Tastes

Heavy, bold, sweet, quite oaky. Maybe some of the famous machine oil quality, but it's light. Definitely a heavy and thick premium whisky. Nose is sweet and herbaceous aged wood.

Tonight's review is of an early 2020 Batch of Wild Turkey. ⠀ Distiller: Wild Turkey Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Oak Type: new charred American oak Age: 3+ Year NAS  (Said to be 6+ Years) Price Paid: $25.99 for 1,750mL Background:  I tried this pretty early into my bourbon exploration journey and it's continued to be one of my favorite affordable pours. ⠀ 🥃 Wild Turkey 101 (2020) - 50% ABV ⠀ Nose: Oaky cola sweetness along with some brown sugar and cherry. Layers of rye, white pepper, baking spices, and heat come in and out. Classic, proper bourbon nose. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Taste: Starts a bit spicy with pepper and oak astringency.  It then moves a bit sweeter than the initial attack, with juicy red fruits and a buttery viscous palate coating.  It takes a little while to open up. Finish:  The finish is medium length and is warm and semi-spicy.  Some sweetness here and there, but it's not too complex.  The texture really helps here though, keeping the palate coated.  Rating Range: 78-84/100 Really a wonderful classic bourbon that I'd highly recommend to anyone who hasn't tried it.  The value of the 1,750ml bottles can't be beat.  One of my go to's for both sipping and cocktails.

Tonight's review is of an 2017 bottling of Glenmorangie's Quinta Ruban 12 Yr single malt. ⠀ Distiller: Glenmorangie Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley Oak Type: 10 years in ex-bourbon casks, then 2 years in ruby port casks Age: 12 years Price Paid: $27 Background: This bottle came as part of a trio that included the Glenmorangie 10 and Lasanta that I reviewed previously. I had read a lot of praise about this bottle at the time and I definitely enjoy it more than the original Glenmo 10, but not enough to justify getting a bottle at full price.  I would be curious to see what the new 14 year version is like though if anyone wants to share 😉. ⠀ ⠀ 🥃 Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban - 46% ABV ⠀ Nose:  Started with bright red fruit and citrus.  Some caramel and nougat.  Opens up after a while with wafts of port:  prunes, rich stewed fruits, oak, and some perfumey notes.  ⠀ Palate:  Stewed dark fruit with a touch of orange, but not as intense as one would hope.  Though, compared to most 12 yr malts, it's very flavorful.  Notes of cherries, dates, cough medicince, oak, and some spices. It's much nicer than the Glenmo 10 but the Glenmo flavor is apparent. The texture is decent, but I would hope for more from this decadent style. The finish fades from the boozy cherry and red fruits to tannins and a little citrus. Overall, it's an interesting and enjoyable dram.  I am curious to try other Port finished drams and see how they compare.  It's quite flavorful for a 12 yr offering, but I could see it being somewhat polarizing.  I'm curious how the new 14 yr version is different. Thanks for reading. Cheers! ⠀ Rating Range: 79 - 84/100

Tonight's review is of a 2020(?) bottling of the Smoke Wagon Uncut and Unfiltered series. ⠀ Distiller: MGP Aging & Bottling: Nevada H&C Distilling Mash Bill: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% barley Age: NAS (blend of 4yr, 6yr, and 10yr) Price Paid: $60 Background: I had seen a lot of hype and praise for Smoke Wagon's offerings over the past few years and decided to snag one when I saw it.  I was lucky to do so as it's very tasty and they sell out quick.  MGP blended to perfection in the Las Vegas desert.  ⠀ ⠀ 🥃 Smoke Wagon Uncut & Unfiltered - 57.69% ABV ⠀ Nose:  Classic rich bourbon notes.  Caramel, apples, and cherry.  Sweet oak vanillin.  Maybe some banana.  A little cinnamon.  Delicious. Can't dig in much deeper without the ethanol smothering notes. ⠀ Palate:  A fantastic mix - very rich and somewhat spicy.  Reminds me of Wild Turkey 101 (yum!) but with more depth in every category.  Very oaky but not astringent - it's a sweet charred oak flavor.  So much vanilla and caramel character!  Spices are white pepper and cinnamon, accentuated by the high alcohol content. The texture is oily and coats your mouth. The finish is long and stays sweet for a very impressive amiunt of time. Eventually it leaves your mouth watering as the spicy caramel flavors fade away. This is a treat indeed. I think it genuinely lives up to the hype I've seen.  I wouldn't pay secondary prices for it out of principal, but it really is a great buy at MSRP. ⠀ Rating Range: 92 - 96/100

