Tastes

It’s back to sampling pours from the distillery tour group. Next up: Glen Elgin 12. Glen Elgin is a Speyside distillery that originally opened in 1898. They are primarily supplying malts for White Horse blends, which I’m not sure are even available here in the states. They only single malt they bottle is the 12 year and it also isn’t available stateside. It’s a deep amber and gold color and makes very few legs. It’s bottled at 43%. The nose is predominantly honey and sherry sweetness with banana and biscuit flavors mingling throughout. There’s a light oak spice present, as well. The palate was more spicy, with almonds and sherry notes. There was a slight hint of tea leaves and biscuits again. The mouthfeel was oily and thick. The finish is medium length and malt heavy. There’s a heavy spice and oak hit at the very end. Overall, it’s a solid offering but it doesn’t offer anything exciting over many readily available Speyside sherry cask bottles. Thanks to @Scott_E for the pour. I’d say this one is easily crushable and enjoyable. 3.5 stars. Cheers.

So, this is a single cask variation of Compass Box’s Great King St Artist’s Blend. This is a single cask bottling done and offered to several independent retailers worldwide. This particular batch was allotted to Bounty Hunter Wine & Spirits out of Napa Valley, CA. It’s limited to 228 total bottles. The regular Artist’s Blend is composed of 46% grain whisky from Cameron Bridge, 29% Clynelish, 17% CBW Highland Malt blend and 8% Linkwood. This Marrying Cask bottle takes that original Artist Blend, replaces it back into a single cask and ages it for an additional year. This was cask #69, which previously held the original Cameron Bridge grain whisky used. It’s then re-bottled at or near cask strength of 49%. Re-casked in Feb 2016, bottled in Feb 2017. Other batches of the Marrying Cask were refilled into different types of previously used casks, so they should also offer different takes on the original Artist’s Blend. The nose on this one is strong oak, vanilla and soft fruits. The near-50% grain whisky used really dominates the nose here, but it’s still sweet and rich. The palate showcases apples and similar fruits, light sherry, vanilla and some spices. It’s obviously a little harder on the tongue, thanks to the higher ABV, but it’s still relatively smooth. The finish remains heavy on the oak, long and warming, while revealing some astringent grain notes. Overall, I can’t say this is much better or different than the original Artist Blend. The fact this is $20 more per bottle doesn’t bode well in the VFM category. It’s still a solid, smooth-ish blend, but I think this one is more suited for those that like their whisky more “in your face”. It would be cool to try to put together a complete collection of all the Marrying Cask offerings, but that is probably going to be hard to do given the various stores offered the exclusive, single casks. As it is, it’s still 3.5-3.75 stars. Cheers and thanks for reading this. Buy more Compass Box folks, they deserve our money.

So, I had quite a few excellent choices when it came time to decide what whisky I would review for my 300th entry on Distiller. We had several 5 star drams last month prior to Whiskyfest that I still need to officially review, but I decided I wanted to do something new to me. Thanks to my friend Jason, from Maryland, I had a pour of this fantastic Ardbeg: Ardbog. This bottle was the Feis Isle festival release from 2013 and is a blend of several casks that spent 10 years in Manzanilla sherry casks. The color is deep copper and it makes some seriously wide legs in the Glencairn. The story written around the box tell tales of what ancient artifacts and treasures have been unearthed while farming for peat around Islay: bronze swords, silver and copper coins, ancient crustacean fossils and even dinosaur bones. It’s a cool, dedicated homage to the peat bogs all over the island. The nose starts off with your typical Ardbeg smoke and campfire notes. Then the sherry casks make their presence known and flood the glass with berry and orchard fruits and sea spray. The nose is perfectly balanced between the two. The palate continues the same onslaught: smoked BBQ and bacon, salty air with a deep hit of sherry wine and vanilla oak. It’s all silky smooth, but I think the cask sweetness takes over just a tad too much. I want that meaty smoke from Ardbeg to stay in the forefront, but the cask actually pushes it to the background. It’s still fantastic, I just want the smoke to lead and the sherry to follow- this is just reversed here. The finish is medium-to-long, warm and smoky while remaining butter smooth. It’ll linger as long as you let it and that really put a smile on my face. Overall, it’s nearly perfect. I just wish the roles were reversed to fit my wheelhouse, but there’s no reason to think this isn’t a 4.5 star dram. Luckily, I found a bottle of this at a store while walking the streets of DC last month with @Telex and @Generously_Paul. It’s very rare now, so I’m glad I have a bottle to put away. If you see this one out there- do not hesitate to buy it. Great stuff. Cheers.

