Tastes

When I first heard about this release, I laughed in my head about a scotch aiming to make the whisky taste like cake, so let’s see if Glenmorangie was able to bake/blend this into something a pastry chef would be proud to serve. On the nose, it really smells like a cake with caramelized pineapple, peaches, pears, vanilla cream cheese frosting, white chocolate sheet cake, light baking spices. So, the nose is cake; let’s see about the taste… yep, also cakey. The taste starts with a very creamy mouthfeel that reminds me of whipped vanilla cream cheese frosting followed by fruits of caramelized pineapple, peaches, pears then white chocolate sheet cake leading to a baking spices and medium oak tannins to a short finish with those fruits, a light alcohol bite and those baking spices lingering. Overall this is a fun experiment and interesting whisky, but I would rather just drink the 18 along with a piece of cake to get my cake fill on for the same price and have a better whisky.

I’m not a big BT fan, most of their products tend to underwhelm me and I can never figure out the madness to rush out and buy all the Eagle Rare or Blanton’s a person can get. With that said, let’s see if this one justifies the madness that BT creates. The nose starts off with toasted marshmallow with some walnut bitterness leading to milk chocolate, spearmint, fried banana, cherries, cinnamon redhots, vanilla, caramel, old leather and polished mahogany furniture. Tasting reveals many of the same notes as the nose with a rich caramel viscous mouthfeel, butterscotch, cherry coke, fried banana, spearmint, apricot, walnuts, milk chocolate, old leather and polished mahogany leading to light barrel spices and a great big caramel, walnut, leather and cherry finish hug. Ok, I get it now, for under 60 dollars retail this one is a mind blowing good whiskey that has almost no alcohol bite at all for the high 128.4 proof. No wonder people line up for these. I would happily line up for an old school black Friday style stampede and grab whatever the new Viking themed Highland Park has out to channel my inner Viking spirit while using it to fight triumphantly through the crowd and come out bloody holding my prize of a Stagg Jr. Thankfully no blood or wounds were required for this tasting due to the generosity of @ctbeck11 for giving me a sample.

When I first got this bottle, I immediately opened it to try the 2020 Jim Murray whisky of the year. Taking it out of the box, the bottle looks nice, but upon taking the foil off, I notice that the top is a cheap military select vodka plastic screw top; a not-so-premium indicator. Not a great start, but since it’s the liquid that matters, I ignore the cost-cutting measure and pour a glass. The nose seemed nice with a high alcohol smell but nowhere near the highest proof I’ve had, so nothing I’m not used to. I go in for my taste and immediately think that the Canadians are in league with Murray to export uncut dragon piss for profit. It was napalm on the tongue with some rye spices and in the back of the cabinet it went. However, many weeks have gone by now and this has opened up nicely. On the nose I now smell tangerine citrus, banana, pumpernickel bread, whipped butter, rich caramel, maple syrup, candied ginger, and black pepper. Tasting it starts with a medium mouthfeel and similar notes with caramel, maple syrup, banana, tangerine citrus, leading to spices of gingerbread cookies, freshly baked pumpernickel bread that’s been covered in whipped butter and finishes with loads of rye, barrel spices, and black pepper coating your mouth, and leaving a medium rye finish.

This is a Justin’s House of Bourbon barrel pick for their monthly bourbon club and the whiskey comes in at 121.9 proof. So lets dive in to see how their pick went. The nose starts off with baked apple crisp, mingling with orange, cherry, some medium caramel notes, then grapefruit pith and lastly spearmint. Taking a sip revels the same notes as the nose with baked apple crisp right front, medium mouthfeel with light caramel, orange zest, cherry liquor, grapefruit pith then transitions to a blast of barrel spices showing off that barrel and an alcohol bite, then cinnamon redhots, apple crisp and last note of spearmint that lasts for a while. Overall, for 40 dollars and a single barrel pick, it’s inexpensive and has interesting flavors. I don’t want another bottle of it, but am happy with the selection of this one.

This one has been on my list for something to try for a long time. Gratefully I have a brother that was kind enough to provide me a sample from his bottle to try. On the nose, there’s a rich sherry quality to this one with golden raisins, peaches, oranges, apricots, leading to a rich caramel, old polished oak, dark maple syrup, candied cinnamon almonds, a meaty quality - not Islay smoked meats but more like a bacon jam, and ocean sea salt. The taste starts with a sherry richness with creamy maple syrup mouthfeel and a hint of ocean sea salt before leading to a rich caramel with fruits of orange, raisin, peaches, a dark chocolate with pieces of candied bacon, cinnamon almonds, barrel spices with cracked black pepper and medium oak tannins in the background and the finish is long and lingers with the sherry flavors of golden raisins, caramel, smooth oakiness, and black pepper spice. I just had the Bunnahabhain 25 not that long ago and where that one was very polished, it was much softer and more refined than this. But I actually like this one more as there is a lot going on and the flavors come on strong, where the 25 is more subtle. I’ve heard other people say that some of the best Islay whisky is usually in the teens and I feel the same way since most Islay whisky drinkers aren’t looking for a soft and delicate spirit, but more of a powerhouse of flavor. This one is also a much better VFM at $140 compared to the massive price of the 25 at over $700.

This is the 2010 cask strength to follow up to the 2009 version that was Whisky Advocates 2nd whisky of the year in 2018. I really enjoyed the 2009 version and was hoping to get another when I went to the Jim Bean Urban Stillhouse in Louisville a few years ago, but ended with a recommendation from one of the employees for the 2010 which he claimed is better, plus it has a nice boost of 63.5% compared to the 2009 of just 59.8%. I asked if they had any bottles open to get a taste before buying, sadly they did not. My brother and I debated buying a whole bottle, since we only had room for four bottles to bring back in our luggage. We decided to just get a glass of something else and sit and enjoy watching the whisky rollercoaster there at the Stillhouse. After a few pictures and texts of the whisky rollercoaster to friends, and my brother and I plotting out how best to build one in our own living spaces at home - because what whisky enthusiast doesn’t have a bottle storage issue - including app design to bring the right bottle to you when you want it instead of digging through cabinets, we finished our drinks knowing this dream would probably never be a reality. We finally decided to settle for something more financially palatable than a whisky rollercoaster and went for the recommended 2010 bottle to find out if it is really better than the 2009 cask. After pouring a glass, I discovered that it’s best to let it rest for a few minutes as that proof can be overpowering with all that alcohol. But after a few minutes the alcohol blast will calm down and give you a much better nose of rich velvety rye caramel cream, baked apples, orange zest, cinnamon rolls, maraschino cherry, leather, black peppercorns, peanut shells and toasted marshmallow. The taste is medium body with a velvety caramel mouthfeel that transitions to loads of fruit, peach, orange, cherry, baked apples, and peanut shells then medium oak tannins come in with pepper and baking spices transitioning to a long finish with the fruits lingering. Do I think this is better than the 2009 version? Yes. I tasted the 2009 side by side with the 2010 and found the 2009 to be more spice forward whereas this is more of a fruit-forward rye. Both are amazing whiskies and I would be happy to have either of them, but my preference leans more towards that fruitier rye than all the spice. But this is a personal choice.

Sometimes in life having those uncomplicated family dinners are the best. Granted it’s great when one of the charismatic family members show up with some epic stories and a plethora of jokes that just makes the night lots of fun, but it’s never a great family dinner when the dramatic attention seekers show up with their never ending insight to the latest and greatest conspiracy theory and how all family members must acknowledge their superior intellect. The pendulum swings both ways in many aspects and so does whisky drinking. That’s where the Balvenie 14 year Caribbean cask comes in to shine its best, in an uncomplicated version that is enjoyable. The nose is loaded with tropical fruits, pineapple, banana or maybe plantain, toasted coconut, mango, others have said papaya and I get that as well, golden raisins, then it leads towards a cinnamon apple pie, candied ginger and cedar wood spices. Going in for a taste reveals a viscous mouthfeel that has medium oak tannins, banana, golden raisin, cinnamon apple pie, candied ginger, and toasted coconut. The finish is medium length with the same notes as the taste but with a bit of a chili pepper numbing that isn’t overpowering then finishes of those tropical fruits. Overall this is that quiet family member that comes along to dinner, is just enough personality to tell a few jokes, provide different takes on an argument with good insight but never confrontational about their opinion that makes the night an enjoyable one, but not quite an epic night. That’s part of the fun of life and whisky drinking though, if we had nothing but epic stories and bottles, those would then become just ordinary and if we had nothing but dramatic attention seekers and punchy rocket fuel fire bottles, we’d probably decide to skip dinners and drinking all together. Balvenie 14 year Caribbean cask is the perfect middle ground to enjoy but not be thrilled nor overwhelmed. It’s even a perfect one for family dinners to bring as I brought the bottle to my in-laws house and my wife’s mom and sister, who aren’t whisky fans, really enjoyed it to the point we drank 70% of the bottle that night to help endure the dramatic attention seeker and their “wisdom bombs” that were dropped that night. Thanks Balvenie, you may be my savior for family dinners from now on.

