Tastes

This rare, single barrel bottle from independent bottler C & S Dram Collection was a 7 year old, cask strength bottle provided by my friend Pranay for our Scottish Distillery Tour. It comes in at 58.8% and is a pale gold in the taster. It makes long, skinny legs when you spin it up. The nose is very American bourbon in style: lots of raw oak, sawdust and alcohol burn. It’s not until many minutes in does the faintest bit of cinnamon show up. Hot, hot, hot is the theme here. The palate, again, is all bourbon. Fresh cut pine and chopped oak with serious focus only on heat is what’s constantly present. There’s some cinnamon candy notes if you can withstand the burn. The finish is long, hot and overpowering. The high ABV leads to a harsh and dry finish and overall experience. There’s nothing subtle here and it’s just a power bomb assault on all of your senses. Pranay likened it to drain cleaner and may have used it for that purpose, literally. I don’t think it’s that bad, but there’s nothing here to contemplate, either. The remnants of the bottle would probably be put to use in my home as a mixer with cola, but straight out of the bottle I can’t give it more than 2-2.25 stars. It’s just too vicious. Thanks for the pour, @PBMichiganWolverine. Mark it down and move along. Cheers.

As we begin with what amounts to our fifth round of samples my friends and I (in our self titled Scottish Distillery Tour) are inching ever closer to the declared goal of trying at least one single malt or grain from every active distillery that has a bottle available. Up first, from my collection, is this single malt from Speyside distiller: Glenburgie. This bottle is a 15 year old example from famed independent bottler Gordon & Macphail. It was bottled at 43% ABV and has no color added. It’s a very pale straw in the glass and produces a wide, legless slick all the way around the Glencairn glass. The nose gives most of this malts characteristics away from the get go: vanilla, white oak with some sherry sweetness and green apples. The flavor is also quite one dimensional: vanilla. It’s very bourbon-esque, minus the pepper and heat. It’s smooth enough and enjoyable for those times you aren’t looking to challenge your palate. The finish is short, slightly warming and sweet and oaky. Overall, this is primarily a boring dram. It’s another distillery we can cross off the list and I’m not sure I’d venture out and look for another bottle from these guys, unless it’s something significantly older. Even then, price definitely has to come into play. This wasn’t worth the $79 I paid. It accomplishes the same thing a cheap blend does. 3 stars. Cheers.

Every once in awhile a whisky grabs my focus while simultaneously causing me to lose the little bit of restraint I have. Back in November of 2017, Glendronach released this special NAS whisky over in the UK. I suppose they wanted to capitalize on the relative success of the GlenDronach Peated from 2015, by one-upping it with some port wine finishing. This is the result. I am a huge fan of GlenDronach. I am a huge fan of peated whisky. I am a huge fan of port wine finishing. So, needless to say, I lost my flipping mind when I saw this. I have been patiently waiting for its USA release but I could never find any info on whether it was coming to our shores or not. Almost 3 months had passed and I still didn’t see it available here online so I bit the bullet and bought it from an online, UK-based seller for $72 a bottle. I had such high hopes I even ponied up for 3 bottles. I just knew... This NAS GlenDronach comes in at a robust 46% ABV and it is NCF’d. The color is a nice pink gold and it makes some wonderful thick legs in the tasting glass. Then, it happened... The initial pour had some slightly undesirable notes on the nose right from the start. There was a huge blast of butterscotch and overly sweet marshmallows that clouded anything and everything for well past the first 30-45 minutes in the glass. I flat out refused to even taste it until those notes became a bit more tamed. It took awhile. Much later on, the usual GlenDronach spice profile appeared, along with some milk chocolate and your typical sherry. The tiniest bit of smoke arrived well after the one hour mark. Holy hell that took way too long. Finally, I allowed myself the first sip. There it is: oak and pepper spice, earthy peat moss, red berry and chocolaty sweetness arrive only to be ushered out the door by a stinging bit of astringency and hot alcohol. This must be the youthful base making its presence known and in a bit of a rude way. The oak and alcohol take what should’ve been a luscious mouthfeel and turn it on it’s head. This shouldn’t be happening with a 46% dram IMO. The finish is long, lingering but ultimately warming with a bit of a campfire ash residue hanging around. Subsequent sips didn’t seem to make the total experience any more refined or complex. None of the flavors seem truly intertwined like I hoped. There wasn’t enough port wine flavor- heck, there isn’t enough peat here either (which makes the bottle of GD Peated I have a little more suspect now.) Overall, not only do I feel let down I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach. This amalgam of my 3 favorite things shouldn’t end up this way. This was supposed to be my Disneyland. I have to say it’s definitely a serviceable dram and maybe my expectations were too high, but boy I feel like it missed the mark. I’m sending a few samples out to the guys in my tasting group and hopefully they’ll get something that I didn’t. I hope a little time and oxidation will do something, too. As it is- I can only muster up a 3.25-3.5 score for this one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go ball up in the corner in the fetal position.

I was sent a sample of this insane, Lowland whisky from my friend Jason. This was a limited release back in 2016 that consisted of Springbank 12 year old that was aged for its entire term in Spanish, burgundy wine casks. I had initially decided I would compare this one to the Tullibardine 228- which was also finished in burgundy wine barrels. But, the two are so far apart in flavor and complexity I felt it wasn’t a fair comparo. This Springbank is a near cask strength bottle coming in at a robust, brandy-like 53.5% ABV. It’s a crystal clear, pink rose colored dram that makes long, skinny legs in the Glencairn. The nose has to be one of the funkiest smelling malts I’ve ever experienced. The hay and barnyard funkiness is almost all red wine/balsamic vinegar. I seem to recall a similar smell from a bottle of saba that a chef friend of mine once gave me. He said Saba is basically grape must (the skins, stems and seeds of fresh pressed grapes) that has been reduced to a sweet syrup and used in a lot of Italian sauces as the sweetening agent. It’s very weird and distinct. There’s a little bit of oak and heat from the high ABV, but it’s mostly funk. The palate is also super fruity: strawberries, grapes and melon with a big time kick from the ABV. The oak and some florals are there, but you really have to work this around the tongue and withstand the heat to even detect the slightest hints. That’s the Springbank character, for sure, but it’s really fighting the burgundy funk just to be heard towards the end. The finish just resonates everything from the nose: funky, funky with wet hay and grapes that just lingers on well past the finish. Even past the palate cleanser, water, vanilla wafer, saltine...you get the idea. This thing lasts longer than even some of the smokiest Islay whiskies over ever tasted. That’s astonishing. Overall, well....I don’t really know how to rate this thing. It’s an amazing testament to wine cask whisky. It’s also a bold experiment by Springbank- they literally sacrificed their brand flavor profile here. If I had tasted this blind there’s no way in hell I would’ve guessed it was theirs. The only problem I see here is that this is so close to being a brandy, IMO, that I almost lost sight of the fact it’s a scotch. That’s where I think your average whisky drinker will get lost. I know, I know- I could’ve added some water and brought this down but I’m one of THOSE snobs that thinks the whisky should be drank the way the distillery intended it- as bottled. If I had a full bottle I may have done that later on to try to open it up, but I wanted this one “as is” and that may have been too much. Thanks to @Telex for this awesome pour. It’s flavor is intense, I just think it misses the mark a little as a whisky (and even as a Springbank). It’s 4.5 stars on its own, but I gotta downgrade it a bit for being too, too much (if that makes sense). 4-4.25 stars.

Not only was this the final sample I had remaining from our last round of group samples, I also decided to do a little comparison with another burgundy wine finished whisky from another friend: the Springbank 12 Burgundy Cask. It only took a small sip to realize that was a bad idea so I abandoned the comparison and decided to let them both speak for themselves. First up, the Tullibardine 228 Burgundy finish. This one comes in at 43% ABV and is a beautiful pinkish-gold in the taster. Spinning it reveals quick forming water droplets and skinny legs. Plenty of water used to bring down the percentage- I hope it doesn’t dull the flavor. The nose was heavily oak and alcohol astringency in the beginning. I had to let this one breathe for over a half an hour before the more subtle notes appeared. When they did it was mostly ripened berries and vanilla. The oak had really faded into the background and that was a welcome experience. It was way too overpowering in the beginning. Patience on the nose is very necessary. The palate arrives with a peppery, oak blast but by mid sip it has settled down nicely and the mild, fruitiness takes over: pears, strawberries and green grapes. The vanilla notes usher in the finish. The finish is where this one shows its flaws. It’s especially hot for a 43 percenter. Black pepper, oak and clove that go down a tad hard. This is not only evidence of the base whisky’s youth but probably the shorter finishing time in the wine cask. It doesn’t ruin the overall experience, but it definitely makes me want to dock it’s total score considerably. It should finish much better than it does. Thanks again to @Generously_Paul for offering up this one for the group. It’s a fantastic nosing whisky that just falls on its face towards the end. 3.5 stars seems about right to me. Cheers.

I got to spend some quality time with this bottle over the last month or so. This review is for the Batch Strength 002. The second batch has been getting slightly better reviews than the initial batch so that was the bottle I purchased. I’m not sure how many bottles of Batch 001 can still be found anyways. This one comes in at 58.5% ABV and has no color added and is also NCF’d. It’s a rich mahogany in the tasting glass and makes some seriously slick, oily legs when you spin it. I found this bottle online for just under $80 and I gotta say- that’s a damn good deal if you liked the regular 10 year old. The nose is heavily sherry influenced with chocolate and almonds leading the charge. There’s some red berry sweetness if you give it some time before moving on. It smells great. The palate again highlights a well made, sherry cask whisky that delivers with a bit more punch than the standard 10yo. There’s added depth with butterscotch candies, dark chocolate and honey sweetness rounding it out. The mouthfeel is a tad thick but it’s also kind of elegant- especially for a cask strength. The finish is long and rather hot with sherry and chocolate notes fading into bits of wood cask. It finishes a little harsh, but you have to expect that when the ABV is approaching 60%. Overall, I wasn’t a big fan when I first opened the bottle. It definitely needed some oxidation to calm it down to the point you can tell it’s bloodlines as Tamdhu. I felt the same way about the 10 year as I worked my way through that bottle, too. Patience will be well rewarded here. It’s a dynamite dram and kind of easy on the wallet as well. 4.25 stars. Cheers.

This is the newest NAS in Ardbeg’s stable: An Oa (pronounced ahn-oh). This is also something new when it comes to Ardbeg production- Solera vatting. This whisky is made up of undisclosed aged whisky from PX cask, ex-bourbon cask and new virgin oak casks. It is collected in a Solera vat before bottling which allows everything to just mingle together while new stock is added constantly as product is pulled for bottling. It is advertised as non-chill filtered and I don’t see any info on coloring (which I suspect may be added due to the use of the solera vat, in order to make a consistently colored product.) It’s bottled at a robust 46.6% ABV and is a typical light gold in the glass. The nose starts out Ardbeg-y enough: smoldering campfire, brine, toffee and oak barrel but if you give it some time you begin to pick up some vine-ripened fruits and some mint qualities. The palate is creamy, but not as deep as the CorryV or the Uggi. There’s a waxy, tea leaf note that sticks to the tongue before eventually yielding to chocolaty smoke and wood. The faintest lemon zest and spearmint make an appearance mid sip but at no point does it ruin the mouthfeel. The finish is medium length with a heavy pepper and spice presence that ultimately ends with fading, Ardbeg smoke. Overall, I rather enjoyed this NAS offering. It appears as though they are trying to force some complexity into the younger stock by using the Solera vat, though. Some people may consider that cheating or compensating, and I suppose it is. I’ve heard rumors this may lead to the demise of the 10 year old and I’m going out on a limb here and saying I’d be okay with that so long as I can still get the Corryvreckan or Uigeadail when I want those deep, rich Ardbeg experiences. It’s a few bucks more than the 10, which is a bit sad, but it does offer a slight variation on that and I think I prefer this to the experimental stuff like the Dark Cove, as well. I could see this becoming a staple in my home bar. Good stuff. 4 stars. Cheers, my friends.

