Etikettarkiv: whiskey review

Rebel Straight Bourbon Finished in Tawny Port Barrels

ABV: 45 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This straight bourbon is s limited release of 6000 bottles and is the third annual special release. It was aged for more than 4 years and then finished for 6 months in ex-Tawny Port Casks.

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Connemara 12 YO

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Ireland
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and herbal with a hint of peat. At first there’s a mix of grass, herbs and green fruits. The peatiness is found out around the edges and it’s a floral peat with a hint of bonfire smoke. There’s also a vanilla and heather honey sweetness in the center. The whole character is rather unique and slightly weird. The fruitiness is green apples and a squeeze of lemon. This is a great nose, but it comes with a love or hate feel to it. It’s not for everybody.

Mouth: It starts out with a mild sweetness. After a few seconds a lemon and vanilla note starts to to rise in the back. After that, a surge of floral and herbal notes comes in together with peat and apples. There’s a slight dustiness and a thin nail polish remover note as well. The heather honey return with time. It’s just as unique in taste as on the nose. There’s a big flavour profile but it lacks in power.

Finish: The transition is mild and highlights the peat for a short while, which still is herbal, but now has a gritty note added. Afterwards all the other flavours return and it just continues down the same grassy, floral and fruity path as before. It has a quite long finish with the gritty peat note as main focal point in the late finish. The oakiness arrives late and it’s a nice enough addition, but nothing special. This is a good whisky with a big and weird flavour profile but it lacks power to support it. Some will adore it, but many won’t.

Additional information
This whisky was made at the Cooley distillery with peated (20 PPM) barley from Scotland. It’s double distilled and then aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

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Wild Turkey Rye

ABV: 40.5 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Rye
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and minty. At first there’s a minty cloud sitting on top of sweet vanilla and anise. It’s very mild and easy to approach and never really seems to change. The mint becomes slightly sharper over time in the glass and it becomes more pepperminty. The oak is peeking through out on the edges and there’s a slightly spirity note pushing through in the center. This is a decent nose. It’s not especially interesting nor complex. It lacks a lot in power and body though.

Mouth: It starts out very flat and it’s way too mild. There’s a brown sugar sweetness which soon is joined by the vanilla, mint and anise. There’s a tiny marzipan note in the back but when the tiny spicyness start to arrive it brings the peppermint forward. The oak is still out on the edges and the middle becomes slightly fruity with time. It’s a green apple kind of fruitiness, but it’s not especially specific.

Finish: The transition is very straight forward. A small increase in peppermint is there but otherwise it’s just a continuation of the other flavours. Everything drops quite fast though and the finish is mostly a new sawdust oakiness with a minty overlay. This is a decent whisky. It’s way to flat and boring but it delivers an extremely easy approach and decent flavours.

Additional information
This rye is aged for at least 5 years in barrels with No. 4 ”alligator” char. The mashbill consists of 51 % rye, 37 % corn and 12 % barley.

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Clontarf 1014 – Blended

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Ireland
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 1/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and spirity. At first there’s a shiny ethanol note sitting on top of a sweet vanilla note. There’s a malty note sitting around the edges of the glass and a bread note develops in the center together with a thin note of baked red apples and some baking spices. It feels pretty harsh and cheap overall though. After a while there’s a lemon note in the back as well. This is a bad nose overall, but there are some decent notes somewhere deep within. But it’s too little to make a difference.

Mouth: It starts out with a bitter note in the back and a very present and unpleasant ethanol layer sitting on top. There’s still a lemon note in the back but here it’s mixed in with a metallic note. In between there’s a generic sweetness and a dry cardboard note. There’s still a bread note and some vanilla within and the apples are detectable, but there’s no incentment to go hunting for them. A weird savory note comes and goes as well.

Finish: The transition starts with a spike of ethanol and oak spicyness and then it gives away some fruity apple and lemon notes. There’s a maltiness pushing through before everything switches to a mix of oak and cardboard with the harsh ethanol notes attached. The oakiness is a bad one and from this point on the experience is really boring and unpleasant. This is a bad whisky. It’s cheap and makes no effort to hide it.

