Tastes

Travel rerail is a tricky place. It’s like being transported to the bazaars of India , Morocco or Turkey. You have these aggressive sales folks that try to convince you that the bottle they have is “one of a kind”, and “ can’t buy anywhere else”, or, my favorite one so far —- “ i know the head distiller, and he personaly told me this is the best they’ve made yet”. But once in a while, you do find a gem. Far and few in between, but it happens every so often. The firet SmokeTrails was case and point. That as a Manzanilla one, which i thiught paired really well with the smoke of Ardbeg. The dry wine added a layer of complexity above and beyond what Ardbeg normally offers. Based on how good that first one was, I automatically bought this second release. Nornally, my rule of thumb is that if I dont like that wine, i wont buy the whiskey finiahed in that wine. I dont like Manzanilla. I find it dry. But i lobed that first SmokeTrails finished in Manzanilla. So…i dont like Cote Rotie. But i fugured Ardbeg + Cote Rotie might be good based on the previous experience. I was wrong. This nose has a muted Ardbeg nose. Either the wine took over, or this just has low PPMs. Im getting smoke and something herbal on the palette …thyme? Along with saline , lemons. I’m not getting any wine influence. In fact everything is muted. The smoke, saline, everything. It’s as if they took Ardbeg and stripped what makes Ardbeg an Ardbeg. It’s not bad…just not good.

I’m so the outlier in this one. I bought the 3 bottles 200ml tasting pack. I shared a pour during our quarterly online tasting between @pkingmartin , @Richard-ModernDrinking and @ctbeck11 , and had this along with a few others ( of which the standout was a red wine matured Talisker from @Richard-ModernDrinking ). I had this again subsequently by itself. Just not a fan. I know I’m the rare exception. It’s amazing on paper—- 17 yr old, single location, 110 proof, priced well. And most reviews seem to love it. So, more of a “me” issue. But…I feel it’s too one dimensional, and overly tannic and oaky-y. I’m getting tabacco and cocoa on the nose. The palette is just not doing it for me. Oak, tannic. A bit bitter of a finish. I loved the previous Hardin’s Creek ( Jacobs Well, which was 15 yr old). That had more depth and complexity, and more importantly less tannic and oak.

I bought a small pour of this , curious since it was a new “limited “ Spot release. And, for no purpose whatsoever, to have tried them all. I feel as if rhe Spots are all like competitive siblings all trying to out-do each other. All are good, but one or two are really striking enough to take notice and shell out the premiums they demand. This one has a confusing and complicated maturing process, all designed to have a deeper and more complex flavor. Nose is fragrant, fruity. Palette is toffee, fruits ( think red berries and apples ), bread-y. Lingering finish. It’s pricey at $150 or so. Personally, I’d not be a buyer. It just didn’t wow me like the Blue did. The Blue , for me at least, has set the bar, and I’ve yet to have a Spot that has taken away that crown. YMMV…to each his own…but I’d rather buy the Blue, which abroad is reasonably priced at $110-120.

I remember as a kid, I used to visit my grandfather’s farm in north India. Huge farm, with a bungalow at the center, where meals were made outdoors over a cast iron “tawa” ( a large concave cast iron griddle ). Over this griddle, the caretaker used to smoke eggplant that was already pre marinated in spices. He used to take this smoked spiced eggplant, and dip it in a yogurt sauce that had mint and cumin. The end result was amazing…lightly smoked, savory, with a minty twist. This whiskey took me back to that. There’s a whiff of smoke on the nose, followed by a savory palette …some campfire smoke, mint, spices. A bit of fruit ( berries ?) comes by as well, just balancing out the savory side perfectly. I don’t think I’ve had a Frey Ranch before, but this is simply amazing. At about $60 for a 375ml, not exactly cheap, but I’d gladly buy again. Do yourself a favor…buy on sight. Superbly well made. @ctbeck11 @pkingmartin @Richard-ModernDrinking this might be a surprise hit in that lineup I sent over

I’m definitely going to be the outlier. Oddly, this wasn’t for me. I bought a tasting kit that had this plus a few other Russell samples. But admittedly, the only reason I bought the kit was for this sample. The bottle is so difficult to find, and if you do, it’s so expensive. I’ve seen it behind closed glass panes, priced well over $400. In retrospect, so glad I never bought one. Nose is fine—- caramel, vanilla, baking spice It’s the taste that fell apart for me. Just way too oaky and tannic, saccharin tasting. It’s as if this was past it’s prime. Wondering if the kits all got bad samples? Or maybe it’s degraded in quality vs the previous releases? Who know…but based on this pour, I’d not even pay $50

