MrWizard's Ramblings

An American whiskey mix (blend?) for a change.

Elijah Craig 18, 45%
Another Heaven Hill bottle. Mashbill is 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye so fairly standard HH faire. These are all single barrels, so they do vary somewhat. This one bottled in 6/13/2019 and generously shared by friend Orpheus. The nose is dark chocolate chip cookies with a touch of alcohol on them. Palate is fruity and minty fresh primarily; somewhat conflicting with warmth that was emanating from the nose. The aftertaste is of medium length with little bit of lingering mint, vanilla, some wood and a touch of warmth after all. Overall: it’s enjoyable but somewhat generic. Low proof makes it imminently drinkable but also dilutes any interesting character. It cannot help being a crowd-pleaser though as this is essentially a ‘what a good bourbon should taste like’. Value: At $150+ MSRP this is somewhat acceptable (comparing to Michter’s 10 at similar proof at $159)… but honestly it’s not that great of a deal factoring barrel inconsistencies and low proof, not to mention availability being non-existent in the current secondary market asking for $250+. Ultimately, this is McKenna 18… and McKenna 10 costs $60 nowadays. This bottle is an easy way to make a few bucks for whoever catches the MSRP price first. Well worth having at a bar and maybe splurging MSRP on the bottle for an easy daily drinking, or to impress your friends with a crowd-pleaser… but definitely don’t overpay for it. I’ll put a “YMMV” yet again due to these being a single cask bottling as a reminder.
Another review of a different bottle here: https://www.breaking … 8-year-single-barrel
Score: B+

Russell’s Reserve 2002, 15 years old, 57.3%
Another sample from friend Ross, thank you! A 15 year old Turkey distilled in 2002 and one of only 2,500 (some sources claim 3,640) bottles. Toasty seasoned wood with nearly burnt vanilla caramel and vanilla extract on the nose, nutty rather than sweet. Burnt cherry jam that spilled onto the oven sheet while baking and then toasted up on it. The nose keeps on changing with time. Velvety smooth palate, dollops of spice on the secondary palate notes. Plums and cherries, some chocolate and old cigar (not smoke) on the primary ones. Drinks smoother than it’s proof would suggests. A cacophony of rye spice on the finish that lasts a medium-long period of time and is quite warming, bit of malt notes towards the end are a pleasant surprise. Overall: Oh I want to love this so much, I really do… yet the palate is rather uneven here which distracts from the experience and the balance of the Nose/Palate/Aftertaste feels off here. It’s big, it’s bold… and it’s a slightly rough experience around the edges. Is it better than Russell’s Reserve Single Cask?… Arguably yes… Age and personal touch adds a bit more complexity to the spirit. Of course this isn’t a single cask so a credit is due to the master blender’s palate and choices. Value: MSRP was in 2018 at $250 this is rather bad value. Even Pappy 15, a rough equivalent on pedigree and availability to this bottle ‘technically starts at’ $119 today… Almost certainly any Wild Turkey fan will pay gladly and considering secondary market is hot for these… Good luck finding a bottle even if i say it’s a ‘bad’ value.
Another opinion: https://www.breaking … ussells-reserve-2002
Score: A-

Saints Alley Bourbon Port Cognac Cask, 50%
A blend by Chris “the LiquorHound” Trevino, it is MGP and Ironroot Harbinger spirit blend finished in port and cognac. This is batch two and it’s one of 2400 bottles. Dark berry compote with burnt wooden spoon char on the nose, quite jammy and slightly peppery. Quite a full body with strawberry sweet port that’s backed up by plenty of wood and a kick of spice from MGP. Light pine notes, with bittersweet dark chocolate balance quite well and the spices bring everything together. Medium aftertaste seemingly fades fast, but then rises again with a cinnamon tingle to round it off. Overall: I really like it! It’s not a typical bourbon for sure, but the balance of sweet/spicy/fruity works fantastically here. This is what I imagined Angel’s Envy should be… so let’s leave it at: this is a much more interesting Angel’s Envy. It’s a finished bourbon which really should be its own category and not competing with other bourbons. Definitely a welcome surprise… I’ll reiterate that it’s scored based on my enjoyment rather than as a comparable to say George T. Stagg (that’s scored an A-), as I would consider them Apple vs Orange situation. Value: At $55… this is solid deal for a awesome sipper… Just get it while it lasts to try it out yourself.
https://www.totalwin … ?s=1124&igrules=true
Score: A-

