Tastes

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 4: Nose is minimal, but I get mild caramel. Body is yeasty. Decent burn. Finish has brine and black pepper. Very basic whisky, but it’s fine. I’m actually quite impressed with this distiller in general based on some of their other offerings. Makes me feel like a bit of a tool, but I’m okay with Crown. I don’t know if I actually have 27 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 3: I’m trying this side by side with OG Jim Beam. For Science. The color of this is a bit darker than OG, but BARELY. A very Beamy nose, and for my money, stronger than standard. But it’s the same familiar scents: banana, leather, but of brine. Body packs a punch. Makes OG seem mild, which is funny since OG makes the repeal batch taste mild. I’d bet this drink would make the repeal batch taste like water. While OG and RB had very similar flavor profiles, this body has a bit more. Heavy leather and nutty flavors. Some sugar and brine too. I get zero banana, which kind of blows my mind. Compared to OG, the body does not taste like a different degree of the same thing. These are very different beasts. Finish on this is heavy on cinnamon and peppercorn. Very bitter in mouth feel too, probably from the brine. Where OG Beam finishes relatively quickly, (albeit with similar flavors and mouth feel), this little guy drags on with spice and buzz. I don’t care for the Beam family of products so far, but of original, repeal batch, and this one, I prefer this one. Not as friendly for entry level bourboners, but far more interesting. I don’t know if I actually have 28 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 2: When I found this bottle as the only Hotel Tango product at my local liquor store, I panicked. At the Alpha price point, my concern was that Bravo (one of my favorite hidden gems of 2018) was a thing of the past. Turns out Bravo is still alive and kicking, and this one may merely be a repackaging of Alpha, which I never had. If I can still find an Alpha in the wild, I’ll definitely do a comparison. On the plus side, ready-to-drink is not a euphemism for some premixed bull crap. This is straight bourbon. Nose is buttery, with loads of honey and sugar. Reminds me of Bravo, but less intense. Body doesn’t hold a lot of flavor, but the buttery flavor is there. A bit of watermelon. Finish is mild in feel with citrus, leather, and peppercorn flavors. If this guy had permanently replaced Bravo, I would’ve been sad but not bitter. I can tell this is HT juice, and I still respect the hell out of them. Not as good as Bravo, but solid. I don’t know if I actually have 29 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 1: The LAST of the dubious 2017 & 2018 stocking stuffer 50 mL “whiskeys”! Just in time for 2019. Nose is frankly delicious. It’s pecan pie, with extra emphasis on the pee-can. Not much else to say here. I’m getting a hint of that crappy cough syrup flavor that plagues stuff like this, but I honestly can’t tell if I’m merely projecting expectations. Body comes in with that thick syrupy sweet mouth feel. There’s the cough syrup. There’s the pee-can. I don’t hate it as badly as I feel like a should. That cough syrup-ness that ruins so many liqueurs kinda works with the pee-can. Your mouth is expecting that syrupy, thick fee, and this little guy delivers. Giggety. Finish is spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg. The burn lingers a bit longer than you’d expect for a Canadian whisky, but it’s a pleasant feeling that goes well with the flavor. I don’t know what to say. “This is good.” “I like it.” “I feel like I respect myself a little less than when I woke up this morning.” ‘Tis the season. I don’t know if I actually have 30 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

Dr. McGillicuddy’s tasting 3 of 3 for this evening. Masochism is a thing. The nose: so peach. I’m biased. This smells awesome. The body: I don’t hate it. The peach packs a punch. Not much else there. The finish: nope. IMHO this is the best Dr. McGullicudys. Not saying much, but if your a fan of peach stuff... actually no. Even then you should go buy crown royal peach instead. No market value for this little guy.

Dr. McGillicuddy’s tasting 2 of 3 for this evening. I’m pessimistic! The nose: sweet baby Jesus. I’m not sure I can do this. It smells like a body wash. Shea butter maybe? The body: I don’t hate it. The honey is unmistakable. But the whiskey underneath isn’t awful. I wish I could get past that honey to actually figure out that whiskey, but the honey is just too intense. The finish: this one sort of has one. It’s more just the honey leaving a sickeningly sweet mouth feel for a few seconds after the flavors pass. This is better than the last. I could see this as a medicinal dram if I had a cold or a sore throat. I think I’d really like it then. Also could be amazing in a hot toddy. Not to be enjoyed neat when you’re fully healthy.

