MrWizard's Ramblings

It’s the fated hour! I’m finally trying the GlenAllachie samples I got…

GlenAllachie 13, Cask #6871, 59.6%
2007 Vintage, UK exclusive, Virgin Oak casks… Let’s gooooo! Nose got chocolate funky burnt rubber notes going but in a perfume way. Palate… Wood-forward for a 13 year old single cask. Very surprising. Lots of chocolate, tons of malt and minerality. The aftertaste is a little more minerality, slight alcohol tingle and fast-fading wood the primary flavors are a bit on the shorter side, but some remnants linger for a while. Water brings a ton more wood bitterness and makes the malt horribly peppery, avoid the water here. It’s tasty but not that special to be honest. Very wood and chocolate forward making an interesting flavor combo, nearly bordering on bourbon type of palate here, but with malt instead. Not really my jam to be honest, there’s nothing particularly bad here and I really want to like it, yet I’m not having warm and fuzzy feelings about it. Rather forcing myself to finish this sample.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181254
Score: B-

GlenAllachie 11, Cask #5000, 58.3%
A Grattamacco Red Wine cask from 2009… Amusingly, almost pink in the glass. The nose is sorta chocolate with lots of alcohol and a light whiff of red wine berries. This is oddly bordering on light port notes. The easiest way I can describe this… It’s Glendronach Portwood but cask strength and a little light on the port sweetness. Red wine berries forward, with some chocolate in the back this makes for a solid combination of flavors. Small downside is the relative youth and really rather high proof making it slightly too alcohol-forward. The aftertaste is spot on with wine cask influence taking center stage and lasting for quite a while. This is certainly red wine and chocolate pairing… Rather interesting flavor combination to find in scotch. Oh and it takes water fantastically, dialing back some of the proof without losing the flavors. Anyways, this is woody wine that’s quite tasty even if it’s one-sided on the primary and cask flavors and lacking secondary subtle notes to some extent.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181255
Score: B+

GlenAllachie 15, Cask#901042, 63.0%
To be honest… This one I’m looking forward to…. Very unmistakably sherry colored and tons of sherry notes on the nose. Very much varnish/mastic smell suggests oloroso, but ooooh does it smell good in combination with the seemingly consistent chocolate notes from the malt. An absolute sherry bomb, this reminds me somewhat of the Chieftain’s Glentauchers 15 I’ve had last year vs Kavalan’s mulled sherry with every spice possible. This is straight and to the point, wood, sherry, malt, fairly dynamic and non sticky consistency. Definitely does not feel like a 63%… Aftertaste is very slightly letdown by not lingering for little longer, but fading fast instead. Still, while it fades it’s well balanced and to some extent toasted wood sort of wins in the end finishing with toasted nuts on the very back. Surprisingly delicate for such intense sherry concentration on the nose and palate. Definite chocolate sherry bomb and arguably the best of the 3 GlenAllachie samples I’ve tried so far. Very much a sherry bomb and dead ringer for that Glentauchers 15 described here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200423-122847… Now for the sad part… value-wise it’s not that great and being a UK-exclusive… best of luck getting it cheap.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181253
Score: A-

Braeval 22 (1994), Munros, 55.6%
Somehow I feel like I’ve reviewed a Braeval before… But I guess I didn’t. Let’s try again. A distillery formerly called Braes of Glenlivet this is part of Chivas portfolio and doesn’t seem to have any Original Bottlings, though Independent Bottles do tend to float up occasionally. For what it’s worth, I like IB’s; so all the better here with an unaltered single cask. Nose is.. Vanilla & Banana yogurt, creme custard with some citrus notes, very lively. The palate is surprisingly restrained after that luscious nose is somewhat reminiscent of a slightly woodier old malt cask on the mouthfeel. So vanilla, bourbon spice that’s bordering on bitterness, tons of malt and some white pepper. Few grass notes appear too, or perhaps it’s the cask wood playing tricks on me. Malty, buttery, bitterness dominates slightly secondary flavors and the aftertaste though it lasts for a very very long time which could be either good, if one is looking for a somewhat medicinal aftertaste or bad depending on the preference here. Many many layers of flavor here that would please ex-bourbon cask folks this takes water like a champ (just like just about every 20+ year old scotch) and that bitterness layer opens up into… lots of other layers, but primarily, it mostly fades away which is awesome. Water is highly recommended. Very approachable by just about anyone and quite flavorful in its own way. Value-wise this was a pretty solid value offering, all gone by now of course.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485016
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/140044
Score: B+ (w/ Water)