Spirit Works, Straight Wheat Whiskey, Eureka Private Barrel. 61.8%
This is a blend of 5 to 7 year old straight wheat whiskeys, distilled in Sonoma by Spirit Works distillery. I’ve reviewed their products in some detail here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201020-182936 and frankly didn’t have much of a high opinion about their products, noting that just about everything is quite… juniper-y and smells like gin. Well… This is no exception… buuuuut… It somehow works in this one. The nose is straight sugar and sweet vanilla plums and inescapable alcohol notes due to high proof. The palate is odd, as it starts sweet just like the nose and then switches into juniper notes. The aftertaste is a bit short, and yet again very gin-like. Overall: Because this is wheat whiskey, there’s not much corn/rye spice going on, with juniper notes not clashing with anything. The proof works, considering that I found the regular wheat whiskey a little thin. This would make amazing mixer and a half-decent sipper of the something different category. If you like bourbons… you’ll hate this, don’t bother. If you want something different to try… then it’s a maybe. I am reasonably enjoying it but i like a different pour once in a while. Value: Not too sure due to this being in Eureka club box. But similar bottles are ~$70… honestly… below average on the value for the money.
Score: B

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

From the Author: Sorry for the delay. We all came down with some sort of a flu in the house so this is about 2 weeks delayed.

The sample adventures continue. Most/some of the ones below have been provided by my friend Ross. Thanks friend!

George Dickel 15, SiB, 42.2%
First sample from Ross, I actually wanted to try this for a while… Nose is high perfume and toasted oak. Palalate is extremely smooth more perfume and toasted wood from the nose as well as some typical Dickel peanut notes, though they are subdued. Aftertaste is short and slightly thin due to low proof. Overall: Low proof here is the killer and yet I cannot help but compare to the BiB 13 year from 2019 and the BiB is way better. The single cask gets some cookie points and I imagine if it ~100 proof or higher it’s probable on par or better then. While this is nowhere near the awfulness of Dickel 8… This particular barrel is a bar pour with BBQ and it’d be awesome. Value: These are around 60 in major stores. Considering the single casks and proof being all over the place. I’d say hit or miss deal for Dickel fans, though honestly get the BiB bottle instead of low proofed single barrels. There are occasional 100+ proof single casks out there I imagine there would be very different experience for me.
Score: C+

Rebel Yell 10, SiB, 50%
Another sample from friend Ross. This time a Single Cask of Rebel Yell, bottled at 100 proof. This is from an undisclosed distillery in Kentucky and is supposedly a wheated (wheat being second highest amount, after corn) bourbon. The nose is burnt, nearly charred, sugar, the usual wood and vanilla, surprisingly balanced not too corny. The palate is well balanced between oak, rye spice, and sugar with sweet oak winning very slightly. The aftertaste is sweet and very gently spiced, like toasted cookie. Overall: Very enjoyable, though not outstanding pour. This is a nightly drinker rather than something to contemplate. No real detriments here, yet it’s generic and doesn’t stand out from the crowd. A well done bourbon I’d enjoy drinking nightly, if a tiny bit on the sweeter side. Value: This was priced at $60 in 2021… Reasonably solid deal in the current bourbon insanity for an age-stated reasonably proofed bourbon.
Score: B+

Trader Joe’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 62.5%
I’ll be brief here, this is definitely Barton’s (1792) Full Proof (not single cask) in an Rock Hill Farms (or Caribou Crossing) bottle. Sazerac owns both so no surprise here. Hot with alcohol, warm, corny and quite delicious though reasonably young. Somewhat generic, being batched vs single cask, yet again this is in-line with 1792. If you like Full Proof, this is 100% up your alley. Value: At $30 this is great value for the money.
Score: B

