Tastes

Finally opened up my little 3cl sample I got ages ago from Master of Malt, when they were still shipping to the US. Kavalan has quickly made a name for themselves. They put out single casks that can be amazing and pricey, or decent and pricey. All quite young relative to UK standards, but that tropical heat smoothes out the youth. This one here is comes in at a hefty 55+ABV, and an even heftier price tag of about $230USD/ bottle. The first thing you notice is the color—-that virgin oak really imparts the same color as bourbon. Deep mahogany. But the similarities to bourbon don’t stop there. Sweet vanilla aroma. Woody, oaky, ginger...more vanilla on the taste. Not my style, but I can see fans of CS style bourbon loving this.

Prejudice. Bias. Racism. Discrimination. Call it what you want, but it’s a black stain in human nature to have preformed unsubstantiated opinions based on nothing but conjecture. We all do it, in little things or in larger things that hurt people. 10 Years ago, we went on vacation to Greece, where it was my wife, my then 1 1/2 yr daughter, and me. We were taking the funicular from the top of the Santorini caldera to the bottom, by the shore. In the funicular with us there was a single young man, middle eastern or Arabic descent. He made small broken English conversation with us. But what was odd was he was holding a little Elmo doll. He offered the Elmo doll to my daughter, who gleefully wanted to accept. I absolutely refused. Not because of any reason, except mistrust. Why is a single guy carrying around an Elmo doll? Why was he in the funicular car with us? Why even make small talk when you can’t speak our language? A few days later, we run into the same guy at a restaurant there in Santorini. He’s working as a waiter. He approaches us, and says immediately in broken English, “sir, I am so sorry for making you and your family uncomfortable that day. It was not my intent. I saw your little daughter and it reminded me of my little daughter back home in Iraq. I had just bought her this doll, but I realized I couldn’t ship it to her anyway. I wanted it to give it to your daughter, hoping to see her smile, and I can think what my girl would’ve done. I am sorry”. I felt 1 inch tall, especially when he showed us the picture of him and his family. A highly educated dual advanced degree, non-white minority with a really good living in the US, now making a prejudiced call based on nothing but conjecture. That there leads me to this whiskey. ( what a freakin stretch...), sent graciously by my buddy @jonwilkinson7309. If you ever thought American craft whiskey can’t stand up to the best out of UK, India, or Japan, this here will set you straight. It’s a blending genius at the level of Compass Box, but a fraction of their price. Most folks write off blends as inferior to single malts, and an American blend...? Seriously...? Can’t be any good. This is youthful, fiesty, and energetic. Cherry pie, baking spices, and silky texture. It took the best American craft , and made them better. If you see this, buy on sight. I’m sure they’ll come out with batch 2...but who knows if it’ll be as good as batch 1.

I’ve not liked a single flavored whiskey yet. I always thought the flavors all muddled together, or it was overly sweet, or it just seemed like a bad marriage like something conceived when drunk in Las Vegas near a wedding chapel. But...this, this I liked. So, I was at the wine store yesterday buying a six pack of near alcohol free beer ( yes, it exists, and I love it! 25 calories, <1gm carb, 0.5% ABV!! But I may be alone in that fondness...). Anyway, they were giving samples of this. A bit of conversation with the burly northern woodsman style chap quickly informed me that it’s made by taking bourbon barrels that once had Taconic bourbon, filling those with maple syrup, and then selling that maple syrup. Those same barrels are then filled with bourbon, and laid to rest. So...theoretically, it’s not flavored whiskey. Aromas of maple and shortbread. What’s not to love? Taste like—sweet low sugar pancake syrup, with a tinge of heat and bitterness, just to remind you that you shouldn’t be pouring this over your kid’s plate of waffles. I almost bought a bottle. Almost, but then I realized it might be great as a one off unique pour, but wasn’t convinced as a regular item on the shelf. Nonetheless...if you have a sweet tooth, this is right up your alley.

Wow...this packs a punch. I picked up a store selection ( Adelphia Wine out of NJ), for $50. I figured one can’t go wrong at that price. It’s almost 15 years old ( barreled 10/2004 and bottled 8/2019), single barrel, from warehouse 1, floor 6 of 8, and rack 1. 120 proof. I had to add ice and let it sit for a while, sipping slowly while watching Narcos on Netflix. Thick and viscous, with a burnt orange color. I can nose this all day: cherries and burnt sugar. Taste is reminiscent of ECBP...orange rinds and sugar. It’s a slow sipping bourbon, meant to enjoy that one ounce with ice over a span of an hour. At $50, won’t break the bank, and on par with a ECBP or Stagg Jr.

