MrWizard's Ramblings

Happy New Year everyone! I have been delaying this post for as long as I can but it has been too long and a new year’s start on writing of this would be a deserving first posting of 2021.

I am no good at summaries of the last year so I’m not going to really try at it… Some folks are waaaaay better wordsmiths than I am in my meger attempts at being punny. Mark J. of The Right Spirit is at writing level that I cannot fathom to achieve does a solid wrap up here: https://the-right-sp … art-3-why-i-whiskey/… but I digress.

I’ve started writing here in semi-regular ‘blog’ format as a way to record some of my thoughts and to mostly leave a record of my thoughts on whiskey I drink so that I have an idea whether or not I liked something a year or two down the line… Over the last year the idea has somewhat evolved from record to some sort of attempts at actual reviews making this a sort of an outlet to some of my thoughts while sitting at home in the 2020 COVID year… I encourage you to read though my archive of reviews, considering they only go back just little over a year… but, yet again I digress.

Almost a year ago I’ve joined a facebook group on a whim, and a recommendation of my coworker… who isn’t even active in the group, the audacity! Over the course of the year, I’ve learned a lot of new things. met some amazing folks, tried some amazing booze and frankly spent way too much money on alcohol. No regrets! F.O.M.O. (Fear Of Missing Out) FOREVER!

You may ask yourself, “What does above have to do with reviews?”… Well apparently all the best booze is hidden behind the curtain of private groups and… honestly I’m tempted to agree there’s like a second world behind the curtain… You can sort of start on this article: https://www.gearpatr … are-bourbon-whiskey/ or here: https://punchdrink.c … ffalo-trace-bourbon/ but there are many similar articles if you simply look around on google published by many publications. You may ask “Are these worth it?” and my answer is resounding “Maybe!”. It all depends on what any particular drinker is looking for, if it’s unique expressions, single barrels and off the wall one-offs? Then, ‘Yes, absolutely!’ If it’s consistent quality that a drinker is looking for… Then that’s a ‘No!’ I mention a ‘disclaimer’ for most single cask reviews for a reason, individual palates and cask flavors vary greatly so no two experiences are going to be the same.

Back to SFWBSS… My experience with them has been amazing, I’ve learned new things, met some amazing folks and grew my bottle and sample collection extensively, not to mention got to try a lot of new and interesting things as a result. So, as many other ‘proper’ whiskey groups, they have their own team that does private barrel selections and while they don’t do too many or too often, I’ve been able to accumulate a few of the samples they’ve done in the past. I shall dig in into what I got! Clear disclaimer ahead of time… These are all unique barrels so I’ll include a big ’single barrel’ disclaimer up here for obvious reasons. I’d like to extend my gratitude to all those that have offered or provided me with these and other samples. You all are great if you’re reading this. I’ve also written some about different tastings I’ve attended over the course of last year, and all of them have been organized through the same whiskey group. Thank you the org team especially for organizing and coordinating.

Heaven Hill 10, Valinch & Mallet (SFWBSS Dramville’s Creed: Whisky Rogues)
Whiskey Monster did a great review of this bottling with the specs here: https://www.whiskymo … -sfwbss-cask-review/
This is quite a monster palate that’s bottled uncut at 64.1% abv… While I’ve had several whiskeys that were higher proof than this, most had more years under their belt to back the proof with more flavor layers from the wood. This cask also has a story: it’s been aged for about 5 years in Kentucky and then shipped for the last 5 years of maturation to Scotland, then bottled here and shipped back making somewhat of a mix between Bourbon and Single Grain Scotch in terms of its aging style as Scotland climate effectively slows maturation due to lower temperature delta vs many other climates, such as Kentucky. The nose is alcohol burn, some corn and lots of light perfume notes, slight plum sourness and oak vanilla. The palate got lots of alcohol burn, raspberries, vanilla custard with nutmeg and cloves, white pepper. A little overwhelming at full proof to be fair. Proofing it down with water allows for the aforementioned flavors to come to the fore though it essentially becomes Henry McKenna-like with light nutty notes appearing on the palate in addition to Heaven Hill sweet corn. The aftertaste is tasty and inline with both nose and palate. Overall, very consistent light Heaven Hill profile with pretty packaging and an interesting story. Considering the price it was sold at, the value it provides is questionable but there’s certainly an argument to be made about story/flavor/exclusivity that may be of a consideration for those that are willing to pay for it. My thoughts: It is highly ‘drinkable’ but not a casual drink by any means. Since I’m a sucker for uniqueness and this is something unique between Bourbon and Single Grain Scotch… I’m scoring it another “Try Before Buy” with a split grading. Balance between familiar, and quite tasty, flavors and wood influence attracts me, but lack of interesting long aftertaste (that’s usually apparent after longer or more active Kentucky maturation time) is leaving my mouth more singed by alcohol than enjoying the flavors that linger. Not bad by any means, this requires sipping but too hot of a palate lacks the depth to offset the alcohol fire forcing me to fight through the alcohol every time I take a sip.
Score: C+