A buddy of mine managed to grab one of these from ABC before they sold out. He brought it over for us to see what the fuss is about and first thing I notice is the extremely low proof. In my experience most whiskey that barely meets the threshold to be called whiskey are watered down too far, but maybe I’m just an alcoholic that drinks too much cask strength and am judging this too fast. Ok so we crack the bottle and pour two glasses to finally judge it for what the liquid has to offer. The nose is nice with light rye spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel and vanilla, but they are all very light. The taste is so watery, it’s really just a rye water with a bit of whiskey flavor and the finish is just non existent. Overall this is a disappointment and not worth chasing. Honestly this would be a great Houdini bottle. You know those stories all whiskey enthusiasts have where a nice bottle was left out around the wrong person and that person made it disappear in front of your eyes. I’d be happy to invite that person over to show me the trick on this one to make space for something else.

This has become my gateway whiskey for friends looking to get started on their whiskey journey. Maybe it’s because I spent a few years of my life living in and loving Texas which has made me biased to Balcones and Garrison Brothers but neither one ever disappoints me. The nose is rich butterscotch, mesquite, raisins, vanilla, caramel covered bread pudding. Tasting has all the same notes as the smell but with a mouth coating oily texture that finishes with a mocha coffee and butterscotch that lingers for a long time. So glad VA ABC always has these in stock so I can keep a favorite stocked and an easy gift for friends. Hopefully one day Lineage and some of their tequila finished whiskey makes it on shelves or I convince my wife to move back to Texas so I can just be a permanent fixture in their distillery.

Has anyone ever heard of this distillery before? I had to look up the information on this distillery since I never heard of it and sadly found out it was closed in 1988. I only had a sample of this from a bottle of Douglas Laing’s XOP (Xtra Old Particular) range, a 42-year-old single grain whisky from Edinburgh’s Caledonian distillery. Distilled in 1976 and aged in a refill Hogshead (cask #12769) for 42 years until it was bottled in 2018 at cask strength of 53.3%. My only experience with single grain scotch was from North British Distillery which I found smooth but not particularly interesting, so I really didn’t expect much going in this one. Based on my experience from North British, I hastily judged this one as a closed single grain distillery that probably was just ok and was mainly just a talking point for people to try old-and-no-longer-produced whisky. I opened my sample and gave half to my friend so both of us could say we’ve tried something extinct. After pouring it and doing a cheers for our first drink of the night, I sat down and took one whiff and was immediately proven wrong. Wow, this one has a lot going on with no alcohol burn on the nose at all: honeysuckle, orange blossom, apple, peaches, lemon drop candy, macadamia nuts, vanilla ice cream, very light oak spices of cinnamon, and fallen autumn leaves. The taste is just as impressive with no alcohol burn on the palate either; very oily with a full mouthfeel and notes of honeysuckle nectar, confectioner’s sugar, apples, orange blossom, rose water, more lemon drop candy and macadamia nuts, and very light oak spices keeping everything in balance as it moves from one fruit to the next until it finishes with a medium-long honeydew melon, orange blossom, lemon and vanilla caramel that lingers for a few minutes. I was so impressed with this one, I went looking for a bottle, sadly there were no more 42 year cask #12769 from 1976 bottles left, but I managed to get a 44 year 1976 cask #13925 from The Whisky Exchange with the added benefit of no tariffs because single grain appears to be exempt from them. Hopefully the same notes will be found from the different cask.