Remus Repeal Reserve V (5), 50%
Disclaimer: I actually enjoy MGP’s core distillate. This one happens to be a bottle I have actually. It’s one of my favorite bottle designs as it’s very Art Deco and looks like a mini building. Anyways, a 5th release of one of the MGP direct brands. A mix of 5 different casks between 13 and 16 year old… Nose is burnt orange oil. The palate strides the balance between burnt orange peel, woody MPG spice and sugar. These are reasonably high rye recipes with high (for bourbon) age statement so corn isn’t very prominent. Aftertaste rises above riding the baking spices and some sichuan pepper numbness. Overall: The proof will appeal to both enthusiasts and newcomers alike, though I would have been happier if it was 55% abv, but gotta draw a line somewhere. This one I really like, it balances the craziness of SAOS with maturity of age. I also strongly appreciate MGP being transparent about the contents of the bottle so there are plus points on that. If you like MGP’s (SAOS) spice/wood/sugar palate insanity this would strongly appeal to you. I imagine this is a somewhat weaker version of the legendary 10 year old single cask SAOS bottles from few years back. Definitely get a bottle. That being said, I wouldn’t want to be marooned with it on uninhabited island (as I said with some single malts), though I would drink it all the way there. Value: At $79 this is a reasonable ask for 12+ year bourbon these days.
Score: B+

Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Total Wine SP, 52.85%
Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon, finished in port wine barrels. This is barrel 1231 bottled in 2021. I really wanted the metal wings pendant that this bottle comes with. Non-distilling producer Angel’s Envy clearly sources their stock from Kentucky and supposedly works with a number of distillers perhaps doing some blending… That being said for my particular bottle, my money is on Old Forester. The nose is woody sweet, with some red fruit punch notes and a little bit of spice. The palate starts port-sweet then turns spicy and well balanced avoiding the wood tannic situation, suggesting this isn’t super old spirit, probably 6-8 years old. The aftertaste is somewhat medium, with yet more port sweetness and gentle charred oak spice towards the end. Overall: Almost too sweet for the palate, yet reasonably well offset by the oak and the spices this is extremely ‘drinkable’ almost dessert-like, and surely on the sweeter side of bourbon spectrum. Quite enjoyable on its own, the higher proof really helps here to carry the flavor. Value: at $99 that Total Wine sells it for and zero transparency, Angel’s Envy Store Picks are fairly bad value, unless you happen to be a huge fan of theirs. That being said, it makes for a very pretty shelf bottle and a unique gift presentation, especially for a fan or a first-timer that would appreciate the sweeter finish.
Score: B+
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Happy New Year

Craigellachie 14, Hepburn’s Choice, K&L SP. 51.7%
A 14 year old in a refill (ok, it’s super blond, refill-refill) sherry cask and teaspooned with a Dailuaine. My guess it’s a 2nd refill. The nose is candied citrus peel, some spices and few sherry notes as well. Sweet toasted grains, and some minerality on the palate. The body is a little thin and I wish it was slightly thicker to enhance the experience. Long, malty, slightly spicy with soft citrus, and honeycomb aftertaste. Overall this may not be all time favorite but it’s certainly enjoyable. It does become slightly bitter, think ‘burnt orange zest’, with repeat sips, and then mellows out again. Value: This was $59 at KnL… A solid value, though Craigellachie stills do produce a lot of whiskey by volume; thus seeing reasonable prices for this distillery isn’t a surprise.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1510166
Score: B+