Additional information
This whiskey was triple distilled and filtered through charcoal made from oak. It was aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

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Ban Xanghai Thai Artisan Village Whiskey

ABV: 55 %
Origin: Laos
Type: Rice Whiskey (Lao-Lao)
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 1/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is harsh and sweet. At first there’s a butterscotch sweetness popping out of the glass with a sharp ethanol note underneath. After a while everything merges together and becomes a slightly funky distillate with an unplacable fruit note within. There’s a metallic note in the back as well. After that, the nose doesn’t change at all. This is a better nose than expected, but it’s still not something which should be nosed or consumed neat.

Mouth: It starts out with a wet cardboard kind of taste with a mild sweetness underneath. With time the whole thing becomes s lot sweeter. There’s a harsh and bitter note in the back and the whole thing tastes a bit chalky and cheap. There’s really nothing to help it along so it’s just ethanol without any interesting side notes.

Finish: It doubles down on everything throughout the transition and it’s just very unpleasant at this point. Luckily everything dies down quite quickly. All that’s left is a chalky note and a dry mouth with what feels like a wood note within the chalk but it’s hard to pinpoint anything of substance. The unpleasantries stay and just won’t go away. This is bad whisky. This is moonshine. It’s not a pleasant drink and it shouldn’t be consumed neat. Or at all.

Additional information
This is a rice whiskey made in the famous Ban Xanghai Whiskey Village in Laos. There are several producers located in this tourist attraction.

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Two Stacks Double Barrel

ABV: 43 %
Origin: Ireland
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and spirit driven. At first there’s a mix of a very young, slightly peaty distillate and a thin vanilla and red berry fruitiness. There’s a maltiness as well and it has rather sharp edges of lemon and green apples. The peatiness is coming through as wet and herbal. This is a hard to judge nose. It feels like a well made spirit, but way too young to be a good neat pour.

Mouth: It starts out with a malty and vanilla sweet base with a lemon sharpness in the background and a spirity top note. It feels a bit watery overall and lacks body. The flavours found are nice though. It’s a mixed fruitiness with no perticular accent note. Maybe apples or pears. The peat is milder than on the nose and gives a nice background noise. It still feels really well made but as on the nose, it’s way too young which gives it an off-note which isn’t the greatest. There seem to be potential though.

Finish: A mild chili spicyness spreads out over the palate even to it has low ABV. The oakiness clings to the sides of the mouth and gives the fruitiness room to shine in the center of the palate. There’s not much of flavour transitions and changes. It’s a straight forward array of flavours. It becomes fruitier the further down the line it comes and as the oakiness grows the sort of spel together to create a nice finish. The peat has sort of disappeared throughout the finish. This is not the greatest whisky, but it’s a very good first attempt which feels like a good foundation to build on.

Additional information
This whiskey was aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Teeling Pineapple Rum Cask

ABV: 49.2 %
Origin: Ireland
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and grainy. At first there’s a thick, sweet center with vanilla, white bread and a dark syrup. Underneath lies a metallic note and on the outside there’s a fresh fruitiness floating around in a thin layer. When it settles it becomes slightly herbal and perfumey and even sweeter. The fruitiness stays on the outside but increases in intensity. It does a pretty good job of hiding the grain notes with the sweetness from the casks, but it never really covers it up in total. It feels a bit rough and unbalanced. This is a so-and-so nose. It lacks both complexity and finess.

Mouth: It starts out with a grain forward sweetness surrounded by the sweetness from the casks. There’s a butterscotch and bread note in the middle with a big shovel of vanilla mixed in. There’s a note of cardboard somewhere within which makes it slightly unpleasant. The fruitiness is a bit weird and even though it can be found, it seems like it’s easy to forget to search for it. It’s mostly baked red apples with a squeeze of lemon at this point, but the suggestive nature of the mind do taste some pinapple. In the back there’s a nice bitter tang which helps it become slightly more interesting.

