MrWizard's Ramblings

Let’s try more stuff!

Jefferson’s Reserve Pritchard Hill, Cabernet Cask, 45.1%
https://www.bourbonb … cask-finish-bourbon/
Jefferson’s Bourbon extra-matured in cask that used to have red wine in it… Considering that wine cask single malt is quite enjoyable, I wonder if it translates onto bourbon. Interestingly the color has a bit more red in it than usual for bourbon. The nose is a mix of bourbon and intense red wine notes with cherry and spices dominating. The palate is a mix between Jefferson’s reasonably restrained profile that’s shored up by wine influence with a healthy dose of winey oak. More spices, wood and cherry on the palate this tastes like a semi-decent dry Manhattan right out of the (sample) bottle. The aftertaste lasts for a while and is warm with spices, some berries, and oak though the high notes fall silent quite fast. The nose is much heavier with red wine than the palate and the wine influence becomes mostly lost in the aftertaste. I find myself at a crossroads with this one. One one side this tastes decently good. On the other, it doesn’t seem to offer anything particularly interesting versus a regular bourbon or a Manhattan. While it’s not a bad one to try as a middle ground… There are also plenty of interesting exemplars on both side of that fence. As is, it’s an inoffensive, reasonably enjoyable (@work would be great ) drink.
Score: B

Rabbit Hole Dareringer PX Sherry Cask, 46.5%
A Bourbon finished in a PX sherry cask… Typically a good combination. Herbal and anise-y on the nose with a healthy dose of PX and bourbon in there but anise is on the forefront. As time passes, more PX sherry notes come out and anise mostly fades away. The palate brings back anise/dill mixed with sherry notes, orange zest is quite evident as well as some fruits from sherry. The aftertaste is nice, sweet and inoffensive. Honestly, this is quite unremarkable bourbon. Yes, PX is enjoyable with plenty of bourbons but in this one it mostly makes it sweeter without offering much of interest other than sweetness. I’d rather have a sherried single malt.
Score: C

Wilderness Trail Bourbon, Park Plaza Liquor SP, 57.5%
Wilderness Trail is something I’ve been trying to get my hands on for a while. Words “sweet mash” are an interesting part of the description but what exactly does it mean? To paraphrase and summarise this article: https://malt-review. … ght-bourbon-whiskey/ it is essentially clean fermentation start with no bacteria and fresh yeast vs reusing some of old mash as starter. Because the start is clean and mash is
bacteria free it doesn’t spoil (sour), staying sweet. The mash then can be distilled at lower proof leaving more flavorful compounds in the spirit.
Nose is flavorful with grainy and almost malty character as well as light wood notes, following by reasonably balanced alcohol that doesn’t overwhelm. Palate is… hard to describe. Not quite bourbon or single malt. It’s … grain-forward? with ripe red apples and little bit of spices dominating the flavor profile. Tasty and unlike most bourbons by not being wood centric and caramel heavy. Surprisingly tame on the alcohol for its proof. The aftertaste is subtle and lasts for a long while with gentle ginger tickle and more caramel apples. Really tasty offering and while somewhat powerful on paper, it drinks like a casual high-proof sipper.
Score: B+

High West American Prairie Park Plaza Liquor SP, PX Sherry finish. 49.8%
A PX finished bourbon? Yes please! Single Cask Store Pick? Even more so! Nose is thick sherry, wood and baking spices. It is very spice forward, akin to something from Beam’s stills. On the palate I’m tasting sweet tobacco ash, leather, the usual bourbon flavors are present too but it’s definitely on the subtle side. iIf not for sherry sweetness this would be totally drying and super leathery. With sherry, it’s more of a smoked fruit jerky. The aftertaste is long with more pleasantly fruity and dry-smoked leather. I’m legitimately confused on whether or not I’m liking this. On one side of the coin there’s plenty to like, its flavorful, sweet, reasonably balanced and got the trifecta of nose-palate-aftertaste. Yet, it is so unlike any bourbon, or single malt, or anything really. Yes it is still whiskey but it’s not quite like anything else. But what it is… it is tasty and it integrates sherry into the mix brilliantly. Perhaps this reminds me of a peat+sherry single malt but if a bourbon did it well.
Score: A-