Dr. McGillicuddy’s tasting 1 of 3 for this evening. I’m optimistic! The nose: holy hell the blackberry. It’s between cough syrup and jam, and I’m leaning jam. The body: correction. This is cough syrup. The finish: not a thing. This is not good. Maybe as a mixer?

You know what’s classier than a 50ml bottle? A GLASS 50ml bottle. Hello, 2017 Stocking Stuffer Jameson. Nose is incredibly yeasty. A bit of brine. Strangely, this reminds me a lot of some disappointing craft distillery ryes. Body is absurdly smooth, with very minimal flavors. There’s a doughiness there. Slight hit of honey. Finish is bitter, but gentle. This is where the brine from the nose comes back in. That bitterness sticks with you well after all the flavor is gone. I don’t care for that mouth feel one bit. So as a stocking stuffer whiskey, this may be my favorite one to date. Actual glass. Super posh. The whiskey inside won’t ever be a go-to choice, but it’s drinkable. Overall it’s like drinking a liquified slice of bread with some honey lathered on top, but for some reason it triggered your GERD. Edit: I just read this note on this app’s official tasting notes: “There is a bitterness to the finish, but that can be squashed quickly if you take another sip.” Isn’t that basically the equivalent of saying “this shit gets better if you keep drinking?” I guess I’m just not a fan of whiskeys who give you a leather belt, pat you on the back, and say, “Bite into this. It’ll be over soon.”

This is not bourbon whiskey. That’s what the sticker on the purple tube says. It’s what the sticker on the bottle says. I must’ve gotten a rogue batch before production consulted legal, because mine doesn’t say “blenders mash”. It says “bourbon mash”. But don’t worry: this is not bourbon whiskey. It’s made from a bourbon mash bill, aged in new, charred American white oak barrels. It pours out beautifully into a snifter, amber in hue. But don’t worry: this is not bourbon whiskey. Nose is dusty. You can smell the extra age in the oak. I can also pick out caramel, lemon, and raspberries, but the oak is the main feature. This is not bourbon whiskey. Body flavors are subtle, but the mouth feel packs a punch. Don’t go into this dram with chapped lips. It’s far mellower than I expected based on the oak nose. Caramel, honey, and powdered sugar are present. Bit of raspberry. It’s hot, particularly for 90 proof, but hot damn is it delicious. This is not bourbon whiskey. Finish endures longer than expected. The heat from the body turns to pure black pepper, and it buzzes on pleasantly, particularly on the front rim of your tongue. This is not bourbon whiskey. Can I just say it? This song and dance is kind of ridiculous. This dram is a better “not bourbon whiskey” than most bourbons I’ve tried. It’s intense and subtle in all the right places. It’s affordable. I really love the transitions. It’s almost as if someone crafted a really dynamic whiskey, much the same way one would craft a bourbon, but with an extreme talent that many bourbon producers lack. Oh yeah, and it was crafted in Canada. Whoops. Finger wag. Slap of the wrist. IMHO: if Blanton’s can make bourbon that Americans CAN’T have, I’m not going to beat up on some Canadians who make a delicious bourbon that Americans can. That’s right. I said it. But DO NOT WORRY: this is not bourbon whiskey.

I remember when a far less well endowed friend of mine and I discovered that Coors Light and Keystone Light were brewed by the same company. The joke became: “Keystone Light. The beer for those for whom Coors Light needs to be turned down a scooch.” I am currently tasting Jim Beam Repeal Batch, with the OG Beam in my other glass for comparison. From the nose, there’s no question to me that this is Jim Beam. I get the yeast, a bit of banana. But in comparison to the OG, nonexistent. Body delivers on the nose. Also oak, bit of leather. When I went back to the OG, it almost knocked my teeth out. Same favor profile, but you really can’t understand how muted this body is until trying it in tandem. Wow. I’m on record saying that Jim Beam’s finish is almost nonexistent. Again, the repeal batch has found a way to turn nonexistence down a scooch. By comparison, OG tastes spicy and has a long finish. On this repeal batch I really couldn’t find the transition. It’s all body, and then gone. I think I prefer this slightly, because I’m not a huge fan of the flavor profile of Jim Beam. Repeal batch is a muted version, start to finish. Nothing new to get excited about, but not terrible.