Tastes

Well, its Thanksgiving eve. Time for a sample and the traditional viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Maybe I should be sampling a bourbon instead of a New Zealander. Anyway…. N: A yeasty, berried nose. Well-baked cranberry bread with a pinch of cinnamon, vanilla, honey. Straightforward, simple nose but rich and tangible. P: A creamy, cinnamon spiced entry greets the palate. Similar to the nose, baked cranberry bread, vanilla and honey. A bit of a black pepper bite with a dark chocolate sweetener. F: A medium length finish that is slightly drying and woody that fades with the same dark chocolate mocha and a peppery tingle. O: A decent sipper with slightly limited nose and palate. But the few notes and flavors it holds, it delivers. Sips easy for a 53.4% abv whiskey. Thanks @PbMichiganWolverine for the generous New Zealander sample. [86/100][Tasted: 11/22/23]

Barrel has been releasing top notch bourbons and their craft has only been improving their craft. The standard Dovetail is quite good. Seagrass is funky joy ride. I have heard good things about Gray but I have not had the good fortune to experience for myself, until now. N: Initial nosing immediately after pouring is a heavy dose of ethanol. This definitely needs time to breathe. After about fifteen minutes it begins to reveal itself. Fruity peach, strawberry and fresh orange mulled together. But what brings this forward are the baking spices mingled with the fruity nose. Nutmeg and cinnamon. Deep down, traces of sweet grapes, toffee and chocolate coffee round the nose. These aromas due take a fair length of time to come out. About forty minutes of breathing and nosing ot took to discern the aromas. P: The arrival is anesthetic, creamy and sweet. Milk chocolate, more on the creamy sweet side, coats the palate. Chewing on it exposes dark roasted coffee, black cherries, butterscotch. Sweet and earthy. Surprisngly sparse in unique flavors given the nose had more. At least what I could detect. W: With a good touch of water the nose blooms with sugar sweetness of cotton candy and caramel apples. With the added water, the sugary attributes also carry on the palate. The grape notes are amplified but the earthy notes do become muted. F: The finish is pins and needles, Concord grapes, black and white pepper, and chocolate that seems to last indefinitely. Oaky tannins near the end of the long finish tie this up with a bow. A nice, long journey. O: The dram is simply complex. The aromas and flavors are accessible, rich and authentic. All this discerning does take time and patience which makes this a great time escaping pour. Sipping this with haste will minimize the full experience. The contained amount of aromas and flavors, though rich, restrains this dram from greatness. A immensely enjoyable pour. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for a generous sample. [90/100][Tasted: 11/4/23]

I have a a few Octomore’s over the years. Always they were smokey, ashy and strong/good weight behind it. Also, expensive. This was a sample generously provided by @Pkingmartin. Saturday night pour, watching The Whale. Plenty of downtime to taste, sample, and enjoy. N: Sweet, blue smoke with maritime brine. A meat smoker burning hickory wood infusing spare ribs at the beach in the evening low tide. The aroma sweetness is surprising as more phenols would be expected. Vanilla beans, caramel, apple crumb pie and bitter dark chocolate provide the dessert-infused aroma. Light aroma of rubber bicycle inner tubes with a clean antiseptic scent (Bactine?). Not what I would have initially guessed for an Octomore. P: The texture on arrival is a velvety sharpness. The sharpness wanes and brings forth a sweetness and an earthy snootiness. Caramel apples, butterscotch, orange zest, fresh ginger are at the core. Dark bitter chocolate, rich cigar tobacco, black pepper and jalapeño spice come forward towards the finish. F: The spice keeps the tongue tingling for good length. The palate remains ashy, sweet, citrusy. The beauty is the length. It never ends, and that’s a good thing in this case. O: Of the few Octomore’s I have had, this, to my recollection, is the most subdued. Most have been a punch in a face, phenolic blast. This 11.1 brings a sweetness the counters that ashy, phenolic punch. The strength 59% is nearly unnoticeable. A dram that can be a slow, tasty, enjoyable sipper. Thanks @PkingMartin for the sample. [89/100][Tasted: 8/26/23]