Tormore 22 (1995), Munros, 45.4%
Another Munros bottling… Little darker, suggesting a reasonably active cask and having a huge nose while at relatively low proof. Unfortunately, this is a bit rubber-forward on the nose too reminding me somewhat of Clyde Mays Bourbon with a sort of hot roofing rubber smell. The palate is surprisingly creamy with more of that rubber glue notes that personally I cannot get around. The aftertaste is about medium and gently-fading. This drinks surprisingly hotter than the proof stated which is quite odd for a 22 year old whiskey. Overall, it’s reasonably nutty, tasty bottling with the ‘right’ palate, yet with enough of the burnt rubber note that makes me want to skip this. Betcha my wife wouldn’t taste the rubber in this. Anyways, myself… no like! Which marks this as the lowest grade I’ve ever given to a single cask scotch so far.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485015
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/140043
Score: D (B+ if you’re not tasting the rubber note)

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

“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” — (wasn’t said by) Mark Twain

https://www.anchorbr … o-say-what-says-who/
Whoever really said, it is mostly true. Today, at the very end of June, the temperature outside barely broke 65 degrees or so with chilly, cold, and gusty winds while majority of the rest of the country is suffering from heat wave… We’re not here to talk about the weather but instead to review whiskey and what a time to be alive and drink peated malts if not when it’s cold outside. With the usual disclaimer that I don’t actually like peat… Let’s dig into more backlogged samples. I’ll expect the grading going all over the place here.

Glen Scotia 14, Tawny Port 52.8%
Bottled for Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020. This is the successor for the rum cask finish in 2019, which was delicious. https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200411-073247… The nose is smoked berry compote. To be honest I’m quite confused since it doesn’t smell like a Scotch. Dark smoked plums and intense green pine? It has been sitting in my glass for a while as I was stressing to drink it. It is quite velvety in texture, the peat level is high. Much higher than the Rum cask from 2019, together with higher levels of iodine salinity. Thankfully it’s well balanced off by the tawny port jamminess and dark fruit with a bit of chocolate sweetness. This somewhat reminds me of smoky dark chocolate with salt and cayenne powder. Overall, while I quite enjoyed the ‘19 Rum version, this isn’t my jam even if I do enjoy sweet peat. This is almost pure islay that’s been sweetened up by port. Not unpleasant, it’s red dessert wine, smoke and whiskey mix but I find myself fighting though the peat levels here. Someone that enjoys peat would likely enjoy it much more than I do.
Score: B- (Peat!)

Highland Park (HP) 2020, Cask Strength, 63.3%
I got an odd relationship with HP… Some bottles I really dislike https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201205-225320 … and some I really like https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210523-215817. Nearly sulfuric on the nose with some smoke, iodine and sherry notes. Sweet and quite fiery on the front of the palate, with lots of residual heat and smoke coming up in the back. Someone salty, smokey and slightly spicy aftertaste but not much to write home about here as it fades into near-obscurity after some time… Pleasant but not great. The nature of NAS makes itself be known here with younger barrels which is odd, considering the palate is quite woody. For a peated offering this ain’t too overwhelming and is balanced well. Some water amps the sweetness and cuts the burn making it quite enjoyable overall. A NAS bottling sherried malt with some peat but not overwhelming. Water is recommended. Still, frankly lack of subtle flavors and slight woody bitterness in the aftertaste department makes it not all that desirable pour for me. It’s also not that bad by itself.
Score: B-