Finish: In the transition everything leave room for an aromatic and perfumey oak note before the big ball of sweetness returns with the same profile as before. It’s still a bit rough and grain forward. There’s a nice peppery spicyness building up around the edges and the fruitiness is now in the background together with the bitter note. The cardboard returns before everything start to fade. Once again the aromatic oakiness return and it’s quite nice. The late finish is the best part of the journey. This is a decent whisky, but it’s a bit rough and unpleasant underneath the sweet top notes.

Additional information
This whisky was first aged for 6 years in ex-bourbon barrels (grain and malt separately) and then finished for 15 months in ex-Plantation Stiggins’ fancy pinapple rum casks. 3750 bottles were released.

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J.P. Wiser’s 23 YO Cask Strength Blend

ABV: 59.9 %
Origin: Canada
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky was made to celebrate the master distiller Dr. Don Livermore’s 23 years at JP Wiser’s. It’s made from corn and rye aged in separate casks.

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Tullamore DEW

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Ireland
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
Tullamore D.E.W. is a triple distilled irish whiskey. It’s aged for 4-7 years in a combination of mostly american ex-bourbon barrels and some spanish ex-sherry casks.

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Evan Williams Extra Aged

ABV: 43 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and rich. There’s a heavy dusty corn note in the middle with vanilla, honey and liquor soaked cherries surrounding it. There’s a menthol note laying on top together with a hint of nail polish remover. The oak is kind of binding everything together and almost disquise itself. The honey note moves forward with time in the glass.

Mouth: A sour lemon note and some chili fruit spicyness arrive first. The vanilla and honey sweetness both take a step back. There’s a chalky note on top of the dusty corn. Beneath, it’s fruity with cherries and a hint of ripe bananas. The oak is still residing in the background. It brings a little bitterness to the mix, which makes the whole thing more interesting than if it was more dominant. There’s a tiny amount of the rye coming through (with mainly anis) within the spicyness. The whole thing is very corn dominant though.

Finish: The dusty and chalky notes flare up and together with the fruity and sweet notes it soon dies down. The oak takes a huge step forward. It’s a fresh, new cut rough oakiness. There’s a tiny amount of astringency. The oak just keeps on going long after the dram is finished. The rye note is still detectable almost as a white noise in the space behind the oak.

Additional information
This straight bourbon used to have a 7 YO age statement but now the age varies from 5-7 years. The mashbill consists of 75 % corn, 13 % rye and 12 % barley.

Dalwhinnie 15 YO

ABV: 43 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very bright and fruity. It’s a big basket of green pears and apple juice. There’s a floral overlay and the honey note is subtle and feels like the natural sweetness of the fruits. It’s very mild on the nose and very approachable. There’s a hint of oakiness and a whiff of smoke but they are well hidden. Very pleasant. It gets more dense and sweeter with time in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out with a tiny bitter note before becoming dusty and sweeter. There are honey, vanilla and musty apple notes. A little spicy touch arrives after a second or two. The bitterness turns into the oak note, which gives away the age with a grey weathered feel to it. Just as on the nose, the sweetness increases with time in the glass.

Finish: At first it’s spicy and fruity but then turns musty and dusty. The oakiness comes through with a hefty bitterness like an espresso. The oak is still old and weathered. The fruitiness is still around, but it has turned into something more like red juicy apples. It tags along down the road. There’s no astringency and it’s a very easy and approachable experience.

Additional information
This whisky is a part of Diageo’s ”The classic malts of Scotland” series. It’s aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels.

Bulleit 95 Rye – Frontier Whiskey

ABV: 45 %
Origin: Indiana, USA
Type: Rye
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is black pepper and candy cane. There’s pine and a hint of basil. It’s herbal and grassy. There’s also a vanilla sweetness and a hint of oak peeking through. After opening up in the glass the whole thing turns to dill pickle juice.

Mouth: The pine and the dill pickle juice are dominant. There’s spicy flavours such as mustard and anis, and a fruitiness with some green grapes and apples. When the oak arrives it’s very dry and astringent. It’s still herbal and grassy and the vanilla is hanging on. A feint sour lemon note hides in the background and comes forward after a few sips.

