Tastes

Why does Blanton's Black get so much hate? Its an 80 proof bourbon.... you have to go into the taste knowing you aren't going to get a full bodied, cask strength stunner. If the flavors are there albeit soft and a bit muted and this bourbon is easy drinking, does that not reach the end goal? The nose on Blanton's Black is dominated by sweet caramel. Almost smells as sweet as a dessert. A hint of underlying vanilla is there and the end of the nose is punctuated by a quick and decisive hit of cinnamon. Brown sugar and caramel melt slowly on your tongue as they dance with a touch of vanilla and sweet baking spices. The taste is very sweet, almost cloying. As the finish starts, a kiss of rye spice and again the cinnamon from the nose carry all that sweetness away. You're left with a bit of salted caramel hitting at mid tongue as the finish fades into the distance. Blanton's Black isn't as oily or long lasting as the other bottlings but for obvious reasons: this one is bottled at 80 proof. But its sweet, delicious and an easy drinker. If you have friends who are asking you about bourbon who don't yet drink whiskey or bourbon, this would make a great gateway bourbon for them ( well... if it wasn't so damned rare in the states that is ). Almost every bad review I've seen about Blanton's Black compares it directly with Single Barrel. My review is based on the merits of the bourbon alone, not when compared to its more complex brethren. And by that measure: this is a fantastic, sweet and agreeable bourbon. Delicious.

Keen on satisfying my current Blanton's fixation I've decided to try two of their Japanese market bottlings this evening, the first of which is Red. The nose is very sweet and rich. Smells of butterscotch and brandied cherries which falls off into some dampened oak chips. Sweet spices hit your tongue strong and fast. Cinnamon and nutmeg and they bring with it a prickling tongue sensation. As the taste fades away into the finish a sweet and delicious caramel and vanilla wave dissipate the spicy heat for a prolonged moment. As you're left with a salted caramel type taste right at mid tongue, the faintest hint of rye spice and a little of that cinnamon and nutmeg spice carries the sip into your memories. I don't know that any bourbon can be as good as Blanton's Original Single barrel but this is special in its own right. Spicier and fuller bodied than its less mature, more common single barrel sibling, this bourbon hits just right on a cold rainy night.

Ignited by the glorious bourbon that is RC6, I immediately became a fan of Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series. Like a chump, I assumed I would be able to get my hands on every bottling locally and I was dead wrong. I finally, recently grabbed a bottle of FAE-02 but am still on the hunt for SE4 PR5, trying to squeeze these tastes in before BRT 01 and 02 release for me to either order or purchase in store. The nose is sweet and powerful. Brown sugar and licorice are the predominant scents to me. Initial taste is all sweet. Milk chocolate, vanilla and honey greet you warmly but blend into slightly bitter and aromatic spices like cinnamon and ginger. A slightly bitter finish gives way to a interesting fresh herbaceous quality. Kind of reminds me of mint ( the herb, not like toothpaste ). Kind of tastes like some rye on the mash bill but classed up a bit for this special bottling. The finish stays spicy and the the mouthfeel is a bit thin and disappears into a slightly bitter and powdery texture on the tongue like dark chocolate powder. I've only had the pleasure of tasting RC6, FAE01 and now FAE02 in the Maker's Mark Wood Finishing series and this is really my least favorite of the 3. However, as a standalone bourbon its really quite good. It brings across some qualities you don't expect out of makers, particularly that refreshing herbaceous spice flavor on the finish. Try FAE02 if you can but don't go out of your way to hunt down a bottle.

Oh I have been waiting a long long time to try this one. Its no secret that Blantons Single Barrel is my favorite bourbon of all time but not having tasted any of the rarer selections, I was eager to try one of the most special bottlings: Blanton's Gold. This bottle I procured was in 700 ML Size, indicating it was an import from the European market ( or so I have been told ). On the nose is a dark pitted fruit like over ripened cherries mixed with raisins. There is a bit of citrusy twang with a light sprinkling of something slightly woody and grassy. Maybe a little sawdust sprinkled on some hay? The taste begins sweet enough with vanilla and thick creamy honey. And then, mid taste... what is this? Some peppery spice! Unexpected if all you've tasted is Blanton's Single Barrel. The finish starts with hints of rye, typically not my favorite taste profile but its faint enough in Blanton's Gold that it isn't offensive. The dry heat and peppery spice stay in your mouth for the long, oily finish. But as this spice fades away a slightly bitter and musty leathery quality underlines some sweet honey. MAN this finish is long lasting and almost another taste within itself. Can bourbon get any deeper, more complex and more expressive than Blanton's Gold? Not that I've tasted. That said, expect more spice and heat than you may be used to from Blanton's Single Barrel. The remarkable thing is: where other bourbons carrying this quantity of spice are jarring or sometimes unpleasant... Blanton's Gold just isn't. I don't know if this is worth the price premium or the long hunt over good ol' Single Barrel but if you get the opportunity to taste: please do.

The Dalmore King Alexander III... If fruit is your cup of tea ( or should I say... your dram of whiskey? ) this might be pretty close to as good as it gets. I'm impartial, but this is a fine whiskey indeed. A deep red fruity character dominates the nose but there's also a little bit of roasted nuts in there. The front of the taste opens up with sweet winter spices and blossoms into chocolate covered raspberries. This one is intensely sweet, almost cloying. The finish veers decisively into the realm of tart cranberries and finishes sweet and tart.

I've wanted to try Signet for a long time but could not ever really justify spending the green on a bottle. I got my chance at a taste during my anniversary dinner at a nice steak house. The nose of this superb whiskey starts off with creamy milk chocolate along with some orange peel. A sweet nuttiness softens that citrus as well. The taste begins a tad nutty and sweet, like peanut brittle. Sweet brandied cherries swirl with milk chocolate as the decadent taste crescendos then fades into a faint hint of peat smoke plus a bit of leather smoking jacket. The finish is long and satisfying, ending with a kiss of baking spices. Boy this is one of the better ones. And a huge reason why Glenmorangie is still one of the best.

A sweet and indulgent nose is filled with Brown sugar, caramel and ripe apples. That deliciously sweet nose carries on into the taste. Initial taste carries a hint of sweet but every so slightly tart candied apples. The familiar Maker's creamy vanilla rises to the occasion mid taste. The finish is hot, understandable from the proof but questionable as other Maker's limited selections seldom taste this hot. The finish is slightly dry and a little astringent but carries with it a bit of bitter unsweetened chocolate and just a hint of burnt sugar. Really, is there ANY Maker's limited production selection that's BAD per say? On its own this is a very solid, high proof bourbon. But when comparing it with Maker's amazing Wood Finishing Series: this one falls short. It's just a bit too hot and a bit too astringent to snag my heart.

The nose carries fruit and spice within it, reminds me of those spiced chewy gumdrop candies, but perhaps just a bit more tart. The taste is quick and simple. Not much complexity to this whiskey but at this price, that's just fine. Oddly enough, I'm not picking up a whole lot of fruit in the taste. Tastes a bit sweet and spicy, like cinnamon candy. The finish is quick but hits you with a little bit of astringency, reminding you that this is a relatively young whiskey. To each their own but in this price point, Glenfiddich competes with Glenmorangie Original 10 year which I much prefer. Still, you can do way way worse for this kind of money and Glenfiddich 12 year is pretty good in its own right.

This one has a powerfully fruity nose. Smells of slightly old raspberries mixed in with a little citrus zest. The taste carries with it sweet honey and has a bit of a malty mouthfeel that, when mixed with the honey, reminds me of honey nut cheerios a bit. As the taste goes down and blossoms into the finish you catch something just a bit tannic and slightly musty, like an old leather jacket. When the taste is long done, there's a wisp of peat smoke that dances off the tip of your tongue, almost unnoticeable. I had to take a second drink to confirm its presence. This is just fine for what is essentially a wine cask selection. It isn't too fruit forward on the taste, despite what the nose tells you.

Glenfiddich has some seriously good selections out there. Recently, I had the chance to pick up their three bottle tasting pack consisting of 12, 15 and 18 year core selections. The obvious choice was to start at 18. A decidedly fruity nose, one tends to wonder if this is a taste of things to come. The fruit isn't so heavy on berries as one might expect from Sherry casks. There is a mouthwatering, almost juicy fruitiness about the entire taste, particularly the finish. Very interesting indeed. The front of the taste reminds me of toffee. Quite sweet indeed, but a little salty. The middle of the taste has that toffee blossom into baking spices. Deep, rich spices like nutmeg and cinnamon coat your tongue. This baking spice almost leads you to believe there is nothing more, but wait: that finish allows the fruitiness to creep in slowly. A few seconds after the taste is down, the fruitiness blossoms into full effect, singing of pears and berries. The finish is long lasting, sweet and fruity. This one is a bit fruit heavy for my taste. I tend to like things sweet, chocolatey and malty. But you know... it really isn't bad considering its a core selection for Glenfiddich and available pretty much year round. A good holiday bottle.