Tastes

Old Carter seems to be one of those premium names now that bottles fly off the shelves and end up in the stratosphere pricing of 300 plus by the secondary market. I was able to secure a few of their single barrel bottles for 200 each, but it wasn’t more than a few days later that all of the bottles had sold out. I’m currently seeing this bottle selling for 325 online, but let’s make some flippers mad and crack it open and find out how it tastes. On the nose, you get milk chocolate covered toasted pecans coated in a thick caramel then some candied orange peel, cherries, freshly baked cinnamon rolls, leather and rich oak, barrel spices with a medium ethanol burn. The taste follows the same notes as the nose with a medium mouthfeel that has a medium ethanol bite before a medium length finish with the same notes as the nose that goes towards almost an over bitter oak note but manages to not overpower the flavors. This is solid bourbon, but not really worth the 200 that these cost. For that much money, I was really expecting some wow flavors like in a Garrison Brothers Cowboy which I drank this side by side to compare. I wish this was a thicker mouthfeel and that those flavors came out bigger and bolder, but overall a tasty drink that I’ll enjoy.

This is my last sample of Longrow and is the most expensive of them all at 240 at my favorite liquor store. The last two were incredible, so very interested in what this one brings with 18 years of age. This is the 2015 release that @ctbeck11 was generous to provide a sample for me to taste. The nose starts with the breakfast all adults really want of a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios floating in a pool of sherry, then comes those sun baked green and citrus fruits (apple, pear and lemon), dark chocolate covered raisins, light peat smoke with ocean sea waves crashing over coastal rocks then old leather bound books, polished mahogany with black pepper, ginger, vanilla creme brûlée and a light ethanol burn. The taste is a very viscous mouthfeel starting with Honey Nut Cheerios, dark chocolate covered raisins then green and citrus fruit (apple, pear, lemon) then light peat smoke with ocean brine, cavern minerality, old leather and polished mahogany with ginger, mild chili and black pepper spice finishing medium length with chocolate covered raisins, black cherries, vanilla creme brûlée, old leather bound books, polished mahogany, and light peat smoke. Wow, this one just blew the other two away! Those malty notes, mixed with salty funky fruit, minerality and those old notes of leather and mahogany make this an absolute stunning dram. I put it up against the Hazelburn 13 to see if it would best it and it turns out to be a draw in flavor and viscosity, but Hazelburn would win based on VFM due to it being close to half the cost of the Longrow 18. Either way you can’t lose with either as they are both just amazing drinks.

After trying the Longrow Peated, I had to taste the sample that @ctbeck11 provided of the Longrow Red 13 year to compare while it was still fresh in my mind to see what the wine casks have added to the spirit. I’ve had a few different peated whiskies that have been aged in wine casks and all of them have been outstanding, but all were from Islay, so time to dive into Campbeltown’s take on it. The nose starts with a strawberry shortbread cake with bourbon caramel drizzled over it then comes sun baked citrus(orange and lemon), ocean sea spray followed by a faded old catcher mitt, dark chocolate covered raisins then ginger and oak spice with a light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a multiple fruit jam (leaning towards raspberry, blueberry, cherry, strawberry, and black current mixture) then bourbon caramel, sun baked citrus, ocean sea spray with light peat followed with mild heat and spice from ginger and black pepper that finishes long with those jam fruits mixed with chocolate covered raisins, campfire ashes and faded old catcher mitt that lingers for minutes. This is another incredible whisky from Springbank and manages to bring in those big berry flavors of the wine without overpowering those core Springbank flavors I’ve gotten used to and create a balance of the wine, sherry, and bourbon that harmonize well together. I liked this one so much that I decided to see if it could dethrone the Hazelburn 13 as my favorite Springbank product, but the Hazelburn was still my favorite. This is still a great whisky and one any Springbank fan should try if they get the chance as those dark berries mixed with all that Springbank funk, peat and minerality are just something wonderful to taste.

