Tastes

I wish Distiller had a rating beyond 5 stars. Something called " I'll remember this one 25 years down the line". I honestly can't recall ones I've had a week or two back, but there are my top 5 that I'll remember 25 years later. Those top 5 are experiences that you'll remember for decades. For me, it's been a Brora 30, High West Midwinter, Yamazaki 18, Hibiki 21, and now this Macallan 15 Fine Oak. I need to get a full bottle of this one. Thanks to Davie---not for just a sample, but for one that I'll remember for years to come. The aroma is vanilla and freshly cut oak. Taste follows through nicely with brown sugar, honey, oranges. Really take small sips, you'll savor it more that way. I had it with a small round ice. Bought out more chocolate flavors. Finish is back to the fresh cut oak and orange peels. Definitely need to pick up a full bottle.

We all stereotype. Yes, it's human. After my last few Canadians (Crown Royal Northern Harvest and Crown Royal Noble Collection), I was led to believe all Canadian whiskey is affordable and very good. Stereotyping. It's like assuming just because macaroons, mousse, and cassoulet are good French dishes, all French cuisine must be good. Till you run into the Ortolan (Google it...horrifying ). This here is pretty bad. First of all, let's talk about how it's made. It's about 90% of 50/50 rye from a pot still and column still. The other 8-9% or so is from bourbon. And the remaining 1% from Sherry. Not Sherry cask, but actual Sherry. As in the wine itself. I can imagine the Nazi like Scotch whisky association screaming blasphemy. So what does it taste like? Like when a bunch of frat boys decide to mix their leftover liquor to create the next evening special. I had this at a local tasting, where the guy was selling me on the point that it's one of the few whiskies under $30. The kicker was that he had this tasting along with Crown Royal Northern. Sort of like good Canadian and bad Canadian. The only positive is the color. Really nice mahogany dark tea like color. They might as well have injected 0.5% squid ink for the color. Just for kicks.

High West, if nothing else, does have a knack for making the sum of its parts greater than the individual. Midwinter really blew me away, probably one of the top 5 of my all time favorites. This one is good, but not anywhere close to Midwinter. While the signature in Midwinter was the Christmas mulling spices, this one's calling card is maraschino cherries. If I were to rank my top ryes, it would be clearly Midwinter by far as #1, followed by Crown Royal Noble Collection. This might round out out my top 5 ryes...but I've only had 5 ryes...

Considering this is all grain blend, it's really silky smooth. My very few experiences with grain whiskey (Nikka and Teeling) have been unimpressive because of the rough edges. I think what Glaser has done here is prove that not all grain is harsh i f blended correctly. This is definately a hot weather sipper---you get coconuts, vanilla and butter smooth creaminess. Finish is short and smooth. Now---if we pivot to value for money...I'm not sure this is a convincing buy considering it's all grain, little to no complexity. Instead his Great King street is a much better VFM. If you look at the numbers, data kind of proves the VFM. Price per avg rating is 18 in Great King st, while 19 here. (Lower the number, the better VFM)

I remember back as a geeky chemical engineering major in college, I was dating this one girl who was the nicest, sweetest human being. She was also stunningly gorgeous. But...she was at a all girls college in a rural part of the state, which had a dozen others that looked like her. Her value there I'm sure was minimized because everyone was good looking. When she started hanging out with us engineers, she stood out like a gem amongst coal pieces. That there is Lot 40. For years, this whiskey never got its true credit. It probably was overshadowed by the Scots, Americans, occasional Taiwanese Kavalans and Indian Amruts. But, it's a gem. Probably one of my top 3rye based whiskies (along with Midwinter, and Crown Royal Noble). It's slowly creeping up in price, so might be worthwhile to get it while it's still reasonable.

These notes are from memory---I bought a bottle about 8 months ago, at a colleague's recommendation. I think it's discontinued now. On to the notes----I really wish I was a fly on the wall at Amrut's creativity lab. I am so sure those chaps there first smoke something mind enhancing , and then come up with these ideas. Their Intermediate sherry was where it starts off in bourbon, then sherry, back to bourbon, all the while shipping back and forth from Spain to Bangalore. Another one of theirs was sent to mature at a small island in northern Germany. And now this. I can imagine some guy in the Amrut lab sitting in a chair, smoking mind enhancing products, and then "dude, what if we take slabs from 6 different woods, krazy glue them together, and mature our stuff in there?" And there you have it...Spectrum. Or better known as Bat S**t Crazy Experiment #4. That aside, this is a pretty solid drink. I remember the nose was all over the place, from red wine to candy apples. Taste was thick and sweet. Walnuts and pecans, roasted marshmallows, a bit of sea salt (??? Bangalore isn't anywhere close to the ocean!!). Finish is long and lingering of Christmas spices and cardamon. Now that I think of it, all of Amruts have that cardamon finish. I gotta google map them, I'm sure there's a cardamon plantation close by their distillery. Looking forward to another experiment of theirs. In fact, I think they should open up a contest to see who can come up with the next crazy idea, and the next whiskey will be named after them. I'll partake if they provide the mind altering smoking products.

If there is one time you need to add water or ice, this is IT! Without dilution, it's just pure fire. With water or ice, it's calmer. Nose is definately peat, lemons and smoke. But the taste isn't as complex as some of its Scottish Islay counterparts. I think Bangalore, India just doesn't have the climate to support the complexity that's needed for peat. I've had Amruts before, and loved them...This one had the peat smoke but not the layers of complexity. It's a good whiskey, just not worth seeking it out or paying more than a much better Laphroaig 10 or Ardbeg 10

Lemons and smoke. I can keep smelling this. In fact, I wish they'd make this into a cologne, and marketed by David Beckham. Oh wait, he's pushing that god awful Haig club whisky. Unfortunately the nose doesn't carry through into the palette. A bit astringent and not as smooth as their DE , 15 or even the 10. Finish is long and a bit burning. Given the price tag of about $60, not sure it's worth it. 10 is a better VFM. I did notice though, after some time out breathing for about 15 min, it opens up to a bit of more sweetness. Still...questioning the VFM