Tastes

I had the good fortune to attend an Amrut tasting event tonight with one of the brand ambassadors at the Seven Grand whiskey bar in downtown Austin. I got to try five different expressions from Amrut over the course of the evening, plus some delightful punch made with their peated single malt. This bottle is their standard offering. It ranked number 5 overall of the evening, but that by no means makes it a bad whisky. There's a roundness and creaminess to the malt from the Indian barley, and the taste almost reminds me of Dalwhinnie, with its honey, floral sweetness. A fine pour, and I wouldn't say no if someone offered it to me.

I was in New Mexico recently for a conference and had heard a lot of buzz about this whiskey over the years and decided to pick up a bottle. I'm a sucker for a good story and a unique approach to making a whiskey. At first pour, the liquid is remarkably amber in the glass given the purported lack of age (2-4 years). I've spent a good deal of time in New Mexico, and Santa Fe in particular, and I know how hot it can get there in the summer and how cold it gets in the winter (somewhat like some of the Canadian whiskies we like so much). The nose is enticing. It's unlike anything else I've ever smelled. I can certainly tell that the mesquite smoke is there, but it's not in your face like the Laphroigs of the world, it's more subtle and integrated throughout the whiskey. When you swirl it around in the glass it has long legs. The taste starts out strong, with a nip from the 46% ABV, but mellows quickly into more of that mesquite smoke, reminding you of burnt ends from a brisket or the tail end of a good southwest campfire. As you let it sit a little longer you start to get the malted barley notes poking through. Repeated visits bring out more of the malt notes, and a bit of a menthol note towards the end. The finish is gentle and warm, and as I stick my nose back in the glass I get more of that lovely mesquite smoke. I've always had a soft spot for New Mexico. The food and the scenery are incredible and the people are always super nice. Now I have another great reason to love the state. As far as I know, you can't get this one many places outside NM. When I was living in CO we could get it there, but it's nowhere to be found in TX. If you're in the region, poke around the local liquor stores and pick up a bottle. You'll be glad you did.

Since it's St. Patrick's Day 2019, I figured I jump on the wagon and review an Irish whisky too. I picked up a bottle of this for next to nothing on sale at a local liquor store, so it was one of those moments where you weren't worried if the bottle sucked or not because of the price. Better to be out $25 on a bad bottle than $500. Fortunately, this bottle does not suck. It just isn't amazing either. The Distiller review sort of nails it on the head. This is not a complex whisky that makes you think and question your place in the universe. This is just something that you can mindlessly drink like table wine and not put too much effort into it. The initial nose is harsh, kind of paint thinner-esque. That softens over time, but it took about 20 minutes to get there. The taste is sort of a one-off, with some light notes from the grain component and a whisp of the sherry cask influence. The finish is quick, and is gone before you realize it. Not much of a trace of the traditional shortbread note you get from some single pot still Irish expressions like Redbreast 12 or Greenspot. That being said, it's dangerously easy to drink, and I imagine I won't have any problem finishing the bottle, particularly if it's been a long day at work and my brain just doesn't feel like thinking anymore. Bushmills is as well respected distillery, and I do have the 16 YO Single Malt from them on my wishlist to try at some point in the future. Black Bush is a perfectly acceptable expression. I can see this going into my summer rotation of whiskies that I drink over ice to cope with the brutal Texas heat as something that is light and easy to drink to add some variety to the Bourbon-heavy lineup I normally drink in the summer. Cheers!

For a while now I've wondered what all the fuss about sherried scotches is for. I like the flavor of sherry, and the concept of finishing a whisky in a wine barrel is novel to be sure, but I've always preferred the peaty, more complex flavors to the sherried drams, which almost fell like drinking one's desert so to speak. Then come along the lads at Compass Box Whisky. These guys. They've been around for a while now and they only now come out with a sherry bomb, whereas things like Peat Monster and Spice Tree have been around for some time. I gotta say, it was worth the wait. The "transparency document" on their website says that The Spaniard is comprised of 40% single malt from Aberlour (which has won all sorts of awards) and 25% malt that was then finished in a Spanish wine cask (they don't mention what type of wine. Type in the comments below if you know). They also include a healthy portion of their "vatted highland malt" which shows up in all their core bottlings (think of it as the CBW handshake). The whisky develops over time as you drink it. Initially on the nose you get the wine cask influence, which is to be expected, and I don't get any of the astringent notes that some of the other reviews suggest. The taste is superb. On the first sip I get the sherry influence, particularly the raisins and dates (mmmmm dates...) which I just let linger for a bit. A revisit a few minutes later brings out some of the creaminess of the "vatted malt" that CBW uses in their core bottlings, reminding me of Oak Cross with its creamy, vanilla notes, with the sherry still hanging out in the background. The finish is looooonnnnggg, with all those wine cask notes hanging around dancing with the creamy, Highland malt notes. The 43% ABV (lower than some other CBW expressions) is just enough to leave a bit of a tingle on your palate as you ponder what else you might be able to divine out of this dram. Another home run from CBW. As I've said in earlier reviews, I could drink anything these guys put out for the rest of my life. I love when my whisky makes me think as much as my work does. Cheers!

