Tastes

Found one of the old style bottles sitting around the store and decided to pick it up. The 12 year old was my first single malt so I’m excited to try this one. Nose: sherry influence is obvious. Fruits like apple and pear are present. Also a distinctly brandy note is there. Unlike the 12 the smoke takes quite some time to find on the nose. Palate: Sherry nuttiness and honey are first. Next comes the apples then brine. At the very end is more ash than smoke, but a slight amount of that peat influence is there. Finish: The sweet and fruity notes fade almost immediately. The brine lingers only slightly longer leaving you with the ash. This stays for a medium amount of time before the finish ends. I enjoyed this quite a bit, although I’m certain part of that is the nostalgia of the 12 year old being my first single malt. Is it worth the $130 entry fee? For me yes, as the malt is certainly quality and gives you a bit of everything as far as tasting notes are concerned. If you prefer sherry bombs or peat monsters you will likely find this disappointing, but in my experience it is wonderfully balanced and is definitely recommended. Sláinte!

Was lucky enough to pick this up at the distillery around New Year’s Eve 2018. If you’ve never been, the tour is nice and is definitely recommended if you are a fan of Jack. Nose: Like all Jack products there is a lot of vanilla and banana on the nose. Also there is a noticeable amount of barrel char and perhaps a bit of smoke. Palate: At the tip of the tounge is vanilla, then banana pudding. Next comes an explosion of those barrel influences found on the nose. Think char and a heavy dose of oak. Finish: Those char and oak notes just keep going and going and going. With the added proof (mine was at 107) it reminded me a lot of the single barrel-barrel proof with more influence from the wood. If you’re a fan of leather/char/wood notes in your whiskey you’re sure to love this. A quality product and certainly interesting, glad I picked up a bottle. Cheers!

Out of the Buffalo Trace distillery this bottle is from the Fall of 2017. Nose: Cherries and honey. Vanilla is also present. Chocolate also shows up at the end. Palate: Cola, brown sugar, and honey are the most dominant notes. Some spice is also there but was not overpowering. The extra abv really helps with the intensity of the flavors. Finish: The cola continues for a short amount of time before fading. What remains is wood influence and a slight tingling that just keep going and going. This really was gorgeous. The dram was perfectly balanced with a gorgeous mouthfeel. I really don’t have anything but positive heaps of praise for this and to me is a perfect dram. Will certainly be grabbing one every time I see it on the shelf. Cheers!

This was pretty difficult to find. A blended whisky from Suntory in Japan. With all the fanfare about the quality of Japanese whisky expectations are fairly high. Let’s get to it! Nose: Mainly floral and citrus on the nose. Some vanilla. Mostly lemon and flowers though. Palate: Citrus initially that then turns into vanilla. A whisp of smoke at the end. Mainly that hint of vanilla on the nose explodes onto the palate. Finish: Finish is incredibly short, so short I’m not certain it even exists other than a tingling sensation on my tongue. Is it higher quality than a standard blend from Scotland? Yes, but it’s also twice the price. The finish, or lack there of was also a big disappointment. It was nice to try but I don’t think it will be part of my regular rotation, it’s just too high a price and too hard to find to justify that. Kampai!

Found this one in Honduras at the duty free store and since I’m such a fan of Highland Park I figured I’d give this a try. The bottle is mostly empty now and I hadn’t done a review yet because I’ve had such a difficult time placing how much I enjoy it. Anyway, here it goes. Nose: Sweet, vanilla, some ginger, lemon shows up at the end. Palate: At first is some hard hitting crystal sugar sweetness. Something almost like lemongrass comes next. Holding it in my mouth for a few seconds and some bitterness from the wood comes through. Finish: That signature gentle smoke is first up. After that the finish fades rather quickly and leaves you with some bitterness from the wood, but not much. Overall this is middle of the road. Flavors that work well on a hot summer day, but given the price I was expecting more. They say around half the whiskies in the bottle are sherry aged but I never noticed anything that I typically associate with sherry wood aging. Also feel this would benefit from a higher abv, especially on the finish. I would always grab the 12yo over this one given it’s half the price and in my opinion the superior product. Sláinte!

An entry level rye from Buffalo Trace. Came across it in a liquor store while in Tennessee and was delighted to find it as it has become incredibly difficult to find in Atlanta. Nose: Dried spices dominate the nose. There is also a good amount of sweetness and fruits on the nose to balance things out. Also a smell almost like cherry wood furniture is present Palate: First comes the sweetness, a corn type sweetness more so than fruit. Soon after the spice starts to take over with cinnamon and black pepper. The sweetness is present throughout and creates a marvelous balance. Finish: medium in length. Is spicy at first with the black pepper and cinnamon lingering before a slight bitterness becomes present, but never taking over the spices. I think I found this bottle for around $30 which makes it a great value. I do enjoy the higher corn portion in the mash bill that adds a sweetness and juiciness to the dram. Good enough to drink neat but would also make an excellent cocktail, could see this being a substitute for bourbon in a cocktail if you are looking for slightly more spice.

It really is amazing how Jack manages to keep a single barrel barrel poof bottling as a part of its core range, can’t think of another distillery or brand to do so. This is from barrel number 18-8757 and is bottled at 67.20% Nose: As you would expect the alcohol punches you in the nose at first. Once you get past that I found some brown sugar, but that signature banana note is most dominant. Palate: Tip of the tongue produces that signature Jack Daniel’s banana pudding. A hint of vanilla is there and barrel bitterness shows up on the back of the tongue. Didn’t pick up an alcohol note here, which I found amazing considering the proof. Finish: Maybe the driest finish I’ve ever experienced. Bitter oak is the dominant feature here but that banana note pops back up here and there. It has all those Jack signatures but with more intensity and higher quality (missing that glue nose and rubbing alcohol palate associated with No. 7). It is much more expensive, but is certainly worth the premium for me. The best Jack product I’ve ever tasted. Cheers!

My first foray into Japanese whisky. A grain whisky not used for blending certainly stood out in the crowd last time I was at the store. Time to see what this is all about. Nose: very sweet, almost like cake frosting. Also a good bit of alcohol makes itself known Palette: the sweetness continues. A creme brulle is the best way I can describe the sweetness. Vanilla is also very present on the palette, Finish: sweet that fades quickly and leaves some barrel spice and bitterness, which is nice. Up to this point there was no give away, other than the golden color, that this was a barrel aged spirit. Not a lot going on, but what is there is pleasant. The biggest draw is that I can’t think of anything else out there like this. How many times have you seen “creme brulle” as a tasting note in a whisky! For its mid ranges price and uniqueness I enjoyed this, certainly not my favorite, but it’s a nice change of pace in my rotation. Kanpai!

It is absolutely bone chilling cold tonight, perfect weather for peaty whisky. Uigeadail features some sherry cask maturation unlike the regular 10 year which should add some fruitiness. Also added a few drops of water due to the cask strength of the whisky. Nose: initially a vegetal peat smoke and no pcp (this for me is a plus), after this is dark fruits almost like raisins. Holding the grlencairn a few inches from my nose makes the fruits more present. Something almost like used coffee grounds also shows up after a while along with cigar ash. Palette: initially sweet that then turns to a vegetal peat smoke. A hint of vanilla also dances around at times. The cask strength adds a very pleasant warming affect as well. Finish: long and smokey that then turns to a bitterness akin to dark chocolate, maybe the most pleasant part of the dram. A wonderful cold weather whisky. Found the peat extremely pleasant as it was more vegetal than medicinal. The sherry casks also add a great fruitiness that added an extra layer of depth. At almost $100 certainly not a value dram but very enjoyable and certainly worth the entry price. Slainte!

The special reserve is a fairly young wheated bourbon out of the Buffalo Trace distillery. Being the lowest rung of the wheated bourbons out of Buffalo Trace I would expect this to be the most spirit forward. Nose: brown sugar, cinnamon, a bit of fruit, a hint of oak but not much. Palette: loads of brown sugar, a hint of cinnamon spice, oaky bitterness on the back of the tongue. Finish: short, bitterness on the back of the tongue that lingers for a second while the sweetness fades almost immediately. A very easy sipping bourbon but lacks depth. Very sweet with almost no spice or any other notes. At $38 for a handle it’s a good option for an everyday sipper if you can find it but it lacks the depth of more well aged bourbons. Cheers!