Tastes

This is an interesting whiskey on paper. It’s a four-grain, led by oat, followed by malted barely, rye, and wheat. It’s the first I’ve had with that specific combination. It’s also my first Illinois distillery, coming out of Chicago. Let’s check it out. Barrel # 7G6X6K Nose: Heavy brown sugar. Oat and almond. An astringent sweet nail polish note. Banana-walnut muffin balances that out. Rum cake as well. Cocoa and oak. Palate: Again, very heavy on the brown sugar. Oat and almond also carry over from the nose. The almond is toasted. Walnut as well. Caramel and vanilla. Fudge and milk chocolate. Sawdust and timber. Some more of that nail polish. The rye is more prominent here—rye spice and black pepper now accompany the oak. Finish: Brown sugar. Nail polish. Cola. Banana bread. Almond, walnut, and oat. Black pepper, rye, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Medium length finish. This is a strange whiskey, but a good one. The mash bill is definitely reflected in the flavor profile. Oat is an interesting lead role, and I think this one pulls it off. At $45, I think I got my money’s worth out of this one. I will return to it. I had a bottle a couple years back that was terrible. Massive upgrade with this one. I will certainly revisit this in the future, but a 3/5 rating is where I have this for now. Solid.

Knob Creek 9 is solid. Knob Creek 12 was even better. So the 15 has to be amazing, right? It’s a Single Barrel, it’s Jim Beam, and it’s the oldest bourbon I’ve reviewed. Let’s see what it’s all about. This is from Batch: KC001, which I guess makes it from 2020. Nose: Peanut brittle and peanut butter. Cherry and brown sugar. Vanilla, caramel, and toffee. Cocoa and tobacco smoke. Pistachio, walnut, and almond accompany the peanut. Sawdust and lumber. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and a heavy, heavy oak note. Palate: Peanut brittle, peanut brittle, cocoa, and brown sugar. Vanilla and caramel. Gala apple, dried apricot, golden raisin, and leather. A hint of cherry and cola. Almond. Heavy bitter oak. Black pepper, clove, and nutmeg add some heavy spice. Finish: Peanut brittle and peanut butter. Caramel and vanilla. Dried apricot, cocoa, and tobacco smoke. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long finish, as expected of a 100 proof beast. As expected, it’s an awesome whiskey. A few years in the barrel works wonders for the KC formula, although that applies slightly more to the 12 than this 15 year. Not saying much about this one considering that I think the former is as good a whiskey you can find. Extremely well-balanced bourbon. It only has two weaknesses. It is fairly bitter, which can be attributed to the 15 years it spent in the barrel. And compared to the 12, VFM. At $95, this almost double the cost for a comparable (maybe slightly inferior) bourbon. It may not beat the 12, the Single Barrel 15 is fantastic nonetheless. It is absolutely delicious and potent in all the right ways. 4.75/5.

Tamdhu Batch Strength Batch 004 was one of my favorite Scotches to date. Which brings us to this one. I was very glad to have found one of these Batch 003 bottles. This one clocks in half a percent higher than the 004 at 58.3% ABV. Outside of that, it’s the same formula. So let’s hope the quality is also consistent. Nose: Poundcake, raisin, date, fig, plum, and grape. Cola. Absolute Sherry bomb. Carrot cake and custard. Caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, and milk chocolate. Orange cream soda. Cocoa. Dried apricot. Orange peel and black pepper. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and oak. A lot of heat. Palate: Gala apple and apricot. Plum, raisin, date, and fig. Caramel, vanilla, and cola. Grape and cranberry. Big-time cherry note. Orange cream soda. Milk chocolate and orange zest. Chestnut and a touch of pound cake. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Plum, date, fig, plum, and orange zest. Caramel, brown sugar, coffee, and chestnut. Orange cream soda. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long finish—I’d expect nothing less. Fantastic. What an absolute beast of a sherry bomb. It’s hot as hell but balanced and hits all of my favorite sherried-Scotch notes with powerful, undiluted ferocity. Despite, the heat, every flavor is still easily accessible. 5/5. Worth every penny of the $86 I paid to get this. I’d pay more to get another. It’s a gem from the past, so recommending this batch is not helpful, but based on this and my experience with 004, we have a winner with this line. With that in mind, I’ll be buying any future batch with confidence.