Another year, another Longrow Red release. This one is a 2022 release, matured 7 yr in ex-bourbon, 4 yr in fresh tawny port. Mine was just a small 3cl sample, but enough to form an opinion. Despite that anything related to Springbank is crazy expensive, I only paid $10 for a sample. Not too bad. Heck, it cost more to go from here in NJ to just under the tunnel to NYC. Nose is amazing: fresh strawberries, smoke, and gritty Springbank signature earthiness. Taste: oily, full bodied, fruity, hint of smoke. A bit of water ( I literally added just two drops) opens up the fruity flavors. This is a must have if you’re a Springbank / Longrow fan, or just a fan of how a well made port finish should taste.

Who watched last week’s Dallas game against GB? I didn’t. Cause I thought it would be a waste of time, assuming Dallas would win by a lot. And by a lot, I assumed at least 20 points. To the extent that I thought I’d be bored. In the words of a famous ex-President, current criminal indictment record holder , and possibly next president : “we’ll be winning so much, you’ll get bored”. Sadly, this sample was like that Dallas game. I just assumed that because it’s Bardstown, and because I really loved their Origins BiB bourbon, this will be just as good. Wrong assumption. They fumbled the ball at the 1 yd line on this one. Fresh minty nose. Typical rye. But at the palette it breaks down for me. A bit harsh, green apples, mint. Finish is doughy, caraway. It’s not bad….i just expected better

Ok so here’s the issue. Let’s say you have an amazing house. It’s a beautiful modern style , on a cliff overlooking the Pacific blue waters. Now you decide to paint it from its current Greek style whitewash to something different, like sky blue. It’s still a gorgeous house. The paint didnt add to it or take away from it. It may be different , and some folks might say “cant beleive you painted it blue”. Others might say “it goes amazing with the background “. Either way, it’s still an amazing house , with a multi-million dollar location. That’s what this pour is like. I had a small 3cl pour that I bought, more so out of curiosity. It’s a 14yr old, approximately £250 for a full bottle ($300 USD or so), matured in Amercian and European oak, followed by a finshing in Armagnac. A first for Lag. Really full body. Aromas of smoked ham, a bit of grape skins. Taste is savory, salty, sweetness like grapes, and there’s the smoke…warming and smoky with a earthy sweetness. It’s really good. It’s in fact damn good. But it’s just a notch over any of their other Feis Ile or Jazz, or any Lag…a Lag is a Lag, and if you’re a fan, it’s either “really good” to “wow”. Does the Armagnac paint color change make a substantial difference? No. You already have a really good distillate, that you just changed the look and feel. Is it worth $300? To me…no. If $ is measured in terms of happiness output, I’d be just as happy with the Offerman edition at $90. A Lag is a Lag. Just becuse I painted the Pacific cliff house blue instead of white doesn’t take away or add that it’s still a anazing Pacific cliff house.

No time to write— so, keeping it to the point: I thought this would suck. This does not suck. Is really good.

One of my corporate vendors gifted a bottle of this before the holidays. He said “ this is an amazing daily drinker”. As thankful as I am at the gesture, the words “daily drinker” made me pause. You shouldn’t be drinking daily…why would any alcohol be a daily drinker? A bag of coffee gifted with “this is an amazing daily drinker”, yeah…i get that. A store bought Peet’s is a daily drinker. Okay, rant over. On to this one here. Amrut and Paul John are some of my favorite whiskeys, and both are from the Indian subcontinent. I didnt even know the existence of any other one from India, till heard raves of the Indri Dru Cask strength. This one here is their base offering—- not meant to be as intense as the Dru —-which i guess wouldn’t still be as intense as a CS version of Amrut, considering Amrut is from a high temperature area while Indri is from Haryana, so more fluctuations. Floral, some oak. Definitely young, but that Haryana heat can be felt in the oak influence. It’s just not as in-your-face as the Goan Amrut or Texan Garrison. Cereal notes, fruity berries. Nothing too polarizing. But nothing too outstanding as well. Almost like a Soeysider, with a bit more oak. Still shouldn’t be a “daily drinker”