Tastes

I’ve had more than my fair share of new inaugural single malts over the years. Most were forgettable and very few memorable. I mean, at the end of the day, the inaugural malts are simply a construct of marketing, isn’t it? It’s just a new, very young , barely 3 year old single malt that a label is placed citing “inaugural “ or “first release” which drives up the demand. In my memory, the only few that were memorable were Kilchoman, Daftmill (which was a 12 yr old as inaugural ), and Bimber. There was the memorable as exceptionally bad as well—- Abhain Dearg, which reminded me of a dish made out of roadkill left out in the sun too long. This one, which I paid about $70 for “ Commemorative “ edition ( the only difference in the Commemorative vs first release was the former has the word “Commemorative “ ), falls squarely in the “ I’ll forget it by end of the week” category, like a rebound date after a long relationship that just broke. Very thin on the nose, maybe not so atypical being a Lowlander...but I’ve only had one other Lowlander—-Auchentoshan, which is also light. Palette is bread-y, dough-y, baked goods. Not getting much of the STR or wine influence. Just very light...which isn’t a bad thing...just wished it had a bit more of something else —if you’re going to be light, have a bit more floral or honey , or citrus...just light and bread-y is boring. But I get it...it’s affordable , and young, but has definite promise. I’ll come back in about 7-10 years.

I was so looking forward to this after my 10 day hiatus recovering from daily antihistamines due to an unfortunate misunderstanding between me and about 50 hornets. See, I’m not a bee, Wasp or hornet expert , but I learned something real damn quick. With honeybees, they seem to care less when you’re doing your thing and they’re doing their’s. Just don’t mess with them, and you’re good. Unlike honeybees, wasps and hornets have a mean temper. You so much as even come close to their hive, even if you’re doing your thing like picking tomatoes from your garden, they will come over and fuck you up. Anyway—-long story short…it was a lesson learned in melittology, the study of bees, through gang violence and an ER visit. Okay, so this—-is there ever such a thing as a bad Lagavulin ? This one is a combination of two barrels —one from 2007 and another from 2013. Both bourbon casks. Personally , I had to add ice—-beyond 46%, I can’t manage too well. But you get immediate aromas of coastal sea air. Taste is classic Lag, hefty dose of peat , coastal salinity , and lemon chutney. If you like the core range 16, you’ll like this a bit more. It’s got more of the same as the 16, but a bit greater horsepower. Highly recommended and priced relatively well ( $85 for a 500ml…so extrapolate that to $130 for 750ml)

In the Indian American culture it’s common to have parents introduce potential women or men for possible marriage. Gone are the days of “arranged marriages”, but in its place it’s now a meet and greet…and date a few times before you decide. There’s pluses and minuses of course. The “blind” dates come well vetted from parent’s family friends and acquaintances. The downside is it’s like Schrödinger’s cat…you don’t know what’s to come unless you actually dive in. Back in the day, my parents introduced me, sight unseen, to a young woman referred to them by a friend’s uncle’s in-law’s mother. Yes. Really. I expected the worse…some crazed pyscho that’ll cut off your nut sack and feed it to stray cats. But…no…when I met her ( we’ll call her S), she turned out to be a real life Perla lingerie model. I struck gold!!! ( needless to say…she didn’t feel the same after a few dates ). Anyway—-moral of the story …you don’t know what to expect when it’s something unknown and going in blind. You might just strike gold. Same goes for this..I’ve had only one other Penderyn before, a 10yr Madeira cask, which was amazing. This is even better. Drinks much older than 13 yr, with strong aromas of oak and sherry. Tastes like black tea , cherries and chocolate, almost like German Black Forest cake. Just amazing…and highly recommended. Thanks to @pkingmartin for the generous pour!

The benefit of visiting a distillery is trying something unique that’s not available anywhere else. That is the main appeal for whiskey nerds ( like myself paying a visit to Finger Lakes Distilling ), while normal folk shrug that off ( like the rest of my family who patiently waited in the tasting room while I sampled 10+ whiskeys ). This one here is a single barrel Irish style , which is in essence a mix of malted and unmalted barley. But the curve ball here is the small amount of oats added to the mash as well. Drinks much older than 4 yrs…and those oats add a creaminess that takes it a notch above normal Irish whiskeys. It’s also less fruit forward than typical Irish, but more on an earthy complexity —almost like a cross between Highlands, Irish, and Cambeltown. Out of the 10 whiskeys and liqueurs I sampled, this stood out the most…enough for me to buy a bottle

My second Garrison Brothers’ bourbon…and yes, I’m now a newly converted believer. These guys are pricey, but there’s wizardry happening here ( courtesy of a damn good distillate, casks, and that Texas scorch ). This was a bit below for me compared to their Cowboy, but let’s face it…the price is half as much as well. So, factoring in the price, it’s damn good. Despite the young age, and Texas heat, the oak influence is really well managed. I’m not getting the feeling of chomping on wood..but rather the cinnamon , vanilla, and oak play well together. With plenty of stone fruit flavors in the background. Another treat courtesy of a generous pour given by @ctbeck11 —-thanks for this !