After my experience with Springbank’s Hazelburn products, I’m pretty excited to dive into one of their heavily peated Longrow products. The nose starts with some sun baked citrus fruits (orange and lemon) with ocean sea spray, then comes a light peat smoke intermingling with short bread cookies and light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with caramel covered shortbread cookies leading to those sun baked citrus fruits then, ocean salt with light coastal rock minerality before a ginger and light chili spice burn that finishes long with light peat, salted sun baked citrus fruits, wet ocean rocks, ginger, a little chili heat and shortbread cookies. This is another delicious whisky by Springbank distillery and one that I would be happy to drink. For a heavily peated whisky, the peat is actually very restrained and allows for those sun baked citrus fruit funk, ocean sea salts and nice minerals to come through with some spice that all works well together without one note overpowering the other, but it just doesn’t really captivate me the way a Hazelburn 10 and 13 did. Big thanks to @ctbeck11 for the sample.

The nose on this screams young with green bananas that are being barbecued with some peat briquettes then comes some walnuts, vanilla wafers, light barrel spices, nail polish and a medium burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel with those peaty grilled bananas, walnuts and vanilla wafers before the bitterness kicks in and overwhelms before last note of nail polish and medium ethanol bite comes in. The finish isn’t saving this either, it’s just bitter with unripe green fruit and some peat. This is not impressive and I might have been able to pull more notes out of this one, but just a few tastes are all I can take. Looking at their website shows this is between 1.5 and 4 years old which seems too young and shows on their product. Maybe if they were in Texas with some brutal heat this would be better, but seems like a rushed product to me. Big thanks to @ContemplativeFox for this sample.

According to K and L, this is a blend of two casks that were both distilled in 1978 by two different distilleries, one in Speyside and the other in Highlands. Then the independent bottler chose the two casks and blended them together creating this blend and a total of 200 bottles. The nose starts with; I kid you not, almost like an oaked sprite soda, then tropical fruits of mango, plantains, coconut cream, caramel, and pie spices of allspice, ginger, cloves and old oak with a light burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with cinnamon apple butter, churros, cherry cordials then barrel spices of allspice, ginger, cloves, old oak with medium ethanol burn that finishes medium length and very spicy with gingerbread cookies, apple butter, cherry cordials, cloves, and old oak. This is a solid nice whisky and the two components were blended nicely together while their age didn’t bring an overpowering wood element to the whisky. It’s an easy sipper, but the spice on the mid-palate to the end feels a bit overwhelming to me and just takes away those fruits and light old oak that I would like to taste more of. Big thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for the sample.

This is a peated single-malt whisky made in Scotland that was brought to age in cellars located in Bouze-lès-Beaune in the heart of Burgundy, where the single-malt aged for years in sherry butts in the underground galleries. What does a Scottish peated whisky that has been imported to France, put into fresh high quality sherry casks and aged in a wine cave taste like, well thankfully @jonwilkinson7309 was kind enough to share a sample for me to find out. The nose starts with tangy hickory barbecued ribs leading to fruits of grilled peaches and apple cobbler then salted caramel ice cream along light barrel spices of ginger, cardamom and anise with light ethanol burn. The taste starts with a medium-light mouthfeel with tangy hickory barbecued ribs then apple cider with a whole cinnamon stick in it, chocolate covered raisins, grilled peaches leading to spices of ginger, cloves, cardamom and anise with a medium ethanol burn and finishes medium length with rich sherry notes, chocolate covered raisins, grilled peaches, apple cider, ginger, cloves, cardamom and hickory barbecue sauce that lingers for minutes. This is a very delicious, easy to drink and nicely balanced whisky. The nose is something you can get lost in and really just sit around for hours smelling, and the taste is flavorful, gentle, balanced and complex. This is one I could sit around drinking all day without getting bored. I’m now pondering the idea of how to get my hands on several barrels of peated whisky, bring it back to the US, throw it in a barn in Texas, and see if I can get some of that Texas magic in a cask to happen. Would certainly be an interesting experiment, one I likely can’t afford, but the idea is anyone’s to take and let me know whenever the bottles are for sale.

