Tastes

When I was a boy my uncle had a cherry tree in his backyard and every holiday he used to make an unspeakably good cherry pie. When I first pulled the cork on this one and stuck my nose in the bottle, I was immediately taken back to that childhood treat. I knew it’d be a good pour from that point on. There’s a lot to love here. The nose is full of dark fruits and richness from the port finish. I’m a fan of port wine, but it seems like these days most of the whiskies finished in port pipes are either out of my tax bracket (Amrut, Balvenie) or poorly finished. This one seems to balance the malt with the port finish well, which may explain its enduring popularity in Glenmo’s core lineup. Speaking of the malt, it comes through on the mid-palate. Glenmo 10 has a soft and mildly creamy taste on the palate and it’s still there on the Quinta. The port comes back on the finish. The word “velvety” has been tossed around to describe the finish on this pour and I honestly can’t think of anything more appropriate than that word. The initial sip left me with the most satisfying finish, with later visits not quite as satisfying (hence the “lower” rating). There’s a lot of hype around the Quinta Ruban 14 that recently came out, with this one slated to be discontinued before stocks run out. I wanted to try a bottle of this before it disappears into the collectors’ vaults! I’ve quite enjoyed this one and could see another bottle appearing on my shelf when this one is done. Cheers!

I’ve been sitting on this one for a while trying to decide if I have anything to say about it that hasn’t already been said. It’s Ardbeg. At cask strength. It goes down a little different every time but it’s always amazing. In light of copious tasting notes for this one, I think it’s more prudent to tell a story. I invited a buddy over who’s been having a rough go at work and was clearly in need of a drink. He asked me to curate his whisky experience, so I opened my cabinet and we had some fun. I gave him a little Russell’s Reserve, a little Whiskey Del Bac Dorado, and I finished his experience with a pour of Ugi. The look of pure bliss on his face as he drank it sums up how good this malt is, and it will always have a place on my shelf. Cheers!

Stunning. Absolutely magnificent. One of the best single malts I’ve ever tried. I’m out in Colorado visiting my folks in suburban Denver and my dad wants to show me the local whisky bar, which happens to be modelled off a Scottish pub and has over 400 whiskies on the wall! I’m almost ashamed I never knew about this when I used to live out here. They had so many cask strength pours, independent bottlings, and rare pours. They even had Yamazaki 12 for $12 a pour! (More on that later...) This malt is more than just a sherry bomb. There are complex layers at every level. The nose has sherry, yes, but also chocolate, leather, and dates. On the palate I get more of those notes plus creme brûlée and baking spices. The finish is so long and warm and wonderful you don’t want it to end. It doesn’t drink like a cask strength, and it keeps enticing you to explore it more. I only added two drops of water, which brought out more of the dark fruits and gave it a little more roundness and openness on the nose and palate. If you find this one, I wouldn’t think twice about buying it. I haven’t tried the other batches but this pour was exquisite. Easily one of the top five drams I’ve tried. Cheers!

100th tasting! Thought I’d do an old standby for this one. My local Total Wine sells this for an absurdly low price, and I always tell myself I’ll pick it up next time. Over the holidays I got way overcharged for a pour of this at a bar on Long Island ($22. WTF!) and had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about this dram, but I broke down and picked up a bottle. The one I’m reviewing is the 43% ABV version. The nose is full of sherry notes (dark fruits, raisins, yada yada...). Quite pleasant, but wait! A surprise around the corner! The palate has much more of a floral, honeyed taste (think Balvenie). Very light. Very pleasant. The peat comes in on the finish, and it’s not the bellowing, in your face Islay peat, but a gentler version, with more heather softness than briny, iodine peat. What a lovely dram. If you’ve got a buddy who wants to get into scotch, this is a great starting point. It’s got sherry, malt, and peat, with all three being cleanly integrated with nobody singing any louder than the other. A great, quality scotch that deserves a spot in anyone’s liquor cabinet.

I’ve had a vary hard time locating a bottle of this in Texas. After finding it at my favorite local whisky bar, I’m ok with not buying a full bottle. That being said, it’s still a quality pour, just a little too one note to justify dropping $50 for a full bottle. The nose (as expected) is full of peaty glory. Not the briny, coastal type you’d see from Ardbeg or Talisker, but a warmer, more floral type of peat. Similar to the peated Balvenie. A lovely nose! Unfortunately, the taste doesn’t keep up with the nose. I felt like this malt was a one trick pony. The palate is pleasant enough, with the expected smooth and buttery Irish taste,but lacks depth. The finish is disappointingly short. It almost feels like they peated the malt to cover up the thin taste. As far as Irish single malts go, there are far better options, such as Knappogue Castle, Teeling, or even Bushmills. I’ll tack on an extra .5 for the lovely peated nose, but this dram did t quite live up to expectations.

I found this mini while organising my whiskey cabinet and had forgotten I bought it a few months back. Upon initial perusal of the distiller review, I’m not quite sure why this one got such a low rating. Sure, it’s not going to change anybody’s world view or be the most magnificent scotch ever consumed, but it’s a solid dram. The kind that if I were at someone’s house and they offered it to me I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes. The nose is a bit harsh, yes, with all those ethanol bits jumping out at you initially. Muscling past that gives you some warm barley notes reminiscent of a freshly mown lawn. The taste makes up for the nose. Lots of creamy barley notes that coat your mouth and last a while. This whisky is a frequent flyer in a lot of Compass Box blends and it can tell that by sampling the single malt in isolation. Finish is surprisingly long. Is it amazing? No, but hardly worth a 79. A solid pour on any day, and an integral part of some of my favorite blends. Cheers!

When I first started getting into whiskey, I discovered the Whiskey Vault guys on YouTube. I learned a lot about whiskey from them, so when I moved to Texas, I already knew about several great Texas distilleries thanks to them. When I heard that Daniel Whittington from the Whiskey Tribe had created a blend for the Texas Whiskey Festival from some of the best juice in the state and they were only selling it in Austin at their distillery, I had to try it. The blend is made up of whiskies from Balcones, Ironroot Republic, and Andalusia Whisky Company. On the nose I get a wonderful bouquet of corn (Ironroot), sweet barley (Balcones), and a puff of smoke (Andalusia). The palate brings more body from the single malt, with a creamy note, and the smoke from the Andalusia Stryker hanging out on the end. The finish lasts a looooonnnnng time, wit a gentle warming feel from the corn whiskey and the high proof, melding into baking spices as it goes on and on and on. This blend may fall under what we call a “unicorn” whiskey. It was made for one specific occasion and once it’s gone it may never come around again, but damnit if it’s not good while it’s around. All of the component whiskies in this blend are high caliber on their own, but together, they make a Texas version akin to what the guys at Compass Box are doing with scotch. Cheers y’all.

Hear me out on this one. I bought this as a joke just to see what one of the lowest rated whiskies was like. It’s one of these things I walk by every time I go to the store and I think, “I should try this just because it’s so bizarre.” The nose is bonkers. I get buttercream, caramel, a little oak, and the Tabasco finish. The finish itself isn’t a pungent as you’d expect, and on the palate the whiskey tastes mostly like regular Dickel, which is a pleasant taste. The Tabasco shows up on the finish, tickling the back of your throat just a bit. Not all together horrible. For $15 I don’t feel bad about this purchase. It could be a versatile spirit too. I can see myself cooking with this, or maybe making a new, weird Bloody Mary. Try this one for yourself, and if you hate it, you can regift it. Cheers!