Tastes

The nose is rich starting with a mix of lime zest on top of coconut macaroon and old oak then dark chocolate covered peanut brittle followed by fruits of orange sherbet, apple pie filling and maraschino cherries that transitions to spearmint, cloves, vintage leather and polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of lime zest on top of coconut macaroon and old oak then a high drying, bitter and chalky spice overwhelms the flavors before eventually fading to dark chocolate covered caramel peanut clusters followed by fruits of orange sherbet, apple lollipop and maraschino cherries that transitions to spearmint, cloves, vintage leather and moderate ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate covered peanut clusters, Granny Smith apple peel, sour cherries, spearmint, cloves and moderate ashy oak. The nose was very promising with some bold traditional bourbon flavors, citrus and old oak, but the taste betrayed me with that high drying bitter chalkiness that overpowers all the other flavors until it finally fades to let them start to emerge. At the cost of around $100, I’d pass as there are plenty of other options that are far better and cost less than this one.

The nose starts with a Twix candy bar dunked in a glass of sherry then buttermilk biscuits topped with heavily peppered gravy followed by toasted walnuts, fruits of freeze dried grapes, baked apple, and orange creamsicle that transitions to cloves, light leather and polished oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with creamy butterscotch pudding and stewed orchard fruits before quickly veering towards a medium spicy dark chocolate mocha that slowly fades to toasted walnuts, fruits of prunes, baked apple pie, and orange zest that transition to cloves, light leather and moderate ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate, musty grape, grapefruit, burnt walnuts, mild sulfur, cloves and lightly ashy oak. This is a very enjoyable whisky that managed to combine those sherry and bourbon casks well, but is slightly spicier on the palate than I’d prefer and the 40% ABV thins those fruity flavors. I like this a lot more than the other French whisky I’ve tried from Brenne and think with a higher ABV and some age this can be something incredible. A huge thank you to @Richard-ModernDrinking for the generous sample.

When I first started exploring whisky, I’d ask others for suggestions and would often receive the guidance to try Johnnie Walker Blue as it was one of their favorites. I decided to not just jump to the top and slowly made my way through their lineup by finding them at a bar. Finding all the colors turned into a whisky scavenger hunt but I eventually found every color except Blue. Tracking down a pour of Blue, at a reasonable price, seemed to be my white whale as every restaurant or bar would either have it priced far too high or a reasonable price that would unfortunately result with them kindly opening the flap to the box revealing an empty bottle inside as others had taken advantage of their price well before me. Not until dining out one night for Thai was my quest finally completed as they pulled down that Blue box, opened the flap and revealed that a half bottle remained with a very reasonable price. As the glass made its way to our table, I rejoiced in the completion of that 5 color Johnnie puzzle in my liver and savored every velvety sip as I found it to be my favorite of the lineup at the time. It’s been over 14 years and countless bottles since that drink and now time to revisit this one. The nose is fairly rich starting with a mix of old oak, lychee fruit and pickled ginger then milk chocolate covered raisins and macadamia nuts that transition to a light smoke background with fruits of plums, poached pears and charred lemon before spices finish with cloves, nutmeg, leather and freshly lacquered oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin to medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of slightly ashy oak, charred lemon and pickled ginger then milk chocolate covered raisins and pistachio that transitions a light spicy and smoky background with fresh baked banana bread, poached pears and lychee before spices finish with cloves, nutmeg, leather and polished old oak with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with gooseberry, lychee fruit, milk chocolate raisins, candied nuts, pickled ginger, light peat smoke, leather and light oak. This is an expertly balanced and gentle dram that manages to bring in old oak, citrus and light spices, but that 40% seems to really lighten the flavors and thin the mouthfeel. This would likely be incredible with just a few more percentage points and I can see why I enjoyed it so much when I first started exploring whisky as the only real flaw is those thin light flavors. With a $230 price tag around me, I don’t see myself picking up a bottle of this as my tastes have gravitated towards higher proof flavor bombs that cost less than Blue, but I likely would have found the higher proof offerings overpowering back when starting this hobby.