As we roll closer to the distillery finish line, our sample group has saved most of the oddball, obscure distilleries for the end run. It’s time for Speysider, Glentauchers. Founded in 1898 by James Buchanan & Co, this distillery produces 4.5 million liters a year used in blends for Buchanan’s, Black & White and Ballantine’s. They only bottle one single malt in house, a 15 year old. Sadly, this is not that bottle. This is from the Battlehill line for Duncan Taylor. It’s a 7 year old that’s bottled at or near cask strength of 56% ABV. It’s pure gold in color, is most likely NCF’d and natural in color while making no legs and leaving tiny droplets behind when you spin it up (obviously not much water in this one). The nose is harsh grains up front, with pepper and oak swirling around as well. There’s a tiny bit of honey that comes in after a little time, but it doesn’t smell hot for such a high ABV. The palate is hot with some slight sweetness reminiscent of vanilla and honey, but it’s not enough to overcome the heat and harshness of the young spirit. The finish is long, warming and turning dry and biting. It’s tough to find any complexity or smoothness at all. Overall, this obviously belongs in a blend and there’s not much to enjoy as a single malt. Thanks to @Generously_Paul for supplying this one, but I think we need to just keep moving. 2 stars. Cheers.

One of the great things about attempting to try a sample of every active Scottish distillery is that you learn a lot of things about places you never knew really existed, and in our case, you get to try whisky from distilleries that aren’t readily available in our area. The bad part- you find out that quite a few of these distilleries belong exclusively in blends. Sadly, this is one of the latter: Mannochmore. Specifically, the Diageo Flora & Fauna released, 12 year old. Mannochmore was founded in 1971 by John Haig & Co, in the Speyside town of Elgin. It was mothballed in 1985, while later re-opening in 1995 on a crazy year-on/year-off schedule with the neighboring Glenlossie Distillery. They shared employees for many years, until Mannochmore was fully staffed and resumed a full-time operating schedule in 2008, under Diageo. They have an annual production of 3.2 million liters, with their stuff going primarily into Haig Club blends. They are also a part of the Flora & Fauna releases from Diageo- check out a video on YouTube from Aqvavitae about the entire F&F series- it’s a fun and informative program. Moving on, this whisky is bottled at 43%, has color added and is chill-filtered. It’s light gold and produces lots of oily legs in the Glencairn when you give it a spin. The nose is very buttery with hints of young oak and light florals. I even detected some yellow cake mix in there on subsequent sips. The palate is also reminiscent of buttered popcorn with a medium, mouthfeel that turns to harsh oak rather quickly. There isn’t any depth or complexity to this malt at all, the butter notes quickly turn somewhat rancid and unenjoyable. I even dumped the last 0.5oz or so into the sink. The finish was medium length with a continued theme of bitter oak and butter. Overall, I can’t see why Diageo would want to showcase this malt in the Flora & Fauna series- this one is clearly not something I’d want to celebrate- much less add to a blend. Oh well, they know something we all don’t and it remains an operating distillery. I’d avoid this one altogether. 1.5-1.75 stars. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go chug a bottle of hot sauce to get this butter taste out of my mouth. Thanks to my friend @PBMichiganWolverine for wasting his money on this so I didn’t have to. Cheers.

I recently purchased a bottle of this for those days I feel like drinking something that’s not overly complex and easy to drink in larger amounts. I’ve had a few different samples from Glenrothes, but never an entire bottle. This was found locally for $40 and remembering that this stuff is generally easy drinking, I opted for the purchase. This particular bottle is bottled at 40%, has color added and is chill-filtered. It’s a deep gold with a slight red hue, while appearing very oily and making lots of legs and droplets around the rim. The nose is typical Speyside sherry with red berries constantly present. It’s slightly muted on the nose and palate, with some sawdust notes creeping in if you let it sit awhile. There’s no real barrel notes to be found. The palate is again, primarily, berries and a smooth malty characteristic. It’s overly watery with some bitter oak filtering in later on the back end. The oiliness disappears as well and it turns a little dry. The finish is short and all the flavor washes away a bit too easily for my liking, but there’s a slight warmth that stays behind. Overall, there are bits that seem artificial, but the entire profile is true to most sherry cask whisky styles. If anything, it needs a boost in ABV and maybe some more cask presence, but then that would probably increase the cost and open this up to more scrutiny. As it is, just 2.75-3 stars is all I feel like it warrants. It makes for an easy drinker for those days you just want to sit around and sip on something sweet while catching an afternoon buzz. There’s nothing wrong with that. Cheers, my friends.