Of everything tried, Four Roses is one of the top contenders for what I’d call “the quintessential bourbon.” At least in terms of profile. This is a great distillery that often gets overlooked despite its quality and exceptional value. Nose: Brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, and Gala apple. Butterscotch with the slightest hint of cherry and leather. Milk chocolate and cocoa. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Dried apricot and ginger. Gala apple and golden raisin. Fudge, milk chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. Cherry and leather. Pistachio, walnut, and almond. A touch of brown sugar. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice provide some decent heat. Finish: Gala apple, vanilla, and caramel. Cocoa, black tea, and pipe tobacco. Dried apricot. Sawdust. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate length. Bourbon is well-represented with this one. A great balance of sweetness and spice. Solid nose, palate, and finish. And the kicker is the value. $32 for this gem. This is easily better than some of the bourbons that folks have been making runs at liquor stores—sometimes by the case. All while this sits on the shelf, being purchased at a steady rate. If your looking to mix it up and haven’t properly explored this one, I highly recommend this it. 4.25/5.

Pinhook is the Castle & Key’s sourced juice. This is my follow up to Bourbon Country (bourbon.) That one was solid. Definitely worth giving one of their rye batches a go, so let’s check it out. Nose: Rye bread. Black pepper. Pistachio and mint chocolate. Vanilla and walnut. Apple and cinnamon (think Apple Jacks.) Heavy rye spice, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Rye spice and dill. Rye bread. Gala apple. Fudge. Apple and Cinnamon Apple Jacks again. Pistachio and mint chocolate have fallen to the background, accompanied by caramel and vanilla. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Pistachio, walnut, and almond. Mint chocolate and vanilla Gala apple that lends itself to a Apple Jack’s Cinnamon and Apple note—again. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long finish, which exceeds my expectation of a 46.75% ABV whiskey. This is a winner. Nose, palate, and finish all score high. VFM adds an even greater boost considering this only ran me $35. I am very impressed, and some of these notes are extremely unique, which adds to the mystique. This one beats the Bourbon Country—which is the bourbon batch that Castle & Key put out at the time they did this—by a decent bit. 4.25/5.

I’ve reviewed this before, but the last one I did was for a single barrel. This is the regular old Eagle Rare 10. I loved the SB. Enough said. Let’s check it out. Nose: Gala apple and leather. Black cherry. Caramel, brown sugar, toffee, and vanilla. Cocoa and black tea. Pipe tobacco. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Gala apple and leather. Black cherry. Brown sugar, toffee, caramel, and vanilla. Milk chocolate. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Cocoa, tobacco smoke, and black tea. Apple, leather, brown sugar, and caramel. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Excellent as always. If I had to say, the single barrel was a cut above the standard. But this was great nonetheless. I managed to find this for $40. I know it’s been jacked up in many places. It’s a shame to see what’s been happening to the Buffalo Trace line of late. It’s despicably overpriced, and I’m generally just turned off by it all. With that being said, $40 is an amazing value for this. I always appreciate the BT quality and signature profile. 4,25/5.

I have loved my experience with a couple of the A’bunadh batches I’ve gotten to try. So when I saw the Alba (bourbon cask equivalent to the standard sherried version,) my interest was immediately piqued. This is from Batch No. 002. 58.7% ABV. Let’s check it out. Nose: Apple, pear, apricot, and orange. Floral notes. Toffee, vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. Graham cracker. Toasted almond. Plum skin. Cocoa. Timber and oak. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ethanol all hit with massive power. Palate: Apple, pear, apricot, and plum. Green grape. Raisin, date, and fig. Caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, and toffee. Milk chocolate. Almond, cashew, and chestnut. Cola. Cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Oak. Finish: Cola, caramel, and butterscotch. Apple, pear, apricot, and green grape. Vanilla, toffee, and milk chocolate. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak by the pound. Long as they make them. Experiment successful. I wasn’t sure what would become of the Aberlour profile without the sherry cask influence. Turns out that it’s marvelous. The nose and palate are solid. The finish is stunning. At $77, this is a hell of a deal. This is as good as the regular A’bunadh and their 18-year old, but it’s the cheapest of the lot. Awesome stuff, Aberlour. 4.75/5.

I have high expectations for this one. I enjoyed the standard KC Rye and absolutely loved the Barrel Proof Single Barrel Bourbon. Hopefully the rye gets a similar upgrade as an SB BP. This bottle is from Barrel #7642. This bottle has the lighter green label—this is the older style packaging which means it was bottled at least a few years ago. Nose: Almond, walnut, cashew, and pistachio. Black licorice. Black tea, cocoa, and pipe tobacco. Pumpkin spice. Rye spice. Baking soda. Dill. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Caramel and vanilla. Apple and leather. Pistachio, walnut, and almond. Coca and black tea. Pumpkin spice. Rye bread and sourdough. More rye spice and massive black pepper. Orange peel and ginger. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oak. Finish: More of the apple, caramel, and leather. Cocoa, black, and pipe smoke. Pistachio and almond. Rye, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long as they make a finish—as expected at 57.5% ABV. Solid nose and palate. Remarkable finish. Considering I paid $40–on sale down from $50–the VFM here is amazing at either price. Now, to compare this to the Knob Creek Rye and the KC SB BP. This is a major upgrade to the profile of the standard rye, with some Single Barrel complexity mixed in for good measure. However, it’s a hair behind its bourbon counterpart. Just a hair. As a result, this lands squarely at 4.75. One of the best I’ve had. And I feel the need to point out that the Beam distillery is demolishing the competition for when it comes to well-priced American whiskey. This one is just another in their belt.

After a few years of serious whiskey exploration, it can feel as though you’ve run out of unique experiences. This is highly untrue, but it can feel this way, nevertheless. Enter this, an Irish rye. It’s a first, and to my knowledge, the first rye I’ve had from outside North America. It seems to have a mash of rye, malted barley, and unmalted barley, which is also a first. Let’s see if the quality matches the uniqueness. Nose: Plush sweetness. Apple, pear, peach, and apricot. Dried apricot and black licorice as well. Pineapple and coconut. Almond. Toffee, vanilla, and a faint hint of shortbread cookie. Vanilla frosting and marshmallow. Floral notes. Oak. Palate: Dried apricot and golden raisin. Granny Smith apple and pear. Pineapple and a big coconut note. Vanilla, toffee, malt, and caramel. Almond, walnut, macadamia, and cashew. Oak. Finish: This remains plush through the finish. Apricot (dried and regular) and golden raisin. Apple and pear. Lime. Shortbread cookie, vanilla, toffee, and caramel. Almond, walnut, and cashew. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate-long finish, leaning toward the latter. This is exceptional, especially compared to what I expected. An Irish rye has an experimental sound to it—and I believe this was the first of its kind. Cooley knocked it knocked out the park on their first try, and has set the bar ridiculously high for all those to follow. This was on sale at $27–down from $32 which is generally where I see it priced. Either way, this is a remarkable value. I score the nose, palate, and finish equally high. And the VFM adds on even greater boost. What a great idea. What a great mash. What a great value. What’s more to be said. 4.25/5–well done, Cooley.

I have always been a big proponent of distilleries offering a variation of their flagship offering. Of those that do, Laphroaig has been one of the more impressive with its 10-year CS. Enter the Laphroaig 10-year Sherry Oak Finish. A second variation of an already superb standard bottling. Instead of cranking it up to cask strength, we get a nice boost at 48% ABV and an additional sherry oak kick. Nose: Iodine, band-aid, brine, sea salt, seaweed, and chestnut. Heavy oak and some tennis ball, though the sherry notes overpower it where it usually shines in a Laphroaig. Cranberry, raspberry, raisin, and cola. Vanilla and caramel. Custard and mint chocolate. Cinnamon and black pepper spice. Palate: Salty dog, this one. Ballpark hot pretzel. Sea salt and brine with some seaweed. Grilled spinach. An interesting mix of campfire and hookah smoke. Smoked brisket. Mint chocolate and dark chocolate. Salted caramel. Raspberry and chocolate-covered strawberry. Black bean and red pepper chili. Oak spice. Finish: Sea salt, brine, iodine, band-aid and campfire smoke. Mint chocolate. Salted caramel, vanilla. Cinnamon and black pepper. Black bean, red pepper chili. Oak. Long finish. I think this is a fantastic addition to the Laphroaig core line. One of the better and more unique variations I’ve had to date. We’re this a Diageo product, it’d be called “Laphroaig Distiller’s addition.” As it is, I’d say the sherry oak component gives this a bigger boost than anything that series has had to offer. 5/5. If it was not already apparent, I am a huge fan of this one. It’s high-octane, yet the sherry cask adds a ton of nuance that the standard 10-year misses on. At $85, this hits its mark for VFM—and then some. Buy on sight. Well done, Laphroaig.