This is a very interesting one and the story hooked me to want to try this one for years, but I never actually bought a bottle. So this whisky is aged in Burgundy, but was created in Scotland. The independent bottler would go off to purchase single-malt Scotch, then bring it back to cellars located in Bouze-lès-Beaune in the heart of Burgundy, where the single malts age for years in sherry butts and then in demijohns or giant bottles kept in total darkness in the underground galleries. If I have this correct, this one is vatted from whiskies aged 12 to 27 years. What does a Scotch, that has been imported to France, put into fresh high quality sherry casks and aged in a wine cave in the heart of the most expensive wine producing region in the world taste like, well thankfully @jonwilkinson7309 was kind enough to share a sample for me to find out. The nose starts with chocolate chip cinnamon raisin cookies being dunked in a glass of sherry, baked apples, light spices of ginger, cloves, leather followed by a light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium viscous mouthfeel with grape must, baked apples, some light minerality, then light barrel spices of ginger, cloves, leather and medium-light ethanol burn that finishes medium-long with prunes, ginger, cloves, dark chocolate, cinnamon apples and light minerality. This is a solid whisky, it’s very light and easy to drink. There isn’t anything to complain about on this one, but it’s not a very complex one either. This is something I can bring to family night for those that can’t take something peated or high proof and everyone would enjoy the easy drinkability and nice relaxed flavors.

Penderyn seems to be doing some interesting things with their single cask offerings as they keep getting positive reviews. Whisky Advocate just listed their newest 15 year and this 13 year in their spring 2021 buying guide with high ratings for both. I noticed this one at one of my favorite liquor stores prior to those glowing reviews and debated buying it. I had already bought their 10 year old Madeira finish for 100 and wanted to compare the two side by side, but a 60% markup for a Buffalo Trace barrel and 3 extra years seemed hard to justify. I smelled some marketing BS since they had to slap on that ex-BT bourbon in, instead of just saying ex-bourbon barrels and kept myself from buying it for a few weeks, but unfortunately succumbed to my whisky FOMO and ended up buying this bottle. Here’s hoping my whisky FOMO didn’t get the best of me again. The first smell is tannic and almost overpowering with tons of rich oak mixing with sherry fruits. It’s a combination of wood shop and Sulphur that doesn’t bode well for what’s to come. Coming back to it, the tannins calm down and those sherry cask notes are right up front with dark chocolate covered raisins then comes more fruits of blueberries, caramelized bananas, apple chips, leading back to those medium oak tannins and barrel spices with burnt toast, leather and a medium ethanol burn. The taste starts with a syrupy thick and oily mouthfeel with chocolate covered raisins leading to caramel coated black cherries over a vanilla creme brûlée then medium oak tannins, barrel spices of ginger, cloves, black pepper and leather with a medium ethanol burn. The finish is long and lingers with sherry up front, chocolate covered raisins, black cherries, vanilla creme brûlée, black pepper and leather. Wow, this one is better than the 10 year Madeira cask I have and drinks much older than a 13 year. I compared it with the Madeira and both are on the sweeter side but this one brings in a sherry and bourbon barrel mix to help lower those sweet flavors while those rich oak flavors help balance each other out. Those oak tannins are almost overpowering like an overstepped black tea on the taste, but manage to fade away in the finish leaving me with a taste resembling Black Forest cake. Another great one from Penderyn and looking forward to their next single cask release, which I probably won’t wait longer than a few minutes from buying next time.

I’ve been sitting on a sample of this for a few months now, but never wanted to review it until I had reviewed the Yamazaki 12 and could see the progression in the age statements. Since I was finally able to review that one, I can finally crack open my sample of this hyped up beast and dive in to see if it lives up to that several hundred dollar price tag. The nose starts with a light smoky quality, thinking sandalwood incense in a faraway room but you can still smell it, and then follows with some rich caramel, candied ginger, cherry cordials, toasted marshmallow, espresso, walnuts, vanilla pods, poached pears and light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium viscous mouthfeel starting with rich caramel, candied ginger, chocolate orange, cherry, stewed cinnamon apple then spices of sage, leather and sandalwood with a light ethanol burn that finishes medium-long with chocolate covered espresso beans, candied ginger, raisins, stewed cinnamon apples, leather, and light sandalwood incense smoke that lingers for minutes. This is certainly way better than the 12, as I had them side by side while I drank them, as this one is far richer, more balanced and better depth of flavors, but I don’t think it justifies its price nor legend. I wish I had pulled the trigger on the 18 over 10 years ago when I saw it for 100 and tried it then, as the quality might have gone down with so much demand for this one. Happy I got to try this one, but at least it was just a sample and I saved myself 850 whisky dollars to use on some other whisky hunt.