Tastes

First time trying Shenks and I find it to be a refreshing change of pace from the usual bourbons and ryes. The nose is somehat subdued with citrus and soft spice notes from the wood treatment. The palate is quite nice - orange creamsicle with notes of spice. Not a hard edge to be found. Finish is fresh and clean. I really like this as a quality low proofer with substance that is easy to enjoy and appreciate. Very happy with the purchase and looking forward to working through this bottle as it brings something different to the table from high proof bruisers.

So i grabbed my first ever bottle of this Weller 12 from Europe at a good price. Ive alrways heard that this is weak and overrated but as always it is best to try for yourself. And wow am I glad that I did. Instead of the thin and watery dram I’ve been told to expect, I found a perfectly balanced bourbon with an incredible nose, great palate and short but tasty finish. It is bourbon 101 really, with vanilla, caramel (presenting more as pancake syrup), oak and red fruit, in this case strawberry which I dont come across too often. I have to stress how balanced it was. I understand why people can be disappointed if they spend $250 on this, as the proof undoubtedly caps its potential. But otherwise it is just so perfect. This could convert any bourbon newbie. Also Id say this compares well to other Weller/Van Winkle products that Ive had. This batch was superior to the Van Winkle 12 I’ve tried. I also preferred this to the Weller 107 and Old Rip 10 Ive tried, although 107 is a good deal generally. Just depends if you like more heat and spice. Admittedly this wasn’t close to the Pappy 15 I tried, although if you nose and taste this deeply, the pancake and maple syrup I get off that Pappy 15 is juuuuust starting to develop. You could see this getting there if it sat for 3 more years and was cranked up to 107. Anyway, a very good experience here and I grabbed another so that I could have this around for special occasions the next few years.

I saw Rebel 10 for the first time ever in my area so I had to grab one. Ive seen wildly divergent reviews of this, so i wasn’t sure my $90 was safe. I shouldn’t have worried! Its a 2024 release and “only” 10 years old - i know there are older releases out there. Also I understand this is very likely a wheated Heaven Hill and therefore essentially a bottle of a rejected Old Fitzgerald single barrel which is pretty cool. The nose and palate are pretty simple - oak, some kind of yeast or laquer. So far, fine but not impressive. But the instant the finish hits, this thing surges to a high rating. It is Luden’s cherry cough drops, all day. My favorite note of all time. Honestly as I noted the nose and palate are just normal, but that finish - insane. I immediately bought another bottle and it’s the same barrel. Whew. Love this, but it is incomplete without a great nose or palate. But that finish - ridiculous. Your mileage may vary.

I’n usually very skeptical of The Dalmore, which I view as The Macallan’s goofy cousin. But this sherry cask 12 year old was for sale for $65 at my local store which is downright reasonable nowadays for a 12 year shery cask single malt. Reasonable pricing is out of character for Dalmore, home of the $300 NAS. But man, I really enjoyed this! Nose is heroic - soft cherries, ginger, figs and musty books. The palate, helped by the slightly higher ABV, has strong honey, chocolate and red fruit, and the finish is gorgeous lingering spiciness with the tiniest bitter edge to make it interesting. I’ve only ever had the normal 12 which is okay, but I think this is leagues better. A rebuy for me for sure. I’m still not going to go out and blow $175 on the cigar malt or $300 on the King Alexander, but my perception of Dalmore has definitely been changed by this. It’s really quite good.

I was able to purchase this for about $43 which certainly colors my review. The hype on this is that it is basically Blanton’s for less money. After working through half a bottle, I think that is basically true. This definitely (to my taste) has more rye than Blantons but everything else is basically the same. A little more spice, a little less fruit, and a very enjoyable and relatively unchallenging dram. It isn’t changing my perceptions of anything, but it’s nice to be able to grab a well made, pleasing product every once in a while. TLDR: It’s Mash Bill #2 with a little more rye tingle for a good price if you can find it.

A bit spirity and sharp at first at 50%. A couple of drops of water settle this down and bring forward some light port flavors such as plum and raisin, mixed with Arran's typical biscuity base malt. I like it quite a bit, although it doesn't ascend to the higher levels of other port finished whiskies I've adored over the years like Glendronach Port Wood, Laphroig Brodir or Kavalan Concert Master.

It is difficult to imagine anything being better than this. Tasting notes are really simple - it was a cinnamon-dusted pankcake drenched in maple syrup in a glass, with a beautiful tingly finish that lasted for a minute or two. The liquid was incredibly viscous and mouth coating. Even at 107 proof, my bourbon-novice friends were able to drink this neat with no water. I've seen notes about fruit in here but honestly I couldn't pick out any under all that maple, and that is not a knock. This lived up to the hype, although it helped that I was treated to this drink given the price. Really special and one of the most memorable drams I've ever had.

I've very much enjoyed Benromach 10 in the past, so when I saw this Cask Strength version available for $40 at the local bottle shop, it was an instant buy. This is nearly 58% with a lot of sherry cask influence and peat. There is a strong, leathery sherry note on the nose, along with some musty peat. The palate has some sweet orange blossom, the peat recedes a bit and the leathery sherry steps up. Unfortunately the finish is a bit peppery and bitter and I want to wash it away with a sip of water. Overall I think this is less than the sum of its parts, but I've found that water can really help dial this one in. I've had different experiences depending on the amount of water and think that perhaps a balance exists here. But for now, it gets a slightly lower rating. One edited note - the next day, the glass smells exactly like pancake syrup. If there was more of that in this dram I'd be over the moon.

I've heard a lot of great things about Smoke Wagon, but I delayed hunting one down for a lot of reasons: (1) It's MGP, which feels a bit like a cheat, but at least they're upfront about it; (2) there is a lot of hype so it is hard to find, and (3) I find the bottle and name a bit goofy. But I saw it pop up at a local shop and figured I'd decide for myself. Man, I'm glad I did. This stuff is really impressive. This is Batch 135c for what that is worth. The nose is really mild for 57%, mostly brown sugar, caramel and baking spice. But the palate - oh, the palate. So much brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, pie crust, and some red fruit - and it's so thick and wonderful. Hardly any heat, with trailing spice and maybe leather? Really happy with this one. I tried to buy another after tasting it with no luck, so I'll just have to wait around for the next one to pop up around retail.

So I tried this at a bar and enjoyed it - very strong vanilla. Then I heard a rumor from K&L that Evan Williams wasn't going to sell this in California any more. True or not, it worked and a bought a "2014 vintage" Evan Williams Single Barrel. My past experience was with Evan Williams BiB which I rushed out to buy after hearing glowing reviews. It was a chore to get through that bottle, which had a very strong peanut/ethanol thing going on with maybe a bit of honey. But it just didn't do it for me. I was thinking this SiB would be different based on my experience at the bar. Unfortunately, the bottle I have just doesn't do it for me. The nose is decent enough, a little caramel and a little honey. The body is super thin, with a high note of the dreaded peanut/ethanol punching through everything else. Maybe a bit of honey on the finish with some spice. It's not bad, but I don't really look forward to it and only use it as a palate prep for stuff I really want to drink given the relatively weak bottling strength. I'm thinking Evan Williams just isn't for me and I'll continue to use Wild Turkey 101 for my cheap daily.