Friday night, time for my once a week pour. This time, it’s a a dram graciously sent by my buddy and Tamdhu’s #1 fanboy, @Generously_Paul . I think this is what the younger modern Macallans strive to be, but unfortunately they’re lost nowadays with overpriced NAS offerings, more worried about their Pantone labels rather than the liquid inside. Tamdhu replaced the 10yr old with this 12. You don’t see that often...when was the last time a distillery replaced a younger age version with an older? And it’s at 43% vs the previous 40%. And...matured in first fill and refill oloroso sherry cask. Seems great on paper, everything in the right direction. Orange peels and dried fruit aromas, followed then by sultanas and baked apple taste. It’s a good decent entry level malt. I’d get this any day over similar age statement as a Glenfarclas, Balvenie, and Macallan. Now, within the same family, I’d choose the Tamdhu batch strength series. Those provide a layer of complexity and taste above this one. Overall, a solid entry whisky, that is a suitable replacement to the Macallan 12, at a lower price point. Thanks Paul!

I’ve not had many Irish whiskeys. At most, I can count on one hand how many I’ve had. But, I can imagine even if I’ve had many more, this would be the creme de la creme. Okay, so a bit of history. Hundreds of years ago, back when England controlled pretty much the entire world, the English army notoriously chopped forests across Ireland. I can imagine if Greta Thunberg was around then, she’d have something to say about it. They did this to namely to help build the English navy. And to trouble the Irish, who were rebelling at the time. The nerve to want freedom! Anyway—- A few forests were left—-Knockrath being one of them. Something tells me they didn’t leave these due to the kindness of their heart...maybe had something to do with the wood being probably not suitable for navy ships. Fast forward hundreds of years, and this forest is now owned privately by the Brabazon family. Six trees were felled for this whiskey, with the wood being transfered to Jerez, Spain for conditioning, while the Irish whiskey matured in virgin oak back in Ireland. The barrels then shipped from Jerez to Ireland, where the whiskey matured in this for 2 more years. This makes the range of whiskey here anywhere from 16-26yr old. I had the fortunate opportunity to try 4 of these samples: tree 2, 3, 5, 6. Thanks to a family member that bought back a few samples from Dublin. Tree 2, 3, 6 had very subtle differences, honestly couldn’t tell them apart. But tree 5 was different, not sure what was up with that one. Tree 2,3,6: tons of vanilla, tropical fruit basket galore. The fruit was heavy in pineapples and green tart apples. Just simple amazing. Tree 5: this one was different. Had a rancio effect, almost like really good cognac. Much more earthy and herbal. The fruit was there, but the earthy -rancio was forefront and bold. Out of the 4 I’ve tried, hands down my favorite was tree 5. Just layers of complexity over the others. All were amazing, but 5 gave a special something over the others. I’m keeping an eye out for this...if you have one Irish, make it this one.

Everytime I come to Denver on a business trip, I try to bring a sample pour with me, hoping to have it after ridiculously long days. I should’ve picked something well sherried or peated, considering how cold it is here , with snow on the mountains adding a scenic background. But I chose this, out of curiosity, a sample graciously provided by @jonwilkinson7309 I can’t find much about this one. Yes, it’s 10 yrs old and it’s Japanese...but is it really Japanese as in made in Japan, or is it sourced from elsewhere, shipped to Japan, and labeled Japanese? I’m guessing it’s not truly Japanese—-very few fall in that category ( Yamazaki, Hibiki, Yoichi, a few others). But either way....doesn’t matter if the liquid is good. So...on to it: It’s slightly aromatic, but not as much as I’d expect from a 10 yr Japanese (I’m thinking Hibiki 12 or Yoichi 10). Taste is light , with fresh bakery bread taste. Slightly floral. Would be great in cocktails or over ice in summer. Overall—-I’m not sure you’re really having a Japanese whiskey here, more like Scottish Lowlander aged 10 yrs in ex-bourbon. But —-what it has over the Japanese whiskeys is that it won’t break your bank. It’s actually affordable—-more in the territory of Hibiki Harmony. Between this and Harmony, it’s a toss up...both are about the same. Slight edge to Harmony on nose, but edge to Yama on having an age statement Thanks @jonwilkinson7309 for the pour! Was a welcomed drink after a 15 hour day