I’m going to try something a little different with my tasting notes this year. In the past, I’ve always focused on writing up one whisky at a time, but that’s not really how I approach drinking whisky. Usually, I sample two or three whiskies of an evening, and even if there’s not necessarily a common thread between them, even if I’m tasting a bourbon followed by a scotch followed by a rye, I get more of a sense of what I like, not to mention what I taste, through the contrast and comparison of the drams than on focusing on just one. To this end, sometimes order of the tasting matters. For example, if I have a weaker whisky before stronger whiskies, I might like the weaker whisky if I’m having it first compared to if I place it last in my tasting lineup simply because if it’s last, what came before was so much better, but it’s really not, in the end, a bad whisky, especially if it’s priced appropriately. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, unless you’re wealthy or you’re getting free samples, price actually does factor into enjoyment. So I will, in my writeups continue to talk about what I paid, how that factored in, and if I think it’s good but overpriced, I’ll discuss what I believe the whisky is actually worth based on my own wallet. Of course reviewing multiple whiskies at one time isn’t unprecedented. Shoutout here to @Richard-ModernDrinking, who will often conduct face-off reviews of similar styles of whiskies, say Larceny BP v. Elijah Craig BP, but I won’t necessarily be following rhyme or reason in my tasting menu most of the time. It really comes down to, what bottles do I own that I want to taste on any particular night. That said, this tasting was conducted last Sunday while my dad and I got together to watch the Eagles play the Giants in the final game of the Eagles’ NFL season. The Eagles had secured the #2 seed and couldn’t go higher or lower, so it didn’t matter if we won or lost. Our backups were in the game. We were starting our third string quarterback, and it just goes to show how rough this season has been for Giants fans in that we were playing their first team, they weren’t trying to throw the game, and we still won (fans always want bad organizations to tank so they can get a better draft pick, but I have a hard time believing players who have any sort of pride go out there and try to lose for this purpose). In any case, the three whiskies I served during the game, in the order they were served, are as follows: 1. Talisker 8 Year Tidal Churn (2024 Special Edition); 2. Paul John 2019 Christmas Edition Indian Single Malt Whisky; and 3. Barrell New Year Bourbon 2024. So without further ado, let us begin. Talisker 8 Year Tidal Churn (2024 Special Edition) In past years I’ve read about the Diageo special releases and as tempting as they were, there were two impediments. First, they aren’t available in Pennsylvania where I’m doing most of my buying and second, they’re rather expensive. This year, we had family events in Maryland and Delaware late in the year, and since my wife has gotten more into the art and science of mixing cocktails, we stopped at Total Wine on the way to these events, expanding access to different bottles. Though I love Talisker 10 and the Distiller’s Edition, I’ve never had a cask strength Talisker and at $110, it’s the least expensive of the special releases, so I figured what the hell and bought myself an early Christmas gift. Even though the description of what makes it special—the single malt whisky here was matured in refill & ex-bourbon American oak and is finished in stone-spun & toasted American oak casks—is next door to meaningless to me, I was excited to dive in. On the packaging it boasts waves of apple and pear and maritime smoke, which sounds just up my alley, and though I’d opened it on Christmas Eve with my brother in law, who loves Talisker, I’d only had a small sampling that day, given the high proof and the fact that I knew I’d be drinking most of that day. But my tasting notes here are from nearly ten days later during that Eagles game. Nose: Having said that thing about maritime smoke being just up my alley, I’ll admit I’ve never really understood what those words mean exactly other than it’s really just a fancy marketer’s way of saying that you’ll get salt and peat out of the experience. Waves of pear and apple also feels a bit like hyperbole. There is orchard fruit here, and it’s closer to pear than apple to me, but it could go either way. There are, in nature, fruits that bear striking similarities and pears and apples are two of them. To argue about it would be akin to going to battle over whether something tasted more like peaches or nectarines. I understand there’s a difference, but whisky is neither pears nor apples and thus different palates are going to perceive the aroma and flavor differently. For me, the nose is more pear, salt, and peat, with the lightest touch of anise in the background. Admittedly, the nose is not quite as pleasant as the Talisker Distillers Edition from this year, which I also have opened but which, given I’m getting low on it, I wasn’t going to pour that day for a comparison. The Tidal Churn, however, is a bit more complex than the 10 in the added sweetness. There’s also a bit of vanilla, and the peat is nice in that it integrates with these other textures rather than overwhelming them. Given time in the glass, the note I detect as anise transforms into something resembling pine. Palate: On the tongue the salt hits first followed by sweet vanilla. The fruit flavor here is subtle and begins with a juicy sweetness reminiscent of pear but as it rolls around in the mouth there’s a bit of apple tartness that reminds me of pink lady apples. The peat, again is present but integrated well, and for the proof, there’s a decent amount of heat, but it’s not overwhelming if you’re used to barrel proof whiskies. Sometimes when I’m hanging out with my dad and I pour him a barrel proof off the bat, he’ll comment on the heat, but he wasn’t fazed by this, and agreed that it goes down well for a 117.4 proof dram. It’s not inordinately complex. The expert review here notes that there’s a meaty flavor to it, but honestly, I don’t get any of that bacon cured meat kind of flavor that’s present in the standard 10 but seems to get muted in the Distiller’s Edition and that I don’t really think is at all present here, unless by meat, you just mean salt. Finish: The finish lingers for medium length and is peppery, with a bit of fruit and vanilla remaining from the palate. Overall, I enjoyed this. I’m glad I tried it out, but at $110 this doesn’t necessarily make me wish to seek out future Special Releases because the quality just wasn’t high enough above their standard releases, and I couldn’t help but think that, although Ardbeg has been hit or miss on their special releases lately, I secured three bottles of their BizarreBQ at $85 a piece and that is a much better whisky than this one is. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll finish this bottle with great pleasure since I already paid for it, but as far as bang for the buck goes, there are better buys out there in the peated whisky, high proof category. If you’re wondering how it is with a little water, I’m going to disappoint you because I generally, as a rule, don’t taste with water. Paul John Christmas Edition 2019 Next up is the Paul John Christmas Edition 2019, which I purchased in 2022 when this and the 2020 Christmas Edition. At the time the going rate was $85, and I secured them on clearance for $42.50, which was a steal. I cracked the 2020 the year I bought both of them, but the 2019 has been sitting on the shelf waiting for its opportunity to be consumed, and I finally got around to cracking it on December 23rd while wrapping presents in my attic man-cave. I gave the 2020 edition 3.75 stars and noted that, much like this one, an Indian Single Malt tastes nothing like a Single Malt Scotch or Irish Whiskey. The fruit flavors that come through strike me as regional, though is that my mind playing tricks on me when I see that it’s from India or is that legit? My suspicion is that they legit play off eliciting the fruit flavors of native fruits. I served this after opening it on Christmas Eve to family and then again in the days that followed as family and friends swung by. Part of the reason I served it during the Eagles game was that I’d poured so much we were close to the end of the bottle, my dad hadn’t had any yet, and sometimes, you just want to offload something that’s so close to the end. Nose: Since I’d just tasted the Talisker Tidal Churn before this, I couldn’t help comparing. This was much darker in color but carried no age statement. On the nose, there was a hint of peat but the overall experience was fruitier, almost candied and creamy, to the point where it verged on a handful of Skittles with bright citrus aromas, lime and mango with a bit of heat/spice, again if it’s not playing into the stereotype, the spice might have been turmeric. Wonderful nose really, more complex and livelier than the Tidal Churn, punching way above its 92 proof. There was even a bit of banana coming through, though with the mixture of spice, peat and candied aromas, it was less Jack Daniel’s/Old Forester banana and more Runts. Palate: Compared to the Tidal Churn the mouthfeel was more delicate, here reflecting the lower proof. The peat and spice mingled upon entry before the fruit flavors reasserted themselves, though on the palate they were less candied and primarily mango and banana, with the lime from the nose all but disappearing. It was quite good in the shadow of the Tidal Churn, but I also couldn’t help wondering what this might taste like at cask strength. I’ve had Paul John Barrel Proof, which was quite good, but I believe the Christmas Edition to be more complex in terms of flavor than that was, even if lacking in intensity. Toward the end, there’s a touch of vanilla custard, which was quite creamy and pleasant. Finish: The finish hits the back of the tongue with a spice bomb of cardamom and cinnamon and lingers quite nicely. Overall, at the time I purchased these, I would have ventured to say I’d have been disappointed at full price, but perhaps my ideas of what this is worth have changed, and I think while $85 might be a bit much, it’s certainly worth $70; unfortunately, whiskies don’t go down in price and I believe SRPs are pushing $100 now, so this may be the last I see of the Paul John Christmas Edition unless I encounter a cask strength version at that price or they put them on clearance again. Given they haven’t offered anything besides Paul John Nirvana at FW&GS since clearing the deck on these, the decision seems to have been removed from my control. Barrell New Year Bourbon 2024 This was one I was excited to sample again. I’d opened it on…you guessed it! New Year’s Eve, but it’s difficult to drink a 113 proof bourbon all night and make it to midnight so I switched to Paul John Christmas over the course of the evening. I’d purchased this in Jersey during my family’s beach vacation this year with opening it on NYE in mind. For NYE, we had a Jame Bond film fest where the family watched From Russia With Love and Goldfinger before switching the channel to watch the ball drop, and we had a great time. Vespers might have been more appropriate but I’m not much of a vodka or gin man (won’t turn my nose up at them, just prefer whisky). I should say off the bat that I’ve had several Barrell releases and I’ve liked them all, but I have yet to fall in love with a Barrell. Did that change here? Did I say above that I never water whisky down? Well, actually with Barrell, I have in the past put an ice cube in a pour of the Seagrass and the Vantage to make them a little more palatable. I’m still not much of a splasher, but I don’t mind a single ice cube in anything over 120 proof. Nose: Three whiskies in, and my notes themselves become a little thinner and less complex, which should be reflective of the whisky itself. Barrell NY 2024 filled my nostrils with intense waves of peach and caramel and vanilla cream. The game where I served it was only 4 days after I’d opened it for the first time, so it may all be in my head and it may be that chemically this can’t happen that quickly, but it felt like some of the initial heat had burned off with 1/5 of the bottle consumed and air getting in so it wasn’t as hot as it was when I tasted it on NYE and some of the burn was diminished. Then again, it was first in my tasting lineup NYE and third during this Eagles game, so that could have affected my perception. Having tasted the Talisker and Paul John, I’d built up some immunity perhaps to the heat and could better withstand it here, and I know that’s a real effect. Palate: Much the same as the nose, the palate has caramel and vanilla coming through loud and clear with the peach flavor hanging on a bit, though not nearly so intense here as with the nose. There’s also a baked bread quality to it that lends it an air of peach cobbler. I couldn’t help thinking that this would be a great dessert bourbon to go with cakes or pies. Finish: This feels like one of those rare whiskies where the fruit flavors carry into the finish and are more prominent than the spice or alcohol kick. The peach cobbler carries through to the end and lingers for a long time. Overall, the Barrell New Years 2024 Bourbon might be my favorite Barrell product that I’ve sampled. If I’m handing out awards for this tasting, Paul John 2019 Christmas Edition had the best nose, Barrell New Years 2024 Bourbon, the best palate and finish, which leaves me thinking that the Talisker is the one lacking and at least for this experience, I’d rank it last.