For those of you playing along at home, I've been working my way through the Compass Box's core range of blended malt whiskys. My local liquor store was having its annual liquidation sale, and I picked this up for next to nothing. The price listed was the regular retail, but I got it for about $21. Bless you Texas liquor laws, and bless Compass Box whisky. This is a much more subtle whisky than its burlier cousins, Spice Tree and Peat Monster. It takes time to get to know it. Maybe it's shy. Or maybe it's just trying to figure itself out, since it is a seamless blend of single malts aged separately in refill American oak casks and new French oak casks, then blended together. It's a similar process that CBW uses for Spice Tree, but with less casks and less toasting/charing of said casks. At first sniff, I get vanilla, and quite a bit, but not an overbearing amount of oak (Duh...). You have to let this one sit on the palate a while, and when you do, you get more vanilla and oak, as well as a light, nondescript fruity taste, a creamy mouthfeel, and a warm, slow finish that lingers with more vanilla and oak (are you sensing a trend here?). I haven't tried this one with food yet, but I suspect that it won't hold up the same way some of the other CBW expressions might, but as an aperitif whisky, or even a desert whisky, sign me up! I wonder what it would taste like over vanilla ice cream...?

Once in a while I get asked, “If you were stuck on a deserted island and you could have just one of whatever, what would it be?” Sometimes it refers to music or people but recently someone asked me that about whisky. After some semi-sober thought, I’ve concluded that if I could only drink Compass Box whisky the rest of my life, well, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. I like people who upset the status quo. It’s the only way that progress happens, and what John Glaser and CBW have done, particularly with Spice Tree proves just that. The nose is complex, with layers of oak from the different woods in the custom casks. This is not a sipper. This is a thinking whisky. As you let the whisky sit on your palate a while, you get hints of allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and a whisp of honey. This would be the ubiquitous “spice” in spice tree, as the alcohol burn is relatively minimal. Very little sweetness to this dram, but lots of flavor. You get more oak that comes in waves on the very long finish, and it sticks with you long enough to make you ponder what’s truly important in life. A remarkable whisky, and I salute the lads at CBW for taking a chance, (briefly) braking the law, and create something truly unique and trailblazing. Highest marks!

I like Irish whiskey. I like sherry. I absolutely love Redbreast 12. This is not that. The finishing seems rushed and the whisky seems young. All the flavors seem like they’re working against one another rather than blending harmoniously. I find this one better on ice or with a little sparkling water. Save your money for Redbreast or a Bushmills single malt if you’re looking for a better Irish expression to drink neat. I will give props for the cool bottle. Unique packaging and not uneasy to pour as some other reviews suggest.

What a tasty treat for not that much treasure! I continue to be surprised by Canadian whisky and all the lovely flavors (that easily stand up against my favorite scotches in a different but equal way) and the incredibly accessible price point most of them are at. I like rum. I like it in cocktails. I like it neat. I’m particularly fond of the Eldorado 15 year, which is like drinking liquid Nutella (also makes a damn fine hot buttered rum!). Immediately on the nose of this whisky you’re greeted by vanilla, demura sugar, but none of that rummy funk. On the taste, those rum notes are definitely there but it doesn’t overpower the whisky, which shows up more in the finish with that trademark Canadian smoothness. A return sip still leads with the rum finish on the nose and palate, but you get a little more of the whisky flavors the second go around. The finish is long and slow, and takes you through a symphony of rummy goodness and whisky warming. A very fine pairing, and I’m tacking on a few extra points for the completely unreasonable and low price of $28 USD. You’d pay over three times that for a rum finished scotch or Irish with less of the savory results. Grab this when you can!

Anyone reading my reviews knows I'm not the biggest rye whiskey fan, and while I love the guys at Balcones (love me some single malt and True Blue!), this one falls flat for me. Some of the Canadian ryes sit well with me because they manage their casks in a way that balances out the spiciness of the rye grains, but here in the ol' US of A, it seems like distillers of ryes tend to lean into the spiciness, and I really can't blame them, because it holds up better in cocktails and over ice. Still, as something to drink neat, this one's not for me. The nose is powerful, just like all Balcones expressions that aged in the brutal Texas heat, and the 50% alcohol contributes as well. On the nose, once you work past the rye spice, you get some dark chocolate and coffee notes, which are altogether pleasant. In a previous review of this whiskey, I ate dark chocolate while I drank it, and it was a fine pairing! A revisit though fell short for me, and I found myself struggling to finish, even with the addition of a little water. The palate is strong, and the spice is a bit too overwhelming for my taste. You continue to get some of those chocolate notes, and the finish lingers with you. I used the rest of this bottle to make Old Fashioned cocktails (which was most excellent) rather than drink it neat, but since that's how I like to review things, that's where we stand right now.

You know, I love how Compass Box is so upfront about everything that goes into their whiskies. It says right on the bottle that there are peatier whiskies, but they weren’t going for the peat bomb, but something more rounded and complex. While this blend is 40% Laphroig according to their website, the other whiskies they’ve blended with the Laphroig have rounded off some of the harsher medicinal notes it’s known for. Overall it reminds me of a slightly less smoky version of the Ardbeg An Oa (another fine peated whisky!). Finish isn’t as long as some Islay offerings, but this isn’t all Islay. It’s something all it’s own.