Tastes

Before getting into a review that may come across as harsh, let’s make one thing clear...this is a good scotch. Fruity, sweet, vanilla, a hint of smoke, slight oak spice. Pretty much checks all the boxes (except peat that I can tell) of what we all typically enjoy in a scotch. Perhaps that’s my gripe, it seems too artificial, too manufactured. An assembly line whisky. The barley probably never saw Scottish soil, no chance of floor malting, likely chill-filtered, looks like coloring added. All that is fine as long as you know what you’re getting - appeal to the masses. Rating: 90 per Distiller is 5pts too high for me. Enjoyable and I will undoubtedly drink this again but there are 10 year whiskys more complex than this 18 year old. At $86, you might not be disappointed but for me there are others in that range I’d rather see on my shelf.

Returning to a western region craft distillery, this round is Deerhammer American Single Malt from Colorado. It’s a one-stop ‘milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, and bottled’ shop in a relatively sleepy mountain town. Kinda rad little story. Straightaway I didn’t really enjoy the nose. A sour, hot pleather meets grass scent you might find in a park landscaping shop. Not too pleasant. Normally a subpar nose can ruin a pour, but Deerhammer redeems itself on the taste & finish. It’s cacao nibs combined with a prickly sweetness. Really pleasant. Rating: While this is a worthy offering from a cool distillery, the 92 score is much too generous in my book. Probably deserves mid 80s. As far as I know, this is only available in Colo and at $47 I thought this was a respectable buy. I’d for sure check out another bottle down the road. Cheers peoples Batch:41

Super sweet. Heavy fruit. Sherry. Popular Rating: Once upon a time in my whisky exploration, I would’ve agreed with Distiller’s score but now I’m leaning low/mid 80s. Macallan 12 reminds me of the band you used to love that hasn’t released a good album in a decade. The good memories will have you reach for it if available but you’re not racing out to buy it anymore.

Perhaps the most classic of all classic scotch whiskys. If you could only grab one widely known bottle to define a scotch, would this be it? If not, I’m guessing it’s one of the final horses in the race. Peat-heavy smokey Beechnut chewing tobacco meets fruity smoothness. Rating: Hordes of whisky drinkers probably claim the Distiller score is too low. Since this is not exactly my preferred profile, I’d personally lean high 80s. I love it in small doses on predominantly rare occasions.

What started out promising as interesting & unique eventually evolved into dull & average as I worked my way through the bottle. Sometimes the appreciation of a whisky is enhanced over the course of a bottle & sometimes the opposite happens (as in this case). Sweet and wine-like fruitiness on the senses leads to a decent chest warmth. Probably worth trying but picking up a bottle not recommended - after finishing just shy of half the bottle, I happily donated the remainder to the ping pong crew. Rating: Not sure if the Distiller score is grading on the American distillery curve here, but it’s 10 points too high for me. In fact, if I have any additional pours of this, I fear there’s a slight possibility I end up rounding down to two stars.

Simple & enjoyable. This entry level Balvenie lands squarely on my ‘classics’ list for what it is - a nicely aged scotch that appeals to a very wide audience at a respectable price point (under $50). There are already over 300 notes for this offering so better descriptions of the nose/palate/finish can be found elsewhere. Use any ‘above average’ analogy to properly depict this bottle...’down the middle of the fairway’; ‘a fun blue rated ski run’; ‘a solid B grade on a college exam’. Sometimes it should just be easy to reach for a whisky that requires little thinking and enjoyable drinkability. For what it’s worth, this is always the first choice of my neighborhood ping pong crew. Rating: The score by Distiller seems right, but I’d personally bump it up a point or two. Should be a staple in any collection, especially when hosting a big gathering.

Compass Box - the hipster’s blend. Well, that’s just the reputation, this bottle is the Artist’s Blend. It’s a core entry-level offering from Compass Box (alongside its Great King St brethren, the Glasgow blend), but not included in the infamous 5 signature blends sampler. An absolute gem in my opinion. One of my recent key criteria is drinkability/repeatability since I tend to purchase bottles vs samples or one-off drinks at the local watering holes and this bottle ticks the box perfectly. Reaching for this one regularly before any other in my collection is a good sign. Appearance is super light yellow & nose is a fragrant blend of apples, butter, lemon, and a surprisingly pleasant alcohol aroma. For me, the Artist’s Blend comes alive on the palate. Those apples from the nose turn into Honeycrisp (my fave) alongside some vanilla notes, wood spices, and a hint of smoke way off in the distance. Completely delicious (disclaimer: the light profile a great fit for this balmy SoCal climate). Rating: Would probably bump the Distiller score up to the low 90s. Rounded up to 4.5 stars based on pure enjoyment. Bonus pts too since I found it under $40 even at the neighborhood store that marks everything up 20-25%. Cheers ya’ll