Tastes

@Richard-ModernDrinking and I attended a Beam Suntory whiskey event tonight in central NJ, and this was offered in the master class as a pre-release item. For me, this and the Bookers 2x2 (which will be released tomorrow ) were the highlight of the evening. And the fried chicken. Screw the whiskey, the fried chicken was the highlight. Anyway...I digress. Can’t recall the tasting notes...but it was good enough for me to think “I need to look this up”. Update: just had another pour courtesy of a local shop...ended up buying a bottle. Half way through 2018, and I may have found my Rye of the Year. That too, at only $65.

Refined and classy. That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I had this. At $200/bottle, I sure as heck expected a 5 star experience, and this delivered in spades. Whereas the younger Lags are more medicinal and a bit brutish, this is better balanced. Grassy, pears, and smoke. But really well integrated, where each component plays well with the other, without one taking center stage. There’s about 6000 of these bottles floating around...and that may not seem like a big number, but it’s fairly large enough to get your hands on one without the scarcity markup. It’s $200 well spent. In terms of single malts or “limited releases”, you can do a hellava lot worse for $200, but not much better.

Thanks to my friend @LeeEvolved , I got a sample of this precious beauty. I simply can’t sit here and review a masterpiece like this. Who am I to review or critique something like this?. It’s as if looking at a Picasso and commenting on his use of cubism, despite me failing high school art. Or commenting on a Bugatti’s torque, despite my having a minivan. Just not right. So...with that said...all I’m going to say is “thanks Lee for this...hands down a piece of art”.

This is a hand filled distillery only 14 yr old that’s matured exclusively in PX casks. It’s in a much smaller 375ml bottle, about $60. At first pour, I was surprised that the color wasn’t dark. I guess I expected a much darker hue if it’s in PX cask. But, it is NCF and No-coloring...so maybe weaker casks? Nose isn’t much to write home about. Oysters and brine. Weak at best. But, the palette...that’s different. Sweet lemon cake. Real sweet..almost like a white wine spritzer. This would be PERFECT on a hot summer afternoon. Think wine spritzer, with a dash of grilled lemons, in a salt brim glass. Finish is shortbread cookies. Sweet. Really sweet. Personally I loved it, but it’s not an everyday dram. Save it for a hot muggy night or sweltering hot afternoons. Addition: I normally take 2 hours to finish a pour of 2 ounces. This one took me 15 minutes tops. It’s so much like dessert.

This pour is courtesy of @LeeEvolved as part of our round 6 of the SDT tour ( one more round to go, and we’ll have covered very active distillery in Scotland). For $36, you can do a lot worse for NAS, or you can do a lot better if you go outside Scotland single malt. Not bad for a single malt...weak nose typical of the dried fruit from sherry cask; taste of quickly fading hazelnuts and oak. A bit of marzipan. Wow..the finish is bitter. Lemon rinds. Honestly..if you really want a single malt $36 isn’t too much of a price for this. That said, there’s nothing really noteworthy. You have other options: fork over a bit more and get a damn good blend ( Compass Box core ranges, the amazing JW Green), or get American ( Rittenhouse rye, Wyoming whiskey); heck..push comes to shove...walk over to the wine aisle and grab an amazing Oregon Pinot while saving $20 off the $36 price of this. In summary: not bad...but you can do better for $36-40 range

Thanks to @Richard-ModernDrinking, I got to sample a pour of this. As fiery and in-your-face is the Laphroaig 10, this is equally austere and refined. It’s muted in the intensity, but that’s not to be confused with dull. It’s replaced the brute force of a kick boxer to a more elegant beauty of a tai chi fighter. You still get the peat, the medicinal band-aids, and the brine...but it’s second fiddle to some oak, mesquite, and citrus. Nicely put together. Thanks Richard!

One more sample as part of our SDT tour, this one provided by @Telex , my celebrity internet friend with a unique penchant for knowing the most number of music titles. I envy that. Since I was 13, I only listened to NPR and Bloomberg. Sure...I can rattle off A bipartisan argument on why North Korean nuclear disarmament will not happen because of regional destabilizing impacts, or I can make a case for why higher interest rates is a due reason to buy short to inter-mediate bonds, but damn if I know a title from any billboard top 50. Made for a rather unpopular high school years. Anyway...I digress. So...this sample: in the words of Thoreau...why does this even exist? No reason for it’s existence taking up shelf space. Acknowledge and move on.

Another one down in our SDT tour, round 6 out of 7 ( one more round, then a deep cleansing involving green tea and milk thistle). This one provided courtesy of @LeeEvolved. Nothing unique in this one...just some honey and hay. For $70, why would anyone buy this when it’s just a bit of mild honey and hay? You can get better flavors out of a Balvenie 12 for a bit less. This should not exist as a single malt. Acknowledge and move on.

In my personal humble opinion, Kilchoman is one of the rare few distilleries that I’ve consistently ranked either a 4 or 5 star. I think aside from Springbank, Ardbeg, Yoichi, Yamazaki and Lagavulin, there really isn’t another that just time after time performs up there. Thanks to @LeeEvolved, I got to try this Islay beauty. Lee, I know you’ll disapprove, but I had to pull a @Generously_Paul and add water. Was way too intense for me otherwise. With water, nose is quite interesting; marzipan, engine grease, seaweed. Fresh and vibrant. Palette comes alive with salted kippers ( herring that’s smoked over wood chips). Peppery finish, not hot, but like sishito peppers. Another solid 4 star performer for me. Thanks Lee! ( on a side note, Kilchoman just came out with their portwood edition...will be interesting to see the effect of sweet port to its briny style).