Tastes

** Disclaimer: This review is what I would consider a “Quick Hit”- meaning I won’t have my usual in-depth notes that I usually like to take. The reason: this sample was poured at Whiskyfest DC on 4/17/18. All of these reviews will not be scored and I am actively looking to try them again at some point to do them more justice. I was really excited to try the new Lagavulin DE at the festival because I have 2 unopened bottles of it. My first reaction was that the finishing sherry casks altered the typical Lagavulin smoke levels to a point I wasn’t expecting. While I won’t say it was bad, it was different. I believe I will be opening a bottle soon to do a proper review because I hope there’s more there than what I experienced. After I tried this at the festival I gave it a shoulder shrug and Lagavulin deserves better, lol.

** Disclaimer: This review is what I would consider a “Quick Hit”- meaning I won’t have my usual in-depth notes that I usually like to take. The reason: this sample was poured at Whiskyfest DC on 4/17/18. All of these reviews will not be scored and I am actively looking to try them again at some point to do them more justice. This sample has to slide over into the disappointing column of my Whiskyfest list because I was completely expected to be blown away and I wasn’t. It didn’t seem as complex or as smooth as it should’ve been. The port notes didn’t come through (could’ve been my palate beginning to get fatigued) and it seemed rather harsh for a Balvenie AND 21 years old. I have a bottle of this one sitting here at home so I will be looking to redeem this one because there are just too many great reviews of it for it to be as low as I would’ve scored it based on Whiskyfest alone. Also, boo to the Balvenie reps for being so stingy with the pours. Especially with the 21 being a non-VIP pour. A little over a 1/4oz (maybe) wasn’t worth standing in line for. They also short poured the Peat Week during the VIP hour, but that was a fantastic malt- more to come on that one.

** Disclaimer: This review is what I would consider a “Quick Hit”- meaning I won’t have my usual in-depth notes that I usually like to take. The reason: this sample was poured at Whiskyfest DC on 4/17/18. All of these reviews will not be scored and I am actively looking to try them again at some point to do them more justice. Oh, Laphroaig. I usually love you so much. This was also a special malt that wasn’t listed initially on the tasting list for the festival. This one is a travel retail exclusive and I actually purchased a bottle from a European online store a couple of months ago but haven’t gotten around to opening. It suffers from exactly the things I suspected would hurt it- too much oak cask influence while being pretty dry for a Laphroaig. The typical smokiness and oily mouthfeel weren’t present. I’ll open my personal bottle soon and run it through its paces, but this one didn’t really knock my socks off at the festival. On a side note (and a bit of a rant): I want to give Laphroaig my “Punk Bitches of Whiskyfest Award” for promising pours of the 25, 30 and new Cairdeas and not delivering them. The Laphroaig rep simply said they couldn’t get the bottles in time for the festival, even though they announced them over a month ago. Also, there are several vintages of the 25 and the 30 has been out for almost 2 years- don’t tell me you couldn’t find them. I saw the 30yo in both stores we visited hours before the festival. If you can’t get the new Cairdeas (I somewhat understand)- then bring an old one. C’mon, guys. When 2 of my Top 3 whiskies didn’t show it started the night off on a bad foot for me. It made the 27yo Laphroaig a bittersweet tasting, as well. More on that one a little later. Laphroaig gets my SHAME, SHAME, SHAME vote and should have to make The Walk of Atonement...

** Disclaimer: This review is what I would consider a “Quick Hit”- meaning it won’t have my usual in-depth notes that I usually like to take. The reason: this sample was poured at Whiskyfest DC on 4/17/18. All of these reviews will not be scored and I am actively looking to try them again at some point to do them better justice. I’m starting here for 2 reasons: this wasn’t listed on the initial tasting list and it wasn’t very tasty, IMO. I know grain whisky, in general, can be very harsh- especially if it’s young. I have had the normal Hedonism and found it to be incredibly smooth and surprisingly tasty, even though I don’t remember a lot of depth. The Muse version didn’t have much flavor, IMO except for peppery spice and a little vanilla. It was also ridiculously harsh. I’m not sure if the age of the grain whisky was younger, or if it is an entirely different recipe from the usual Hedonism. This was also the 5-6th sample of the evening so I didn’t consider my palate to be taxed. I have seen bottles of this going for $250 online and for that price it’s a hard pass for me. I’d be willing to give it another go, but this was the biggest disappointment of Whiskyfest for me.