Clyde May’s SFWBSS
The information on this bottling is really hard to come by. It is 92 proof, a single cask bottled at Clyde May’s distillery and is a Straight Bourbon Whiskey from few years back. Supposedly, this is Alabama-sourced bourbon but I have no true information on the group’s pick and ain’t that curious to find out. This single cask is long gone off any buyable method so a bit of a blast from the past in the sample. The article linked has some specs on similar bottlings though distillery’s regular stuff is batched: https://thewhiskeyju … -mays-bourbon-review. The nose reminds me of a spiced apple cider, which is odd since there are no apples in there. Notes of baked cinnamon, barrel spice and clove are coming up from the glass, yet it is reasonably balanced and with 92 proof the alcohol is in the back not the fore. Palate is yet again balanced and trends towards mild woodiness and slightly bitter peanut skins; with cinnamon and sugar taking half a step back. Aftertaste is about medium duration with bits of bitter peanut brittle in the back… perhaps a heavily caramelized vanilla spiced apple caramel on the aftertaste. Really pleasant, rounded and balanced experience that’s flavorful even for it’s lower (for full-flavor and single barrels bourbons) proof. This is well worth trying at a bar if you were to see a single cask or a full proof version or even picking up a bottle for home drinks if looking for something new. What I got is an extremely pleasant casual drink and crowd pleaser for both amateur and seasoned drinkers. The disclaimer of “This single cask may have been head and shoulders above the rest” should be well repeated here. Meanwhile, I’m casually enjoying the rest of what’s in my glass.
Score: B+

Old Forester Single Cask Barrel Proof (SFWBSS Bourbon Rider)
Bottled at 128 proof this is one of the first few private barrels Old Forester have bottled at cask proof. Prior to 2020, Old Forester (OF) didn’t have private cask or cask strength single barrel program so you can imagine how excited whisky nerds were when it was announced in early 2020 (read here: https://www.breaking … ingle-barrel-program). OF’s single casks in the past were bottled at 90 proof and while tasty and offering reasonable palate and interesting variations the low proof was a detriment. At the same time, OF’s highest proof offering was the 1920 line at 115 proof, which I favorably reviewed here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200816-214824. But this is a single cask, full proof offering, and could be an entirely different beast. The nose is old funky leather (in a good way), with a heavy dose of aged wood and rose petals. Reminds me of an old shoe workshop. This smells like leather, glue, shoe polish and wood. Interestingly, alcohol is barely felt on the nose, but OF profile is typically deep enough to balance and integrate alcohol notes well. On the palate, the same notes continue, though alcohol lets itself be known in there. Long and pleasant aftertaste concludes the experience. Proofed down a little bit, this becomes pretty darn great, still a little hot on the palate but well balanced by OF profile and woodiness without much to critique. If you’re an Old Forester fan, can tolerate high proof alcohol and think of OF 1920 as an enjoyable drink, the single casks at full proof will be right for you! At MSRP of $80 there’s much to like here for flavor and value. Wishing I had more than just a sample now. This is an excellent cask that the group picked.
Score: A

