MrWizard's Ramblings

Whiskey Agency Blended Malt X0, 51.4%
A bottle from 2017. Another one from an auction by way of my friend Logan. Unpeated, sherried blend. Likely speyside and/or highlands. Complete mystery what’s inside or how old it is… though by my guess it’s probably at least 18+ years old. On the nose, oak, malt, nuts, leather. Nothing overwhelms. Smells like old sherried malt that’s not overaged. On the palate, delicious high quality oak and sherry together. Basically, nearly burnt figs. Not bitter but definitely getting there. Lots of sweet umami, burnt sugar. Aftertaste is long with more of those not-quite-burnt sweet notes, slowly fading, some charcoal and black licorice in the very end. Overall: Amazing blend from old stocks where quality of this caliber nowadays is incredibly hard to find. Sherry lovers (and me) should rejoice. Perhaps slightly too one dimensional, but it’s basically what those 25 year old sherried costco blends could have been if done like 20 years ago with access to all sorts of amazing sourced stuff. Value: N/A from auction.
https://www.whiskyba … /blended-malt-xo-twa
Score: A

Glendalough Irish Whiskey, Double Barrel Single Grain, 42%
We’ve got a N.A.S. Single Grain Irish whiskey first aged in a bourbon barrels and then finished in oloroso sherry barrels. The nose is somewhat old oil and metal with a side of cigarette smoke, like an old fishing boat perhaps or and old train car. It’s got that old railway grease kind of whiff. The palate is neutral spirits, fruity, mellow spice, sweet and nutty with some of the sherry and caramel. The aftertaste is where it falls apart with grain spirit and lack of age. There’s nothing to hold onto the mouth and short aftertaste quickly fades with sherry sweetness and light spice. Did i mention it’s got a reasonably thin ‘texture’? Overall: I don’t dislike it but it’s basically sherry aged… grain spirit (read ‘vodka’)… and to be fair not particularly drawing my interest. It’s by no means bad (though I wish the finish lasted a little longer) but it’s also doesn’t stand out. Arguably a solid @work pour that will not offend anyone. Value: Total Wine lists these at $35… which is actually a good price everything considered. I’d say reasonable value here knowing what to expect.
Score: B-

Penderyn 6, RoCo SP, Port Cask, 59.3%
Another Penderyn pick, I’ve reviewed a similarly sourced one, yet with Cognac casks in the mix before: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry220411-202626 to somewhat mixed results. Let’s see if this one can change my opinion. The color is reddish brown. The nose is very port-forward. Fortified red wine all the way! Palate is sweet and also wine-forward with lots of red fruits, slightly spicy and had a bit of a metallic funk. The palate lacks secondary notes, which is not surprising considering the age of the spirit. The aftertaste is medium length and quickly becomes very spicy and warming while still staying wine-forward. Overall: This is a very wine-forward port cask offering from Penderyn. Shockingly for the proof… I don’t hate it. But I will admit that i’m a fan of wine finishes. This is definitely a young spirit that saw a very active port cask in it’s short lifetime. It will likely please fans of port casked malt enough to consider it viable. Frankly, the cask masks any off-notes but it also overpowers everything else too. Value: N/A Probably slightly overpriced for the age. The cognac cask was ~$99 from same store so we’ll assume same valuation.
Score: B

Edradour 12, Ibisco Decanter Series, Cask #326 57.4%
I’ve reviewed (and have tried) Edradour before and generally found it oversherried and… wanting something more. There was one exceptional bottle that I’ve tried… but I digress. Let’s see if this bottling from the premium decanter series brings something new. The nose is… dusty… sherry cask sawdust, well seasoned, dusty wood being cut up into planks. Occasional weird whiff of… something sulfuric, like a matchbox. The palate is reasonably balanced between funk, sweetness and woodiness with neither dominating. Mostly same notes of seasoned wood are present, but at least they aren’t dry and the sulfuric note is gone. The palate is in fact mouth-watering, slightly funky, nearly bitter from the sherry. Perhaps some thoughts of bitter cocoa nibs are relevant here. The aftertaste is long, mouth-coating, and a little heavy on (very) bitter chocolate all the way down. Overall: Excellent example of non-sweet sherry bomb! Sherry just runs over everything in the bottle though. It’s really quite good and proof helps a lot here. Yet… I’m not really tasting anything but sherry. It’s possible that the malt is so heavy that integrates with the spices well though it’s definitely leaning somewhere on the lightly bitter side of the spectrum. Value: This should be about ~$140… 3 years ago which is a ‘maybe’ for the ibisco decanter, though not for the age. Above average pricing, but also a premium product.
https://www.whiskyba … 145483/edradour-2007
Score: B+

Notable Age Statements “NAS” 30, Decadent Drinks Blend, 45.1%
Official Blurb: “A single sherry butt of blended malt. This is vatted stock of numerous old Signatory cask samples and bottling run ends that was married and put into fresh sherry wood with a minimum age of 16 years old. The composition is by now at least 30 years old, but contains within it many much, much older whiskies, many of which hail from closed distilleries and date back to the 1960s. We’ve bottled this butt at natural cask strength and the result is a wonderfully aromatic and old style sherried malt.” The nose is old school nutty sherry funk. Nosing this is fantastic. The palate is quite sweet, rather reminiscent of speyside style with nutty, heavy (surprisingly modern) sherry notes; secondary notes of tobacco, coffee, leather, but nothing dominates. The components are well integrated as a complex and layered whole. The aftertaste… surprisingly weak and mild. There’s a little bit of malty vanilla sweetness and residual spice, but it disappears fast leaving me wanting more of that nose and palate. Overall: Fantastic start with a rather mediocre finish. Still, more please! Value: Listed at ~$265.00 this was expensive…
https://www.whiskyno … nts-decadent-drinks/
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown