Tastes

I would very much like to rate this higher, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark for a terrific pour to me. I bought this bottle at a shop in Edinburg when I was in Scotland this summer celebrating the completion of my PhD. The wife, a few friends and I did a tasting at a shop on the royal mile (where the hitter that day was a surprise Tomatin 18) and the gentleman facilitating the tasting coaxed me into buying this bottle. I was five whiskies in and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Who was I to argue?! It’s a Diageo product. 43%. Chill filtered. Yada yada. Nose is….Sherry. Only Sherry. A few years ago that would have been enough, but I get no wood, no spirit character, nothing. Where’s the 16 years? It’s a nice nose, but one dimensional. It tastes perfectly acceptable. Creamy, some fruit, velvety Sherry blanket. But you can find that in a lot of scotches for less money and time (this one isn’t available in the US). Finish, again, is perfectly serviceable but one dimensional. Bit spicy, medium length. For sixteen years I was expecting more complexity. Even among Diageo products, there’s 16 year whiskies with far more punch (like…Lagavulin….maybe that’s apples and oranges…), but I can certainly why this distillery is mostly used as blend filler in Johnny Walker. Good, serviceable, one note, good as a part of a larger whole. I’ll enjoy it, and likely keep the empty bottle as a keepsake from my Scotland trip, but I’m not going out of my way to replace it. Cheers all!

It’s fall (ish). Bourbon feels like fall for whatever reason. Maybe it’s the baking spices…In any instance, I picked this bottle up sometime ago and I’ve had a hard time pinning it down. These Makers PS bottles are seemingly everywhere, but are they worth $70-80, significantly more (statistically or otherwise) than Makers 46, 101, or CS? Here we go… I confess, I bought this on a whim. I was in Kentucky at the Makers distillery last year. Lovely tour, beautiful grounds, ok tasting at the end. They have an entire warehouse area they blasted into a limestone hillside to create space for the stave finishing and 46 program. The barrel room there in a literal cave they blasted out and contains the Makers Private Select barrels ageing for all the respective customers around the country. It’s an impressive setup and I’d upload pictures if Distiller would let us. When I got home to my (former) domicile in Texas, I picked up a local store pick because the tour guide said Makers was going to stop using the French mocha staves due to high demand for those and FOMO got the best of me. Anyways, the bourbon. Letting it rest, I get turtle brownies on the nose. Rich, aromatic oak with a subtle undercurrent of allspice and clove. Oxidation has been VERY kind to this bottle. Originally it was hot and grassy on the nose like most Makers CS I’ve tried. Now all the dessert notes are revealing themselves with time and patience. I really digging this tonight. On the palate it carries over all those baking chocolate and caramel notes with a full, creamy coating mouthfeel (phrasing…boom). At first bottle pop the proof was on full display, but it’s much more mellow now, giving a gentle numbing sensation and a slow, lingering Kentucky hug that feels like your first slow dance in middle school you never wanted to end. I’m into this. Because of the Frankenstein-ish stave finishing alchemy Makers does to these, your mileage may vary, but time, patience, and oxidation have really awakened this bottle (picture with exact stave info included). I will finish this and take a flier on another store pick when it’s done. These don’t exactly fly off the shelf like Buffalos and Turkeys do, so there’s probably one near you. If you get one at the distillery, you even get to dip it in the red wax if that’s the sort of thing you’re into. Is it worth the premium? I say yes. I’ve had the whole Makers lineup over the years, and I’ll say this for them, they’re consistent. Never before though have I had such a dynamic pour from them that showed so much evolution as I worked through the bottle. Highly recommend. Cheers!

I gave this a less than favorable rating a few years back. Couple things. I’m a much more seasoned drinker now (whether that’s a good thing is up for debate), the last review was a bar pour, and it was from the older edition of this. The Irish whiskey market has also changed in the last few years. Redbreast 12 is getting more expensive, harder to find, and has taken what I think is a dip in quality (something something Sherry casks…). Yellow Spot (another 12 year old Middleton offering) is $110 where I live. Powers 12 however, is still $60-70, 46% ABV, and non chill filtered. I’d say that deserves another look, wouldn’t you? If you’re a single pot still fan, you’re gonna love this. Nose is rich with aromatic baking spices, toffee apple, and tonight I’m even getting a touch of cardamom. Taste (with about 4 mL of water) is full of depth and richness, milk chocolate, Manuka honey, baked apples. It’s fall in a glass. Because it’s non chill filtered there’s a rich coating mouthfeel that extends the finish on for a minute or more. Awesome. If you’re having a hard time finding affordable Redbreast and don’t want to drop the coin for one of the upscale Spot series, give this one another look. It’s a relative sleeper for now produced in the same stills as those other drams, but for either better presentation or value. Cheers!

I’m reminded as I scroll through reviews that I should not only feature big bottles that we can all get, but showcase some of my local spirits too. I’m relatively new to Louisiana, but they sure like to drink here, and I’ve never had an easier time buying spirits. Bourbon, as you’ll read in a moment, is not the main spirit produced here. There’s local distilleries making it, but something about the (very swampy) climate here isn’t conducive to ageing. Rum, however, is in abundance due to the (admittedly checkered) history of sugarcane production in south Louisiana. More on that later. At a small welcome party one of my new colleagues held for my wife and I, this bottle was brought out. We cracked it open together and both had the same reaction. Noses like a young bourbon. Typical notes. All good so far. Initial sip…tastes like young bourbon. Some sharp notes, but not unpleasant. Then it takes a very alarming turn, much like the New Orleans Saints do in the second half of most games. The taste goes from “ok this isn’t bad” to “oh dear god what’s happening?! Am I dead?”. The finish takes a big left turn into wet dog and sawdust territory. Highly unpleasant. It continues to evolve into a bouquet of sharp ethanol and a metallic note like sucking on a penny. I went back for another sip just to verify, and yes, the flavor is consistent. Down the drain it went. Two things went wrong here I think. One, it was rushed to market. Bottle said aged “at least 12 months”. Now, it is boardline tropical in Louisiana, but even then, I think about all the well-aged Caribbean rums that still have 10-12 year age statements. More time in the barrel (which could be the MO of craft distilling). The other issue I found was that the distillers may have not quite cut their spirit run in the most delicate way. Tastes like they let a little bit of the heads or tails into the final cut resulting in that metallic turn. Perhaps these are less experienced distillers taking their first crack at their preferred spirit. Two stars for now. Looks like I’ll be here for a spell, so we’ll see if things improve in a few years. That was the case for Still Austin when I was out there, so there’s hope for these folks yet. Cheers.

Moving is hard. Can we agree on that? Moving across town is difficult, but moving states is a whole different ball of wax. Starting over. New job. New house. New commute. New friends. It all takes a toll. Fortunately, whisky is here to help. I recently completed a PhD program. Yes, that ivory tower snobbery has a grain of truth to it, but at the end of the day, getting a terminal degree is no simple task. It involves years of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. No to mention the lack of reasonable income while you pursue the degree. Fortunately I have a lovely wife who supports my career goals. As a celebration for completing the degree, we went to Scotland this past summer. Visited the Talisker distillery on Skye for our trouble (also experienced amazing hiking and seafood. Highly recommend). At the “rare and exclusive” tasting I attended, I got to sample Taliskers between 8 and 45 years old. Not bad, right? I ended up walking away with the eight-year-old special edition from 2020. It’s one of the only good things to come out of that year. Eight-year-old Talisker a cask strength with a lovely rum finish. It’s been open for about four months and I’m about a third of the way through the bottle. Invited a new colleague over to the house after work today for drinks. He is a peat fan so after a few dramas we finished with this. After it’s opened up in the bottle of The bottle a bit it’s damn near perfect whiskey. Classic Talisker brine and Chili pepper wrapped in a lovely envelope of tropical fruits. This may be the only situation in which mangoes and oysters work well together. I was able to still buy this is the distillery, but I doubt it’s still available anywhere except secondary. If you can find it I say it’s worth a mark up. It’s delicious and it helps you make friends cheers!

Quality is a rather obtuse concept if we stop and think about it. On one hand, it’s entirely subjective, up to the consumer to determine through their own experiences (or lack thereof) what quality is. On the other hand, we occasionally have some objective criteria to work off of. In the scotch/Irish/yummy barley juice category, it’s becoming much more common (at least on WhiskyTube…) to have a basic marker of quality include: (1) whisky that’s non-chill filtered, (2) presented with natural color (no E150 caramel color), and (3) bottles at a strength of 46% ABV or higher. If a whisky meets these criteria, it’s supposedly a higher quality bottling. But does it taste good? Does it move you? Does it prompt quiet contemplation and a momentary reduction in the chaos of your daily routine? These are less quantifiable but equally (in my opinion) important metrics in determining a score or judging the so-called quality of a spirit. Ok, lecture over. Occupational hazard. This is a whisky review still, I promise. Arran is a brand getting a lot of press lately among whisky geeks. It’s getting harder to find for good reason. It’s damn good stuff. If I were to label it a “quality whisky” according to my earlier criteria, it checks all the boxes, objective or otherwise. It’s got excelling, minimalist presentation and as recently as last night, offered me a moments respite from the swirling chaos of a week filled with teaching, meetings, moving, and the looming expectation of a new baby on the way. I’m about a third of a way through the bottle. Oxidation is its friend. As is about half a teaspoon of water. I’m adding more water to my Scotch these days. No so much bourbon, but the oils in the barley open up more with a little water I’m finding (thanks Ralphy). Chocolate, toffee, coconut, hazelnut, barley sugars, malted milk balls, and a hint of light fruit (more tropical than not) await you with time and patient exploration. This isn’t a flashy whisky with a blast of peat or Sherry. It requires patience, time, and offers a “quality” experience for those willing to take the time, slow down, and enjoy a dram over an hour or so, preferably in the absence of screens while watching a beautiful sunset or enjoying some light music by a roaring fire. Damn good whisky. I paid $50 USD for it too. Buy on sight.

I was looking for something special to review for my 250th review, but I landed on this. I just moved to a new state. The wife and I are exhausted from unloading boxes, switching utilities, meeting new neighbors, etc. Back in Texas, only beer and wine was sold in grocery stores, but apparently there are no rules here in Louisiana. Enter the Trader Joe's selection. I was there buying snacks and saw they had whisky. Not unlike the Costco selections, they have independent bottlers select barrels for them, including a 10 year old Highland single malt (reputed to be Dalmore) and an 8 year old Speyside single malt (allegedly Glenlivet). I opted for the NAS Highland aged in bourbon casks and received a secondary maturation in Sherry casks. Because sherry. And it was $18 and I already had about $100 worth of snacks in the cart... So what to say. Got home, poured a dram in the Glencairn. Took a sip.....40%? You bet. Chill filtered? Almost certainly. Colored? You betcha! Taste.....week but not unpleasant. It's pleasant on the nose...like a dollar store sherry cask, but falls apart on the palate drunk neat. BUT. Then I ditched the Glencairn and threw it in a rocks glass with a few ice cubes. Bingo. Ice smoothes out the edges and brings out the sherry notes more. Is it a game changer? Hell no, but sometimes you just need a drink, and in the (very humid) southern heat I've just moved into, sometimes that'll hit the spot.