Clynelish 14 SiB, Selkie Queen, 57.1%
A Joshua Thinnes Single Cask pick (if that makes any difference to the reader). I treat to myself… From myself, though a sample. Little lick of the last drop from the sample bottle brought in so much honeycomb… Crazy… Let’s not beat around the bush. It’s a refill Clynelish. Super pale and it’s 14 years old. May as well be an Old Malt Cask. On the plus side it’s a pick from a person with a solid palate so fingers crossed. Old oak cereal minerality, bit of yellow citrus, and honeycomb on the nose. Lucious, thick, slightly wood-bitter, honey and stone fruit on the palate. The aftertaste is more honey and is sadly somewhat unimpressive compared to the palate… Interestingly, it is begging for water. With few water drops… well it’s an Old Malt Cask behavior. Pepper and oak in addition to previous flavors. It’s… good… but… Clynelish really needs at least a bit of sherry to offset its character and shine… Pleasant, extremely complex and contemplative this could feel underwhelming because of its subtlety. At the same time it’s so tightly layered with lighter scotch flavors that it can take hours to figure them out. I’m certainly enjoying my glass… yet I’m wondering if i would have enjoyed this repeatedly and I’m leaning towards a ‘not on regular basis’. Due to high complexity this isn’t an everyday pour by any means… but it is also its downfall as it’s chock-full of blink-and-miss flavors. Easily in the top of every Old Malt Cask bottle that I’ve tried till now. Must like n-th refill bourbon casks though… On the value side, I don’t recall original MSRP but it was higher than I would have paid for IB Clynelish 14… It’s not worth it and also sold out. It’s a great pick that seems to have been priced unreasonably high.
https://www.subtlesp … its.com/selkie-queen
Score: A-

Caol Ila 10, Islay Straight, Sovereign 59.6%
A 2010 Sherry Butt spooned Caol Isla? Okay. In sherry? Sure, lets try. It’s a young Islay in sherry. I’m expecting salty sweet smoke with a fairly substantial proof. So far, the nose doesn’t disappoint. Smells like sweet smoked seafood. Tastes like sweet smoked fish jerky even if not surprisingly a tad too hot on the palate. The aftertaste is fantastic though it reminds me of a good cigar and I don’t smoke. Peat isn’t too overwhelming here and neither is sherry they work together nicely. Comparably straightforward bottling, this is tasty in a smoked sherry ways but due to low age it lacks much in terms of secondary or very complex flavors that would develop over time in a cask. On the value side, this is extremely solid and aggressively priced offering, no complaints.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1499782
Score: B+

Kilkerran (Glengyle) 8, Oloroso 2020, 57.1%
The Kilkerran/Glengyle 2020 bottling of recharred oloroso casks at 8 years old. Kilkerran is an offshoot of Springbank distillery where Springbank can experiment with things rather than sticking to more traditional versions of their distillery bottling. Well… It’s cask strength Oloroso… so yay varnish/mastic is strong with this one. On the palate it becomes something different though. Still, the palate offers slight mastic notes, the wood, and sherry, and spirit’s super light peat offer a very interesting balance that really wants to be enjoyed more and more it really coats my tongue. Oloroso casks bring stewed fruit compote balances well with light smokiness and wood notes. The nature of Campbeltown malt is also good at hiding imperfections, naturally being lightly smoked and malt-forward. Honestly, this is a good bottle. Value is honestly a touch too high for the age and mostly okay on flavor departments. I personally skipped this one as other bottlings from the distillery are hit or miss with this one being one of the few that hit it out of the park but hindsight is 20/20.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1503114
Score: A-
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Well it is Friday night so let’s do rye reviews again. I’m slightly under the weather for few parts of this review so fingers crossed. I’ll revisit few things when I can for second opinion.

Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye, 66%
Not too sure what’s so ‘premium’ about this but label gotta label. Jokes aside, Alberta (R) is a registered trademark somehow. This is quite obviously Canadian rye whiskey and this is a batch cask strength with batches varying in proof a bit. IIRC mine is a batch two. At 66% abv that’s hot stuff in there. Nose is wood, some sweet rye spice, and a lot of alcohol. Palate is very hot, somewhat cinnamon forward with lots of wood and surprisingly not a too much sugar, keeping it quite balanced, aside from scorching heat of the alcohol. It is certainly sweet and woody and spicy but reasonably so in terms of overall experience. Pleasant baking spices and sweet aftertaste develops for a long time after initial burn is gone. This really rather cries out for water. Water cuts the alcohol and sweetness a tad and makes it… quite tasty and a bit woodier with slight bitterness now balancing out the sweetness after the alcohol is no longer overwhelming everything. A bit of licorice and pine palate peeks through as well. Unfortunately as with a lot of ryes, this gets more bitter, the more it sits in the glass so there’s certainly some inflection point where bitter overwhelms the good. Overall it is reasonably drinkable for the price though it’s also nothing too special to write home about the MSRP is about on point for the overall experience here. Water to cut the burn is recommended required as well as drinking it reasonably fast. This may become my Manhattan fodder.
Score: B-

Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye (2019), Cask#79, 56.3%
Another Michter’s Rye from yesteryear? I was considering adding it to the overall Michter’s rundown https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201129-222309 but reviewing it here is good enough, no? Nose, charry, woody, slightly smokey rye spices. To be clear, not actual smoke but notes of super toasted wood instead. Palate is sweet rye deliciousness. Candied orange peel, rye and eucalyptus spice, caramelized sugar. Woody, almost to a point of bitterness but backs off on the bitter notes right before it gets anywhere near unpleasant. Somewhat disappointingly short finish as per pretty much every Michter’s bottle. Overall, yah it’s legit. The secondary pricing on this is a bit insane and plenty of retailers are asking $200+ which is utterly unreasonable… Near MSRP this is solid solid stuff and quite tasty even for this grump that doesn’t like rye.
Score: A-

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye (2020), 65%
A 2020 limited run of Jack’s Single Cask Rye that’s proofed rather high. This became a hot commodity almost immediately. A note to be made about color here, with this being nearly chestnut-colored. Very Jack style nutty varnish on the nose. Mouth-coating toasted spicy nuts and some rye spice on the palate. Surprisingly tame for such high proof. Long and mouth-tingling aftertaste which is super nice. Overall… Hmm, I see why plenty of folks are calling it ‘fire’. Tasty but I’m having a hard time finding rye in there. Frankly, just stick to Single Cask full proof Jack and don’t pay premium for this. But pretty much nothing is worth its secondary value. The bourbon is sweeter in the corn sweetness way so rye does dial back the sugar in a pleasant way. If you see it at MSRP, worth getting.
Score: B+

Barrell Rye #M768, 7 year MGP, Beast Masters Pick, 57.56%
Somewhat a mouthful of a name, this is a Barrell Rye from MGP, nicknamed “Hannibal Nectar”. It’s been chilling in my glass for quite a while actually due to unforeseen distractions, so whatever oxigen would have done to it is already done. Let’s dig in! Well, the nose seems like a reasonable rye with with MGP spice twist though surprisingly sharp on the alcohol side of things. The palate is… surprisingly good. Woody, spicy and just about perfectly sweet without being too much. Quite warming on the palate the alcohol lets itself be known but with the rest of the big bold flavors it integrates well. Solid amount of wood and sweetness show up in the aftertaste that lasts a long time. Overall, I like it a lot. Price and availability aside, this is solid drinking stuff. I’m not usually a fan of ‘traditional’ rye but this gets my vote for being quite tasty and old MGP stuff is pretty darn good with that MGP spice doing well in Rye and barrel influence. MGP 4 year old rye is too young: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210212-220609 but extra few years in a cask does wonders.
Score: A-