Finish: The pine note is prominent with the green grapes and apples now accompanied by a honey sweetness. It’s still grassy and peppery, but soon a very heavy oak note takes over everything. It turns very astringent and now it tastes like dry soil and weathered oak. After a second or two the dill pickle juice returns and keeps the oak company all the way to the finish line. The mustard spicyness builds up in the end.

Additional information
This rye is aged for around 6 years. The mashbill contains 95 % rye and 5 % malted barley. It’s stated that it’s sourced whisky from MGP in Indiana.

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is vanilla and brown sugar. After a few seconds the sweetness is joined by a hint of seashore and some salted caramel. There’s cinnamon and a fruit candy note, but they are sitting behind the sweetness. The oak is sitting even further back creating a nice backdrop. A thin veil of menthol lays on top of all the other flavours. It’s a very subtle and laid back nose.

Mouth: It starts out mild and somewhat salty. A nice fruitiness with apples and cherries comes through and takes over. There’s a pine note sitting somewhere in the middle bringing it down a little. Sweet liquorice and vanilla are slowly moving forward and creates a bridge over to the oak. It’s a nice oakiness but it never really pushes through.

Finish: A small burst of mint is followed by the fruitiness, again with apples and cherries. Vanilla, sweet liquorice and brown sugar fills the palate before the oakiness comes through. It’s a dusty, dry oak with a tiny astringency and a chalky texture. This is a very easy, well-rounded and balanced sipper.

Additional information
This is made from Buffalo Trace’s mash bill #1, which is believed to be a low rye one, but they don’t disclose the proportions. It’s said to be aged between 8-10 years. The proof varies between countries.

Heaven Hill Old Style Bourbon

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very mild and sweet. The first thing to come through is a dusty layer. It sits on top of a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon and cherries. There’s an immidiate oakiness that really comes through from the start. Vanilla resides in the back and a caramel note sort of comes and goes. This is a sweet, low-proof, standard bourbon.

Mouth: It’s very watery. A tiny touch of spicyness sits alone before a bitter note is first to break the silence. When the other flavours arrive, they’re not as sweet as on the nose and it becomes a bit astringent and dry. The oakiness is really coming through hard and the sweet and fruity notes are taking a step back. The cinnamon is also less prominent but still noticable.

Finish: A small peppermint freshness pass by before the bitter note returns. The oakiness is now up front and the whole thing is even less sweet than before. A swift visit from the sweetness and fruitiness do occur, but the very pronounced, dry oakiness returns and takes over again. It becomes very chalky in the late finish. This really lacks some power. It seems like it should be a good recommendation for people who want to get into bourbon.

Additional information
This straight bourbon is aged for about 4 years. The mash bill contains 78 % corn, 12 % rye and 10 % barley.

Maker’s Mark

ABV: 45 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and very fruity. There are cherries and green apples drizzled with cinnamon, honey and vanilla. A layer of peppermint and nail polish remover sits on top of the sweet and fruity center. There’s also an earthy side to it with some dry soil and dust. A nice toffee sweetness starts to come through after some time in the glass as well as a newly cut oak note.

Mouth: It starts out mild for a second or two, then a peppery spicyness comes rusning in. It never really moves all the way to the front though, it just sort of stops and makes way for all the other flavours. The cherries, apples and honey really stand out as well as the earthy dry soil note. A lightly bitter oak note starts to make itself noticed after a while but it stays as an outer layer surrounding the fruity, sweet center.

Finish: A eucalyptus freshness and a peppery note together create the feeling of a breath mint before the sweetness kicks in. It’s very fruity and it still has a layer of dry soil in the back. When the oak takes over it brings a big a nice vanilla note as well. It’s a very fresh oakiness with almost no astringency to it, even after a few sips. This makes it a very easy sipper and it’s easy to go back for another dram.

