Tastes

I have a bone the size of T-Rex’s thigh to pick with Ardbeg. I had formally written them off for their special releases because all were quite overpriced and no better than the core range. Their entire special release business model is based on ridiculous names and over the top designs, with little to show for it but elevated prices. This one is no different. It’s a 10 yr old with a bit more smoke. Save your money and buy the 10, Uigi, or Corry. This is just not worth the super premium. Taste like the 10…just a wee stronger

Yesterday was guavas with that single cask 10yr Penderyn. Today, it’s oranges. This is a 10yr as well, bottled by Pursuit Spirits, unchilfiltered and CS, from Dickel. The nose is the best part of this. Oranges through and through. Takes a step down on the taste, with some oak and a bit metallic tinge. Finish is a bit hot...but there comes the oranges again. All in all, a pretty good Dickel bottling—-just a tad hot ( needs ice or water), and that metallic tinge in the palette gets in the way of the amazing oranges. Thanks to my buddy @jonwilkinson7309 for the generous pour!

Ever visited a place twice, the first time being at least a decade before? Hating it the first time, but loving it the second time around? For me, that was Mumbai. My first visit was a nightmare. It was overcrowded, the air was putrid, the skies grey, and streets filled with homelessness. About a decade later, I visited again. This time, I found how things were balanced, and in that balance, you simply had to look to find the beauty. The air wasn’t putrid. It was instead aromas of spices and street food—-golgappa stands, roasted corn stalls, and open markets selling cumin and turmeric. The streets had homelessness, but towering above the shanty towns were multi-billion dollar homes built of marble and stone. Yes, the skies were grey, but the monsoons bought this lush petrichor. That’s my experience with Penderyn. I last had a Penderyn maybe 9-10 years ago. At the time, I wasn’t impressed. One bad experience, and I had written them off. It was just too bland, bread-y, and light. But this one, this is something totally different. Gone is the boring bread-y taste. Now, I’m getting guavas galore. If you don’t like guavas, stay away from this. But if you’re a fan...this is knee deep in freshly cut guavas. Long finish...more fruits, this time Asian pears. Just really well made. Huge thanks to @pkingmartin for sharing a generous sample.

Sometimes, just because a malt is young doesn’t mean it’ll be bad. Take a look at the dozens of young Kilchoman, or Ardnamurchan. It really depends on the basics done well—-great casks, and a great distillate. This is one of those. At first glance, as soon as I saw the ABV and 5yr age, I assumed it’ll be overly hot, not ready for bottling. I was wrong. At first whiff you get the saline and peat. Taste is vanilla, lemon pepper, and sea salt. Long finish. Really well made, almost like a pre-teen Talisker or Caol Ila. About $45…buy on sight. Thanks to my buddy @Richard-ModernDrinking for the pour !

It’s coffee in whiskey, and proofed down to 30%. And unsweetened. To that point, it does it’s job if you like unsweetened coffee in whiskey. Don’t go expecting much, but you can get creative with it. So —I use this for a nice hot summer drink—-I take whipped coffee foam, add milk, ice, and an ounce of this. Makes for an amazing hot afternoon drink. Also makes an amazing adult tiramisu. Dip the lady fingers in this instead of espresso, and adds a nice twist to the dessert. Worth the money? Hell no. You’d better off buying a cheap Irish whiskey and adding good coffee to it.

Thanks to @jonwilkinson7309, who sent over a generous pour, I got to try this unique whiskey. It’s a complex vatting of three ryes, each matured seperately in Madeira, apricot brandy, and rhum Agricole ( which is from sugarcane, and not molasses ). Generally, I’m a huge fan of Barrell, especially their experiments. Their previous ones, Dovetail and Armida, were some of my favorite Barrell batches. This one fell a bit short for me, but I’m the outlier. So, at entry, this was simply too hot without any dilution. I couldn’t taste any of the complexities behind the three casks maturations. Was just all rye heat for me. I then added a few drops water, and still too hot. Finally, added a huge chunk of ice, and then I was able get classic rye, but a layer of apricot chutney and chocolate. Unfortunately the huge ice took away any aromas, but at least for me, made it more palatable. I think this is one that probably requires some dilution—-and amount of dilution can vary person to person. Not a bad experiment, but a distant third behind Armida and Dovetail. Thanks Jon for the pour!

I don’t think I’ve ever had a real Manhattan...and by that, let me explain: I’ve had a pseudo-Manahattan made with the alcohol free Ritual whiskey, along with some grape juice, a few drops of bitters, and a spoon of sugar free agave syrup. So...yeah. Not a real Manhattan. Based on that, I shouldn’t judge of this is anything like a Manhattan or not. But, what I can say is that if offered blind, I’d not have guessed this was a rye. It’s more like a cocktail. It’s sweet, like ripe Michigan dark cherries, with some oranges and oak. The rye takes a back seat to the cherries. I don’t understand this. If a person wants to have a Manhattan, simply buy a low cost rye and the other components. This offers a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. It’s okay and a decent pour, but not sure I see the purpose of its existence...

I’ve always been curious of Garrison brothers , but that price tag always had me question if it’s truly good, or just some price gauging. Thanks to @pkingmartin , I got to sample this. It’s been sitting at my desk for ages, and I actually opened it up last night to smell it. I was expecting to take a whiff and put it back...but no, the aromas of marshmallows, oak, vanillla and creme brûlée were just too enticing. Taste is more of the same...liquified creme brûlée with a strong dose of a Texas 2 by 4 wooden plank. Lingering taste. I seriously need to make the plunge and buy this. But let’s talk about that price. $200-300 is damn steep. The only way that price will go down is if demand goes down. And...it just so happens I have over 1900 followers on this app...So...fellow 1900+ folks—-do not buy this. We the people must make a stand!! Let’s boycott all things Garrison till prices slump...and then we’ll swoop in and buy it by the truck load!!!!! I propose we go all out Reddit GameStop style —-us against big booze!!! We’ll mass manipulate the price to come down!!! On a serious note...this is damn good. I’d rather pay $200 for this than buy 4 bottles of something subpar. In fact...buying one right now online... Thanks again @pkingmartin

I had a pour of this at a friend’s place last night. The highlight of the evening wasn’t so much this pour, but rather the feeling of getting back to normalcy. This was the first time in over 14 months that we went to a friend’s, where there were other families there, all of course vaccinated. It was refreshing to see people without masks, giving hugs, kids playing outside, and bonding over food and drinks. I can’t emphasis this enough—-with all the new variants coming, it’s pertinent we all get vaccinated, because there WILL be one variant that WILL be able to work itself around the vaccines. The more this virus is out there, the more permutations of variants will happen. Only solution with hopes of back to normalcy is vaccination. Well, this was one of the pours of the eve. The rest were mixed drinks and cocktails, but this was the only one not mixed. It’s a sweet fruity aroma, with palette that’s more dessert like with dark berries and chocolate. It’s the ideal pour with friends that enjoy bourbon and rye, but aren’t into the exotics like heirloom grains aged in mizunara or such. It’s simple enough, but complex enough to avoid being mixed with ginger ale or cola. Overall, a great item to have around if you want to cast a wide net of preferences and tastes.