Tastes

Batch #PW1015 For some reason, I only thought Nadurra was one particular whiskey, and didn't consider it to be a line of cask strength items from Glenlivet. The previous one I had was aged in American oak, so I'm looking forward to the peat notes hopefully found one this one. The color is indeed a light gold, dark straw hue. The scent has plenty of burn to it, but also carries notes of honey, cereal, raw grain, and just a touch of smoke on the nose. The body is more approachable than I would have thought, although the proof picks up quickly on the tongue. A honey flavor is here, although is elevated to an almost spicy range by the proof. The peat flavors come through, but there's no feel of peat in the pores like a proper peated whiskey gives off. The finish is still approachable (as long as you get past the central mouth burn from the heat) with a bit of sweet grain and a light smoke. This may be the only whiskey I've ever had that has actually numbed my front tongue and upper gums. The flavors are still detectable in other parts of the mouth, but there's definitely something missing from the numbness of the aforementioned mouth parts. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable whiskey, but doesn't distinguish itself enough as being "heavily peated," and longs for a flavor enhancer of some kind (like age, a fresh barrel, a certain malt, etc) that just isn't showcased with what's in this glass.

Barrel #5259, distilled 29AUG2017, bottled 21SEP2021, 108.8 proof, picked by Jay Erisman, Co-Founder. For some reason, I have not officially rated my many previous bottles of this single barrel that I've gone through. As always, I only buy the single barrel rye and bourbon directly from the distillery, only after I have tasted all 3 offerings and picked my favorite, mostly because I want to experience what members of the distillery thought good enough to pick from these barrels. Jay's picks have been my last few purchases, and although this was my favorite pick of the 3 at the distillery, I look forward to tasting it again in a slower environment. An expected color of a 4 year bourbon, very similar to their other single barrels. Bright rye, citrus peels, and bruleed brown sugar on the nose. The scent showcases classic bourbon notes remiscent of some older, more established distilleries and their bourbons. Compared to the other 2 available single barrels, this one is the most familiar and "classic." The rye immediately penetrates the gums on the first sip, giving cinnamon and deep mint flavors, but saving the burning spice for later on in the throat. The mashbill is already a decent balance, but this barrel really combines perfectly mellowed rye flavors with a good amount of sweet corn that allows a fuller body for the finish. The finish focuses entirely on the rye, letting some of the initial notes seep from the gums and combine with a high proof that gives plenty of spice when combine with air, but isn't so overpowering that it doesn't compliment the other found flavors. When reviewed by itself, this sounds somewhat bland and quite close to notes found on the standard New Riff bourbon. This is certainly true, but all of these notes are greatly elevated, and create a bourbon that's approachable by a good number of folks, but can be recognized still as a unique single barrel. One of the management members of New Riff once told me that their standard bottled in bond offerings fully represent their vision for their desired bourbon, and the single barrels are "experiments" and different takes on the standard stuff. I tend to disagree across the board; a single barrel selected by a distillery member should be an elevated version of whatever your standard offerings are, and should be just as susceptible for judgment as a batched blend, if not more so. This barrel is an ideal sample of this thought, and would really only benefit from a few more years age.

Recipe #003 It's been a little bit of time since I had the American whiskey or bourbon, so I'm going into this mostly fresh, but not with great memories. I get conflicting sources saying the minimum age is 3 years and 4 years (incorrect information on the internet, who knew...), so that's not a great start, either. More than anything, it might as well be a cardinal sin if you're not willing to reveal the mashbill of a rye whiskey; by not revealing, I expect a sane use of no less than 95% rye, with the only reason it's not 100% being because you used barely for distilling assistance. The color is so much lighter than the American whiskey or bourbon, so I'm leaning towards the 3 year age statement being correct here. The nose is noticeably spicier than the bourbon, but the same sweet corn scent is still found here in some regard, which is terribly disappointing. Instead of true cinnamon, it's more like a cinnamon roll, with copious amounts of sugar and sweetener added. I can't remember and am too lazy to look it up, but I believe the Clyde May's brand is charcoal filtered; either way, a faint hint of unwelcome charcoal does also exist on the nose. A bright, citrus-forward profile starts off the taste here, with floral notes existing with the mouth closed, and lemon zest coming up when air is introduced. The body is very light, and since 94 proof isn't that low, I'm starting to accept the reality that this is probably a low rye mashbill. To it's credit, a sharp cinnamon spice does hit around the middle of each sip, but instead of penetrating the gums (as expected from either high proof whiskey or a proper rye mashbill), becomes a ball of flavor on the tongue that can be "chewed" on to release additional spice. This is certainly a new experience to me for rye whiskey, and is actually quite enjoyable until a burnt, charcoal finish shows up and really, truly, refuses to leave. The worst part is that a new sip just restarts the cycle back at bright floral and citrus, leaving you with only a fleeting moment in the middle where you can get a proper rye experience. It's not a law and it shouldn't be (because laws on/against alcohol are unpatriotic as fuck), but if distilleries really care about their customers and want to properly expand, they need to release all information, including age statement and, most importantly for a rye whiskey, the mashbill. After all this bashing against this one, I really hope that it is the case where a really low amount of rye is used, because the alternative means that all the ingredients were right, and the distillery got pretty damn close to ruining some perfectly good rye grain.