Additional information
This straight bourbon is double distilled and aged up to 6,5 years in new american oak barrels with a number 3 char. The mash bill is made up from 70 % corn, 16 % wheat and 14 % barley. The barrels are rotated during the aging process.

Jameson Black Barrel

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Ireland
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and oaky. At first there’s a sweet core with a spicy oak cloud surrounding it. There are notes coming through with rye, charcoal and liquorice. When it starts to settle there are grain spirit, vanilla, toffee and honey starting to shine through in the background. It’s a very mild nose with few changes over time. It’s a bit boring but good enough to not be off-putting.

Mouth: It starts out quite flat with notes of banana, honey, bread and red apples. It is quite sour in the background and it’s very different from the nose. There is also a metallic note intertwined with the sourness. The longer it stays in the mouth the more it becomes flat. It does muster up a spicy side though, which is very much needed to keep it alive. It becomes slightly astringent after a few sips.

Finish: The spicy oak flares up and the red apples start to come through once again. It’s still spicy and a bit astringent but within there’s just a pretty flat and boring array of grains, apples, toffee and a hint of play-doh. The oakiness is present but surprisingly anonomous. It’s mostly the apple and banana notes which sets the tone for the late finish. When everything die down the metallic notes in the back return and leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth. This is not the greatest of whiskies. It’s quite boring and uneventful but it should work very well for people new to whisky.

Additional information
The black barrel is aged in re-charred ex-bourbon barrels somewhere between 8 and 16 years. The distillate is triple distilled.

Booker’s Small Batch Bourbon – Batch 2018-01E ”Kathleen’s Batch”

ABV: 63.7 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: A rich and full nose with vanilla, sugar powder coated hard fruit candy, cinnamon and a hint of menthol. There’s a nail polish remover note surrounding the edges.

Mouth: Very spicy and powerful yet fruity, with apples and cherries being easily found. It’s astringent and the oak note comes with a coffee note mixed with some vanilla. A hint of cinnamon shows up in the background.

Finish: Cinnamon, menthol and dry oak. Very astringent. The taste of those hard fruit candies show up in the background and confirms the nose. It really packs a punch and keeps on giving for a long time.

Additional information
This is a straight bourbon aged for 6 years, 3 months and 14 days. It’s a Jim Beam product and the batches is limited and selected by a roundtable panel. It’s named after Kathleen DiBenedetto, who was involved in launching the Beam small batch releases in the 90’s and still works for Beam Suntory as a Senior director.

Evan Williams Bottle-in-Bond

ABV: 50 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This straight bourbon is made by Heaven Hill. There’s no age statement, but bottle-in-bond means that it must be aged at least 4 years. The mashbill consists of 78 % corn, 12 % malted barley and 10 % rye.

Bulleit Bourbon

ABV: 45 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: It’s rounded and quite calm. There’s dusty corn, chalk, cherries and a hint of ripe banana and raisins. It’s got vanilla and brown sugar sweetness and the oak is very much present from the start. There’s also a touch of salted peanuts coming through on top of everything else.

Mouth: It’s spicy on the toungue from the start. The dusty corn switches to fruit candies and rye. There’s still a bit of dust in there though. The vanilla and the brown sugar is taking a backseat to the other flavours. The oak is very fresh and slightly bitter and there’s an astringency building up after a few sips.

Finish: It’s still spicy. The fruitiness and sweetness die quickly and leave a fresh oak note all by itself. After a while the ripe banana peeks through. Other than that there’s not much else in the finish except the spicy rye notes. There’s a tiny hint of walnuts in the tail.

Additional information
This bourbon is aged for about 6 years. The mashbill contains 68 % corn, 28 % rye and 4 % barley. It’s made at the Four Roses Distillery. Newer versions will have a distillate from a different source.

Willett Pot Still Reserve Small Batch Bourbon

ABV: 47 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
No tasting notes were recorded during the tasting.

Additional information
Even though Willet now produced its on bourbon this small batch release is sourced from other Kentucky distilleries. The mash bill consists of 72 % corn, 13 % rye and 15 % malted barley.