I was sent a sample of this 200th Anniversary specialty malt from Ardbeg several months ago as a part of a trade with a new friend from Maryland, @Telex. This bottle was created and released in honor of Ardbeg Day, during the annual Feis Isle Festival, in 2015. This was bottled at 47.4% ABV and is light gold in color. Spinning it in a Glencairn reveals an oily glass-coat with slow forming, thin legs. It also releases that typical Ardbeg BBQ’d meaty smoke into the vicinity. The nose is everything you know and love about Ardbeg: smoked brisket, seaweed, briny seaside air and fresh cut oak. There’s a surprising hit of alcohol floating throughout the glass. That’s not something I expected. The palate follows along closely to the nose with meaty and earthy peat, lighter than usual smoke and salt. There’s a strange balancing act with the mouth feel going on, too- one minute it feels oily, then it turns dry. It’s odd and doesn’t really play well with the flavors present. You can tell that a majority of the whisky is on the younger side, as well. The finish is medium length, smoky and salty with a stronger bite of pepper and oak at the tail end. This dram feels like it wants to separate flavors and elements throughout the entire sip, and not in a good way. The flavors are solid and established, they just aren’t playing nice with one another. Everything feels rushed. Overall, I’m glad I got to sample this one, but it’s not on my list of highly regarded Ardbeg’s due to the complete uneven feel. Thanks again, Jason. Sadly, this one falls in the mediocre category and I want to give it a 3-3.25 star rating. It’s not Ardbeg’s finest effort to date. Cheers.

So, I’m getting a jump start on our group trade sampling for our penultimate round. This is actually quite an exciting round IMO- we are mostly down to distilleries that aren’t available in North American or the United States. This bottle, Tamnavulin Double Cask, had to be purchased from an online store based out of London just to be included here. It’s a NAS whisky and while I’m not expecting anything incredible flavor-wise- it is cool knowing most average Joe’s here in the states can’t get their hands on this one. But, then again, we live in a global economy now, so... Let’s talk about Tamnavulin a bit first: they were founded in 1966 and have been primarily used in Whyte & Mackay and Mackinlay’s blends. They were owned by the same group that owned Bruichladdich, Jura and Tullibardine. They closed in 1995, but were refurbished and reopened by United Spirits/UBG Group in 2007 and are currently managed by Whyte and Mackay. They started offering single malts again in 2016. This NAS is bottled at 40% ABV and is from batch #308 (wow, high batch number for a relatively small distillery that’s not super widely distributed...oh well). Double Cask is primarily aged in American Oak before being transferred to Sherry Casks for an undisclosed length of time for finishing. It’s a rich caramel in color (no indication of chill filtering or added color, so I’d assume it is). It makes some oily, yet undefined legs in the Glencairn. The nose is definitely an indicator of young whisky, sherried oak barrels and is kind of similar to Tamdhu, initially. Sadly, the sherry notes fade over time. The palate is somewhat weak due to the low ABV. There’s more sherry sweetness at play but not much oak. Weak is the theme here. The finish is medium-short, sweet and oaky before ending up dry. I guess I’ve grown to expect this from a NAS and at a price point of $36USD (sigh). Overall, it’s average on it’s best day. Mundane on its worst. An interesting attempt, but there’s not enough here to make me want to look into an older, age statement bottle either. At least the group can tick off a distillery that’s not easily attainable. They need to give the ABV a boost for starters and dump the blend mentality IMO. 2.5-2.75 stars. Cheers and thanks for reading.

I was able to sample this rare, sublime single sherry cask 24 year old from Springbank thanks to my friend @PBMichiganWolverine from NJ. He graciously added this one as an extra on our tour group. I want to say this is a $500 bottle if you can find one on the secondary market. This was bottled by The Maltman in 2017, is 47.1% ABV and is obviously NCF’d and has no added color. It’s a deep gold/amber in the glass, oily and makes heavy droplets with thin legs when you give it a spin. The nose has deep, sherry undertones with a smoky backbone. Given adequate time you can clearly taste notes of coffee and espresso, apricots and juicy oranges. The oranges became more prominent as time went by. I could just sit and inhale this one until all the liquid evaporated and be perfectly happy. Amazing nose. The palate echoes the oranges and coffee up front. Slightly overpowering upon the first sip, but by the second pull I get the sherry flavors and some spicy, oak woodyness. Smoke wafts throughout the entire sip. There’s a thick mouthfeel that just forces all the flavors to cling to every corner of your mouth and tongue. It’s unrelenting, but oh so fabulous. The finish just lingers on and on, thanks in part to the heavy mouthcoat. It spreads a welcoming warmth, as well. The oranges factor in heavily here again before a bit of oak ends things on a slightly dry note. What an amazing experience from start to finish. Overall, when an obvious flavor makes its presence heavily known throughout the entire sip, like the oranges do here, I tend to deduct points or even (sometimes childishly) proclaim it to be one-dimensional, but that isn’t the case here. The orange notes are like putting on a jacket when you get a chill- they settle everything down and act as a comfort at just the right time. The oranges just wrap this whole dram around itself. It’s nice. It’s hard for me to find any fault here, other than I only had 2oz to drink. For that, I have to give it 5 stars. It’s so damn tasty, complex and beautiful. Thanks again, Mr Pranay. This may have been the best pour of the SDT for me.

