charred oak. With a splash, the fruity and floral notes come out a bit and can linger. The oak is nicely balanced – that is probably the most pleasantly surprising and pleasing facet of this dram. Verdict: They say don’t judge a whisky by its neck pour. Well I didn’t – I waited until I got through a good chunk of the bottle. I may be rushing this review out the door a bit since I’m not halfway through the bottle but others might be wondering if it’s worth picking up or not. There were definitely some odd notes, but considering how well-integrated the oak was, I am curious if this might evolve into something special with some more time and oxygen. When I initially tried it, I don’t think it would have cracked 3 stars but it has improved with some limited time to oxidize. At this time, if you happen to see this on shelves for $35 or less, it might be worth grabbing a bottle to let it sit and oxidize. Maybe you will find something different. But I don’t think I will risk stocking up. I will update my review if it changes substantially over the next few months. 3.0 ~ Average *Also, I would like to point out that this is a 2002 vintage aged 13 years...by my count that probably means it was bottled in 2015 and has sat around in a warehouse for 5ish years. Maybe they were waiting for the market for average, competitively priced single malt to expand? Post-tariffs, this seems about right as I have only seen this pop up recently and the other 2 reviews here seem new as well. And, since we were talking corks the other day, I will say this has a natural cork which when I opened it, it was not as tight as something that would have been bottled more recently (it wasn’t loose, it just wasn’t especially snug). I let it rest on its side after discovering that and it filled out nicely.

Following my review for the standard Pendleton comes this review for Pendleton Midnight Canadian Whisky. It's mostly the same juice except a portion of the whisky was aged in brandy barrels. Let's see if it fairs any better. Nose: Like its predecessor, still too much of the sweet solvents, though not to the degree you might expect since the ABV is bumped up to 45% here. It's more fruity. Starfruit (never gotten that note in a whisk(e)y before) and musty bubblegum. Still too much alcohol burn. Palate: Light-bodied, with a slightly more classy variety of cloying, artificial sweetness. Non-descript fruitiness, vanilla, and spice. Finish: Short but once again, that familiar, unpleasant aftertaste lingers for too long. Bitter, vanilla-grape cough syrup with some green pepper. Verdict: This is another "no" from me. While slightly more tolerable than the standard issue, this is still not good and the aftertaste is really off-putting to me. 1.75 ~ Poor

Around the holidays, folks at the office like to do a white elephant gift exchange. There's one gift in particular that has made an appearance every year for the past couple of years: a bottle of bubblegum-flavored vodka that some poor soul trudges home with every year, only to have to hang on to it for ~365 days for the opportunity to re-gift it to another unsuspecting soul the following year. This Pendleton Blended Canadian Whisky may give that bubblegum vodka a run for its money. Nose: Oh dear, does that odor bring me back to my days in the lab. Smells like a malfunctioning fume hood. Sweet, lab-grade ethanol with some diethyl ether mixed in. Sticky note adhesive. Vanilla extracted with acetone. Very dilute caramel and artificial maple syrup. For only being 40% ABV, I think I might get high from huffing this. Palate: Ouch. Light-bodied, cloying, artificially sweet, vanilla buttercream-flavored glue. Finish: Not mercifully short enough. The initial wave of artificial sweetness passes quickly, but an unpleasant aftertaste like vanilla-flavored cough syrup hangs around for much too long. Verdict: This is not good. Do not pass "Go", do not collect $200. I wouldn't recommend this as a mixer. I wouldn't wish this on someone as a white elephant "gift" - in fact, I think I may pour this out. 1.5 ~ Very Poor

There are lots of things that I should be doing tonight instead of sipping whiskey and writing an entry in my whisk(e)y journal. But, it’s been a slog at work this week, there have been construction crews excavating some sort of pit outside my home into the wee hours of the morning (my God, the noise pollution!), and I’ve decided I deserve something proven to be delicious for a change of pace. I’ve been a member of Distiller for many months now, but it has come to my attention this evening that while I loyally love Irish whiskey, I have yet to post any reviews of one of my beloved Irish drams. We all have stories and explanations for why we love distilled spirits the way that we do. So I guess since I’m procrastinating tonight, I will elaborate a bit on mine. (Feel free to skip to the part of this post where I actually review some whiskey.) What would eventually become my love of Irish whiskey (and later Scotch) evolved out of a love for artisan root beer as a minor many, many years ago. I was a root beer snob growing up, always picking apart their characteristics and searching for something new to try. But, as I outgrew the all too frequent sweetness of root beer and acquired an obsession with spice, I morphed into a ginger beer snob. Later, when I was of legal drinking age and everyone else was chugging various (disgusting) forms of vodka cranberry, vodka juice, vodka yuck, etc., it was suggested to me that I try a Moscow Mule. Needless to say, I’m not a big fan of Moscow Mules (nor vodka). But, in trying to find other mixed drinks that would work with my love of ginger beer, I came across Irish Mules. What began with naive experimentation with Jameson and ginger beer evolved into a hunt for better quality Irish mixers and eventually landed me in the esteemed (or elitist?) paradise of Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Which all these years later brings me to this delicious bottle of triple distilled, Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. I think everyone is familiar with the story of the Mitchell family and how they added daubs of colored paint on the casks to mark the various ages of whiskey inside, so I will spare you all a recitation of that. Let’s get on with some review details! Age: NAS (but reportedly 7-10 years) Cask Type: A blend of ex-bourbon (first-fill and refill casks) and some ex-sherry ABV: 40% Price: $49.99 Nose: Creamy, sweet, and fruity. Rich, decadent French pastries (croissants, brioche, etc.). Buttery toffee, cream cheese, peach-apricot jam, and orange marmalade. D’Anjou pears, apple pie, and neroli oil. Hints of strawberry, Ceylon cinnamon, lemon zest, and raw walnuts. Given the ABV and triple-distillation, it is on the lighter side, but there are plenty of layers to uncover if you’re willing to go diving. Palate: Light-bodied yet rich. The nose transfers but is slightly more muted by comparison. Oily butter, breakfast cereal, honey, and dainty vanilla essence. There’s some green banana on the palate which I do not get on the nose, but I will say that I get loads of this with the Yellow Spot. Raisins, orchard fruit, and a mild, zesty spice (cinnamon and ginger). Faint sherry influence. Finish: Medium length and sweet. Honey, buttered cereal, and fruit basket. Slightly drying with vanilla to close. Verdict: Deceptively simple, easy to drink, and delicious. While I’ve had all three of the Spots (Green, Yellow, and Red), I have yet to do a side-by-side tasting of them to see how they truly compare to one another. I’m fairly confident Red Spot is my favorite, as the green banana notes completely dominate the Yellow Spot for me. But I’m less certain of how Green and Yellow Spot compare. In any case, Green Spot is delightful (if a little light on ABV - trying this at >40% would be so appreciated). While it’s typically a little more expensive and harder to find, I’d like to always be able to keep this and Redbreast 12 on my shelf as daily drinkers. Highly recommended (alongside Redbreast 12, which I also need to review) for those looking to explore the world of Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. This falls in between a 4.0 and 4.25 but I’m going with 4.25 so I can give this a 90. 4.25 ~ 90 ~ Excellent