J. Mattingly SiB, Miles Experience, 53.5%
A signed bottle with a enough to sample remaining in it, all for myself! Wax-dipped and everything… this is all very ‘fancy’. No way I’d buy it though.
Color is dark amber and it looks viscous in the glass. The color reminds me somewhat of Elijah Craig Barrel Strength. A decent amount of sediment in this one due to no filtration… Okay, don’t chill-filter, but at least get the cask bits out with a finer filter. At least the sediment settles down quickly. Nose is spicy corn caramel, bits of rubber and wood varnish. Super concentrated and strong. Palate is dried apricots and plums, backed up by solid amount of bourbon sugar and spice. Alcohol and wood don’t overwhelm but back up the intensity of the palate. The aftertaste becomes spicier and warming as fruits fade and is of reasonable duration. Availability, price, and exclusivity aside this is quite tasty and balanced. This bottling is enjoyable to drink though certainly on the darker, deeper side of bourbon spectrum.
Score: B+
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Caledonian 45 Single Grain, 46.2%
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1086948
Sovereign-bottled, 45 year old single grain scotch, distilled in 1965… This is a rare treat via friend. Wonderfully sweet and woody and almost malty nose with honeycomb and dark honey dominating, some dark leather notes are also float up with time. Palate is surprisingly full of old smoke, leather, tobacco… Reminds me of insides of an old leather suitcase. Nearly salty with pine resin, intensely flavored and surprisingly not sweet. This almost tastes peated, though my understanding that this isn’t peated at all. Nose and palate are extreme opposites here. Aftertaste is sadly a little of a letdown with some residual smoke from the palate. While the final notes linger for a long time, initial rush of flavors fades pretty fast. Superbly layered, mind-bending and interesting, my only real complaint is that this could have really used a tiny bit of sweetness. As is, any fan of Springbank should be all over this like a holy grail it may be for them. Sadly, long sold out and probably bunkered by the few lucky rich folks that picked it up back in the day. Definitely one of those bottles that needs to be contemplated on in front of the fire in a winter storm.

Note: I find it difficult to score due to the large combination of factors in play here. A dead distillery, 1965 distillation year, age and uniqueness are all in play. I think in the end, I’d not have enjoyed it enough to justify the $400 price… But I’m also not a huge fan of Springbank savory light peat style. For those that are fans of that… this would be 101% Holy Grail level bottle. For me… Well, my score is below.
Score: A- to A+ (Subjective)

Invergordon 31 Single Grain, Sovereign, 52%
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1380524
A Sovereign bottling sample, that I happen to have a bottle of, so let’s look at it as a preview. Nose is vanilla caramels all the way with some alcohol burn. The palate is reserved, almost no alcohol, toned down caramel and sugar, but now some wood and tiny bit of smoke comes up. The palate continues with more fruit, bits of salt and some honeycomb. As usual with single grains, the aftertaste fades fairly fast but displays no surprises and follows closely with the palate. There are many layers of flavor in this and it’s a bit it’s mind-boggling. Bottlings such as these make me respect single grain scotch more and more… Though, granted, there are plenty of duds too. I wish this cask had little bit more of an aftertaste, but still; what a ride regardless. Deliciously good and totally worth its price.
Score: A-

