Tastes
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Missouri Ridge Straight American Single Malt
American Single Malt — Missouri, USA
Reviewed August 28, 2023 (edited March 26, 2024)It says aged 401 days. From a distillery in Branson, Missouri. Oh boy, here we go… The nose is a mix of new make sourness, damp cardboard, old Tootsie Roll, and something vaguely citrus. The palate follows with much of the same. The palate is better insofar as the nose is fairly offensive, but the palate is mostly bland and unenjoyable. The damp carboard note is balanced by some generic sweetness. Thankfully, the finish is mercifully short. The Tootsie Roll note is kind of interesting, but overall not good. It’s mind-boggling that they put a $65 price tag on this. Maybe I’m missing something about the terroir of Redneck Vegas. -
Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed August 24, 2023 (edited April 23, 2024)The nose is lemony vanilla. Banana. The peat is there as you approach the glass, but remains somewhat on the periphery. The palate brings the tropical fruits Arran seems to be known for. Banana, pineapple, coconut. Big vanilla sweetness - must be all ex-bourbon casks. Peat is more prominent on the palate than the nose. I’m not getting any of the medicinal notes as in Islay peat, but it’s more smoky and salty/briny. The finish is fairly short for a peated dram, but does show some oak and spice, lingering vanilla smokiness. I quite enjoy this, but wish it had been an entire bottle. Unfortunately, it arrived from Fine Drams with a leak of about 20% of the bottle, and also unfortunately, Fine Drams apparently has no customer support. They haven’t responded to emails or social media messages, even though I can see that they’ve read the messages. For a moderately peated whiskey, it’s an easy drinker. It’s fine neat, but I think does better with a little water. It’s not complex - it seems like it’s missing a savory element to balance the sweet and peat. But overall I’d say it’s a winner (of course, I think white dog from Arran would probably be a winner). Credit to Finedrams, as they did end up sending a replacement bottle, which arrived safely. Also, additional tastings have me bumping this up a quarter point. Clean fruity peat and it's just an easy drinker.FineNordic -
Talisker Distillers Edition
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed July 30, 2023 (edited August 24, 2023)2021 bottling. The nose is orange, milk chocolate, honey, pear, pepper. The peat is in there, but it's subdued more than i remember from my last tasting of this, which was from the 2019 edition. The nose is somewhat reminiscent of a Highland Park, more so than what I'd expect from Talisker. The palate shows more peat, but also shows a good bit of lactic funk. Wet cardboard. Ham, orange, light to medium peat. Prickly heat. The funkiness reminds me of the unpleasant experience i had with the Balvenie Toast of American Oak, which makes me think this bottle was somehow spoiled like i think that one was. Not to the same level, but this still is not great. After some googling, I'm convinced this bottle has experienced what's informally known as cork taint, or TCA spoilage. What convinced me is the recommendation to try soaking the whiskey with a bit of saran wrap, as TCA is said to bind to polyethylene. Sure enough, the whiskey seemed to improve after swirling it with a piece of cling wrap. However, as that's unrealistic to expect to do that with every dram, I'm considering trying to return this bottle to the store. Anyone else had any experience with corked whisky, or ever tried returning a bottle before?Byron's Liquor Warehouse -
Kilchoman 100% Islay (12th Edition)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed July 22, 2023 (edited October 22, 2023)I haven’t been blown away by previous Kilchoman tastings, but i was intrigued by the 100% Islay using all local barley that was floor malted in house. According to the box (which actually made it home this time), the peat is local to Islay also. The nose is lemony-vanilla, banana, and a hint of permanent marker (credit to someone else for that note, but it’s spot-on). Slight earthy note. The peat isn’t really hitting me strongly in the nose. Some ethanol shows up, it noses all of 50% ABV, if not a bit higher. The palate is more rewarding than the nose. The lemon vanilla comes through. Also the banana. Peat smoke is more prevalent here and through the finish. The peat is more smoky than earthy, as in the Loch Gorm. Also salty, seawater. Minerals. The finish is fairly short for an Islay, but pleasant. I like this. It’s probably my favorite of the 3 Kilchomans I’ve tried. It’s an enjoyable whisky. However, I haven’t tried the Machir Bay, and I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t significantly better. I do appreciate what the distillery is doing, and I don’t mind paying more for the extra work they’ve put in here, but I kind of expected a little more. It’s good, but if you’re not into paying more for the story, your money can go further with other Islay malts.104.0 USD per Bottle -
Colkegan Cask Strength Single Malt
American Single Malt — New Mexico, USA
Reviewed July 22, 2023 (edited August 12, 2023)This bottle came home with me from a trip to Santa Fe. Didn’t make it to the distillery, but tasted 5 different bottles at their downtown tasting room. My favorites were this one and the apple brandy finished single malt. I understand that the single malt is a blend of 30% mesquite smoked malted barley and 70% unsmoked. Compared to the Del Bac Dorado, the mesquite flavor can be difficult to find. In fact, on the nose I don’t notice mesquite or smoke at all. It’s mostly apple, bubblegum, and something slightly herbal. The palate and finish seem to be where the mesquite shows up, but I’m not sure that I’d identify it if I wasn’t looking for it. It’s fairly subtle. It’s drinkable neat, but I prefer it with a little water. On the palate more apple and now caramel and cinnamon. A little smoke shows up on the back end going into the finish. It’s not immediately recognizable as mesquite smoke as it is with Del Bac, but some smoke is there nonetheless. Something mildly herbal shows up again, which someone else identified as sage, and I could go along with that. Overall, I enjoy this. It’s perhaps less interesting than Del Bac Dorado, but it’s more drinkable with the mesquite dialed way back to almost unnoticeable. It still retains some interest with the slight smoke and herbal note. Not on the level of some of the better Balcones single malts, but I think worth checking out, especially at the reasonable prices at the distillery. The regular priced at 49, apple brandy finished at 59, and cask strength $69.69.0 USD per Bottle -
Westward Pinot Noir & Rose Single Barrel ( Westward Club Exclusive)
American Single Malt — Pacific Northwest, USA
Reviewed July 8, 2023 (edited August 3, 2023)The nose is winey, floral, citrus, and something about it reminds me of removing old wallpaper from walls. Not sure if it's the glue or the damp mustiness of the wallpaper. It's not an entirely unpleasant note, but definitely interesting. The palate carries over much of the same, with a continuation of the odd/interesting flavor experience from the nose. It's quite full-flavored for the proof. Floral, herbal, strawberry taffy sweetness. The finish shows some wood tannins, but it's a nice balance to the floral fruit funk. I believe I've had a Westward before, but the experience here doesn't feel familiar. I can definitely say I've never tried anything with these flavors, so score a point for uniqueness. I'm not sure that it would be something I'd want on the regular, but I enjoyed the sample and am pleased to be able to try. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine -
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2023 White Port & Madeira Casks
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed July 1, 2023 (edited December 19, 2023)I waited more than a year after release of the 2022 to pick it up, but I bought this one the first day it showed up in stores locally. Don't know anything about white port, but I tend to enjoy madiera finished whiskies, so I was looking forward to this one. The nose shows a little more fruit than typical Laphroaig, but it's not leaping out. A little citrus, a little green apple. As it opens a bit of berry and cream. Some of the usual suspects show up like brine, slight medicinal iodine. The sour apple and citrus fruit seem to stand out most to me. The palate sees much of the same as the nose, but the peat shows up in a much bigger way. The brine and iodine lead the way, along with ashy smoke. The sweet vanilla that shows up in the 2022 Warehouse 1 is dialed back quite a bit, but it's in there too. There's a little meatiness, like smoked ham, which I usually associate more with Ardbeg than Laphroaig. The finish turns a little tannic before the smoke rides out on a medium to long finish. Seems to me that the finishing on this one is more understated, particularly compared to the 2021 with the heavy PX influence. I think fans of the general Laphroaig profile will find a lot to like here, but those looking for a heavy finish may be somewhat disappointed. I've kind of become a Laphroaig fanboy, so I enjoy it, but I think I actually prefer the 2022, which I almost didn't even buy.92.0 USD per Bottle -
If you Google Ardbeg BizarreBQ you can find a picture of the original proposed back label for this release, which stated that their "BBQ casks" were comprised of "oak toasted over a brazier packed with seaweed and birchwood." For whatever reason, they left that interesting nugget out of the label that made it onto bottles, only noting that the casks included double charred oak, PX sherry, and "unique BBQ casks." Obviously, it sounds like another one of their harebrained gimmicks, but the early reviews seemed positive, so what the hey? On the nose berries and charcoal smoke, ham, something vegetal. The palate is sweet with cinnamon sugar up front, strawberry jam, honey ham, tangy raspberry barbecue sauce, chocolate. The smoke builds and builds toward the the back end. It's more like barbecue smoke, but there's a little of the Ardbeg peaty signature in there too. The finish is sooty with a bit of dark chocolate and meaty barbecue tang. An Ardbeg special release under $100 is it's own special unicorn. And it's actually good! Compared to the regular releases, I think I'd put this slightly behind Oogie and Corry, but well ahead of An Oa. I did buy a second bottle though, so I clearly enjoy it. I'm going 4-4.25, but tempted to go higher on the rating because I want to give props to Ardbeg for actually finding a gimmick that works, and for releasing it at a reasonable price.80.0 USD per Bottle
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Laphroaig Cairdeas 2022 Warehouse 1
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed June 28, 2023 (edited August 17, 2023)I held off on buying this one after early reviews suggested it was a little underwhelming. But recent reviews have been better, and i got impatient waiting for the 2023 to arrive. On the nose lemon vanilla cream, seashell, seaweed, iodine, peat smoke. The palate is briny, vanilla sugar, lemon drop candy, caramel, seaweed, pepper, medicinal peat. The finish is lemon vanilla smoke. It's distinctively Laphroaig. It's smoky, salty, it's sweet. What's not to like?95.0 USD per Bottle -
When choosing an obtainable higher proof Ardbeg, I’ve opted for the Uigeadail a couple times because it seemed like the consensus said it was better than the Corry. But this has been back on my radar ever since @skillerified described it as like dragon’s breath (great description, btw!). Unfortunately, with prices for this now north of $100 I haven’t been a buyer. But I recently happened upon a dusty box marked $82 and pulled the trigger. The laser date shows it was bottled in 2016, which explains the dust. On the nose, briny smoke, onion soup, smoked kippers, smidge of iodine, lemon and orange peels, vanilla, caramel. The palate does well with a splash of water to tame the heat. Much of the same notes from the nose, along with some coffee grounds and dark chocolate. Maybe a hint of berry. The texture is nice. On the finish sweet wood, pepper, smoke and ash, lingering sweetness. Ardbeg seems to catch a lot of flak for their gimmicky special releases, but their core range is very solid. Like others, I’d currently rank the Corry slightly below Oogie, but I’m early into this bottle and could imagine my rankings flip flop by the end of it.82.0 USD per Bottle
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