Tastes
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Proof and Wood 25 Year Old American Light Whiskey 100 Seasons
Blended American Whiskey — Kentucky , USA
Reviewed April 20, 2022 (edited January 25, 2024)First time I'm aware of trying a light whiskey, although I wonder if Balcones True Blue Cask Strength would be considered a light whiskey. I'm assuming this differs from bourbon in that it uses previously used casks, but I haven't bothered to look it up. Smells like a caramel, butterscotch bomb. The palate follows suit with mouth-coating caramel. The finish on this sticks around forever. The sweetness comes across as very rummy. In fact, tasting this blind, I think I might've guessed this is a rum. Really a joy to experience this one. I feel a little embarrassed that @pkingmartin is tasting below average 2-year old Australian rye that I sent him, and I'm tasting 30-year-old scotch and 25-year-old American whiskey. This is incredible stuff, and I'm thrilled to have been able to try. There are thankfully a few in the box that I shipped that I think you'll enjoy, but I definitely got the better end of the deal. Thank you for your generosity. -
Talisker Distillers Edition
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed April 19, 2022 (edited July 25, 2023)Was expecting to like this more than the 10, and the nose doesn't disappoint. Talisker peat and brine, balanced with red jammy fruit. Unfortunately, on the palate the fruit seems to overpower the peat. Syrupy sweet fruitiness. I do get the peat coming back on the finish, but I think I want more of it on the palate. For me it's not clearly better than the 10, but maybe its equal. I quite like it a lot, but about the same as the 10. Thank you @ContemplativeFox for this sample. Strong start to the samples you sent, and I'm looking forward to diving into the rest of the smorgasbord. By the way, what year release is this one? -
Been really excited to try this one for some time. A peathead’s dream dram. I have @ctbeck11 to thank for the opportunity to try this one. On the nose, as anticipated, the peat hits first. Wasn’t sure I’d pick up anything else, but behind the peat is pear, maybe grilled lemon. It’s burns a little on the nose, but it fits with the peaty smoke. It’s like opening the lid of a hot grill to find fruits grilling away. The palate is fairly gentle on arrival, but quickly moves to a burn at the back of the mouth. Peat again is front and center. Lemon seems to be in there, but it’s a little hot to pick up a whole lot. Going to add a little water and see what happens. Ah, much better. The nose shows a little more of the fruit. Again I get peat, pear, lemon. There’s sweetness on the finish, powdered sugar even. I’m reminded of PC10, but don’t have it on hand to compare. I think I like this more, but I’m not sure I like it 4-5 bottles-worth more. I think it’s a great dram, but I wouldn’t say 5-star worthy. I like it better than PC10 and Laphroaig Cask Strength, but not as well as Uigeadail or Cairdeas 2021. As a showcase for peat it does its job, but for that kind of money I’d prefer something with more complexity.
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Pinhook Bourbondini High Proof Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed April 14, 2022 (edited August 3, 2022)Wasn't expecting a lot out of this, so I'm pleasantly surprised. Caramel apple, strong cinnamon and clove, a little hot, but maybe not quite as much as you might expect considering the proof and youth. Pretty straight forward, but nothing really too off about it. Tastes young, but there's no prominent craft whiskey funk. I think fairly comparable to New Riff and Blue Note Uncut barrel pick. Update 1: side-by-side with New Riff Single Barrel, I get a little more ethanol with the NR and a little more sourness with the Pinhook. Considering I acquired the Pinhook about 10$ less than the NRSB, it's close considering value. The NR is better, especially if you can get it closer to 40$. Update 2: like the Blue Note, this seemed to get worse the more I had of it. Score dropped a bit.41.0 USD per Bottle -
Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 003
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed April 11, 2022 (edited April 3, 2023)Prior to trying Glendronach 15, I hadn’t previously been interested in unpeated sherried scotch. But trying that one piqued my interest. I have since obtained Macallan Classic Cut in a trade, and now this one, a little dusty sitting on a local shelf. A splash of water is recommended on this one. It's good neat, but it's even better with a splash, although if you overdo it, I think it goes too tannic. After trying this, I can see Fox's comparison with a barrel proof bourbon, as oddly, despite being aged exclusively in sherry casks, this hits with quite a bit of caramel and vanilla. The sherry fruits are there too, along with chocolate and some spicy barrel notes on the finish. I gotta say, I really enjoy this. I love the sherry fruitiness balanced by the bourbony caramel and spice with a little bitter dark chocolate. Top notch. Apparently sherry bombs are now in my wheelhouse. By the way, who drinks all the sherry that provides these casks for whisky aging? Do you know anyone who drinks sherry? Do I need to start drinking sherry to do my part to ensure there continues to be sherry casks for whisky like this?89.0 USD per Bottle -