Invergordon 29 Single Grain, Barrel-to-Bottle, 57.9%
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485189
Aged for 29 years in a 1st refill Tennessee (Jack Daniels) casks. This certainly is an interesting one. When I initially opened it… I thought this was “the most bourbon-like single grain I’ve ever had” from the nose… But that isn’t the whole story is it? The nose is actually very bourbon-light with spice and raspberries rather than burnt caramel corn. The palate is tightly coiled, baking-spiced vanilla creme brulee and a long spicy aftertaste to match. To be clear this ain’t the easiest of drinkers at full proof as the alcohol is quite prominent with not much to hide behind. Adding water cuts the burn down and allows that spicy raspberry palate to shine through. All of a sudden, its sweet red fruit dessert that’s fantastically balanced and quite delicious. With the disclaimer that this is certainly not everyone’s pour, adding water flips it from ‘drinkable’ to ‘enjoyable’. That being said, I was really hoping that it had some additional flavor layerings as is the case with older single grains… Overall this is a definite ’something different for dessert’ pour of the night. Surprisingly subtle and restrained after water. This isn’t one to be paired with food though for its subtle flavors would get easily lost… Though I wonder if a good cigar would add that smoke element layer that this may be lacking. That being said… Unfortunately, there are plenty of interesting things in the price range so YMMV and this isn’t like most other single grains I’ve enjoyed.
Score: C
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Part 2 of the American Single Malts Review, because more samples showed up.

Westward Single Malt, 45%
Confusingly named WestWARD malt out of Oregon, not to be confused with WestLAND from Washington, or WAYward from California. The nose is very heavy with bubble gum and Jolly Rancher hard candy. Palate is pleasantly sweet and malty, but also somewhat thin; more of the Jolly Rancher notes continue their interplay. Aftertaste is initially bitter with wood then turns slightly minty with more bubble gum flavors. Among growing American single malt distilleries this doesn’t seem to stand out in a way that I would considering interesting. Certainly a unique flavor profile, I can see the distillery going for something ‘different’, but ‘different’ isn’t always best.
Score: C+

Addendum later… : It’s a hard skip for me on Westward as a brand. I not liked any of their expressions (Regular, stout, single cask and pinot barrel) beyond about C level.

Rua Single Malt, 46%
Another American production, this single malt has been aged for 16 months and is from batch 56 bottling from Great Wagon Road distilling. Nose in the glass is just incredible, very flowery and full of perfume notes. The palate… Woody, slightly bitter-sweet, almost too bitter, it is mouth-coating without being viscous. It drinks way hotter than the advertised 46%, but not because it’s alcohol-forward, but instead it is flavor-forward profile. I cannot believe this was aged for 16 months… No way… It’s so full of complex wood notes that I’d totally believe this to be overwooded 15 year old scotch. But the sudden drop of flavor in the aftertaste does reveal its young age. The aftertaste lingers for quite a while with a disclaimer that it goes from amazingly loud nose and palate to immediately subdued back aftertaste as if someone moves volume button from 10 to 2. Fantastically interesting and delicious this is a strange mix of single malt flavors and profiles with bourbon-like behavior on the palate by being bold, loud and brash. A little bit on the younger side, I’d love to get my hands on their special edition that’s at nearly 3 years old.
Mark doesn’t spare praises for this either: https://the-right-sp … american-single-malt
Score: B

Stranahan’s Sherry Cask, 47%
Ah, Stranahan’s… I’ve seen you around, always passed on buying. Yay for samples! Mmmmm, delicious PX dark fruit on the nose. Palate is more PX sherry fruits and so is the aftertaste… It tastes like a generic sherried single malt but the sherry feels also generic. Is it sweet and tasty? Yes. Does it have any sort of outstanding profile other than thin, fortified sherry? No. Do I like sherry? Yes. Are there better options than this? Oh hell, yes! Honestly, I’d rather drink Speyside single malt instead of this, mostly for more interesting profile. It’s sweet, tasty and boring.
Score: C+

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

There are some very exciting exemplars of American-made single malt that are starting to appear in the market. Some, but not all brands that produce some kind of single malt bottlings that are “Made in the USA” are… EDIT: Nevermind, I was going to write out some that are familiar to me… but just read it here, this article did the job for me already: https://vadistillery … american-single-malt… I’ll just add that there is also Rua single malt from https://www.gwrdistilling.com/brands that is supposedly really good as well as plenty of others that are likely out there but not well known.

