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ContemplativeFox
Reviewed March 28, 2022This isn't an actual tasting. I don't have this (or any other dram) on hand. I was just contemplating and thought I could add a bit more clarity to some of what I posted previously. Firstly, this certainly does taste like an Islay Scotch. It's bizarre, but it absolutely is the case because of the applewood smoke and high percentage of barley that Copper Fox uses. The flavor profile is kind of tart with green apple. It isn't as full and rich as most Islay drams, but it's too smoky to really think of any other Scotch-producing region, barring a couple of exceptions like Longrow and Ballechin. What I really wanted to add here though is that it's finally hit me that the particular distillery this tastes like is Kilchoman. Kilchoman has kind of thin middle that lacks a lot of the funk present in most Islay Scotch and it has a bit more a green apple and lemon fruity side to it. It also isn't quite as complex as most of the standard offerings (e.g. Laphroaig 10, Caol Ila 12). These particular elements make it fairly unique among Islay distilleries. I presume that the underlying reason for this is that Kilchoman is a new distillery, so: (1) It doesn't have a lot of old distillate to bottle, causing it to retain more of the bright notes and not have the same amount of mature nuance. (2) It probably is laying down barrels that are hearts-heavy, so there are fewer weird notes that they need to wait years to smooth out, allowing them to release sooner without putting out undrinkable swill like Ardbeg Wee Beastie. -
Milliardo
Reviewed December 22, 2021 (edited December 24, 2021)It’s December 22, and I’m going to try a new rye whiskey every day this month. And while my rye game is not as weak as my Scotch game was this time last year, I’m always up for suggestions on good rye whiskies. And now that I have goals (it’s good to have goals), there are some key players I could use your help finding. Send me your favorite, readily-available rye. Goals (abridged): 5 ryes. 4.5 stars. Readily available. (3/5, WT101, Whistlepig 10, Whistlepig 12) I want to recognize the difference between any bourbon and any rye. First try. One of these must be an Empire Rye. I want a nasty rye. I want the one that tastes like opening up a 5 am - 1 pm bakery with your unnecessarily judgey mother-in-law. >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<< This was part of a free sampler pack. From Flaviar. I cannot think of a scenario that could present lower expectations. Nose is weird. It’s peaty. It has a iron scent like a whiskey of young juice or poorly sourced water table, but there’s a distinct smoke in the background. For degree, think Talisker. Body is caramel, maple, sugar, more iron. Mostly iron. A roast beef note sneaks in on the very back, as it transitions to the finish. Finish has a nice peat. It’s reminiscent of a fine cigar, and while I don’t usually go for that note, I actually enjoy it here. It’s well done, but it might also be because it covers up that iron note. This is the furthest thing away from what I was expecting. It’s not terrible. It does have that metallic note (think Journeyman, Cleveland, etc) but the application of peaty notes compensates slightly and makes this interesting as hell. From their website, this appears to be how they do it: “2/3 rye, 1/3 barley, hand-malted and kiln-dried with applewood and cherrywood smoke.” I can’t say I enjoy it, but I do find it intriguing. Very interesting, very unique. Most distinct flavor profile I’ve had this month. -
beejaydub
Reviewed September 16, 2021Batch 158. Nose is earthy and grassy with smoke overtones. Flavor is smoke up front with a nice rye character melding with earthy notes. The finish is smoke and black tea.
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