My third sample from our sixth round of distillery samples comes from the actual Speyside Distillery. Beinn Dubh translates as “black mountain” and refers to Ben Macdui, the name of the highest peak in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. This whisky is in honor of Prof. Norman Collie’s solo climb to the peak back in 1891 and his encounter with The Big Grey Man- a mystical man-beast said to roam the fog covered mountain and chase away climbers and locals alike. Shortly after his climb, locals distilled this dark whisky and drank it in hopes of warding off evil spirits. Speyside Distillery began releasing this several years ago as a single malt since the majority of their stuff is primarily for blends. Beinn Dubh is very dark and creates lots of skinny legs in the glass. It’s obviously heavily colored to create the deep, black color reminiscent of soda pop- despite being finished in port pipes. It’s bottled at 43% ABV. I’m sure it’s also chill filtered. The nose is mostly burnt sugar, licorice, musty oak and grape must. I want to say there is a bit of a cola flavor present as well, but I think it may be more subliminal due to the color. The longer it sits, the more grape aromas start to waft from the Glencairn. It still retains an old, musty smell no matter how long you let it rest. It’s not a negative, just an observation. The palate is dark and deep, with some wine notes and a strong oak cask backbone. The old and musty notes follow into the mouth and make this stuff feel well aged, even though it’s a NAS. The mouthfeel is oily and warm and that same depth creeps into every corner of your mouth and follows it down into the finish. The finish is medium in length, oily and warm while continuing the oak bitterness and dry wine feel. I can’t get over how it feels so well aged, knowing it isn’t. That’s a great job by the master blender at the distillery. This doesn’t seem like a $45 bottle from a blend-heavy distillery. Once the notes begin to fade, however, it seems like you haven’t been sipping whisky at all. It’s weird. Overall, for $45 I think it’s a great deal. It’s like a magic show- it left me scratching my head how they pulled off such a depth in feeling while keeping the malts used very young and price point rather low. I wanna give it 4 stars because of VFM, but knowing it’s a cheap whisky makes me wanna strike it a bit. I don’t know- 3.5-3.75 stars. Decent stuff. Cheers.

This is the original recipe Tim Smith used on the TV show, Moonshiners. It’s an unflavored, corn whiskey that’s bottled at 45% ABV. It is contract distilled by Belmont Farms Distillery located in Culpeper, VA. This distillery is located about 75 Miles away from the Shenandoah mountain location of Tim’s “hidden stills”. This distillery also produces the Kopper Kettle line of spirits and Virginia Lightning corn whiskey. The nose here is all butter and corn. There’s some sugar notes that creep in and make it seem closer on the nose to butterscotch candies. The palate is similar with an overwhelming sensation of sucking on a stick of warm butter. There’s little to no heat or harshness, mostly because this stuff is watered down to a more appropriate 90 proof. Most good, illegal moonshine is 125+ proof and doesn’t need much blending down to make it palatable. Overall, it’s more hype train whiskey that’s become very popular due to the television show, etc. This stuff is currently only available in Virginia, but I believe Tim is actively searching for more struggling craft breweries/distilleries to “rescue” so he can expand into other state’s liquor markets. In fact, the Fire No. 32 cinnamon version is now being distilled in Asheville, NC so it’s probably available in that state, as well. At $30 for a 750ml bottle, it’s ridiculously overpriced but if I rate it as a typical moonshine, I’d say it’s just about as average as the rest on the legal market. 2.5 stars.

