Tastes

This was a part of a bonus offering by my Motor City buddy @Generously_Paul in our final SDT round 7. I know he went through quite a bit to procure this—his magic fingers put Google search engines working overtime. This comes across as quite elegant and refined, yet humble...strawberries and cream on the nose, followed by light milk chocolate and a wisp of fruits on the palette. It’s aged really well...I would’ve expected more of the oak to carry through, but no...retains the fruity backbone. Nicely done. Thanks Paul.

Following in the footsteps of @Generously_Paul and @LeeEvolved , I decided to give this a go tonight. This is a pour courtesy of @LeeEvolved , who went above and beyond in supplying this sample considering the rarity and price tag. I firmly believe there’s a reason why some of these distilleries closed. During a downturn, they probably couldn’t compete for whatever reasons (flavor profile, price, supply chain issues, etc) with other players. During boom times, even lousy ones survive...but during bust, the weeding out process begins. We had three closed distilleries so far on our tour...Pittyvaich, Imperial, and now this. Pittyvaich was just ‘meh’. Haven’t had Imperial yet. This one here...well...let’s see. Nose seems to be that of old books in a dusty library. In a good way. Like something ancient and elegant. That profile though doesn’t carry through the taste. Taste is...strange. Not sure how to place it...plastic-y, vegetal, sulphur-y. Not a fan. Normally, I’d give this a 2 star—-I liked the aroma, palette was a dismal failure. But boosting it up a notch to 3 because of the rarity. It’s one of those that’s simply not easy to come by without forking over some significant green. Thanks Lee for this!

Jesus...my 3rd attempt in trying to a review...really hating these new updates. Wondering why these updates were needed? Anyway...trying one last time...else will call it quits for the day...this here is a sample from my friend @Scott_E as part of our final round. A locally made bourbon from Long Island. I’m a huge fan of craft distilleries, it’s a pure blood, sweat and tears effort. Some are great and make it big (Westland). Others are one man shops that need some ways to go (Deerhammer). This falls in the latter category. Nothing special, decent...but I’d not pay over $25. $10 more, and you can do better. $10 less, and you can still do better if walk over to the wine aisle.

After 3 attempts on mobile...giving this one more shot through the iPad. Not sure I’m a fan of these new updates...but it’s free, sans ads, and I might be okay with that. Till I’m not. Anyway...this is the first one out of the gate on our final round of this distillery tour. Courtesy of @Scott_E. After reading @Generously_Paul “s review, I totally agree. It’s really not worth the money, far from it. Weak...almost an apple juice with a touch of barley. Keep it as a blend to mix with whatever the kids mix it with nowadays.

This was one of my offerings in our final round of the SDT tour between @LeeEvolved @Telex @Scott_E and @Generously_Paul . I don’t think I ever had this single grain before. In fact, I never even heard of it. I really like the nose on this one...ripe fruits galore. Like bananas, peaches, and kiwi. Taste: can’t really feel the 50+ABV heat. Gentle on the palette, with a slight lingering heat. Palette hits you with baked fresh bread, oats, ripe bananas. Really a great summer time dram—-light, fruity, cereal, without a strong layer of heat. I paid about $100 for this. Definitely not worth it at that price.

I don’t get it. Why would this be limited to outside the US only? Makes no sense...this can be right up there with Elijah Craig single barrel cask strength or Four Roses LESB releases. Amazing aroma of sweet caramel, oranges, and some oak. Taste doesn’t pull any punches...thick viscous, oranges and brown sugar. Some heat...with a lingering long orange citrus finish. Till today, I think the best bourbon I’ve had was the Four Roses 2016 LESB, but this falls close second. Thanks @Dreaming-of-Islay for the pour!

You always remember your first. The first girl you dated. The first car you bought. Your first paycheck from your first real job. Your first A+ ( well, in my case, I always got A+, but I remember my first and only D ). So, this is my first 3 star on Kilchoman. I was actually really excited to try this; was hoping for that peat-port magic to bring out the smoky embers and fruity flavors. Just seems like it’s not well integrated. I’m really not getting the base Kilchoman taste, nor am I getting that peat-port magic. It’s a bit of a mess. I can’t believe mess and Kilchoman are in the same sentence, but yeah...my first Kilchoman I truly disliked. On a side note...the only 4 or 5 star distilleries for me , across all their product lines that I’ve tried, seem now to be Springbank, Yamazaki, Lagavulin, Talisker and Ardbeg. Kilchoman just fell today.

Retasted Jul-13: needs to open up a bit and get some oxidation going..then the elegance does come out

Another sample I bought with me on a business trip to Orlando. This again is courtesy of @Richard-ModernDrinking. Between 31, 68, and this one, my favorite so far was 31. This has a nice fruity palette, almost like lemon drops. Given a choice between the regular Artist blend and this one, I’d pick this a hair above the regular. Thanks Richard!

Thanks to @Richard-ModernDrinking, I took this sample with me to Orlando on a business trip—-thought it would be a good reprieve after long hours in the office. I had previously the Highland version, which I found a more complex dram. This one came across lighter, more subtle...maybe suited for mix drinks? Interesting experiment. Thanks Richard!