Tastes
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Mi Familia Flores Añejo Tequila
Tequila Añejo — Mexico
Reviewed November 10, 2023 (edited December 14, 2023)Anxious to delve deeper into the world of tequila ( especially as the new lady in my life is a bartender keen on showing me the great world of spirits outside of Whiskey ), the same friend who recommended the rather excellent Embajador Supreme Anejo also whole heartedly endorsed this tequila. So I decided to give it a try with the intent to grab a bottle of Extra Anejo if this was indeed quite tasty. The nose is heavily agave forward as with many tequilas. Vibrant, zesty citrus brings the party and a little vanilla with oak rides up the rear. The taste opens up rather innocently with gentle, sweet butterscotch. Mid taste you notice how intensely SWEET this tequila is. Wow. The taste is almost devoid of the familiar, herbal agave taste. Instead it bursts with flavors of vanilla, caramel and bananas. The mouth feel is a rather pleasant tingling/slight numbing reminiscent of Szechuan peppercorns ( but do not mistake - there isn't a pepper bite. Just a bit of tingly numbness mid tongue. ) As the taste transitions into finish, you do pick up a little bit of agave but on the much sweeter end. A bit of tannic oak and toasted bread mop up the sweetness quite well but really, that sweet tingling lingers to the finish. This is unlike any tequila I've really ever tasted. It might be just a tad sweet for me, but absolutely works well when sipped neat out of a Glencairn glass. But this one works mighty well as a dessert pour perhaps after a particularly spicy dinner. Yum! -
Wild Turkey Bourbon 101
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 10, 2023 (edited November 17, 2023)A fellow bourbon head on here recommended I give 101 a try after a less-than-favorable review of standard Wild Turkey. I'm on a quest to find decent pours in the sub $25/Bottle realm and was able to pick up a taste of this stuff for a modest $4. The nose is subtle but incredibly sweet. I'm detecting sweetened corn syrup, honey and vanilla. If you really inhale deep you do get a little zingy citrus in there. But really... it is barely noticeable. As favorable as the nose was, the taste impresses a bit less. Just not my dram of whiskey. Throughout the taste, prickly heat from the proof stings your tongue. Underneath this heat lies caramel, corn syrup and candy corn. The mouth heat stays prevalent throughout but carries artificially sweet corn syrup taste into the finish. There's a very consistent theme of sweet corn throughout. The finish sees mostly that heat spice start to die down and once it does, tannic oak takes center stage. A rather dry finish to balance out all of the sweetness on the taste. It is a step above standard Wild Turkey for sure, but not the best in this price segment. I think I just tend to prefer Maker's Mark offerings more. Hands down my favorite in the sub $20 mark is Buffalo Trace. -
Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 21, 2023 (edited October 22, 2023)In another installment of reviews of swill I got for free - Wild Turkey! There's got to be some sub $20 bourbon gems out there. The hunt continues for one.... Vanilla, caramel and spicy rye mingle with corn and some rather tannic oak on the nose. The palate opens slightly sweet before booming full force with spice. Although low proof, the astringency of this bourbon prickles your tongue. Charred sugar with vanilla offers a very soft sweet backdrop and as the taste transitions to finish there's an odd musty candy corn quality about it. Surprisingly, the mouth feel is oily and rich. Not sure how they did it with such low proof, but that is a positive about this bourbon. The finish is pretty quick though. It gets very rye spicy and leaves your tongue feeling tingly from the middle out. For such a budget bourbon it's really not bad but I think my favorite in this space still has to be Maker's Mark. -
Evan Williams Black Label
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 17, 2023 (edited October 19, 2023)A friend of mine bartends private events as a side gig and presented an unopened handle of this swill stating that "she knows I like whiskey". You know those moments when you know better? Like... you know you shouldn't drink this stuff.... but how hell can someone turn down 1.75 L of free booze, even if it is seemingly terrible? Even more so when the friend offering it to you is insanely attractive? ( Hey, what can I say? Sex sells. ) It can't be THAT bad, right? The nose is kind of funky on this. I smell caramel, apples, some peanuts and a little vanilla. The nose is very light, so breathe deep ( if you actually WANT to smell it ). The opening has a weird, powdery mouth feel with vanilla, burnt oak, ethanol and rye. It hits all at once, so don't look too hard for the complexity. The finish carries the rye spice and with it: drier tastes like leather. It's a somewhat long lasting albeit a very simple finish. I don't know...for this price point I thought I'd be spitting this stuff out. But it's not undrinkable. I'd happily accept a pour if I was already pretty drunk and couldn't make out one taste from another anyway. For this price you can do a LOT worse. -
Heaven's Door Ascension Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 17, 2023 (edited January 21, 2024)The nose smells of vanilla, caramel and buttery pastries. Upon deeper whiff, you pick up some dried apricot and a little herbaceous licorice. The palate begins innocently enough, as a bourbon should. Softly sweet caramel and vanilla that was present on the nose. The back of the taste becomes drier, spicier. Cinnamon, rye spice and pepper all carry that taste to to the finish. Surprisingly enough, the finish swirls that vanilla and caramel from earlier with some anise-like herbaceous qualities and is actually not a bad finish in and of itself. For an inexpensive, readily available new core offering from Heaven's Door ( I read it was a new core offering, please correct me if I am wrong ), this one is a solid sipper if not a little soft and one dimensional. Recommended for sure. -