I’m not sure if there are batch differences as there seems to be a batch on Distiller for every year, so I’ll include here that this is the 2019 batch. This is my first Kilchoman and a huge thank you to @ctbeck11 for giving me the bottle. The nose is soft and light starting with a mix of gentle wafts of peat smoke, caramelized peach and lime zest then lemon poppy seed muffins and cocoa powder dusted toasted nuts followed by kiwi and oven baked salted orange that transition to ginger, fresh opened bandages and a tongue depressor with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a fruity smoky mix of light puffs of pipe smoke intermixed with grilled caramelized peach with lime zest on top then lemon frosted vanilla Angel food cake that then veers towards a chalky and moderate ashy spice that quickly fades to kiwi, passion fruit and orange sports drink that transition to pickled ginger, fresh opened bandages and a tongue depressor with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with lemon lime Popsicle, smoldering campfire, a salty ocean breeze and light oak. Overall, this is an easy sipping fruity whisky that brings a very gentle peat smoke that is well-balanced, but is a bit youthful and thin. For a young whisky, this shows a lot of promise for their stock as they age and I’d very much like to taste their expressions at a higher proof with an older age statement. Side by side with another young Islay of Ardbeg Wee Beastie, the Wee Beastie has a creamier mouthfeel and the Kilchoman seems more like a peated version of lemon lime Gatorade. At around $67 for the Kilchoman and $47 for the Wee Beastie, I’d rather bring home the Beastie, but if someone wanted a gentler peat smoke, the Kilchoman would probably be the better option.

My barrel was distilled on 12/12/2011, dumped on 07/08/2020 then bottled on 7/29/2020. It was barrel # 20-0465 that aged in warehouse B on floor 4. The nose is rich starting with a mix of dusty oak, fronds of dill and fresh popped popcorn with a caramel drizzle on top then chocolate covered peanuts followed by fruits of sour caramel apple lollipop, orange zest and maraschino cherries that transitions to moderate spices of spearmint, cloves, light leather and dusty oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of dusty oak, dill and orange pudding then dark chocolate covered peanuts followed by a moderate drying spice that fades fruits of sour apple jolly rancher and Morello cherry jam on charred toast that transitions to spearmint, black pepper, cloves, light leather and slightly ashy oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with caramel apple, Nutella on charred whole wheat toast, fronds of dill, spearmint, light leather and dusty oak. Overall, this is a solid bourbon that is slightly thinner with a higher spice than I prefer, but still comes together extremely well. These are single barrels so YMMV, but at the cost of around $60 it’s hard to beat this outside of an OF1920 and are much better than most of the celebrity swills or NDP in overpriced packaging being released today.

So this appears to have been aged in in American white oak ex-Bourbon barrels before being divided between five red wine casks: Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to then age for a further 5 years, then bottled at 45%. Apparently Richard Patterson has a passion for wine, but I don’t think this blend makes any sense outside of talking about how many wines you crammed into a whisky. I asked my wife to utilize her WSET Level 3 certificate to explain why someone would create a wine blend with all those grapes and she was stumped. Alas, Sir Richard Patterson show me your expert skills and make me a believer in this one. The nose starts with old oak front and center with the wine casks bringing some baked sour berries and a dusting of powdered sugar to keep everything in check before a creamy milk chocolate with toasted nuts that quickly leans towards a fruit salad of citrus, musty grapes and dark berries that transitions to a vintage antique leather wrapped armchair with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with old oak, moderately soured baked dark berries and a powdered sugar sweetness that quickly veers toward a high bitter, sour and drying earthy spice that eventually fades to dark chocolate orange, blackberry jam and sour cherries that transition to dusty old attic floors with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a high bitter ashy oak, fruits of some light citrus and berry notes and dark chocolate. The nose was so promising with a balance of old oak, dark berries, citrus, and light sweetness, but the taste went from an enjoyable oaky berry pie to really just a high bitter sour mix that ruined the balance before fading to chocolate and fruits before finishing medium length with chalky ash and light fruits in the background. Overall, this is still a fairly enjoyable dram that I wish had a better balance without those overpowering high bitter flavors that prevented those dark berry flavors and old oak from really coming together well. Side by side with my Springbank 12 Batch 21 that has some ex-Burgundy and ex-Port cask influence, the Springbank delivers those rich berry flavors from the wine casks in a far better structured and balanced experience. This in no way deserves the $1k+ price tag and there are plenty of other options out there to provide a better whisky experience for far less.

The nose starts with a sour and bitter mix of dark berries and sherry followed by milk chocolate candy bar with toasted hazelnuts then fruits of sour cherries, Granny Smith apple peel and orange juice that transition to moderate barrel spices of cloves, ginger, and dusty attic floors with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel that starts with a pleasant fruity and floral mix of dark berries, orchard fruit and light orange blossom that quickly turns moderately bitter with a high drying spice that slowly fades to dark chocolate orange, apple chips, toasted hazelnuts and a moderate ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate orange, light floral notes, apple chips, powdered ginger, burnt cloves and moderate ashy oak. The nose on this is slightly offensive with those wine and sherry barrels causing a sour and bitter flavor mix before sweet earthy and nutty notes that fade to sour citrus and dusty wood. The taste started promising with a really enjoyable floral, red berry and orchard fruit mix but was quickly overpowered by a bitter high spice that almost never ended until thankfully some light fruits and nuts emerged along with ashy oak that finishes drying and ashy with chocolate, citrus and light floral notes. The mixture of aging in American white oak ex-bourbon casks, Matusalem oloroso sherry casks and Cabernet Sauvignon barriques seems to have created a sour, bitter and spicy mixture that I personally find overwhelming and drying. At the price of $200 around me, this is a hard pass for me and much better whisky can be found for far less.