Rampur Double Cask; 45%
A NAS (No Age Stated) bottling that was part of a gift pack in late 2021. We’ll assume it was roughly bottled around 2021 as well. Fruit, with a very minor rubber note which acts as more of a bitter tone rather than offsets the nose. Slight upfront nutty note on the palate that fades into cascade of dried orchard fruit flavors in the reasonably long, and warming towards the end, aftertaste. The palate is unfortunately thin, the fruitiness balances it out but there’s almost no malt felt throughout of the experience and it tastes more of a brandy blindly rather than a single malt. It gives me an odd fruit-infused black tea impression, slightly bitter in the front, all fruit in the back. Overall: It’s fruit-tea… Fruity… get it? get it? Yes! It’s not ‘bad’ it’s very un-inspiring and basically tastes like brandy. Value: This came as a part of $80 gift pack with some glasses. In general I’m not a fan of paying premium for a NAS malt and I’ll stay true to my belief. Good try, but value isn’t really there. Not to mention the glasses it came with are heavily branded and are basically rocks glasses, so I’m not too sure who’s the target audience of the gift pack here; since enthusiasts won’t care and it’s not effective to do highball in a rocks glass.
Score: C

Macduff 14, 2003, Cooper’s Choice 46%
A single cask in a sherry cask bottled in 2018. Cask number 9598. The nose is honey almonds quite sweet and gentle with sherry especially when just poured. After a few minutes, the sherry notes and cologne becomes richer and deeper and somewhat woodier. Nutty, spicy, rather thinly textured palate with coffee, tobacco, some leather are in the secondary notes, this ends up tasting like a sweet ashtray (or a post-sigar palate). As I’m not a fan of smoking… this gives me odd mental images. Long and pleasantly warming aftertaste follows and fig compote comes up in the very end. Overall: I’m torn… The specs make me want to love it, the aftertaste is good, the nose is great and then the palate is… where stuff falls apart. Value: This was $69 in 2018 so right now it’s tough to find a single cask with age statement and sherry for anywhere near that at 14… It’s alright and priced about average.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1492182
Score: C-

Glentauchers 10, Sovereign, K&L SP, 58.3%
A Sovereign bottling finished in a wine barrel. The nose is spiced plums and cherries, together with a bit of nuttiness. The palate is nutty red wine… basically. Concentrated, tingly, chocolate, cherry, chewy, meaty, sweet as a dessert wine could be. Delicious, sweet, malty and sadly short aftertaste. I wish it was longer as it would be amazing. Water opens up some honey, cutting back and balancing the sweetness a bit as a welcome relieve. Overall: Heavily reminds me of Starward, this is a riff on manhattan in a bottle, quite delicious but aftertaste duration is a shortcoming. It never tries to pretend to be what it isn’t. Fantastic sweeter dessert pour, tasty with nothing to complain about for what it is. Value: At $55 this is a fantastic value for a weird, but welcome, cask mix as so very few scotches are red wine finished.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1524629
Score: B+
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… Secret Santa has come and gone and I’ve gotten a few sample bottles of single malts that I’ve not tried yet… I may mix in a few others but let’s start with Santa-samples in no order. If my Santa reads this message: one of their samples has been well-reviewed elsewhere on this site and I’m very thankful for the nice variety this year. Happy Holidays to you too!

Let’s make the 3rd year of pandemic the best one yet!

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2010, 50%
The Islay Barley is the semi-regular Laddie limited-ish release… This one is a yellow tube distilled in 2010 showcases local farm and growers and is Bruichladdich’s distillery take on terroir. Mostly ex-bourbon with some french wine casks mixed in. Perhaps due to me doing quick dig around for info on the bottling, the color of the pour looks yellow-gold to me, which I found psychosomatic as I rarely get color associations from the glass. The nose is quite typical Laddie, clean unsmoked unsalty iodine vanilla funk. The bog without the rot, a forest after the rain. Wet stacks of seasoned wood. It’s certainly hard to describe but it’s something that the nose from just about every bottle I’ve tried from the distillery shares. Unpeated, clean, slightly salty rather than sweet vanilla and very malty palate with lots of bourbon notes, little bits of bourbon spice and nutty bitterness make themselves known in the secondary notes. Clean, warming aftertaste that is medium long and continues evenly from the palate wraps it up. Easy-going and quite enjoyable as a bar or a daily pour as is the norm with most Laddies. I would not go for a full bottle. Value: Originally priced circa $69 or so; right now it is a reasonable value for the contents released in 2017 and the name. Bruichladdich bottlings tend to be overpriced across the board; so in 2017 I would argue that it should be about $50-60.
Read details here: https://www.bruichla … h-islay-barley-2010/
Score: B

Milk & Honey, Single Cask Nation, 2 years old 59.85%
An Israeli distillery, M&H (M & H), trying to compete with the big whiskey places? Arid and hot climate helps with fast maturation. Though… really, come on, a 2 year old?! I’m skeptical. Malty fresh oranges on the nose, still a little raw on the alcohol. The alcohol is also quite sharp on the palate department too. Some bitter baking spices, a pinch of salt and little bit of honey vanilla notes are present on the palate as well as just a touch too sharp alcohol presence. Jarringly short but pleasantly sweet aftertaste follows. This soars high on flavor and falls flat almost immediately in the aftertaste department. Water makes it taste… watery and doesn’t open anything up as is expected with such young malt, but does cut the alcohol notes which is perhaps a blessing in disguise. Certainly an interesting sample and sure something to be said about Israeli distiller trying to compete. Right on the edge of really tasty overall, but the malt needs few more years under its belt to really sing. I can see greatness soon but not quite yet. It’s unclear if this cask is an average or exceptional example from the distillery… but the reality is I quite enjoyed this pour after my palate adjusted. Value: Priced around $80… For a single cask that’s a maybe sort of pricing if I were to close my eyes at the actual age. With the age in consideration that price is ridiculous.
https://www.whiskyba … y/157229/mh-2017-jwc
Score: B (a smidgen below B+)

Omar, Sherry type. 46%
A new, for me, Taiwanese distillery to try… I mean they clearly took inspiration from Kavalan’s success. The nose is roasted figs and some alcohol belying its 46% abv, wood, spices… so far, so good. Woody, well balanced sherry sweetness and malt on the palate. Well integrated flavors are at play here… a bit of bitter nuttiness and bourbon spice, together with coffee-chocolate (mocha) secondary notes. The aftertaste is a little bitter, big, long and spicy with malt disappearing quickly, showing it’s unfortunate youth. Overall this is enjoyable yet unremarkable sherried malt with the distinction of hailing from Taiwan. Shockingly for the proof… water makes it sweeter and little more enjoyable for me. Perhaps a perfect highball faire? Value: Total Wine lists this at $93. A little high for a no-name 46% NAS in my humble opinion… I am a-okay with supporting up and coming distilleries but I’m not going to spend $100 on a bottle of this. When NAS similar Kavalan (okay okay at 43% abv) lists at a little more than half the price of this bottle… It’s a hard tag to swallow. Certainly a bar pour or a splurge on a present to a person that likes their world whisky as very few out there tried this yet. Knocking the plus off due to being 100% forgettable after 10 minutes.
Score: B

Kavalan, PAFWS SP, Solist Ex-Bourbon 57.8%
Ah, Kavalan, the original(?) Taiwanese whiskey distillery and certainly the more famous one of the two with Omar above. Selected by “Palo Alto Whiskey Shop” cask number ‘B101214010A’. A quintessential bourbon cask nose. Spiced pears and red apples, butter vanilla, honeycomb, eye-twitching proof in the nose. Tropical fruits galore on the palate, mango, coconuts, ex-bourbon warming spice are subdued but balance off the sweetness and fruitiness amazingly. My mouth is salivating for more. Medium length aftertaste of additional tropical fruit notes and warm alcohol. Overall, Oh this is so very very good. I don’t know what magic Kavalan does to their casks but this particular one is delicious. Yes, it’s not too old and a little unbalanced and probably falls apart with water but it’s tasty stuff in the class at the end of the day. Value: This is Kavalan Solist ex-bourbon so I’d expect this to be $160+… frankly Kavalan’s entire Solist range is somewhat on expensive side. Considering the amount of Solist casks out there makes blind buying of Kavalan bottles a bit of a risky business, which I would personally not recommend as it’s a pure gamble… but then there are gems like these in the mix which mostly justify their tag… so YMMV, good luck. I’d likely get a bottle of this if anywhere under $180 out the door.
The ‘other’ Kavalan is reviewed here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210101-233819
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Got my hands on some old mini bottles with distillation times mostly in mid-90s… While my record with minis has not been great… Why not try something different. Full disclaimer… In my limited exposure these seem to easily go bad or just not be great to begin with…

