Tastes
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Glenmorangie Milsean
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed March 29, 2018 (edited December 4, 2020)Wonderful packaging, fantastic drinkability, but sadly it doesn't live up to it's name. Instead of "sweet things" what I could discern from this was essentially standard Glenmorangie 10 with a charred wine-cask finish (yes, I know that's exactly what it is, but what I'm saying is there aren't any unique flavors that I haven't tasted elsewhere in other wine-cask finished drams like Jefferson's Cabernet cask). I suppose it may have just been the re-charring of those oak barrels, but the aftertaste of wine is all but canceled out by oak and perhaps just a hint of vanilla. There's absolutely nothing bad about this whiskey, but it's not different enough from the original Glenmorangie to really sell me on it. -
Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Brandy Cask Finish
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed March 29, 2018 (edited June 21, 2021)One of the few whiskeys I've ever encountered that has a taste of (of all things) melon to it! Underneath, you can still tell this is a bourbon, but once you let it rest on your palate for a while you can pick up a taste of sour grapes, a bit of eucalyptus, and finally an outright blast of canteloupe or honeydew right at the end. The juice as a whole isn't exactly smooth, but the harshness of it going down actually does well to balance out the cavalcade of fresh fruits that appear elsewhere. -
Octomore Masterclass 08.3/309 Islay Barley
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed March 29, 2018 (edited May 26, 2019)I'm not against heavily peated whiskeys in principle, but something about this just misses the mark for me. I ordered a 1½ ounce pour of this, and I could barely get all the way through; not because of overwhelming smokiness, but because of the smokiness coupled with 61% ABV! Don't get me wrong, there is nuance to this - beyond the obvious smoke and peat there's a background of subtle iodine mixed with sea salt, charred oak, and even a bit of rubber with a HUGE taste of tanned leather that appears out of nowhere right on the end, after you swallow. I had hoped to dilute the heat and bring more of these flavors out by adding a bit of water to the whiskey, but this only made it stick to my palate and leave the smoke and earth flavors to linger for longer and drown out more of everything else that, in my opinion, should have complimented the 309ppm phenol instead of being stuck playing second-fiddle to it. Worth trying just for it's uniqueness, but by no means something I could see myself regularly sipping. -
Bruichladdich Cuvee 640 Eroica
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed March 29, 2018 (edited June 18, 2018)For me, the best dram I've ever tasted. I'll confess to having a massive sweet tooth (I've been told I should stick to drinking ports) and this doesn't disappoint at all in the sweetness department. It's not a spicy-sweetness like you might get from some cognac or port/sherry finishes, but rather something vaguely resembling Glenmorangie Bacalta, just with the saccharine, sugary factor turned up to 11. It hits you all at once on the initial taste but thins out towards the end to reveal a bit more nuance in the form of vanilla, pineapple, and a bit of raspberry. Thankfully, this isn't a terribly viscous fluid so the finish is medium-short, meaning it doesn't stick to your palate and overwhelm whatever you pair it with. Nevertheless, this is still definitely a dessert whiskey through and through. -
The first thing that came to mind when I tried this was "leather"; specifically, if you've ever tried Octomore 08.3, the GIGANTIC leather note that appears right on the end is exactly what I got all the way through drinking this. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as the more modest proof means that it still goes down easy enough (and would probably pair well with something like roasted nuts).
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You can really tell that the casks they used for this were part of the old Stitzel-Weller stock. It's actually VERY reminiscent of Pappy 20 but without the exceptionally long finish and more of the citrus replaced by a slightly metallic, copper-ish note. The vanilla background that you get in ORVW and Pappy is also toned down slightly to reveal more of a dank woodiness. The nose to me wasn't anything to write home about, but it does a fairly good job of letting you know what you're in for: Smooth, without much of a burn at all, some cherry and other miscellaneous fruit in the background, and the mix of vanilla/wood and copper I mentioned before. It's definitely worth experiencing and I might even buy one for myself if it were $900 for a full 750mL bottle, but for a 375mL decanter it's a bit pricey for what tastes essentially like a tweaked Pappy van Winkle.
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