Considering this appears to have been discontinued in 2013, this bottle has been sitting on a local store shelf for a long time, and the build-up of dust on the tin would agree. The nose is red winey and a little briny. Wisp of smoke. On the palate, the bourbon casks hit me first with vanilla sweetness. The red fruit follows close behind. The finish brings a smidge of peat smoke. A little pepper, then barley sugar lingers. It's a little bit thin, but overall I'm really pleased with this. I'm not sure Brew-law-dee can make a bad whisky. Update: this is one that has continued to grow on me with each new taste. The peat level is vaguely reminiscent of Springbank/Kilkerran. Really solid whisky.49.0 USD per Bottle
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Bunnahabhain 30 year TWB Artemis
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed April 7, 2022 (edited July 13, 2022)I was 12 when this was put in a barrel, and I imagine would not have known anything about scotch at the time. Now in my 40s I've had a few drams of scotch, but nothing approaching the age of this. I don't recall having tried anything in the 20s, let alone 30. It's an impressive and somewhat intimidating age statement. I hope this isn't wasted on me. I'm following Pking's lead and adding some water, and it definitely opens up the nose. I pick up some of the tropical notes, pineapple, maybe banana, sour apple, honey, and a smidge of the barnyard, although it comes across to me more as hay than especially funky. The palate is really pleasant, mouth-coating, honey, fruit, and a little more funky than I picked up on the nose. I don’t get a heavy wood influence, but there’s maybe a little oak lurking in the backyard. A nice warming finish rounds this out. What an incredible treat to try this, a 30 year old Bunna bottled at cask strength. Wow! Thank you @pkingmartin for the sample. 5 stars! -
Macallan Classic Cut (2019 Release)
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed April 6, 2022 (edited April 9, 2022)Traded a bottle of Blanton's for this. Was half-expecting to be disappointed, but I read enough reviews to feel fairly comfortable with the trade. The nose is a blast of raisin. I can also pick up some dark chocolate and orange. The palate brings honey, jammy red fruit, raisin, dark chocolate, and a little wisp of gunsmoke. Here it feels more like a feature than a flaw. I didn't like the sulfur in the 12 year Sherry Oak, but the little bit I notice here I experience as complexity. The proof is perfect for me, full flavored, not hot, not watery. Turns out Macallan isn’t all overpriced garbage, although I effectively only paid $60 for this. Also, this is the 2019 release, and I’ve heard the more recent Classic Cut releases haven’t been as good. -
John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed April 5, 2022 (edited April 8, 2022)Lemon, honey, raisin, maybe red apple, vanilla. If there's peat here, it successfully evades my ability to detect it. There's a little graininess, but not offensive. The higher proof seems to bring a fullness of flavor, which I especially appreciate. I think the flavor of the Green is better, but I'm a sucker for higher proof, so they're about even in my book. This is a great bargain at the $45 I bought it for. I'd say it's probably good up to about $60, which is about what Green seems to go for around here.45.0 USD per Bottle -
Benriach The Smoky Ten
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed April 2, 2022 (edited December 26, 2023)Edit: Just realized I had this on the wrong entry. New entry to reflect this was a tasting of the Smoky Ten, not the Original Ten Whiskey night tasting with friends. Very small sample. Tasted blind. I actually guessed correctly that this was Benriach Smoky 10, because the peat didn't come across like an Islay and there seems to be only a handful of non-Islay peated scotches that you can find locally. (I didn't do so well at guessing the others I tasted that night). It's been a while since I had the Curiositas, and I don't remember loving it. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and was in fact my favorite of the night. I liked the fruit and peat. I'm guessing the fruity sweetness is coming from the rum casks. I could see buying this one at the right price.
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