But really, this write up is about what I have rather than what’s available out there.

Balcones Single Malt French Oak 61.9%
Small sample, short review. A single malt from Balcones aged in French Oak cask. The nose is sweet caramel. Palate is malty sweet cola, caramel and a solid streak of wood though it all for balance. Doesn’t drink anywhere near its proof. The aftertaste is long and woody and sweet. Tasted blindly I’d not have called this being a single malt. Really good and not what I expected based on my previous experience with Balcones. Bits of woody bitterness show up and start to overwhelm the palate after a few sips. Very slightly drying in the back due to wood tannins but those are really required as the rest of the spirit is super sweet. With the disclaimer that this is nothing like a regular single malt by anyone else and is overwooded by necessity, it’s also totally worth trying or even having for that ‘different’ drink of the night.
Score: B+

MB Roland Straight Malt 55%
Another small sample. This is a mash bill of 63% malt, 21% corn and 15% rye. Somewhat sour and quite unpleasant beer-like initial nose it clears out somewhat later but never to a degree where it becomes enjoyable. It maintains a weird off-putting note for me somewhere in there. Fairly heavy on eucalyptus notes once the nose clears. The palate is familiar yet weird, the layering of flavors is incredible with at least 3 distinct layers I’ve been able to identify yet at least some of them taste like something from a pharmacy which is not making me happy drinking it. Strongly recommending letting this sit in a glass for a bit to breathe. The aftertaste is short and woody with more wood tannins. Almost walnut bitters-like this is very herbal and even slightly minty. Weird and very different I’m finding it hard to enjoy or recommend for casual drinking. Yet another… different, digestif, drink of the night. I think it reminds me of Underberg digestif but I may be completely mis-remembering.
Score: C

St George Single Malt (probably) Lot 19
An Alameda county production. This is an 43% abv American Single malt. The nose is malted rye forward but not unpleasant though it does possess some medicine menthol eucalyptus notes. The palate isn’t really my thing. More menthol eucalyptus, this reminds of some sort of herbal concoction that’s almost bitter and slightly herbal. The same unpleasantly bitter notes last into the aftertaste. The texture is actually creamy and pleasant and malt notes are there… yet this is way off the beaten path to be enjoyable. It may not be a drain pour for most but I’m not going for it again. It almost drinks like a dry (non-sweet) rye whiskey. Sincere ‘Avoid’ score. Way too many whiskeys out there that are infinitely better or more interesting. I’m adding the disclaimer that there is a lot a variance between lots. This particular sample isn’t my favorite.
Score: D+

Ah, now we come to the bread and potatoes, or more of a barley of this review: Westland distillery! Arguably, best overall American single malt available across bottlings.

Westland Winter Storm 2016, 50%
The Winter Storm is a blend of three different malts, with 21% being a Scottish peated malt and the rest unpeated. Specs are here: https://www.westland … releases/winter-2016. The resulting spirit is aged in four different types of barrels—ex-bourbon, ex-Oloroso sherry, ex-Westland single malt, and new French and American oak—for at least 34 months, and bottled at 50% ABV (and the kitchen sink)… Nose is light peat that’s still light and fruity. with apples and pears. Sweet, smokey and mouth-coating thick (the last one seems to be the typical of Westland whiskey)… This has more light fruits, malt, some smoke and sugar candy. The palate is light overall with very little that indicates that there was any sherry in this mix of casks. The aftertaste is mostly same as palate with more of the lingering smoke that is slightly ashy in the very end. It really give an impression of sitting in front of a cozy fire while there’s a snowstorm outside. The sweet smoke makes it drinkable for me and overall this highly enjoyable.
Score: B