Here I was hoping that, after trying Clyde May's American whiskey with the added apples, that this would be simply that but without the apples. Now I learn that it's aged 1 year less (why) and uses a hell of a lot of corn (bourbon is sweet enough as it is, chill on the extra corn). My hopes weren't originally high for this anyway, but if it's still a sourced MGP product, than at least the grain flavors should have no trouble shining through. Just like the American whiskey, the color is darker than is to be expected for only 5 years (God bless charred barrels). Thankfully, the rye scent leads, with cinnamon and some bananas foster, which I believe is also coming from the heavy corn. Moderate vanilla and less caramel are here from the barrel, ending with a basic corn syrup note. The scent is very similar to the American whiskey, so perhaps it truly is the same mashbill but without the apples. The body is light and watery, and has to be swished and swallowed before any flavor is acquired. Sweet corn and vanilla are present at first, with a more herbal side of rye present, while the spicier notes simultaneously dig into the guns (although only at a very shallow surface level). Barrel spice is present, but again, a little weak, with the grain surprisingly contributing the majority of the sweetness. The finish is slightly spicy, but still watery, and has a moderate charcoal note alongside some raw grain (somehow). This was indeed not a winner. This is a plastic bottle bourbon, a craft brand to rival Heaven Hill's "Quality House." I can tell potential is here, but nobody really wanted to go any further than to get something in a barrel and then into a bottle, and for me, it was easy to tell. Thankfully, this does allow just grains and oak to be the only flavors tasted without the addition of apples like the American whiskey, so this is better for a purist whiskey profile than that, but the lack of effort takes away a lot of character that is truly missed.

Incorrect info given by Distiller; not NAS, but instead aged for 6 years. Now, I certainly expect weird and uncomfortable to accurately describe Alabama, but a faux bourbon with apples added is certainly up there (moonshiners are an odd people). At least we've got rye here instead of wheat, the spiciness of which should work far better alongside apples than wheat would. Not to mention that 6 years isn't a bad age, either, so I do expect some apple flavor to be very present. The color is fairly dark, more reflecting a whiskey that's been aged several years longer than this, but perhaps this is the work of the added apples. Sweet corn, vanilla from charred oak, and cinnamon, grass, and mint from the rye are all here; standard notes that most "classic" bourbons would have. What I don't smell is anything that resembles apples, or even warm baking or autumn spice that cooked or stewed apples may impart. The first taste is weak, showcasing the very low proof here. Sweet corn is tasted, but more as a grain with the sweetness being lost. The spice from the rye is not tasted, and is only experienced as a slight gum and tongue burn near the finish. There is indeed a flavor of apples; the variety tastes like a neutral, only slightly sweet one (like Fiji), not overly sweet (like honeycrisp) or sour (like Granny Smith). This additive isn't entirely welcome, as it decreases focus on the grain, as well as gives the body an even weaker presence. See above for the finish, however, several minutes after a last sip does bring up notes of fresh apple flesh. It is so easy to tell that this whiskey has such a strong mashbill base, but the added apples really narrows down the target audience; I expect a flavor and body like this to come out of flavored, 40 or 50 proof whiskies. I'm hopeful that Clyde May's actual bourbon is simply this whiskey without the apples, because that may actually have a favorful outcome. Instead, what we have here isn't as fun or as flavorful as a proper flavored whiskey, but also doesn't have enough unique flavor notes to drink by itself, leaving you to find specific, usually distillery-written cocktail recipes to use fruitfully.

Always very happy to find a new Ardbeg to add to the stack of black boxes building on my scotch shelf section. One of my favorite things about Ardbeg is the short 3-6 word tasting notes right on the front of the box/bottle. I don't normally like having tasting notes up front, but given that the lads at Ardbeg truly have some quality whiskey and care very much for it, it's nice to see what they can narrow down each batch to on their palate. Honestly though, with a cask strength Scotch, I know I'm already going to enjoy it after this particular stressful day. Wow, the color on this is shocking; this could easily be mistaken for a 8+ year American whiskey out of level 4 char barrels. I didn't think the bourbon barrel aging would impart that much, but it has at least for the color tone. Barbecued and smoked meats for certain on the nose, but some of the smoke is swallowed up by a salty seaweed note. There's a bit of sweetness here as well, but it smells more like strictly sweet oak than anything artifical or additive. My initial sip really dug quickly into the gums, so much so that the shock and surprise caused me to miss any initial tasting notes. My second sip imparted raw dark corn syrup, moderate smoke (from a smokehouse that normally smokes meat, but all meat was removed when you happened to visit), sweet oak, and a bit of florality that seems to also circle back to the beginning of the next sip. Of course, the finish is fairly hot and lingers, but isn't sticky, and allows the mind to focus back on the flavors just had without being distracted. Not at all surprisingly, this is a wonderful Ardbeg, and is pretty unique as compared to some of the other batches. The meat smokiness is not as heavy here as Wee Beastie, but definitely more refined and rounded. The saltiness is not as potent as An Oa, allowing more barrel flavor to come through. Really though, being a cask strength just allows the Ardbeg profile to shine through better without being bogged down. All of these classic black box offerings really prove that Ardbeg produces a quality scotch, but knows how to properly play around with it to make it unique and different, and yet still represent, well, a fantastic fucking whiskey.