I’m down to the final, official sample for my group’s 5th round of distillery samples. This is the Clynelish 14 year old. This is a Highland distillery and it is the primary malt used by Johnnie Walker and now Compass Box blends. It originally opened in 1819 and closed in 1967. FUN FACT: When it reopened in 1969, it was primarily used to make heavily peated malts during a devastating drought on Islay to feed the world’s need for peated whisky. This lasted for almost 4 years. Then it became the official replacement distillery for the then closed Brora. Cool story and heritage. This 14yo is matured in ex-bourbon casks, is bottled at 46% and is a beautiful golden, copper in the tasting glass. It looks really oily and makes some quick running legs when it’s swirled up. The nose is mostly floral with a nice dose of honey sweetness, candle wax and little to no oak barrel. There’s a light peatiness that wafts in from time to time if you wait out an extended nosing. The palate is hotter than expected, even at 46%, with a decent hit of cinnamon up front. The waxiness comes in again mingling with green apples and bits of citrus zestiness. The finish is medium length, oily with cinnamon and the first bits of oak I was able to detect. An underlying, earthy peat hangs around, too. It’s a quality dram from start to finish. I can see why Johnnie Walker and Compass Box use this heavily in their base. It makes for a solid foundation, even as its own single malt. Thanks to my friend @Scott_E for supplying this one for the group. I saved it for last on purpose and while it’s nothing earth shattering, it’s the definition of a scotch standard. Bottle prices are reasonable, as well. Buy with confidence, especially if you are just beginning an exploration of scotch whisky. This is a wonderful place to start. 4 solid stars. Cheers.

This is a special treat that's normally unavailable in my area of the country. This small batch Caskmates Edition is only available in New York State and is a collaboration between Jameson and Brooklyn, NY micro brewery Kelso Brewing Co. This sample was graciously supplied by a new trading partner and friend from Long Island- @Scott_E It's a standard 40% ABV and is your typical golden yellow in color. After a nice swirl it produces tons of long, slender legs in the Glencairn. There's a nice oily sheen left all the way around the glass that just hangs there until you take that first sip. The nose is very muted- little to no oak, no sweetness and no burn. Hmm, I went ahead and added a drop of water because I really want to see if there's any IPA beer notes to be found. Still not much of anything appears... That first sip is your typical Irish whiskey- butter smooth with a bit of vanilla and a quick hit of heat from the ABV. There's a very slight citrus pop but it washes away too quickly. I would love to say I detected some hops or some bitterness but it's just not there. So that's a bit of a letdown. The finish is quick and non-offending like every other Jameson I've had. I get the impression the beer wasn't left in these ex-Jameson barrels long enough to impart much, if any, flavor and that makes sense when it comes to IPA beer. Those beers are made to be drank as fresh as possible so leaving it in a whiskey barrel ruins the beer and that in turn doesn't give the beer enough time to saturate the barrels before being refilled with whiskey. Part of me thinks that the brewery should've sacrificed a few hundred gallons of beer and left it in the barrels for a really long time to "season" the barrels, but I know that's not good business practice. Oh well... Overall, this is just a marketing gimmick for Jameson and craft beer fans in and around NYC. I'm glad I got to try it, but it really isn't much different than any other run of the mill Jameson. Cheers.

This was a very interesting 18 year old malt from Arran. This bottle was once a part of a 3-year, limited run of a 16, 17 and 18yo malts, but it has now become a part of Arran’s core range. This one comes in at 46%, is NCF’d and has no color added. It’s a beautiful yellow gold and appears very oily, although it doesn’t create many legs at all. The nose was initially sawdust and fresh cut oak, even after 20+ minutes. There’s a bit of apples and cinnamon, but I had to work for them. Truly an apple pie on the nose. Unfortunately, I was hoping for more. The palate really came alive, though. Milk chocolate and oranges open things up with a perfect balance of sweet and citrus. The sugary sweetness really sets the tone for a nice dessert dram. Mid-sip a heavier than expected ginger bitterness crept in and ushered away the dessert notes and lead to a long and spicy finish. It remained oily, which was a big plus, while letting the chocolate notes linger on. A weak nose really doesn’t do this malt any justice. It’s a very good dram. Easily 4-4.25 stars. Seek it out. Cheers.