Westland Single Cask #2479, 59%
Read all the tech specs here: https://www.westland … m/releases/cask-2479… So, American single malt in PX casks… The nose is a little alcohol forward and has some varnish with the strength of the shery. Also rich dark stewed fruits, primarily figs and raisins. Sweet and syrupy on the palate with the alcohol still being a little too forward more of a typical single malt first fill PX syrupy varnish notes. Drying delicious fruity aftertaste. But wait, there’s more… Adding a little bit of water to tone back the alcohol and boy oh boy does this bloom into something wonderfully fruity, sweet and malty and becomes a thicker (typical of Westland texture) Speyside Scotch. Sweet, sherried, slightly woody from the cask. Yes. I like this.
Score: B+ (just add water)

Westland Cask Exchange Lucky Envelope Brewing 51%
Every mashbill under the sun that’s aged in ex-Imperial Stout casks: https://www.westland … velope-cask-exchange. Nose is overflowing with dates, dark fruits, a tiny smidge of tobacco smoke, coffee, chocolate. OMG. The palate starts out sweet like a sherried single malt then performs a complete U-turn from front to back into a boozy imperial stout, amazingly complex and delicious this is a pleaser. Medium length, warming, aftertaste that reminds me of good imperial stouts, with coffee, chocolate, and malt. Frankly, this is beer cask finish done right! But one has to also like beer and specifically stouts to really appreciate this two-faced flavor monster.
Score: B+ (must like stouts)
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Continued from: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201126-001036 via another tasting with a different lineup of samples.

Paul John Peated Select Cask
A peated version of the Classic bottling, bottled at similar 55.5% abv to the unpeated version. Relatively heavily peated on the nose and with malt sweetness and distinct nuttyness. Surprisingly sweet and smoky on the palate with typical slightly metallic aftertaste that is shared across all Paul John bottlings so far. An interesting contrast with a Islay Single Malt here as Islay tends towards savory and this is an interesting mix of sweetness and smoke. The aftertaste is peaty and nutty/sweet. With the disclaimer of ‘me not liking peated/smoked whiskey’ this is almost enjoyable. I do like smoky sherry profile, but this isn’t sherried. It is aged in ex-bourbon yet somehow concentrated out enough sweetness to be highly… drinkable? Am I praising peated whiskey? Unbelievable!
Score: B+ (must like sweet+smoke)

Paul John Classic Select Cask 55.2% Unpeated
An ex-bourbon bottling, the nose is malty and sweet with classically ex-bourbon spices. The texture is typical with Paul John fairly thick and palate is honey-driven with tropical fruits. White pepper-themed spices arrive to the party in the back and in the aftertaste that lasts a decent amount. The aftertaste eventually leaves behind appetizing honey-themed flavors. It happens that I like raw honey so this does appeal to me on many levels. Delicious and very good, but with Glen Grant 15 (https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201114-150301) or, perhaps, MacDuff (https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201226-170937) being slightly cheaper and offering a similar type of profile this really doesn’t stand out far from its competition. Very faint metallic note in the very back as per norm with Paul John, but works okay with overall honey notes. Ironically for me, while being a good take on a familiar ex-bourbon bottling this is less interesting than the Peated expression as it offers nothing novel aside from being from India. Would I drink it? Absolutely, and may pick up a bottle in say… 3 years once I work though all my other ex-bourbon bottles.
If you are looking for a slightly sweeter than usual take on a good scotch, by all means, pick this up! Is it mind-blowing? No! Is it solid performer? Absolutely!
Side note: While it would be highly-but-not-the-best rated in the similar category when compared to Scotch products, it is stunningly above and beyond for overall quality of Indian whiskey. So, this is a significant accomplishment for India’s budding whiskey industry.
Score: B