Domaine des Hautes Glaces (DHG) Single Malt Rye, Cask #79, 53.1%
Oh boy… This one got a story. Don’t I just love stories to go with my whiskey? A 100% malted rye from France, aged in used fortified wine casks. A single cask bottling with reasonably high proof. Sounds good yet? Yes it does! The nose is super herbal with malted rye flavors overlayed by grape sugar. So tightly wound between herbaceousness and spice as to be nearly smokey like a flowering grass fire smoke. The palate starts like a rye and turns full on herbal about midway through, then nearly fades and, surprisingly, roars back again with full chocolate and herbs assault on the tongue. This secondary assault slowly fades over a very long time in to the super pleasant aftertaste very similar to having fortified herbal wine. Lots of mint, sage, thyme, some eucalyptus and rosemary on the herbal notes. This is highly reminiscent of Herbs de Provence spice mix. Overall: Holy cow yes! A little young to develop it’s own secondary flavors but any longer and it would have been overwhelmed with too much cask influence, so likely bottled at the proper time. Lovers of all that is weird in whiskey sign up here. This and Old Potrero malted rye single casks are fantastic examples of what I really like about malted rye whiskey. It’s not perfect but its minor flaws are well masked by the outstanding qualities. Where OP is much darker and broodier this leans towards the light side of the spectrum without losing too much of a dark character. Not for every occasion and certainly not a casual drink; this is just something weird, unique and outstanding at the same time. Best I can describe it as herbal whiskey. Value: at $70 are you kidding me? Buy if you can (no chance; it’s been sold out).
Read the good stuff here: https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1515177
Even the general release is pretty awesome: http://www.whiskyfun.com/#140621
Score: A- (*Not for everyone)

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

I’ve been doing more tastings… Some I’ve enjoyed, some I’ve been disappointed in. Few I missed because I’ve misjudged my interest level but I’m griping at the free tastings… Time to score. These will mostly cover core ranges with few selectively different samples.
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Balcones Lineup

Balcones Straight Bourbon, Pot Still, 46%
Light notes of fresh scorched roofing tar. The same few tar notes stick around to corn-forward the palate, but really they aren’t that bad and more than remind me of Texas BBQ. Basically charry bbq corn? Yeah I can see this. Rye spice and wood notes round off the experience. Drinkable and worth trying at a bar in Texas. Repeated tastings bring up a some more of that tar or barrel char bitterness in the back which I’m not truly enjoying. Frankly the more I am drinking it the less I’m enjoying it.
Score: C-

Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whiskey, 46%
Made from roasted blue corn aged in wood for at least 6 months, no babies were harmed in making of this. Corn and a bit of a newmake on the nose, rather funky. The palate actually does remind me of a roasted corn profile. The aftertaste is mellow and medium or so. It’s… it’s actually rather pleasant. I expected this to be the Mellow Corn disaster, but this is really not too bad. The complexity is really coming from that caramelized corn sugars in the roast rather from the casks but the wood pleasantly mellows it out and adds a little bit of vanilla in. I’m very pleasantly surprised overall on this… A solid pour worth trying with a BBQ or something. I can see this going along quite well with food. It’s not complicated but it is tasty.
Score: B-

Balcones Rye, 50%
At least 15 months in oak. Rye rye rye. This is interesting profile. Some of those same tar notes from bourbon show up here too transforming into chocolate in the palate and coffee in the reasonably long aftertaste. Honestly this is NOT my thing. Basically the bourbon is here, but rye forwards vs corn forward. Frankly not a fan.
Score: D+
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Frey Ranch Lineup

Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon. 45%
A four grain straight bourbon out of Nevada farm-to-table family owned distillery. A little alcohol-forward nose with lots of corn. The palate is quite interestingly mellow going from corn to rye to a mellow wheat flavors. Quite pleasant, very slightly medicinal with rye and overall very good @work i think. Tons and tons and layers of flavor here yet still staying subtle and mellow enough. For a regular release that’s super high marks to achieve.
Score: B

Frey Ranch Straight Rye, 50%
Non-chill filtered and Bottled-in-bond rye? I guess… Very mint forward on the nose. Rye and mint on the palate and then orchard fruit (apples?) on the aftertaste. I’m usually very rye-picky but this is actually quite tasty. The mint may be a turn off for some drinkers and is certainly not my favorite flavor in a drink typically but this one really works. Good stuff. Would totally love to see their cask strength rye.
Score: B+

Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon, Plumpjack SP, 64.23%
A really really tiny sample of this because… well because I kept sneaking little sips out… Warm woody and delicious. Little burny as is evidenced by the proof but not too bad overall. Little drying on the tongue with wood flavors and in the aftertaste. Quite a treat and knowing that Frey Ranch is farm-to-table a hard call to pass up. It was recently at PlumpJack for $95… I actually passed because of personal reasons but this is rather quite good with little to complaint about other than the price. This is closer to a wheated mashbills of Weller because their bourbon is four grain so expect less Stagg more Weller Full Proof.
Score: A-
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Woodinville Lineup:

Woodinville Straight Bourbon, 45%
Not repeating myself… https://www.aerin.or … y:entry191220-085943 Perhaps just a tad charcoal bitterness comes up in the continued sipping. But omg it is good in a manhattan and great @work.
Score Finally: B-

Woodinville Straight Rye 100%, 45%
Not repeating myself… https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200731-205036
Score Repeat: C

Woodinville Straight Bourbon, Port Finish, 45%
Bourbon finished in Port? Sure! As a side note, Uproxx, website been praising this as if it’s a nectar of the gods… I don’t really buy their assessment. So let’s finally make my own mind up. The nose is sweet red wine, as expected. Though honestly it smells more like a cheap fortified sweet red dessert wine. The palate is mostly sweet with woody dryness of the regular bourbon, mostly balanced out by the sweetness of the port. On the aftertaste the sweetness slowly fades as does the dryness so basically slow fade from the palate. Medium length and nothing new really shows up on the aftertaste yet again lacking subtle flavors. Yet again, too young. I think I like this slightly more than the regular edition but either way it’s nothing amazing to write home about with plenty of more interesting choices out there. Worth a bar tab though as a dessert due to sweetness.
Score: B

Woodinville Triple Barrel Blended, 45.5%
From Woodinville Website: “initially aged in new, heavy-toasted, lightly charred American oak barrels. After a stay in the new oak barrels, it is re-barreled into used bourbon barrels for additional aging and mellowing. Finally, it is re-barreled a third time into used Islay Scotch barrels.” Something new and different. a bit of a barrel finish if you will. Smells like and old smoker or a cold bbq grill. The palate is salty and smokey with some sweetness. Aftertaste is mostly same but fading gently. This heavily reminds me of a non-greasy hot smoked salmon… and I like hot smoked salmon. This is one of those whiskey profiles I really enjoy, especially if done right. There’s one problem though. It’s young and has no subtle flavors to back itself up on when primary flavors are gone. Extremely good effort but needs to be at least few years older here. I want more but I will also not buy it. Well worth trying for fans of gentle peat and it’s very rare to see smoke in bourbon (yes yes, I’m aware of High West Campfire… but like it’s the only other one commonly available).
Score: B
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

A quick run through several of small malt samples I gathered over last few months. They are minis because most are 1 oz rather than 2 oz samples thus my opinions may be somewhat limited due to not having a larger sample base.

Aberfeldy 15, Exceptional (Sherry) Cask, 43%
Aberfeldy is a distillery I’ve wanted to try for a while as their packaging is a very pretty gold letters on black satin colored letterhead, and they’re not too expensive. Well their exceptional cask series is a sherry finished version at a disappointingly low 43% abv with reasonably respectable 15 year old age statement. The nose has solid apple underlay with some sherry on top with perhaps a touch of honey, without the honey sweetness. The palate is woody sherry, not too sweet and quite… watery. More light sherry notes come forth in the aftertaste with a little bit of ex-bourbon spice and wood. Nothing quite exciting, I’m disappointed here. The proof level being this low is an absolute shame as it could have been so much more interesting. At about 50%+ this could have been ‘exceptional’; at 43% it’s mediocre sherry finished malt.
Score: C