Glenrothes 1992, Sample Room Mini. 43%
Bottled in 2004 this makes a 12 year old sample. The time not been kind to it either with perhaps 1/6th gone to the angels. It’s also either (by design) not filtered… or the bottle cap deteriorated. Visual inspection suggests unfiltered spirit though as cap isn’t nearly as bad as the cloudy contents leads me to suspect. WIth the angels taking their share this is whiskey flavored water mostly and low proof really isn’t helping. Very little true malt remains though nutty and somewhat tasty long aftertaste suggests it could have been great when it was just bottled. Do not recommend this though. I wouldn’t wish this onto anyone… but being a unique and direct from tasting room… it gets a reluctant pass on grading.
Score: N/A (D-)

Royal Lochnagar 12, 40%
I cannot quite figure out the bottling date, but let’s assume sometime in early-mid 2000s. Quite malty on the nose and palate it’s is reminiscent of the dry cigarette and coffee funk I got in the sherry cask I have reviewed earlier but without the sherry… Sweet, nutty, malty and long aftertaste. This is highly flavorful despite the low proof, and the flavor is really almost better without the excessive sherry. I quite like it, it tastes very slightly peated (nutty smoke) and somewhat reminds me of Loch Lomond 12 I have. Plenty of better things out there… but this is really not that terrible and I’d enjoy it at a bar or @work.
Score: B-

Amrut (NAS) bottled in 2004, 40%
No age stated Amrut bottled in 2004… You know… I now get why nobody likes older bottlings of Indian whiskeys… The nose and palate are basically swamp water while the aftertaste is quite malty and pleasant, if mercifully short. The Indian malts have come a very VERY long way since then. Even that Glenrothes above tastes better, if barely.
Score: F

Tullibardine 1988, 46%
Unclear when this was bottled with laser code on the back reading “09078”… Nutty, slightly acrid and heavily malted, with what I suspect a slight tinge of peat. It’s not too bad… but it’s also all that great for me. It’s got everything going for it
with the year, region and proof… yet not quite hitting the spot. Probably worth a try but I’m skipping a bottle decision here.
Score: C

Tomintoul 10, 40%
Tomintoul 10, bottled circa 2005. Oh finally something drinkable in this samples set. Yes it’s a 10 year old but… Honey. malt, nuttiness and ex-bourbon cask. This is actually reasonably tasty. Slightly sulfuric but almost un-noticeably so. Really enjoyable for a 10 year old 40% single malt.
Score: B

Tomintoul 16, 40%
Now a 16 year old from the same gift set as the 10 above… likely bottled in 2004. More honey and better definition vs the 10. I quite like it in fact. Only real detriment is the low proof here. Nutty, vanilla, some light honey, well balanced and less ‘funky’ vs the 10. Long aftertaste of fruits and mellow bourbon spices. I’d probably be down for a bottle of this. It’s still more of a sharing/guests/@work stuff but it’s certain to be a cloud pleaser (sans sherry).
Score: B+

Tomintoul 27, 40%
Also bottled in late 2004. Some sherry in this one at least in the color and the nose. Dried fruits, lots of malt sweetness and vanilla. The back is warming bourbon spice primarily. More nutty than sweet this got some tobacco leather notes to balance out the old vanilla bomb. Enjoyable certainly but for 27 years I expected more. The low proof is really a distraction here. I’m so glad that no respectable distillery puts a 40% abv on their flagship bottles in the recent times.
Score: B+

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown