Tastes

Have been excited to try Waterford. I’ve never had an Irish single malt and they’re doing some really cool (obsessive) tracking of their production. You can get lost on their site buried in farmers, barley type, yeast strains, soil, fermentation, and on and on and on...they even have recordings of farm sounds (seriously). It’s pretty complex for a whisky that’s only been aged just under 4 years. It does taste slightly young but it’s exciting to imagine where it will taste with a older age statement. N - light fruits, grain forward, citrus zest, slightly floral T - pear, dusty barley, cherry, some pepper F - oily finish and butterscotch sweet Would be fun to do a tasting of their others side by side to get the full “terroir” experience. Since I got a bottle went with Gaia which is a mix of multiple farms. It’s very tasty, maybe slightly overpriced for what you are getting now. But wanted to try the 1.1 to have a frame of reference for down the road. Waterford’s vision statement on their site ends with the fact they want to “create not just the most compelling Irish whisky, but the world’s most profound single malt.” Ambitious. I’ll enjoy trying their whisky over time as they embark on that journey.

Believe I had the 2019 version. The palate is bright while the finish is blown out by smoke. Overall a really pleasant whisky. N - brine, vanilla, apricot, citrus zest, loose leaf black tea T - honey, chocolate, clove spice, light mint F - smoke, slightly astringent, black pepper, light tobacco

This malt was pretty complex the more I sat with it and added a drop of water to explore. N - sweet mulled wine flavors, some cinnamon, clove, cherry T - a combo of spice and sweet licorice. Carmel and butterscotch with hints of leather and dried apples F - earthy was the first impression on the finish with some chocolate and spice. With water black paper became more present I’ve loved trying the different varieties of American single malts and for the longest time I’ve struggled to get my hands on Balcones. Very glad to add this one to the collection! It is the perfect fall time dram. It is a bit more bourbony sweet than some other American malts I’ve tried but has way more complexity than a traditional bourbon would (IMO). Much like Del Bac to the Southwest and Westland to the Northwest, Balcones is exactly what you’d expect from a Texas whisky!

We have a bottle of this from 2017 that we save for special occasions. It’s fun to compare notes my wife and I get now compared to back then. This is one of my favorites whiskies ever. It’s extremely complex and balanced. This go around we got: T - raisin, licorice, butterscotch, banana nut bread, vanilla, clove, pecan and green apple N - dense/oily, caramel, light fruits, floral, honey, oak, granola and tobacco F - minty earthy/grassy peat smoke, clove spice, sea salt The bottle we have is pre the viking pride rebrand so not sure if the new bottlings have changed at all. Either way HP was the scotch that got me into scotches so I’ll always be partial to it.

N - fig, dusty malt, slight tobacco and leather, chai spices T - honey, butterscotch, maple syrup, raisins, citrus zest F - leather, clove, black pepper Bought after a distillery tour. Some harder to find notes than their traditional Dorado. If it was mesquite smoked it’s so buried it only really shows up a bit in the classic Del Bac tobacco note. Hard to tell what impact the tequila barrels played unless you were to try this side by side with their 19-1 and 19-2 distiller’s cuts. If you can find it it’s worth exploring as it is quite complex and unique. Being from AZ I’m for sure biased but I think Hamilton Distillers really is leading the way in American Single Malt, especially of the southwestern variety.

N - brine, slightly meaty, dark cherry, a bit flowery/potpourri T - earthy peat, dried fruits either raisins or apricot, leather, buttery malt. with water some butterscotch F - classic Lagavulin smoke but with less mint and more pepper. A bit of chocolate lingers. It could be in my head but does taste a little younger from what I recall the 16 tasting like. Also a bit less briskety. Adding a small drop of water turned up the smoke and pepper which wasn’t a bad thing. Overall line from what I’d expect with Lagavulin and the added effect of having Nick Offerman’s face stare back at you is a fun perk.

I’m normally not a rye fan but this is unique and fun to explore. The rum casks really add a desserty flavor - basically a baked cinnamon desert covered with maple syrup. Delicious! N - cinnamon covered nuts, caramel T- frosted baked dessert, bourbon flavored syrup, slight raisin F - brown sugar, cinnamon spice, caramel

N - coconut, dried fruits, nutty, vanilla T - dark fruit from the sherry, dark chocolate, F - heavy oak spice, cinnamon The bar had this “on tap” from their own cask of this. Would like to try more from this distillery. This one was a sherry bomb finished with heavy spice.

I’m in Seattle for a wedding and made it a point to try this whisky. Plan on doing a distillery tour tomorrow but wanted a sneak preview. Makes me excited for the growth of American single malts. N- deep dark fruit, vanilla, cereal wheats T - sweet cherries, pine F - peat smoke (earthy like an island scotch not the Islay medicinal), slight spice and brine It’s a homely winter sweet followed by a gust of peat smoke on the finish. I very much enjoyed it.

N - raisins, malty cereal/oats T - pine, apricot F - new oak, pepper, leather Included in a Bourbon Charity blind tasting. Voted number five for me out of 5 AZ whiskies. Wasn’t a bad whiskey just felt a little plain. Sampled at home.