Tastes

We (as in @pkingmartin , @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington , @Richard-ModernDrinking and @ctbeck11 ) had our quarterly online tasting. This was one of the spectacular pours of the evening. The other four were 1) Bardstown Chateau Laubade batch 1 2) Craigellechie 13 Armagnac finished , 3) Barrell 20yr Seagrass, and 4) 15yr Jacob’s Well. This was one of my contributions for the tasting. Just looking back at my previous Diageo special releases for Lagavulin, I noticed I gave an earlier version high marks as well ( 2017 I think), which was also a refill oak cask. I always feel as if Lagavulin really shines in a refill oak cask. It truly allows the spirit essence to come through with minimal cask influences. And a cask strength version allows more horsepower to the aromas. This is all sea air, brine, and minerals. We saved this one for last, and thankfully so. The brine and smoke would’ve corrupted the other tastings. Nose is sea spray, wet stones, smoked herring. Taste is briny, citrus, smoke, seaweed, herbs like thyme and tarragon. For about $150, it’s a pricey 12 yr old. But I felt as if it’s better than the standard Lag 16, and best of the Lag 12 annual releases so far.

We (as in @pkingmartin , @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington , @Richard-ModernDrinking and @ctbeck11 ) had our quarterly online tasting. This was one of the spectacular pours of the evening. It’s courtesy of @pkingmartin. The other four were 1) 2021 Lagavulin 12, 2) Craigellechie 13 Armagnac finished , 3) Barrell 20yr Seagrass, and 4) 15yr Jacob’s Well. I’ve heard accolades of this first batch of Laubade. Apparently, the casks used were from very old, as in 40yr+, Armagnac. That combined with juice from a 12yr MGP was marriage made in heaven. Nose is leather and dark cherries. Taste takes you to old leather bound books, in the middle of a tabacco shop. You get cedar wood, old books, dark cherries, and tabacco. Absolutely stunning!! The Armagnac makes its presence known, but doesn’t take over. Instead it adds another layer of complexity. I can’t believe these came out at $150, and I missed the opportunity to buy it. Now, on secondary, it’s well north of $1000. Thanks @pkingmartin for opening this and sharing!

I was really surprised by this one. Colorado, being at such high altitude and cold, I’d have imagined this young ( less than 5 yr old I think ) to be harsh and muddled. But the PX finishing seems to really round it out nicely. I bought this over to a friend’s place last night for dinner. Not ever have had this before, I was hoping it wouldn’t be a dud. Nose and palette are very dessert like. Creamy, raisins, sweet fruits. Made for a perfect post dinner dram. I believe I bought this years ago for $50. At that price, it’s a great affordable way to explore the lesser known of the Colorado whiskeys ( the well known being Stranahan’s).

I’ve not had many Chichibu’s, but the ones I’ve had have a certain subtle elegance about them, despite the age being usually in the single digits. It truly speaks to the art and craft of the master distiller. It’s done with passion and sense of pride. And yes, the prices are clearly indicative of its quality. Fortunately, mine was only a sample….I wasn’t ready to cough up the exorbitant secondary prices. And I didn’t win the ballot…so, resorted to settling for a 3cl sample. Nose is aromatic. Keeping the peat at bay surprisingly. Citrus and honey. Some hay. Palette is where the peat makes an appearance. It’s subtle, not like a Lag or Ardbeg. But you know it’s lurking there. The peat is well balanced against cedar, and some honey and florals. And mezcal…wow. This is really impressive. It’s like having a 25 yr old Caol Ila, with a dose of oriental sandalwood. Secondary is probably too high, but TWE still might have samples. Worth looking into.

I love tasting blind samples. It really puts aside any preconceived notions of age, hype and branding. This one here was sent by @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington , simply marked as 131.7 ABV. That’s close to hazmat territory, so I knew I will need to add some water. I did take a sip without water, but it was simply too strong. I needed to dilute. A teaspoon of water, and this dances with aromas of oak and oranges. Taste is marshmallows, orange, chocolate. Wow, it’s damn good. The finish just lingers. Definitely a bourbon. And I can cross out anything from TN. Of course that leaves wide open all the rest of US. With that heft and oak, my first guess would be Balcones. But no…this has elegance like Pierce Brosnan while Balcones is dirty pretty like Matthew McConaughey. I don’t think it’s Balcones. Something older. Am I tasting a George T Stagg? I’ve never had a BTAC, so I don’t know. But I would imagine a BTAC might be silkier. So…probably not. But who knows. Okay…final guess. Barrell Bourbon…like the Grey Label. Checks off the boxes: bourbon, oak driven, elegant, older. Peel back the label…and whoa. What is a Lucky Seven 14 yr old? Never heard of it till today, but a quick google search showed me I clearly slept on this one when it came out. Apparently was well received in the market. Thanks again @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington !

I always wondered if a cask finishing is done sometimes to hide a flaw. You know, like covering up something basic, and hopefully it’ll turn out good, but there’s something odd that makes folks question it. Like my friend from college “S”. You see, S dated this guy Ali for all 4 years of undergrad. He was from an ultra rich family in Pakistan. We kept telling her “ don’t get your hopes high, he’ll go back home and marry someone there. He’s super rich, why would he slog his ass here in the US like us middle class bums ?” But no…she goes ahead and gets a tattoo right below her bikini line, on her inner thigh, which was symbolically meant for only him to see. The tattoo was inked as “Ali”. Well, right after senior year, Ali leaves back to Pakistan, where he helped run the family business. S is devastated. But she also has a forever engraved name of the one person that made her cry on a daily basis. What does she do? She changes “Ali” to “CommonAlity”. I’m absolutely sure the next guy she dated had tons of questions, always wondering if there was some sort of a coverup. Like the whiskey in my glencairn tonight…except I’m having much less of an emotional damage than S. Despite having this while watching some woman getting a forced cesarean in the 1st episode of HBO’s House of Dragon. I purchased this bottle from the distillery itself back in May. Finally, I’m having it…after sharing it with so many folks already. Finally got around to it. This is a strange pour. Oxidation is certainly its friend. It seems as if it really needs time and some water to open up. Having it without some rest is just too rough. Seems disconnected. But with a few drops of water, it opens up to reveal some jammy berries and shortbread. Strawberry jam, some balsamic, and a lot of youthful heat. I think it’s super young, which is what they were trying to cover up with a cask finishing? For a distillery only bottling, I wish it were better. Not worth the price I paid unfortunately.

I had the base version of this, which is simply Smoke Wagon bourbon, and wasn’t impressed at all. In fact, I remember taking it on vacation to an AirBnB, and disliking it so much I left it there in the AirBnB. This uncut version is much better. But here’s the thing…it’s like crypto currency. Remember when bitcoin first came out? It was all the rage. Prices skyrocketed. But then there were countless others that followed in the same blockchain currency market. You had Elon-supported Dogecoin. Then Sol. Etheron. And dozens more. Then you had crazy NFTs of stupid looking apes that seemed like a kindergartner with an etch-a-sketch drew. Well, this here is like those crypto. When this first came out, I’m sure it was up there in novelty and the MGP mashbill you were getting, all at barrel proof. Now, there’s dozens more, at the same price. So, that novelty factor is out. Regardless, it’s still a good pour. Levels over their base. Nose is vanilla and caramel. On the palette, you get the oak, crème brûlée, and cinnamon nutmeg spice. I added some water, and the oak became more prominent, taking off a bit of the spice. Personally, I liked it with water. At about less than $65, this is a no-brainer. If it’s closer to $100, it’s a hard pass, and instead pick up Bookers. Thanks to @Scott_E for the pour! I was always meaning to try this, but hesitated purchasing a full bottle since I didn’t like their base. This is a whole other beast levels over their base product.

Bushmills. That very name brings back one particular memory. It was my business school days. It’s an automatic Pavlovian response. I hear Bushmills, and then this one particular memory from my MBA days come back. I was 24. Minding my own business, studying in the graduate school library., which was shared by the entire grad school across all their programs. This young woman is sitting across me, and we start chatting. She’s talking about research she’s looking into regarding some English lit. I assumed she was in the MS or PhD lit program. We chatted for hours that evening. Before heading out, I asked her out on a date. Was thrilled she agreed. So, the following weekend, I pick her up from her house, right outside the campus. I assumed ( wrong assumption #1) that she was living off campus with friends. We go to an Italian restaurant, all the while again having a great conversation. I ordered a Bushmills, and I assumed she’d like wine—-I asked her “red or white”?, she replies back “ I can’t drink”. I assumed she just doesn’t drink. Wrong assumption #2. Midway through dinner, she mentions how she’s so afraid of upcoming PSATs. I froze right then. “PSATs? Is that some graduate literature thing?”. “No. It’s the test you take in your junior year of high school”. Holy shit. I’m driving you right back home. Crap. Get in the car, and you need to get back home. Apparently she was in the grad school library looking up research articles…in my defense, I had no idea that smart high schoolers come there for research. Anyway…this 16 year old Bushmills bought back that memory. This Bushmills is in a totally different experience than the one ages ago. I’m sharing this with friends of similar age. This is rich in aromas. Cherry and tropical fruits. Palette is fruits layered with milk chocolate. Amazing… not sure of the price, I’m only have a pour at a friend’s. But I notice this is 40%. Too bad…this would be a notch up if it were higher ABV. So…net/net: it’s a whiskey worth having this with friends or family…not high school women researching articles in a grad school library.

I feel as if Mitchell’s Spot series are the Marvel movies of the whiskey world. Just when you think you’ve seen one superhero movie, which was pretty good, they come out with a bunch more that are also pretty good. But at some point, enough is enough …I’m then super hero’ed out and want something totally different. I find all they’re doing is more of the same…just a different superpower. I feel as if I’m there with these Spot series. I’m right at the point of “enough already…all you’re doing is simply increasing the price and adding a new frickin color”. This is the newest Spot. Nine years in bourbon, Sherry, Bordeaux wine, and port pipes. Hefty 51%. I only am having a pour…was actually astonished to find this sitting on the shelf at an upscale Asian fusion restaurant in Kauai. From my understanding, it’s not a regular lineup, but quite limited. Not sure if the bottle count. Pineapples. That’s all I get on the nose. Plenty of pineapples. It’s like I’m in sitting in the middle of a Dole pineapple field. Not that it’s a bad thing. I love pineapples..so, yeah, I’m good. But if you’re not a fan of the yellow temptress of the fruit kingdom, move on. This is a head on full body and mind immersion into pineapples. On a side note—-did you know there’s such thing as a white pineapple? It’s sweeter, less acidic, and you can eat the damn core! Anyway…back to this…palette is a bit less on the pineapple, more on bread and bakery goods. Some fruit…peaches…Sherry and red berries ( from the port pipe?). Nice balance of red fruit, baked goods, with added heft from the ABV. Overall, this is really good. I only had a pour, but if the price is right ( <$100), I would buy a bottle. It’s a toss up between this and the Blue Spot…all comes down to preference. This is a bit fruity, Blue is a bit richer.