Tastes

Significantly better than the 003 expression that came out the following year. The notes on the palate were distinctly different from each other, but worked in tandem… young yet tame rye (perhaps a fairly narrow cut?), green grass, and white florals (more used to that in Scotland/Ireland than in the U.S.). There was a slight cayenne/chili powder sensation (not taste) at the front end of the finish.

On a blind nosing, I probably wouldn’t guess this was Irish whiskey; I’d probably guess it was a young U.S. whiskey experimental expression of some sort. But on the palate it reveals itself as a U.S. whiskey “poser” and the malt and cereal notes start showing up after a little hunting, followed by a nutty dusting on top. The finish lasts about 15 seconds for me, shorter than I would like, but does bring some mint and saltwater taffy into the mix. Overall it was nice… but not $150 nice.

Delicious. The burn of black pepper on the nose turns to white pepper on the palate. It definitely tastes like a young high rye whiskey, but has a lot of complexity. There’s no corn in the mash bill, but the wood char comes through with pleasant vanillin that after about 20 minutes in the glass turned toward ripe banana for me. The finish is long and stings a little (in a good way) on the mid center of the tongue that reveals some cinnamon.

The nose was a bit obscure smelling of just general rye, but the palate was dominated by hay and manure. I can appreciate what they’re trying to do with terroir specificity, but I think Ireland and Scotland are succeeding more at that game. I’ll give it another go at some point but for now, for WhistlePig I’ll stick to the 10 year rye.

Had more going on on the nose than the palate, but the palate started catching up the longer I sat with it and over all ended up being quite nice. The northern cold weather seems to have more influence than the summer heat… had a depth of cherry and cola more so than oak tannin (which was minimal). The rye comes through as a light accent, surprising considering it was 25% of the mash bill.

I always have this on hand. A great middle of the road scotch (across all five regions), fully rounded, enough peat for flair but not overwhelming, with a cranberry toffee snickerdoodle vibe that marries well with the tannins. This is often what I give people to try when they’ve just had like Balvenie 12 year and are wanting to explore peatier stuff (but aren’t quite ready for Islay).

Of the non-scotch single malts I’ve had, this is the closest to actual scotch… if you put this in a lineup alongside four scotches, I’m not sure I’d be able to say this was the “non-scotch” among them. It lives in the Speyside/Highland realm for me. The barley is very crisp on the nose with underlying full bodied fruits (not meaning super fruity) and a hint of peat, but not smoky at all. This translates entirely to the palate but with the addition of leather that then turns woody on the finish. I get more of the red burgundy barrel influence than the sherry; I’ll admit I don’t know enough about Sauternes to be able to pick it out. All in all a beautiful bottle, great for fall weather.

Sweet, vanilla, and slight fruit on the nose; oak and vanilla on the taste, green apple gets added in on the finish; then I’m left with some toasty leather vibes in the aftertaste. For only 10% rye, there’s a bit of a spicy quality that lingers in my mouth. I don’t really get the smoke that a lot of people mention for this bourbon (but that may just be because of all the scotch I’ve been drinking as of late).

The nose revealed a lot of notes: baked cookie, honey, grass, spice/rye, high proof heat, etc. seemed promising. Upon tasting though, I was conflicted… instead of working together, the various notes seemed to be vying for individual attention, and by the end of the pour were cancelling each other out. I felt like I was tasting a bit of rye, but as best I could learn it was a corn, wheat, and malted barley mash bill. It was remarkably smooth and very little heat despite being 104.2 proof. The aftertaste gave the impression it contained some sort of flavor additives, but I could not find any concrete information to confirm or deny this. All in all, I feel this particular barrel pick of Wilderness Trail’s Family Reserve Single Barrel line was not worth the price.

A bit uninspired, but for the price point it’s not bad. All the same, I’d be willing to pay a little more for something else that’s better.