Stagg Barrel Proof Bourbon 22B
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 13, 2023 (edited December 24, 2023)Man: Stagg is some pretty potent stuff. I kicked off my journey with Stagg with Batch 18 which was a heavy hitter and Batch 19 ( AKA 22B ) isn't much lighter. That said, if you can peek through the ethanol heat of this bourbon, there are some more complex and delicious qualities about it. The nose certainly doesn't smell of the proof. Black cherries with figs and caramel tantalize your senses as you go in for a taste. The taste is burning, tongue prickling proof. I wish I had chance to decanter this bourbon as I believe some time mingled with air would do it some good. But off of a freshly opened bottle, the taste is overwhelmingly ethanol with pepper. Vanilla does take back stage to all the heat, but is present enough to actually be noticeable. Really hard to taste anything past the heat. The finish is long lasting because it has to be, in order to let the heat from the taste die off. A little bit of vanilla still remains, mixed with some sour cherries. But really, dissipating heat takes center stage here. This one is tough for me. Everyone seems to swear by all things Stagg but I just think its a bit too hot to really be enjoyable. That said, I'm sure some pips of water or a little time in a decanter would really benefit this bourbon but really: who has the time for that? -
Does Weller CYPB change up depending on year of release? I've read some reviews of CYPB and really didn't seem to taste a big majority of the tasting notes that I've read about. Anyway, here's my review of CYPB as tasted from a Glencairn in 2023 at a restaurant, neat pour. The nose is all sweet and a delightful preview of things to come in the taste. Butterscotch and chocolate with a little hint of coconut and fresh pears open up your senses. What a sweet start to the taste! Honey, butterscotch and caramel open up to a very slight syrupy sweet hint of canned peach. You definitely get some Weller 12 mid taste and that is not a bad thing in the least bit. The finish gets a bit drier and spicier with some baking spices. Tannic oak kisses the tongue slightly for a well balanced and long lasting finish. Wow! I can see why CYPB is in such high demand and low supply. By far and away one of the tastiest selections I've had yet.
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Glenfiddich 14 Year Bourbon Barrel Reserve
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed September 12, 2023 (edited September 13, 2023)Taking a break from the limited or rare whiskies is a welcome change. I remember in my infancy of whiskey tasting, I had a pour of Glenfiddich 14, neat and it was one of the first single malts I genuinely enjoyed neat. Hey, we all went through our chilled / on the rocks phase. I saw a bottle of this stuff at one of my favorite local shops and decided to take a stroll down memory lane. Sweet vanilla kicks off the nose. Candied citrus peel adds a vibrant and sweet hit then fades off to a little baking spice and caramel apple. The taste is sweet and moderately fruity. Toffee, more of that caramel apple from the nose and vanilla swirl with bright spices and the faintest citrusy tartness. The spice carries to the finish, with some tongue prickling cinnamon. Some charred oak lends just a tad bit of tannic dryness but not jarring. Truly one of the better "affordable" single malt whiskies on the market. A superb value for money for a hidden gem. -
Embajador Supreme Tequila
Tequila Añejo — Los Altos, Jalisco, Mexico
Reviewed August 20, 2023 (edited August 21, 2023)In my buddy's quest to turn me on to tequila, I received a bottle of this stuff as a belated birthday present. As a die hard whiskey fanatic, it will be admittedly difficult to switch me over to anything other than my amber, aged, nectar of the Gods. But given his conviction over this specific tequila, I thought that this selection might be worth a proper taste. The nose smells very strong of the grassy, earthy note that I dislike so much about tequilas. But bundled into that nose is a surprising hit of caramel and coffee. Dare I say that it smells quite delicious? The front of the taste is so sweet! Caramel, milk chocolate and coffee all blossom from the palate. Halfway through the taste, some of that grassy, herbaceous agave flavor blossoms for a moment then is washed away by spicy cinnamon and creamy vanilla. The finish swings back into the realm of spicy, but this time with some slightly bitter, vegetal dryness. Tastes like a bundle of fresh herbs going down with some tongue tingling peppercorns. Wow! This might be the first tequila I've actually thoroughly enjoyed. I guess I will need to keep an open mind to Anejos in the future. Bravo! -
Old Ezra 7 Year Barrel Strength Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 19, 2023 (edited September 6, 2023)I don't really know much about Ezra Brooks' bourbon selections but a good friend of mine recommended I try Old Ezra if I ever got the chance to do so. With a reasonable price point and a barrel strength punch, I figured I didn't have much to lose! Very traditional barrel strength bourbon nose. Charred oak, vanilla and brown sugar with a kiss of cherries and baking spice to close it out. What an interesting taste! Starts very sweet with caramel that opens up to sweet and tart cherries before baking spices and tannic oak swirl into the mix. I think the proof makes that drier, tannic oak rush the other flavors off the palate a little too quickly, but it is pleasant, nonetheless. The finish stays on the dry and spicy side. A very brief hit of leather mixes with that oak and baking spice. The proof does prickle your tongue just a bit, but not unpleasantly so. The finish isn't super long, oily or as full bodied as I was hoping for but as the flavors fall off, there's a hint of vanilla that lingers just for a moment. Breathe in through your mouth and you'll detect it more clearly. For a budget barrel strength bourbon this one is solid!
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