I’ve been trying to improve my Japanese whisky tasting catalog over the last few months so I decided to bring a few of the cheaper, blended malts into the fray. This Suntory offering is a blend of undisclosed age Hakushu and Yamazaki malts, along with a healthy dose of Chita grain whisky. It’s bottled at 43% ABV and is a pale straw color that appears oily while leaving water droplets on the sides of the tasting glass when you give it a little spin. Some legs form slowly, but they don’t run very long. The Hakushu malt makes up the biggest percentage here. It was aged solely in American white oak barrels. The second largest component is the Chita grain whisky, followed by trace amounts of Yamazaki malt aged in both Spanish and American white oak. Take note that none of the ingredients have been aged in traditional Mizunara oak. In my opinion, that is the biggest downfall in the overall quality of this blend. The nose is initially overpowered by pure, grain alcohol. It’s only after a lengthy rest in the Glencairn do the faintest florals appear, along with some perfume and vanilla oak. It’s both too little and too late (even this early in the overall experience). The nose is a fail. The palate is unnecessarily harsh. Oak bitterness abounds here with a weird sense of artificial vanilla extract. There’s no malt quality at all. It’s intense grain the entire time. Thankfully it’s blended down because at any higher of a proof this would be completely unbearable. This must be the only reason some Yamazaki malt was blended it- to take the edge off. Sadly, not enough was used. The finish is long and bitter. Raw oak notes even left my throat feeling scratchy. This thing is a mess. Overall, I think the absence of any Mizunara oak whisky robs this thing of any chance it had to be a tolerable whisky. @ScotchingHard called this the Johnnie Walker Red of Japan and that’s a fair and just assessment. This should only be drank after it’s been mixed into some sort of a sweet cocktail. Period. I’ve drank through over half of this bottle and I can even add that the little bit of oxidation has also affected this in a negative way. It’s even more dull than when it was freshly opened. I think that Suntory needs to blend in some Mizunara cask whisky to not only infuse some tropical fruitiness, but to help calm the harshness of the grain. I’m sure that’ll take the price point up $5-10, but even at $40 US this stuff is highly overpriced. You can at least get JW Red for $20... As the great Bill Murray once said in Sofia Coppola’s Japanese travelogue movie about jet lag: For Relaxing Times, Make It Suntory Time- So Long As It Isn’t Toki. Okay, okay he didn’t say that last part. But he should have. 1.5 stars. Cheers, my friends.

** This review is for the independently bottled Bladnoch 26 year old from That Boutique-y Whisky Co and not the listed entry. I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus these last few weeks. I think the blistering cold weather and holiday stress has lead to some palate fatigue on my part so I involuntarily decided to take a “semi-dry January”. I’m still trying to drink my way through our distillery group samples and I’m down to this one and I believe I have one more. This is an independent bottling from That Boutique-y Whisky Company and was generously suppplied by my friend Pranay. I think it was from a single cask and comes in at a cask strength of 47.8%. Pretty nice for such a well aged whisky. The nose starts out with a lot of typical bourbon barrel notes: vanilla, sugary honey and oak but then your normal Lowland style malt fragrances appear as well: light orchard fruit, grass and light perfume. This one really gained complexity on the nose with time. Nothing really overpowering as they all swirled around the glass like your were inhaling this in a gentle breeze. Very nice. The palate was full of tropical fruits like mango and coconut and ripe, red berries and was incredibly smooth. Those Lowland perfume notes ushered in the ex-bourbon cask astringencies towards the back end just in time to keep you from developing a cavity from all the sugary aspects. This really was a delightful whisky. The finish was medium length with mostly peppery spice and a bit of a drying effect that was just slightly out of place IMO. I think I wanted a bit more of a juicy finish on this one and that keeps this from being a near perfect dram. Overall, this is one of the best Lowland whiskies I think I’ve had the privilege of experiencing. I don’t recall what Pranay had to spend on this bottle, but I’d say it is well worth it. A truly wonderful dram that just tickles all the right notes. If you can still get your hands on a bottle I highly recommend this one. Thanks again, Pranay. 4.25-4.5 stars. Cheers.