Tastes

I took a few sips after sending out some samples for @LeeEvolved @dubz @Telex @Scott_E and @Generously_Paul . If you ever get up one day and say “ damnit, I wonder what an aspen tree taste like”, wonder no more. Just buy a bottle of this, and your wish will come true. Tastes woody, young oak, a bit of hay. A wee bit of smoke. Some resin. Seems more fitted to something out of Deadwood than Aspen. I can see Al Swearengen drinking this, not really the socialites skiing down the CO slopes. This was bottled way too young. I totally get the desire to quickly release a product to market—-after all every day it’s stuck in the warehouse, it loses revenue. But this is where they should’ve maybe have been producing rum or gin to supplement cash flow while this whiskey matures. The idea was good—-think Colorado, and you picture the Rockies and those yellow leaf aspen trees. So inserting a few staves of aspen would’ve surely bought home the notion of local, but it just needed more time in the barrel. I bought this last year in CO, since I figured it’s only locally available. At $50, this was a waste. If I want local Colorado whiskey, that $50,would’ve been better spent over a few pours of Stranhan’s Snowflake. Lee, Paul, Jason, Scott, Dubz—-I sent this before tasting it—-sorry about that. On the bright side, the samples I sent are all blind tasting...you’ll be easily picking this one out from that lineup.

So I wanted to open up a special bottle as a celebratory pour for my son getting a scholarship. The little rugrat scored 99.999% on a math state exam. But my original bottle I wanted to open up was a 43 yr old Speysider. I searched and searched my vault of 550-650 bottles...and at this point, I don’t know what more pathetic: that I have 550-650 bottles, or that I ran out of patience after 1 hour of fruitless searching. What I did find though was this 50 yr old blend. Reportedly, the latter batches weren’t all that great, but I’m hoping this batch 1 lives up to its Whiskybase score of 91. It’s really not often one has something this old. Just step back and take things in perspective: 50 years ago was the first manned moon landing; since then we’ve seen so much growth in all areas of technology, medicine, economics, and culture. Whether one likes this pour or not, it’s well worth noting the symbolism. I had just a few sips, so basing my take on an initial little pour: The best part is the nose. Candied ginger, caramel , a bit of salty brine. Taste is a step down from the nose unfortunately. Still good, but the tease from the nose led me to expect more. Silky smooth. Definitely some sherried malt. Five decades smoothed out any grain roughness. Understated elegance. The only other time I had something this old ( one year older actually) was a 51 yr old Craigellechie that my buddy @Scott_E graciously took me as a guest. It’s hard not to compare the two, but also hard not to acknowledge the similarity —namely the silky smooth elegance, the subdued flavors without any particular one standing out, and the impact ( or lack thereof) of wood. I’d expect 5 decades in wood will be a lot, but cask management skills are key I guess. Anyway... @Scott_E @LeeEvolved @Telex @dubz480 @Generously_Paul —I’ll be sending this your way—hopefully you’ll enjoy it. @Richard-ModernDrinking I’m saving you a pour for our next event.

While pouring samples out last night to send to the crew ( @LeeEvolved, @Generously_Paul @Scott_E and others ), I had to try a few sips. Granted, it wasn’t even a full 1 ounce...barely 2-3 sips, so who knows if that’s enough to form a full picture. This here is a new Kilchoman, matured in STR casks. It’s a limited release, very much an experiment. STR—so, “Shaved”, “Toasted”, and “Re-Charred” red wine casks. Theoretically that would remove the red wine tannins and replacing it with more vanilla, while keeping the berry flavor from red wine cask. I’m a huge fan of Kilchoman. And with the exception of the port cask, every release I’ve had of theirs has been 4 star+. I love how the peat is prominent front and center, but not overpowering, and complimented by other flavors. This one seems like it’s no exception. I get summer berries on the nose, with an earthy peaty taste with more red berries. Finish is long and lingering lemon-peat. I still like their Red Wine cask best, but this here at $70 is damn good as well.

Remember back in mid-2000s, every where you looked there were new homes being built? Folks took out mortgages on $1M properties with 0% down, only to flip them within months? That worked really well in an economy built on the premise of the market which is going up. But what happens when the market suddenly doesn’t go up? In this case, the banks came collecting, only to find folks couldn’t pay because the market started a slowdown. A bubble. That brings me to this new distillery. Seems like every other week I’m hearing about a new distillery opening, or an old one doing major multi-million dollar upgrades. Some new distilleries even open up through crowdsourcing, promising returns based on “ amazing upswings in the whiskey market “. Hopefully not a bubble. Hopefully the market will just go up and up and up.... So tonight is my once a week whiskey night, where I have my nice 1 ounce pour while watching Netflix. I’ve gone from a few pours a week during the SDT days to two 6cl ones, and now just one 1 ounce /week....hopefully my decline isn’t indicative of the market, but just localized. Tonight’s pour is through courtesy of @LeeEvolved , who sent a generous sample of this new Highlander. As Lee points out, it’s a blend of 3-4 yr old with a new 1- 1.5 yr old. NCF and no coloring. This Adelphi owned distillery is in the remote western Highlands, uses 100% natural renewable resources, and local barley from Fife. And get this...it uses blockchain technology, which helps it in so many ways from logistics, to data analytics, to customer experience. That’s all good...but is meaningless without it actually tasting good. Well...if this new make is any indication...that’s not an issue. On to the taste: I’m getting a sherry finishing...there’s a wisp of peat integrated really well with marzipan, red fruit, and honey. Extremely well balanced considering the age. Drinks like something much older. I wish I bought a bottle. I’ll be a buyer of future releases. Thanks Lee.