Bunnahabhain juice. Not sure I need to say much more. It would be difficult to not to enjoy. Expectations are high. However, I am not sure what to expect from this particular version of a Bunn N: A slowly forming aroma of orange peel and cinnamon crescendos from low and easy to a nice refreshing citrusy marmalade nose. Images of Beach and sun bounce in my mind from these aromas. Tropical it becomes. Pineapples, coconut shavings and light caramel, peaches and mangoes. P: The first sip arrives sweetly. The orangey nose is embodied on the palate. Candied oranges or Sunny-D orange drink, sweet tea and vanilla. Just as that sweetness makes you happy and comfortable, a kick of black pepper and ginger comes in stirs the palate around a bit, in a good way which segues to a more earthy quality. Leather, tobacco, walnuts with a bit of mineral. Just as it all gets familiar and comfortable, that punch of pepper comes back and winds out to a fade towards the finish. F: Peppery finish that tingles but fades to a long woody, orange and honey and charcoal. O: What is described may seem simplistic but what is experienced is rich. What could be a summer sipper, is enjoyable with no bitterness or harshness. Easy to sip. Easy to enjoy. I only wish I had more than just a sample and could continue to enjoy. Thank you @pkingmartin for another quality sample. above and beyond. [94/100][Tasted: 7/21/23]

If there’s a chance to tasted a Barrell whiskey, any one of their varieties, the chances are high that what is about to be consumed is going to be good. This sample provided to me by @pkingmartin all the ingredients to meet that expectation. C: The color is similar to diluted Apple juice. N: Canned pears. The initial nosing exudes syrupy canned pears. It’s a rich aroma that takes time to dissect. Golden sultanas add to the fruity aroma. Brown sugar, honey and vanilla continue to add sweetness. Pinot Grigio provides some white grape dryness. Given more time and space, apricot, cantaloupe just piles on top the fruit basket of aromas. This is not all fruit. Dustings of ground cinnamon and saw dust shavings provides a hint of earthiness. P: For a punched-up pour at 60.82%, the arrival on the palate is soft, velvety and sweet. Honey-candied pears fill the palate of that fruity sweetness found on the nose. Leather, orange creamsicle, dark stone fruit, cinnamon, white pepper. These core flavors are blended and nicely balanced. The cinnamon-pepper tingles the tongue at the fade towards the start of the finish. F : The finish is slightly woody and drying. The nosy saw dust shavings and leather stay for a length. The orange creamsicle coats the tongue with honeyed toast. These flavors last a fair length, like the palate fullness never faded. O: A solid offering from Barrell. A sweet whiskey, yet not overly sweet. A dessert sipper. Surprisingly easy to sip without any water. The nose is a bouquet of fruit. The palate is flavorful. Though flavorful, the breadth of flavors is contained. If the aromas could be embodied on the palate, this would be an immense whiskey. However, this is a solid offering and extremely enjoyable with a strong finish. Thanks @pkingmartin for the generous sample. [90/100][Tasted: 7/14/23]

Continuing the Laphroaig tasting that availed me over my family celebration, my friend, who also had available 16 year, I was eagerly wanting to try this one. Amongst drinking with family, finding a moment to do so presented a challenge in and of itself. N: Take sugary figs, wrap them in salty bacon. As you take in that savory aroma, camphor, pine nuts, brown sugar filling, burning rubber tires, grape jam, dark honey, burnt toast burst onto the nose. A wonderful potpourri of disparate aromas. P: The palate takes on a front of toffee sweetness. That sweetness does slowly subside making way for black pepper, soot, vanilla, dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, marmalade, grape jam and grilled figs. The palate is just swirling with these flavors spinning around, sideways and all about. F: The palate remains wonderfully coated with sooty cigar ash with brown sugar, dark chocolate orange zest, roasted coffee grinds, brine, and maraschino cherries. The best part of all is that these disparate flavor gel wonderfully and are almost eternal. O: This is one of the best Laphroaig’s I have tasted. A plethora of aromas sand flavors. The sherry finishing just takes a top notch 10 year and pushes it to an even higher level. The interplay of sweetness, brine and phenols keeps the nose and palate active. One of the better finishes from a whisky. Well worth a purchase. Can be found for at a fair price. [Tasted: 7/3/23][92/100]