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Finishing off my Springbank series, I have a 26-year single cask release by The Whisky Exchange that was bottled at 44.6%. This was very tight when I first opened it and needed around an hour to get through that old-oak wall before the citrus and creamy notes started to emerge. Now that it’s opened up, time to dive in. The nose is big and rich that starts with a mix of old oak, moderate wheat field funk and combination of mango, papaya and prickly pear cactus followed a moderate smoke with an ocean breeze that fades to the background of vanilla meringues, fruits of lychee, poached pear and candied orange peel that transitions to cavernous minerality, pickled ginger, suede and polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a rich and creamy mouthfeel that starts with a mix of old oak, moderate wheat field funk and combination of mango, papaya and prickly pear cactus followed by a light ashy spice that slowly fades to the background of vanilla creme brûlée, fruits of lychee, pear tart and mandarin orange that transitions to cavernous minerality, pickled ginger, suede and polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with sautéed apples, pear tart, red grapefruit, frosted vanilla cupcake, ocean brine, prickly pear cactus candy, light campfire ash, suede and old polished oak. Wow, what a drink to finish the series on!!! This is a bold, rich and well-aged Springbank that has a mix of funk, tropical fruits, moderate smoke, minerality and old oak that is perfectly balanced with a creamy mouthfeel that manages to keep everything in harmony and was a delight to drink. This really needed time to open up and show all of its flavors, but with patience this continued to just build on itself and improve with every sip until it was sadly over. At almost $60 for a 5cl, this is an expensive treat, but is a much easier price to justify trying a very old Springbank than the $1k plus it costs for a 25 year old today.

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Continuing on my Springbank series, I have a 23-year single barrel release by Calvert Woodley from @ctbeck11 that was bottled at 42.5%. The nose is very soft and starts with a light farm funk, hay and combination of lemon, lime and orchard fruit followed by ocean brine and burning incense that fades to the background of fruits of star fruit, baked apple, Bosc pear and charred orange peel that transitions to a wet cavernous minerality, pickled ginger, suede and polished oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a light farm funk, hay and light citrus followed by a moderate and drying bitter spice that fades to fruits of baked apple, Bosc pear and red grapefruit that transition to a wet cavernous minerality, black pepper, pickled ginger, and light ashy oak with light ethanol burn. The finish is short with apple chips, poached pears, salted red grapefruit, dark chocolate and light ashy oak. This is an enjoyable pour that brings in a balance of barnyard funk, citrus, moderate smoke and ocean brine, but the flavors are very light and the palate is thin with a moderate bitter spice that overpowers much of those light citrus notes with a short fruity and ashy finish. Side by side with the 10, for me, the 10 is richer with bolder flavors and a better balance. Sadly this is a case where older is not necessarily better, but I’m very thankful to @ctbeck11 for the opportunity to try a 23 year old Springbank.

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Continuing on my Springbank series, I have the 21-year from the 2019 release from @ctbeck11 that was matured in 55% ex-Rum casks and 45% ex-Port casks and bottled at 46%. The nose is deep and rich starting with a mix of well-aged old oak, bold berries, citrus fruits and light farm funk followed by candied pineapple and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies then a mild smoke appears as a smoldering campfire on an oceanside that fades to the background of fruits of sautéed apples, candied orange peel and cherries jubilee that transitions to vintage leather and old polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a rich mouthfeel starting with a mix of well-aged old oak, bold berries, citrus fruits and light farm funk followed dark chocolate, moderate ash and a mild drying spice that slowly fades to vanilla creme brûlée, fruits of caramelized mango, candied pineapple and cherries jubilee that transitions to vintage leather and old polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, charred orange, strawberry jam on toast, dark chocolate, mild ash, vintage leather and polished mahogany. For the proof, this is a big, bold and thick Springbank that really showcases old wood with a balance of tropical, berry and citrus that doesn’t overpower those traditional Springbank funk, smoke and minerality. The taste veers towards a moderate drying spice that throws off the balance but fades to those rum and port cask fruits before a long finish with baked sweets, dark chocolate, citrus, berries and that old oak. This was another incredible whisky by Springbank and a huge thank you to @ctbeck11 for being generous enough to provide a sample of this rarity.