Tonight's review is of a 2019(?) bottling of Tobermory's Ledaig 10 Yr Old single malt. ⠀ Distiller: Tobermory Mash Bill: 100% peated malted barley Oak Type: ex-bourbon Age: 10 yr Price Paid: $53 Background:  I was absolutely blown away after trying a 20yr old Alexander Murray bottling of Ledaig and knew I had to try more.  What better place to start than the base of their core offerings? This one is great and unique option for any peat/smoke lovers out there.   ⠀ ⠀ 🥃 Ledaig 10 Year - 46.3% ABV ⠀ Nose:  Earthy, peppery, salty.  Savory and umami, like pork and fried cabbage.  Shishito peppers.  More black pepper.  BBQ smoke.  The sweetness hides in the background and is a little floral and fruity among the malty notes. ⠀ Palate:  Salty bbq meats, funky peat, malty sweetness, black pepper, and a good bit of smoke. A little bit of oak astringency is masked by other funky and earthy notes. The smoke is very palpable and is distinctly Ledaig to me.  Its like a barbequed mix of Talisker and peated Jura rather than a highland or islay style. The palate rounds out with nice sweet bourbon barrel notes. This dram is much more powerful on the tongue than it is to the nose. The texture is pretty nice, but nothing particularly special. The finish is long and has a nice smoke and sweet combo that reminds me of a very peppery charred barbeque sauce crusted onto grilled chicken along with some general sweet bourbon cask notes. It also has some distinctive peat funk. Overall, very interesting dram that I enjoy a lot but I could understand people finding it polarizing.  There's lots of peaty spirit character here and the oak takes somewhat of a back seat but provides really nice rounded edges. Im a huge fan of Ledaig and have found myself becoming a bit of a collector when I can afford it.  What do you think of Ledaig? ⠀ Rating Range:  84 - 88/100

Tonight's review is of an early 2020 Batch of Wild Turkey. ⠀ Distiller: Wild Turkey Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Oak Type: new charred American oak Age: 3+ Year NAS  (Said to be 6+ Years) Price Paid: $25.99 for 1,750mL Background:  I tried this pretty early into my bourbon exploration journey and it's continued to be one of my favorite affordable pours. ⠀ 🥃 Wild Turkey 101 (2020) - 50% ABV ⠀ Nose: Oaky cola sweetness along with some brown sugar and cherry. Layers of rye, white pepper, baking spices, and heat come in and out. Classic, proper bourbon nose. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Taste: Starts a bit spicy with pepper and oak astringency.  It then moves a bit sweeter than the initial attack, with juicy red fruits and a buttery viscous palate coating.  It takes a little while to open up. Finish:  The finish is medium length and is warm and semi-spicy.  Some sweetness here and there, but it's not too complex.  The texture really helps here though, keeping the palate coated.  Rating Range: 78-84/100 Really a wonderful classic bourbon that I'd highly recommend to anyone who hasn't tried it.  The value of the 1,750ml bottles can't be beat.  One of my go to's for both sipping and cocktails.

Tonight's review is of a 2019 batch of Suntory's Hibiki Japanese Harmony blend. ⠀ Distillers: Yamazaki/Hakashu/Chita Mash Bill: Undisclosed blend of malt and grain whisky Oak Type: Mix of American white oak, sherry casks, Mizunara oak Age: Undisclosed Price Paid: $59.99 for 750mL Background:  This was one of the earliest whiskies I tried and it really helped me learn to appreciate oaky sweetness and also more subtle notes within whisky, such as flotal and herbal notes.  Most well-aged Japanese whisky has been out of my price range for a while, which makes me extra appreciarive of having this available.⠀ ⠀ 🥃 Suntory Hibiki Harmony - 43% ABV ⠀ Nose:  Light, delicate, somewhat grainy. Some sweet and bright icing notes. Slight citrus.  Chardonnay.  There is a mellow but constant caramel note present. ⠀ Palate:  Much of the same notes from the nose appear on the palate, though they are all a little more robust here.  It's definitely still a mellow whisky, but I think that comes more from the balance it achieves than from a lack of flavorful casks or distillate. In addition to the previously mentioned notes, there are also some  floral notes here and maybe a little peppermint. The texture is about what you'd expect from a chill filtered 43% blend - pretty watery. The finish is short-medium in length and leaves a bright refreshing icing sweetness in the mouth.  The texture fades quickly but the flavor lingers. Overall, it's a gentle and well executed whisky.  It definitely doesn't hold up to the age stated offerings from Suntory, but I would recommend it to anyone, especially people new who are new to whisky and can't imagine that a whiskey could be anything but harsh. For those of us who already appreciate whisky, it's still a good option and an example of how subtlety can be effective.  Thanks for reading. Rating Range:  83-87/100