Paul John Oloroso Select 48%
Ah, Oloroso, the woody type of sherry when compared to more dark fruit in PX. The nose, sweet sherry, some wood and slightly metallic notes. The palate is very nutty, malty, decently balanced between sweet and slightly tannic nature of the cask. The usual slightly metallic notes, which aren’t masked by sherry profile. Tasty sweet aftertaste that is surprisingly short leans towards baking spices. Putting it simply, this is a good oloroso aged whiskey with the biggest problem (and honestly the biggest problem with ALL Paul John’s line) is that there’s not much there past the initial taste profile. The super complex flavors that develop in whisky if left to its own for many years don’t just magically develop overnight no matter how hot the climate is. Would it concentrate deliciously? Yes. Is it tasty? Yes! Do I like sherried whiskey? Yes, yes I do! Would I be fine shipwrecked on an island with a large supply of this? No.
Score: B

Paul John PX Select 48%
The sister bottling to the Oloroso sherry above, this is PX, known for its dark fruit notes. The nose is malty, deep and brooding. Palate is very much honey drizzled dark fruits in a steel bowl (Oh Paul John, so metallic). This one… This one I like. Thick dried figs, raisins with honey syrup on top are in play here. The aftertaste is as expected from a PX lasts for while but is still slightly shorter than I was hoping for based on the luxurious nose and almost sticky palate. Perhaps a tiny bit too sweet without having something to offset itself this meanders into almost into the territory of fortified sherry. A fantastic dessert pour that leaves little to complain about but it leaves me with little to contemplate on after the primary flavors are gone. Yet again this seems to be the norm with most Paul John bottles and with tropically aged whiskeys in general.
Score: B+

Let us segway for a moment onto a fascinating story of Saint Cloud, a bourbon done by a Ray Walker that did some questionable things… https://www.burgundy … fall-of-maison-ilan/ and have already ran into trouble with TTB on its first bottling https://tater-talk.c … -off-the-hype-train/… Yet doesn’t seem to be apologetic about any of it and keeps on putting up new bottles while keeping supplies artificially low and prices high due to hype, marketing and lack of availability. I happened to luck into a gifted Single Cask bottle… so let’s have a review…

Saint Cloud Mercury Single Barrel
Mine is a bottling of 7/20 with it being bottle number 70 of 248 at 119.3 proof. This is a straight Kentucky bourbon, but no source of distillation is provided. Lets get it out of the way first. The packaging is pretty. Nice bottle, a figurine of Mercury in faux-copper on the topper. Minimal labeling… which is not intended for retail, lacking both government warning and a UPC codes. I suspect it may come in a box that would have required text on it, but no box was provided. The info given is actually rather bad too as there’s no information provided on the age of this single cask, opting for a vague [sic] “Copper pot distilled. Blended from corn, rye & malted barley. Aged in a charred white oak barrel for at least 2 and a half years” on the label. Same labeling also claims that it was “Crafted by Ray Walker” and “Bottled by Saint Cloud Spirit Company, Frankfurt, Kentucky”. Combining all that verbiage with the fact that this is single cask, I’m fairly sure this is some sort of TTB violation, but I’m not an expert to call it out. No price of the original has been given, but judging by other products by the same company, I’d expect this to go for $150+ MSRP, because shady marketing reasons.
Nose: pleasant corn, wood and spiced sugar caramel mix. The overall impression I’m getting is sweet, caramelized corn from the nose, perhaps carnival popcorn. There are no off-putting or sour notes in there. When I tried it for the first time, few months ago… The first thing that came to mind was corn caramel, but something have changed over time in the bottle and now, 5 months later or so… This is woody, with almost too much wood but is balanced by the sweetness. Slightly bitter-spiced it coalesced into something that’s almost great. The aftertaste is long, woody, sweet, spicy and pleasant. As much as I want to dislike this… it’s really good after being open for about 6 months or so. Something wonderfully unique and yet definitely not something I’d have spent my own money on to buy. This somewhat reminds me of a sweeter, more interesting Woodford Reserve or Old Forester 1920 on the taste profile. Extreme single cask and price/value/availability disclaimers apply. I’d expect this is nigh impossible to find in either retail or bar situation to actually purchase, but if you see a friend having a bottle, beg them to have a taste.
Score: A- (D for artificial scarcity and lack of transparency)

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