Old Forester Single Cask Barrel Proof (Whiskey Warriors Pick)
Since I have a sample of Private Cask pick from Sacramento group, I’ll express my opinions on this one in a brief format. This cask and the one that SFWBSS have picked were picked and bottled roughly at the same time. This feels hotter and more alcohol-forward vs Bourbon Rider. The base spirit profile is there but it tastes… hotter nonetheless, meaning not quite perfect balance is in play. Still excellent though and proofing it down pays off. It’s a sharper, slightly more interesting 1920 with notably more wood and less cherry within the same OF profile. While I would pay money for the SFWBSS bottle, this is just a good sample worth trying but not necessarily buying with balance skewed too much towards alcohol-forward palate for most that needs to be proofed down to snap into better balance. Is it good? Yes. Is it as good as the other OF pick I’ve tasted? No. For the sake of consistency, you’re probably better off with a bottle of 1920, which is frankly more of a testament how good 1920 is and not a negative towards this cask pick. Go try this at a bar or as a sample!
Score: B

Highland Park (SFWBSS Nords of Norcal)
Still available from PlumpJack store (they’re a good place) for a somewhat steep price for on-paper specs: https://plumpjackwin … sk-nords-of-norcal-1. Side note, this is a competitive price to other single casks of Highland Park 10 that I’ve seen at Total Wine and KnL. Let’s see if its worth it! Bottled at 61.8% and aged 10 years in a refill sherry hogshead. Heavy sherry funk with just a whiff of smoke on the nose, this is the type of sherry that usually brings varnish notes rather than figs and raisins, though this is notably not varnishy. It certainly IS a sherry bomb promise for the palate. Once on the tongue, now the gentle smoke appears. I often make a note that I dislike peat but enjoy smoke+sherry and this is one of those bottles that are no exceptions. This is sherry, light peat smoke and reasonably tame, not at all sweet, palate almost like a pine resin. The aftertaste is long, malty, slightly smoky, lingers for quite a while with sweetness finally peeking through. This certainly invokes images of smoked fish or cheese from reasonably savory, sweet and smoky experience that it provides. I’m thinking the reasonably savory profile is a thing with Highland Park bottles (similarly how it is with Springbank), and I also suspect this requires higher maturation time to really become great. I’ve sipped through the sample but I wouldn’t want a whole bottle especially for the price. There are cheaper, more enjoyable sherried whiskies out there for me. I’m satisfied with just trying this particular bottling to sate my curiosity. Fans of younger Springbank that wish it was heavily sherried would want to try this as it will be up their general alley.
Score: B

Kavalan (SFWBSS Golden Gate Sunset)
I’m VERY excited about this one… https://www.whiskyno … -golden-gate-sunset/. It’s unique, there’s a story attached to it and on paper sounds fantastic. It also happens the be the most expensive group pick to date. The price isn’t an indicator of quality usually, and I’d have hesitated to shell out $200 (at the time) for this for sure. If you’ve not clicked the link, the short version is that buyer changed their mind, nobody wanted the cask, it got shipped back and forth and eventually was offered to SFWBSS and Whiskey Sifu (Roland Ng) as a one-of-a-kind deal. Incidentally due to the whole laying around and shipping this happened to have been the oldest kavalan cask bottled at the time. Visually…. this thing is super thick and almost viscous botted at 58.6% abv… Like a light sirup which I suspect it will be. It’s also rather deep chestnut color and borderline opaque. The nose is just incredible, stewed dark fruits galore in there with dark raisins, plums, figs… If it’s dark and fruity it’s there… Little bit of spice, perhaps cardamom and clove in the background… Just amazing! The fruits in light sirup continues, though little sugar is felt on the palate. So deeply sherried as to bordering on bitter herbs and spices, this is offset by fruits and some sweetness all of which is backed up by wonderful deep viscosity of the whiskey. Wow… just wow. A long aftertaste rolls around from spices, to wood, to fruits, to sweetness, to herbs with things peaking but never overwhelming. This is a dessert treat for sure, though the bitterness may be a turn off for some as it borders on herbal aperitif/digestif. An amazing drink that’s unlikely to be repeated. This bottle is an incredibly unique offerings and certainly invokes a wow factor from me. Yet again a disclaimer: This is essentially a fortified sherry. I wouldn’t have it as an everyday drink but instead would drink this for special occasion or digestif purposes after amazing meals. Also, yes, it’s worth its price.
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown