Tastes

Thanks to @The_Rev , I got a generous sample to try this. With my regular trips to Denver, I’ve been meaning to actually visit Stranahan’s, but my schedule generally only involves office to hotel back to office. Till then, this will have to do. I believe that the most noteworthy American single malt distilleries are Westland and Stranahan’s...the others can’t even come close. Products like this will just continue to get better as it ages more in the barrels. This one brings flavors of brown sugar, some mint, marzipan. Well made, but young...can do with some age to take off the roughness and slightly bitter finish. Till this ages, I’m going to instead try their sherry cask, which I’ve heard is better, but what I’d really like to get my hands on is their annual Snowflake, which is reportedly amazing enough to have lines overnight. Thanks @The_Rev for the pour!

Another free pour last night, courtesy of a tasting hosted by Gary’s Wines, while offering a lottery for Pappy 20. This was one of the highlights of the night, and probably best overall value at $40. Tasted blind, I really would’ve thought I was having Elijah Craig barrel proof, or one of the Four Roses single barrels. Amazingly complex, with a lingering ginger-vanilla taste. Out of the five I tried, I placed this as #2, but best bang-for-your-buck. ( my ranking was store version of a 15 yr old Barrell bourbon, then this New Riff Single Barrel, Blanton’s, Jefferson’s Rum, and finally Makers Mark)

Had a small bit last night at a tasting hosted by Gary’s Wines, while they held a lottery for a single bottle of Pappy 20. I was surprisingly disappointed in this. Seemed weak and muted,but wondering if it’s because I had it right after a really good Barrell Bourbon. I should have another go at it, but honestly...if the first impression doesn’t wow you, why bother paying for a second one?

I had a small pour of this courtesy of a tasting at a local store that was holding a lottery for a Pappy 20. Good news: this is damn good. Was priced around $80. Strong notes of cherry cola, butterscotch and vanilla. Bad news: I didn’t win the Pappy

It’s Friday...which means one thing. Actually a few things, but only one thing I look forward to. A nice dram to cap off a week. Finally opened up this unique rye. I took a wee sip, will take a much bigger dram this evening of course. This rye isn’t for everyone, but if you enjoy rye and you love full bodied low tannic reds, this has your name all over it. I guess initially I anticipated something like High West Midwinter, but easily accessible and reasonably priced. It’s no where close to Midwinter. Sure both are finished in wine, but they’re as different as they can be. Whereas Midwinter evokes Christmas, this reminded me of visiting a Napa merlot winery. You get the spicy rye upfront, with surprisingly tempered heat, but the finish is where the red wine kicks in. In my opinion, it balances out the spice and makes the heat smoother. Red wine finishing for rye is always risky. Both are strong in their own right, and either you’ll get a tug of war mess, or it’ll be a nice partnership. It’s good to see both play well here, neither calling for attention over the other. It’s a unique rye, and at $50, worth it.

I’m going outside my one dram / week by having this special 25 yr Talisker tonight. My birthday, so with every passing year it’s a celebration to be alive, with a great family and a relatively decent life. I’ve made it a point to have a top shelf whisky every birthday; as we get older it’s due time to reflect on all the things for which to be thankful. This one comes courtesy of @LeeEvolved. A quarter century Talisker, about as top shelf as you can get. I think this is the 2015 version. The nose is impressive: salted caramels, some brine. Actually...I’m getting mostly all salted caramels, can’t ask for a better nose. Taste takes the salted caramels down a notch, and the brine comes out more. It’s much more elegant and refined version of the 10, and even the 18 for that matter. Truthfully I expected more elegance. My benchmark for the two over 20 yr olds has been the Hibiki 21 and Macallan 25. Both had that silkiness that this lacked. But, I’m nitpicking at this point. Still a damn good dram.

My one dram a week...really makes you look forward to it. For tonight, the remainder 1 ounce from a 2 ounce sample that was sent by my buddy @LeeEvolved. I had given this 4 stars the first go-around, and this time sticking to the same four stars. I actually didn’t like the Aberlour Abundadh, thought it was a bit heavy on the sherry, and tasted like cherry NyQuil. This version is milder. Roasted nuts and dried fruits on the nose. Dates and figs on the palette. Leaves a lingering finish of dried nuts, with a tinge of heat. This is nothing earth shattering, and it doesn’t have to be. It’s just plain, solid and well made daily type of dram.

This and the Talisker GoT were the only ones I was personally interested in having. This is simply a classic Lagavulin. If you enjoyed the 8 yr old, it’s similar. Smoky embers on the onset, strong vanilla backbone (which I’m a bit surprised at...didn’t see that coming), and burnt ashes. Considering how smoky this is, I would’ve thought it would’ve been Daenerys’ Taragarean dragons. Either way, so much better than that piss poor JW White Walker. This was good enough for me to buy a bottle after trying the free sample. Even if it had nothing to do with GoT, I’d still have bought it. For $65, it’s worth it.

With the exception of the 2018 Port Cask, Kilchoman has generally been either a “good” to “damn good” across all their lines. This one is no exception. Instead of a full maturation in sweet dessert Sauternes, it’s just 5 months above it’s 5 year age. Aroma is sweet smoke embers, palette follows closely of smoke and white petit grapes. Lingering smoky sweet finish. My pour sat out for an entire 1 hour through my business dinner, and it simply got better as the minutes went by. What started out as hot and sweet fiery slowly faded throughout the hour into smoky sweet. This is simply excellent. Kilchoman: you more than made up for that Port Cask screw up.