Tastes

This is a 2018 Feis Isle Festival special release from Bunnahabhain: 14 Year Old, Pedro Ximenez Cask that was hand-filled and available only at the distillery during the festival. It was bottled in 375ml bottles with hand written labels and sold for around $60. It’s cask strength and bottled at 54.8% ABV. My buddy @PBMichiganWolverine sent me a pour of this as part of a recent trade. It’s light gold and oily in the Glencairn. I didn’t see any legs initially and it left behind tiny droplets after giving it a twirl. The nose is red berry craziness with a nice pinch of sherry cask and light smoke. The nose had a funky, buttery note as well and gave off a nice punch from the higher ABV. The palate was slightly harsh, but ultimately very sweet. More red berries and grape must with a nice backbone of citrus peel to keep it from turning into a full on cavity inducing mess. The ABV again showed up and made it a bit harsh with a little smoke ring rounding it out. The finish is medium-long, harsh and quite hot. The sweetness finally fades and ultimately finishes dry. I went back and added a little water and the nose became more funky, salty and smoky, which was a nice break from the sweetness. The harshness disappeared from the palate, but it offered no change to the finish. I’d say this was a good one for added water- I don’t usually say that. Overall, it was a decent dram but certainly not worth the $60 price for a half bottle. Thanks again to my buddy Pranay for the pour. 3.5 stars. Cheers, y’all.

In honor of 8 Speyside distilleries owned by Diageo, this blend was made for the Copper Dog whisky bar located inside the Craigellachie hotel. A “copper dog” is also a device that looks a lot like a cork-topped test tube with an attached chain. It is said that distillery workers used these to sneak whisky from casks to take home. This blend is rich gold in color and creates medium legs and lots of large droplets inside your Glencairn. It’s bottled at 40% and I picked this up online for $32. The nose is butterscotch, apples and pears, red berries and some slight milk chocolate. The casks also provides some weak vanilla and light oak aromas. The palate is smooth, albeit quite watery. There’s vanilla and sweet grapes and some orchard fruits. The finish is expectedly short, yet slightly warming. There’s a good bit of rich vanilla left behind. It’s slightly mouthwatering. Overall, it’s a fine blend for the money. This should replace any and all uses of Johnnie Walker Red or Dewars White Label in your cocktails and can even be enjoyed neat or on the rocks. If you’re looking for an extra, cheap bottle to add to an international order- see if the store has this in stock. It’s solid and cheap. 3-3.25 stars. Cheers.

I added a bottle of this to an international order back in the spring and I decided to open it because I have too many peated whiskies open at the moment, so I need something to balance things out. Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 is another release lauding the use of locally grown six-row barley from the Dunlossit Farm on Northern Islay. These guys love to advertise “terroir”, and this one fits the bill. Bere Barley is 9 year old whisky that was aged in ex-white oak casks and bottled at 50% abv. It’s pale yellow, oily and makes some very skinny legs in the taster. It’s non-chill filtered and has no added color. The nose was pretty closed off initially. I mean I literally got nothing for the first 5-10 minutes. Vanilla and sweet corn eventually came through, albeit still quite lightly. The oak casks are probably the most prominent aroma, even if you add a splash of water- which I did on subsequent tastings. The palate only really carried the sweet, candied corn as it’s one note swan song. There was some alcohol and ABV presence, but the sweetness carried the day- even with water. It was slightly hot, harsh and to the point. The finish was medium to long, again focusing on the corn. The mouthfeel stayed dry from beginning to end. A little water did wash some of the harshness out, but it only diluted the dram even more. Overall, this was a boring dram. If you’re an American bourbon fan or a enthusiastic corn whiskey drinker then this may hit your wheelhouse. The question is: why would you buy an $88 single malt to experience Scottish moonshine? The simple answer is that you wouldn’t. This malt is only for diehard Bruichladdich fans. I like their core stuff, but this is one I should’ve left out of my online cart. 2.75-3 stars and not worth the scratch. Look elsewhere.

So, I opened this bottle way back in April, prior to Whiskyfest DC, as part of our hotel room bottle share. I figured we needed some high quality whisky to pregame for the festival. I bought this bottle last winter when it was initially released and I paid $600 to get my hands on one. I bought a second bottle about 3 months later after the initial craze died down, but I still paid $500 for it. Was it worth it? Let’s see... This bottle is not a continuation of the series Ardbeg started in 2016 with the 21 Year Old (as rumored). This was different stock they found onsite. It’s a blend of traditional ex-bourbon aged and ex-sherry cask aged. The 21 year was old stock bought back from an independent bottler. This 23 is bottled at 46.3% and is new gold in color and creates tons of skinny, fast running legs in the Glencairn. The nose had some incredible sherry sweetness right out of the gate. The smoke melded perfectly and there was some nice oak cask notes, BBQ and bacon with some grape wine influence. It was very complex and faded mostly to smoke after some time. The palate was smoked meats, chocolate, vanilla and sherry grapes. The cask gets left behind here and replaced with some salty notes and tons of smoke. The mouthfeel is luxurious and velvety smooth- which is totally expected with something this old. There’s not much alcohol heat and the smoke again slides to the front if you take your time with the sip. The finish is long with moderate spices and finally some barrel influence. It’s smoky and sweet at the same time and each sip makes you want to take another. This bottle was hands down the best Ardbeg I’ve ever tried. It isn’t as complex as the CorryV or the Uiggi, but they don’t hold a candle to how perfectly smooth and luscious this is. It’s hard to say whether or not this bottle is worth $500-600, but you could do a lot worse for sure. This one is battling for the top spot on my all time favorite list, so it’s easily a 5-star dram. If you want to try something close to perfection- pony up for a pour or a bottle and find out for yourself. It’s a beautiful dram. Cheers.

Sitting down for a late lunch and this is the only scotch they have (if you don’t count Dewar’s white label). This is still an incredibly smooth sipper with enough flavor to make you sit up and take notice. Maybe I’ll stop and snag a bottle of this and Double Black to put back behind the bar. It’s still just 3 stars, but you could do a lot worse when it comes to blends. Cheers. Where’s my steak?!

I recently did a 3-way, Japanese whiskey tasting flight using samples generously supplied by my NJ connection: @PBMichiganWolverine. This well-aged blend from Hibiki easily finished in first place- besting the Nikka Whisky From The Barrel and Ohishi Single Sherry Cask. I knew this going in so it wasn’t a surprise. The Hibiki 21 has gained a reputation as being one of, if not, the best Japanese whisky on the market. It’s bottled at 43% and is amber and gold in the taster. A few watery drops and thin legs get left behind when you twirl it up after the initial pour. The nose is, well...one of the greatest things you’ll ever have the privilege of smelling. Florals and perfumes greeted me right out of the gate. Over time the fruit basket arrives: orchard fruits, fresh cherry mash, ripe and bursting raspberries and grape must. A hint of vanilla and oak cask creates a wall that keeps those notes from escaping. I let this thing sit for 45 minutes and nothing lessened or dissipated. I could be perfectly content smelling this until the liquid evaporated, but the angels don’t deserve another share of this stuff. The palate doesn’t back down one bit either- brown sugar, fresh ground cinnamon wake the sleeping tongue before relenting to honey, sherry grapes and vanilla. A toasted bread note weighs on the back of the tongue and brings the slightest bit of gravity to this whisky. To this point is all felt so light and airy it actually needs this moment. There isn’t one ounce of harshness or heat from the alcohol. A nice, light mouthfeel that isn’t oily or dry. Perfection. The finish feels juicy initially. The instant I began to question whether or not I was drinking whisky I got charcoal and oak spice. It was like it was on cue. Orange peel lingered and cooled the last seconds of burn from the spice. This is one of the most complete experiences I’ve ever had from a whisky. Well done. Overall, this easily lands in my Top 5 of all time. I still have the Yamazaki 18 in there as well and I’d love to have these two side by side, even though I doubt I could declare a true winner. I believe bottles of this are currently going for over $600. You could buy a lot worse bottles for that price, so I have to say it’s still worth it based on quality. Thanks Pranay- I guess I know what I’m bidding on at the next auction. 5 stars. Cheers.

I recently did a 3-way, Japanese whiskey tasting flight using samples generously supplied by my NJ connection: @PBMichiganWolverine. This single barrel whisky finished in second place behind the vaunted Hibiki 21, but ahead of Nikka Whisky From The Barrel. Please see that review for more details. This particular whisky is made from rice instead of grain or malt and was rather young when it was put into first-fill, ex-sherry casks for further aging. I believe this bottle runs about $45, which is a fantastic deal IMO. It’s copper/slightly amber in color, oily and makes some slow running, fat legs in the taster. Lots of heavy droplets form around the rim of the glass, as well. The nose immediately struck me as saki- which makes perfect sense, but after a little time I got an explosion of aromas like sweet raspberries, maple, nuts, green tea with mint and rice flour. It’s nicely complex for what I assume is a pretty young whisky. The palate is butterscotch and sherry, with vanilla and cashews, raisins and maple syrup. It’s effectively a liquid trail mix. There was a bit of a brash, cherry cough syrup note on the tail end, but it didn’t ruin the palate completely. The finish was medium length, very nutty with a raisin and prune flavor lingering for quite some time. It was mostly oily overall but did finish ultimately dry and warming. Overall, it’s a flavor bomb- there’s a lot going on and it makes me think the flavors are somewhat artificial, but I still wanted more after the glass was dry. Thanks again to my friend, Pranay for the pour. I wouldn’t mind locating a bottle of this for those nights I want a sweet, liquid dessert after dinner. This would fit the bill perfectly. 4 stars. Cheers.

I recently did a 3-way, Japanese whiskey tasting flight using samples generously supplied by my NJ connection: @PBMichiganWolverine. This blend from Nikka finished in third place behind the Ohishi Single Sherry Cask and the vaunted Hibiki 21. This was bottled at 51.4% and appeared copper gold in the tasting glass, with tiny and oily beads around the edge. It took a minute or two before a few, sparse legs ran back down the sides. Thickness. The nose was initially grainy with a wonderful cedar note. Light and lively rye spices appeared after some time (odd, to me) along with faint smoke. The palate was grain heavy at first, with some spice and smoke before turning malty with sherry and floral flavors. The mouthfeel was solid, albeit a tad harsh. The finish is medium-long and spicy. It’s smooth but turns dry at the very end. Overall, it’s a 4 star dram for sure- it just doesn’t hold up next to the well-aged Hibiki or the surprising upstart Ohishi. Thanks again, Mr B. They were 3 great samples. Cheers.

Here’s another bonus sample from the distillery tour: Campbeltown’s Glen Scotia. This is a tasty, NAS called Victoriana. It was sent by my friend Jason, aka @Telex. It’s 51.5% ABV and is shiny gold with runny, thin legs. The nose is rich caramel and light smoke. There’s a lovely maple syrup note holding the nose up, along with juicy fruit gum flavors and hints of heat from the ABV. The palate is more maple and caramel, with youthful spirit and faint smoke. It’s constantly warming on the tongue with some sherry presence lingering into the finish. Speaking of finish- it’s long with a constant, mellow and warm malt note. Smooth, melted toffee squares dry and attach to the tongue and roof of your mouth. It’s a fantastic finish- maybe the best part of the dram IMO. I really enjoyed this one. There’s not much complexity, but the toffee and warming aspects really make it feel luxurious and dessert-like. It’s a solid 4-4.25 stars. Thanks again, Jason. I really liked this one.

I was finally able to land a pour of this travel retail exclusive whisky from my friend @Telex, in Maryland. I bought a bottle of this about 6 months ago but have been reluctant to open it because stocks have disappeared and I’d like to hold one for further down the road. My buddy opened his for his YouTube channel review and graciously sent me a pour so I don’t have to crack mine. This is antique gold in the Glencairn and leaves behind some seriously heavy droplets when you give it a spin. It took quite awhile for some thick, undefined legs to form though. She’s an oily beast and bottled at 48%. The nose was a heavy mix of smoke, butterscotch and band aid for the longest time. Some faint citrus and malty sweetness crept in and provided a nice change to your typical Laphroaig. The palate was BBQ brisket and sweet, sherry cask with a dense, medicinal note that struck me as odd- just because it didn’t seem very well integrated. I expect the flavors, they just didn’t seem to be mixed. I got smoke and BBQ- then medicinal and band aid- back and forth they went. The finish is velvety smooth, smoky, warm and oily. The flavors linger and I do get some zesty lemon peel residual flavor to end things on a high note. Overall, this is a delicious NAS that just slightly trails the Lore bottle. Lore has that well-aged complexity that’s not present here, but this is still a very solid dram. 4.25 stars. Cheers.