So, my dad is a fan of the Discovery Channel show “Moonshiners”. The scripted, reality show follows Virginia’s illegal distiller, Tim Smith and his podunk town cohorts, as they try to evade detection from the authorities in the Shenandoah Mountains of western Virginia and North Carolina. Well, of course, he eventually got wise and went legit and took his special “shine” recipes to several local, craft distilleries in the area and has now released this flavored, corn whiskey (with government approval and taxes paid). What I’m reviewing here is the Fire No.32. It’s a cinnamon flavored moonshine named in honor of a local, volunteer fire deptartment. It’s bottled at 45% and is clear as a bell in your favorite Mason jar. I’m drinking it from a Glencairn because, well, I’m an up-scale redneck. There’s a difference. I bought this bottle in Virginia and brought it to my dad in WV (uh oh, bootleggin’. Breaker 1 Nine, looking for that black Trans-Am). He wanted to try it and have some on hand for family and friends that watch the show, I guess. I’m not gonna get too into this because it’s just flavored, un-aged, corn whiskey and doesn’t deserve that treatment. Plus, if the locals found out I did, they’d probably tar and feather me and run me out of town on a rail. The biggest notes here are obviously the cinnamon. This one has a mixture of the candy, Red Hots type of flavor, but also straight cinnamon sticks, too. It smells much better than Fireball for sure, but then again what doesn’t? Not much hint of corn on the nose, but boy it’s there on the tongue. Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and creamed corn (sounds delicious, don’t it). And sugar- lots of sugar. Geez, my fillings are rattling. It’s super smooth, but then again it should be because “real” Moonshine is usually well over 120 proof. Since this isn’t, it would have to be easy drinking and I suppose it is. The finish is sugar and cinnamon sticks, forever. Wow, on and on. If I were to rate this as a typical Moonshine, well I guess it’s 3 stars. It’s too sweet, yet too weak as well. Shine should kick you in the butt quickly, but this one will upset your stomach long before you get sloshed. Meh, TV show hype. At $30 for a 750ml it’s also way overpriced. Yeee-hawww, y’all!!

Something amazing happened here tonight. I’m currently in the mountains of West Virginia visiting my dad. I brought along a couple of samples because I knew my sleep pattern would be screwed up from working overnight and overtime all last week. Here I sit, on the back deck at 3am, with everyone else tucked in and sleeping. I might as well review a scotch. The 13 year Springbank Green was given to me by my good friend @Telex. We initially had a sample at Whiskyfest several weeks ago, and I wasn’t really a fan. There was lots of great stuff floating around the hotel and this one just didn’t play well there IMO. Oh what a difference a change in venue makes...here in the mountains, I’ve left behind the pollution, smog and diesel fumes I’m used to from living so close to an industrial park and the beltway around Richmond, VA. The air is clean and my nose is working better than I could’ve imagined. Before we get into that, this Springbank is named Green because it uses organic barley for the fermentation. It spent all of its 13 years in sherry casks and is bottled at 46% ABV. It’s a dark gold in the taster and makes a few oily, thin legs in the taster. There’s a slight pinkish-red hue in there that tells me the quality of the casks used was fantastic. The nose is immensely complex. It was so involving that it sent me scurrying to the corners of the Internet looking for ways to try to explain what it exactly is I’m smelling here. First off, there’s typical sherry notes, raisins and light smoke swirling around, but then there is a perplexing funk. Not just your usual barnyard or band aid funk- it’s something else. It reminded me of unripened apples at first, so I googled unripened, fruit aromas and found something kind of cool: aceldehyde. This compound is a result of the absence of hydrogen molecules in fruit, particularly apples that fall from a tree too early. It doesn’t allow the aromas to form properly. It also comes into play during sherry production, while adding extra levels of apple and wet hay flavor to some wine. Man, science is cool. That’s the flavor descriptor coming into play with this whisky. I believe it’s tied to the organic barley in creating the depth here. Crazy aromas on the nose. The palate isn’t nearly as exciting: sherry sweetness, charcoal and a bit of smoke with some minerality, apples and custard. It’s a smooth mouthfeel while steadily growing warmer as you roll it around the tongue. The finish is warm, lingering while accentuating the bitter, funky hay again. It dries over time and turns peppery. A nice way to end things, actually. Overall, I would’ve given this a 3-3.5 back at the hotel in DC, but out here in the mountains of WV the smell of dirty politics isn’t around and it just smells like nature, and I’m sure that’s what was intended by Springbank. I gotta say it’s a 4.25-4.5, but taking “terroir” into play has made this a near perfect tasting experience, so I’m going to bump it up to a 5 star rating. It’s a shame we all can’t get a taste like this while in the perfect environment. Like the fine chaps at Bruichladdich say- terroir does make a difference. A big thanks to Jason for letting me bring a pour home, and it was purely blind luck that I grabbed this one for my review up here in the mountains, but it worked out so damn well. Cheers, my friends.