Back to the old hometown for some family celebrations. Staying at a friends house, and being a whisky enthusiast himself, offered freely access to his collection. This and the Sherry Oak immediately caught my eye. Being the eldest, I figure to start with this 16 year old. C: Golden yellow in appearance. N: Start with a base aroma of iodine, rubber tire bicycle tube, add Granny Smith apples, brown sugar, and ocean sea spray; that is the initial introduction. As is it opens, it grows sweeter and earthy. Tanned Leather or suede, hay, mulch, dried oak leaves. P: The brininess carries over onto the palate over a medium dense body. There is a peppery bite on the tongue that keeps things vibrant. The palate senses so much but is overloaded and the mind works to discern. Oak, vanilla, caramel, cocoa, hickory smoked bacon, grilled pineapple, almonds with a fade to the metallic. F: The finish is somewhat lengthy and in this case, that’s a good thing. Cigar tobacco coats the mouth. Wood tannins keep it dry. Milk chocolate and some sweetness with some black tea and honey. O: A Laphroaig is always a good pour. Flavorful, intense, punchy. Dynamic. It does sip as a more youthful whisky than a slower, mature whisky than I would expect from a 16. As with most Laphroaigs, reasonably priced with high quality. An enjoyable dram. [88/100][Tasted: 6/29/23]

On a visit to Nashville, we took a side excursion to the Jack Daniels Distillery. It was a great tour and worth your time to visit if you find yourself in Tennessee. After the tour, I was hoping to grab some distillery exclusives but unfortunately there were none available. I grabbed two of these as the price was reasonable and JD will stop production of the Straight Rye series. N: A simple sweetness nose. Vanilla Coke entwined with Fig Newtons and worn leather. There are light baking spice and anise notes just enough to keep the vanilla honest. P: An edgy palate with soft sweetness. Vanilla, banana nut bread with walnuts and caramel drizzle. The sharpness, which is most sensed comes to focus towards the finish of black and white pepper. F: The tongue tingle sticks but ultimately fades to a drying woody, minty and charcoaled flavor that hangs around briefly. O: Decent. It works better as a mixer than a sipper. Holds up given the higher proof. However, as a sipper, I would suggest to throw in a cube or two. Seek it out before there are none available for the flavor and the novelty. [85/100][Tasted: 6/9/23]

It’s been some time since I pulled a shared sample, switched on a Mets game and taste. But tonight, a Friday night stars align. A quiet night. A well pitched, low scoring game on both sides. And now a sample to taste with no constraints. N: As it opens, breakfast aromas greet and meet you. Vanilla-soaked French Toast smothered in maple syrup and confectionery sugar (but alas, no coffee and bacon aromas). As it expands, some earthy notes come through. Tanned leather, like a baseball glove, walnuts, ground cinnamon. As it further expands and loosens, fruity notes of apple cobbler with cherries and toffee bookends the breakfast. Drizzle some salted caramel for good measure. The high proof is ever present as whiffs of vapor punches every now and then. Gentle reminders that as sweet and earthy it is, it’s still muscular and a force. P: A semi-dense feel with some bite. As you chew, maraschino cherries, pecans, dark chocolate and caramel atop apple crumb pie. The earthy leather lingers in the background. The longer you chew, the spicier side comes forward and the black and red pepper muscles up, prickling the tongue. W: A touch of water softens the bite and reveals the rye side of the bourbon. It also allows some orange zest to become detectable. F: A nice, long finish that just sticks everywhere. Wood char, nutmeg, cloves, tobacco, dark chocolate and spearmint. O: This is a quality bourbon. Some muscle. Some sweetness. Some bite. Some warmth. Similar to Noah’s Mills, but more refined. From the nose to the finish, there is always something to stir the senses. Always moving and evolving. I am sure there are subtleties that are escaping my senses that with more time and more to pour I would draw out. With so many whiskies on the market these days vying for your hard-earned pay, finding quality becomes a expense and a chore. This is one worthy to seek. (Mets lost to the Blue Jays 3-0). Thank you @pkingmartin for sharing. Not sure if I would have sought this one out, until now. [92/100][Tasted: 6/2/23]