Hibiki, Blender’s Choice, 43%
An (inadequate) pseudo replacement for the fantastic 2010s 12 year old, which used Ume wine casks which are rare and hard to get. This is the other (and quite expensive, with MSRP ~$200) option to the Japanese Harmony which is technically is the current replacement to 12 in the core range. Regardless, this Hibiki NAS with (supposedly) higher percentage of sherry in the blend. See my overall Suntory tasting notes for some fine points about Japanese single malt here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210503-204441. Rather alcohol forward on the nose with a lot of malt and spice character with a bit of sherry. It is quite lovely in the sniffly-sniff department. Smooth as silk and practically loaded with pepper and malt flavors. Sherry is surprisingly subdued and only shows up in the very back of the palate to balance out the peppery notes so that they don’t take over. The aftertaste is unfortunately on the shorter side which is a shame after that nose and palate. Blindly, I’d have given this easily a 46% abv; so the blender did a fantastic job here. Well worth having, trying, and drinking at rich friend’s place, though I struggle to recommend this NAS bottling knowing the MSRP. Still, a very flavorful proposition that should please pretty much every scotch drinker except hardened peat-heads.
Score: B

Puni Gold, Italian Whiskey, 43%
Apparently first ever Italian single malt whiskey distilled and aged in Italy. This is a “triple malt” whiskey aged 5 years in ex-bourbon. Distilled from a 100% malted combination of barley, wheat, and rye. Something unique indeed. Apples, pears and a bit of rye spice on the nose. Surprisingly soft and mellow on the palate with more apple and pear flavors but overall the feeling is more subdued vs the nose. With such subtle palate, the aftertaste that lasts a surprisingly long time and is quite tasty though yet again subtle vanilla apple with very small amount of varming spice in the very back. A little mouth-watering and overall rather enjoyable. Buuuuuut… It’s not actually that cheap for the age, with K&L having it on sale for $67 (from $90). One to watch as it needs some more time in the cask to flesh out that palate but the overall profile is enjoyable and seems to be on the right track. Very faint metallic notes float up with repeated sips and it is unfortunately a little too young to be of true interest. Exceptionally good early effort by a young and unique distillery. I would be looking forward to eventual port and sherry casks of this…
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1499772
Score: B-

Balcones, Lineage Single Malt, 47%
A regular malt release from Balcones Texas distillery. Light cinnamon and malt on the nose. Mellow cream soda, toffee and some candied orange peel on the palate. Musty, slightly wet wood and a little bit of spice on the aftertaste. Fairly long light malt notes. Inoffensive but honestly? Why bother with this when their full proof french oak is so much better. Too young to be interesting, too ‘different’ for scotch drinkers. Reasonably tame American Malt whiskey that is perhaps a gateway into bigger, bolder, more interesting full proof versions from this distillery… But honestly skip it and go straight to the good stuff if you really want Balcones. https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210127-170948 . Considering that MSRP for this is a little over $40… this gets my begrudgingly small nod of approval on the value and would be fantastic @work for it’s easy drinking, mellow, and inoffensive profile while still having a sizeable proof and decent flavor combination.
Score: B-

Old Pulteney 21, 46%
Ex-bourbon and Ex-oloroso maturation. An unfortunately small sample came across my desk with some luck (and perhaps begging). Red berries, spice and alcohol on the nose dominate here, some hints of oloroso varnish do appear too. Luxurious sherry finished profile though drinks much higher than it’s proof. Slightly metallic due to salinity and a bit of peat without too much sherry sweetness to carry peat forward. Extremely complex to say the least. Starts sweet, but immediately becomes slightly salty. The finish is mostly downhill on the flavor scale, Long and malty, slightly metallic and salty but nothing really comes up as whiskey just sort of disappears into the palate. As with most older Islay bottles the aftertaste lasts for a very very long time but this is so subtle it is nearly lost almost immediately, though my mouth continues to salivate for a while due to residue all around. This starts amazing and… fizzles. A very hard one to quantify but frankly I am not enjoying this as much as I was expecting. At ~$170 MSRP this would be a huge disappointment for me on value. A solid malt that’s worth trying but I’m not chasing it down anytime soon.
Score: B
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown