Tastes

Single Cask Nation turned me on to Japanese rice whiskies with their Ohishi aged 7 years in a refill sherry hogshead, a sweet and unctuous experience I continued to chase after finishing that bottle. Other Ohishi expressions didn’t do it for me but this Fukano special release is the closest I’ve found to recapturing that special cask. The marriage of a sweet and complex finishing cask with the unsurpassed moutfeel of rice whisky is something ill always want on my shelf.

Took a chance on this while making an online order since this distillery doesnt get any distribution in my area and its a bottled-in-bond American single malt! Well, looking back on my receipts I’m embarrassed that I spent $100 on this because after two sittings I poured it right down the drain - something that doesn’t happen often but that I’m not afraid to do rather than throw good time and liver enzymes after bad money. It’s just a thin, uninteresting experience with an off putting bitterness at the end. Fresh cracked with a friend and apologized immediately after tasting it and seeing the look on his face. Spend your ASM money on something like Westward cask strength instead.

This was a Rochester Whiskey Enthusiasts group pick and my first experience with Spirits of French Lick and a buckwheat-forward bourbon. This bottle evoked chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup and really nailed the breakfast theming with the name “Morning Glory.” The slightly higher abv on this store pick kept the entire experience from being too sweet with a bit of ethanol burn and rye spice on the backend. I would like to replace this bottle at some point, it’s a unique and delicious product that has gone over extremely well with non-whiskey nerd friends. I’ll be keeping a look out for another group pick.

This is sort of a rating for both the Chardonnay cask finished whiskey that Lost Lantern selected in 2022 and the one that shipped direct from the distillery as part of their quarterly release club: both fantastic entries in Westward’s exciting barrel finishing program. The Chardonnay casks added their usual bright white-fleshed fruit flavors like grape and pear to the muscular single malt base I always enjoy. I’m always excited When I find a product like Westward single malt that can take aggressive finishes while maintaining it’s identity as a spirit. Enjoying something familiar and new at the same time is a dream worth chasing in the whiskey world. The Lost Lantern slightly edged out the distillery release for being just the slight bit bolder and more scrumptious as you’d expect from the higher proof (about 120 compared to 90).

I’ll try any cask finish once and chestnut cask was new to me. I enjoyed it and I think the additional finish amped up some of what I like in an Irish whiskey with it’s intense nutty notes. I like a sweet whiskey and I know there’s going to be some serious honey to any Midleton distillate, but it lost a bit for lacking some complexity and the finish can trail off into a weirdly bitter almond shell taste. Still, great creamy texture and an easygoing drink when you want something that smacks of county fair roasted nuts.

I took a chance on this cask strength store pick as I tend to do whenever I spot a new-to-me American Single Malt. This is a great example of what’s becoming the standard ASM style of a 100% malted barley spirit aged in new American oak instead of used oak like a typical single malt from the UK or Japan. Huge oak flavors, cherry, leather - they’ve developed a lot of complexity in a short amount of time in-barrel. I’ve since picked up a local group pick of the cask strength as well as a sherry cask finished variant so I’m pretty onboard with what they’re doing!

Well this relationship got off to a bad start when I acquired this bottle in trade - one bottle I found undrinkable for one he found undrinkable. My theory was that something bad in an interesting way is better than something bad in a boring standard microdistillery way (Still Austin). When I received this bottle it was straight cherry cough syrup and no amount of mixing could disguise the flavor. I thought about pouring it down the drain many times but instead months went by and it mellowed out after being open for more than a year. I ended up enjoying the last third of the bottle a decent bit when I could appreciate the interplay between the standard 95/5 MGP Rye and the more out-there flavors of the finishing casks. I don’t think I’m onboard with the kind of a stunt finishing Good Times is doing, though, and won’t be going in the next time they pop up as a group pick.