This is another one of those whiskies that for whatever reasons escaped me. It used to be so common and available, till it wasn’t. But thanks to my Long Island buddy @Scott_E for sending over a generous pour. I sort of felt as if this was summer in a bottle. You get this whiff of salty sea air and crisp citrus fruits. It’s as if you’re standing at a craggy Maine dock. You can taste the mineral-y, slate-y backbone, all rubbed with sea salt and lemons. Whereas the likes of Ardbeg and Lagavulin take you to cold North Atlantic sea pounded shores, this is reminiscent of gunpowder grey seas on a warm northeastern shore. It’s probably outrageously priced now, since it’s no longer made, but if you happen to see it priced reasonably at <$80...grab it. Grab a few. I just hope the new OP lineup is just as good , but something tells me probably not.

Back as a grad student in Chemical Engineering, I spent a research semester in Paris. One thing I immediately noticed is that the European students don’t come out with massive student debt as the Americans. In fact, they don’t come out with any debt. They have just as good of a college education, minus the $30k-50k / yr tuition. Instead, they pay barely $5k. Why is that? Well...their universities aren’t massive complexes with acres of green space; they don’t have stadiums that hold 80,000 people; they don’t have ultra-fancy dorms and gyms that can go toe-to-toe with a NYC condominium; they don’t have cafeterias that make a Portland food truck scene green with envy. You get the point. So there comes this blended Japanese whiskey. Barely $50. Just as good as good as the fancier Japanese whiskies that come with engraved bottles, beautiful models holding it for Instagram worthy poses ( I’m looking at you Dekanta), and fancy Japanese hieroglyphics all over the wooden boxes. It offers up aromas of delicate flowers: think hyacinths and peonies. Probably from the grain? Palette is a bit more of darker fruits. Some sherry finished malt? Either way...damn good for a $50 Japanese whiskey. It’s been ages since I’ve opened anything new ( my buddies @LeeEvolved, @Telex, @Generously_Paul, @dubz480,and @Scott_E , @Richard-ModernDrinking ) have kept me supplied with a plethora of samples). I don’t think you can find this in the US or EU/UK...but if you see it for $50, grab it.

It’s Friday night which means one thing. Actually means a lot of things. Like checking my oldest’s homework that I assign her for the week (yes. That’s right...I assign her my own math, science and reading because our public schools teach at the lowest common denominator. Which doesn’t help when your kid will need to compete with those bright kids from India, Singapore, China, Norway, Finland, and pretty much 50 other countries with better public schools than ours). Friday night also means sitting back and watching Netflix. Today...season 3 of that ball busting, ass kicking, whiskey drinking hottie Jessica Jones. But most importantly, Friday night means I get to sit back and enjoy a pour. Now, watching Jessica Jones, one must strategically choose the right drink. Some pansy ass rose’ just won’t do. You need something stronger. So...was deciding between a pour of Booker’s Kentucky Chew, Elijah Craig Barrel Strength, or a Kavalan Solist Port cask. We’ll go with a pour of this Taiwanese beauty. It’s matured fully in port casks in the hot (but not as hot as Amrut’s Bangalore ) climate of Southeast Asia. It’s gotta be first fill. The color is dark, like that Crayola burnt sienna. Nose is amazing; sweet clotted cream and strawberries. The nose alone is 5 stars. The taste is down a notch, but still carries a sweet berry and burnt sugar taste. Really oily and viscous...I guess that 55+% ABV does that. I paid about $10 for a pour, but I think the full bottles are close to $300. Not sure I’d pay that much, but if you can find a pour, it’s really well worth it. You won’t be disappointed. Oh...and Jessica Jones has upgraded from Tincup whiskey to Michter’s...a respectable notch up.

I was back in CO last week, and had a free small pour courtesy of the hotel bar lady. One of the benefits of staying at the same hotel is that the staff knows you, and offers free amenities ( water, drinks, breakfast, upgraded room when available, etc). I had this before a while back, but was hoping a 2nd try would change my opinion. It didn’t. This is just like the way I used to like my dates back in college: hot, young, and bland, devoid of any personality. Not sure it warrants any other time typing...so will end the review there...

Oh this is good. Dirty good. It’s like that girl in chemistry class. She had her hair up. Glasses. Sweater and long skirt. Usually you saw her in lab, wearing those lab goggles and lab coat. One fine evening, she’s at a University of Michigan party. Unrecognizable...hair down, no glasses, T-shirt and shorts. Polar opposite than the young woman pipetting in lab. That’s this Balvenie. I normally associate Balvenie as mild, heather scented, and pretty straight and narrow. Not this Balvenie. It’s sooty, dirty. The aroma is like charcoal, moves to mossy taste, like wet earth, but with the sweet backbone. The heather character is still at its center and part of the Balvenie DNA, but the sooty makeover really makes it shine. Highly recommended. Thanks @LeeEvolved for this pour!