The Irishman Founder's Reserve - A More Complex Irish Dram

So you're in the liquor store, looking for a gift for friend who likes Irish whiskey, and you spot the bottles of The Irishman Founder's Reserve, and you go "Hey, something new - I bet so-and-so will love it!"

You'll want to check yourself right there and ask: "Does so-and-so like whiskey, or does so-and-so only particularly like the 'standard Irish whiskey'?"

Because while TIFR is a whiskey from Ireland, and it is triple distilled like other Irish whiskey's, it's flavor profile is not that of the "standard Irish whiskey" as codified by Jameson's, Tullamore Dew and the like.

The flavor reminds me more of a light single malt scotch. There's more weight to the mouthfeel and more oak to the flavor than I associated with the "standard Irish Whiskey" flavor profile.

Part of how they get that flavor is in the distillation process, as they distill everything - the barley malt whiskey and the other grain whiskies that make up the final blend, in pot stills. Normally, the non-barley malt whiskies get run through a continuous still, which creates a different flavor profile from a pot still (pot still may capture/produce more esters) as well being able to distill to a higher alcohol concentration. From the company website:

"The proportions used are 70% Single Malt and 30% Single Pot Still...the only Irish blended whiskey to contain 100% whiskey distillates from the copper pot still..."

The careful reader will note that the don't actually say what's in the mash for that 30% single pot still whiskey. A careful reader will also wonder at this statement "...a blend of two styles, Single Malt and Single Pot Still", which frankly seems like deliberately obfuscatory marketing mush. Because, you see, in this case only difference between the styles is in the mash, not the still.

Reading through the company site a little more, one discovers a very American Bourbon touch to the operation: the actual whiskey is distilled for them under contract by Irish Distillers. This type of arrangement is common in the US, where there is a huge proliferation of bourbon brands, but only a small number of actual distilleries producing the raw spirt. That said, there's ample proof that this approach can work well - it's what the makers of Angel's Envy and Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Bourbon do, and they turn out a superior product. And definite bonus pounts to "The Irishman folks for being up front about it, instead of hiding behind a cloud of marketing BS the way Anchor Distilling does with the Hirsch Small Batch Reserve.

TIFR, once it finishes the marketing confused distillation process, is aged in ex-Bourbon casks for an unspecified period of time, before the casks are married together. The resulting spirit is watered down from cask strength to 80 proof (40% abv) for bottling.

Neat, the nose is astringent. With a splash of water, that resolves into oak with some dashes of sweetness, but still the astringency remains.

Colorwise, TIFR weighs as a darker amber than the Jameson's and Tullarmore Dew's of the whiskey world.

As mentioned before, though, the flavor is where TIFR departs most radically from the "standard Irish whiskey" script. The sweet notes that start the dram don't last long before being taken over by pepper and oak that hang on for a reasonably long finish. For tongue expecting the sweet simplicity associated with most Irish whiskey, the spicier nature, more complex flavors and slightly heavier mouthfeel of TIFR is a real surprise.

If you like your whiskey with a bit of punch to the flavor, and find the standard Irish whiskies on the shelf a bit too one dimensional, The Irishman Founder's Reserve is worth a try. Likewise, if you prefer the complexities of single malt scotch, but are looking for a Irish whiskey to put on your bar for variety, you should give The Irishman Founder's Reserve a shot. At under $30 a bottle here in the US, it's a decent value for your money.

Now that I have given it a fair shot - I think an 750ml bottle consumed over several months counts as a fair shot - I'm probably not going to stock in on my bar. I have plenty of single malts for complexity, a mess of bourbons and ryes for variety, and what's missing right now is the simple and sweet counterpoint of a standard Irish whiskey.

1792 Ridgemont Reserve Bourbon - Lots of Character, Good Value

Non-circular bottle harkening back to the medicine and whiskey bottles of yore that you see in museums? Check.

Pretentious name? Check?

"Hand-crafted", "small batch", "barrel select", "rich/long heritage" used in on bottle marketing twaddle? Check.

Distiller "stamp of approval" detailing the warehouse or cask spirit was aged in? Check.

Good whiskey? Check, check, check.

1792 Ridgemont Reserve definitely hits all the major points in the super premium bourbon marketing handbook, and adds a braided neck piece, for an extra touch of "authenticity". Fortunately, the whiskey inside the marketing pitch delivers the goods, and for a reasonable price.

And unlike the Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Bourbon, where the marketing is pretty much pure BS, there is some substance to 1792's claims to heritage.

1792 (this refers to the year of Kentucky's admission as the US' 15th state, not the founding of the distillery) is actually the product of the Barton Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky: mashed, distilled, aged and bottled there. This is apparently still the case, even though Barton is now part of the Sazerac spirits conglomerate. The distillery was founded before Prohibition, and brought back to life after that sad, stupid experiment ended. The unsurprisingly convoluted history of the distiller is detailed at the American Spirits site.

When this bourbon hits the shelves in 2002, was named was Ridgemont Reserve 1792 and it carried an age statement of 8 years old. A competitor's lawsuit forced the name change to the current form, and just last year they dropped the age statement from the bottle. The 1792 website continues to state that all of the bourbon that goes into the bottles is aged for at least 8 years in oak.

1792 is bottled at 93.7 proof (46.85% abv) which means it's watered down from cask strength some, but not as much as your average scotch or irish whiskey. It has a lovely reddish amber color. The bottle may look old-fashioned, but it fits my hand quite well when pouring.

According to the 1792 website, the mash is a high rye recipe, and the nose and the flavor bear that out. Straight, the spirit has a feisty sharp nose, with plenty of alcohol, and lots of spicy rye bite...but smoother than you might expect, thanks to those 8 years in that hot Kentucky warehouse.

Add just a little water to 1792, though, and it blooms. The nose gentles and you can now smell the oak from the barrel. The spicy rye bite remains, but now it flows into second act of sweet honey followed by slowly growing oak in the medium to long finish. It's a lovely sipping whiskey.

It's also still a reasonably priced one. In my home state it comes at under $30 for a 750ml bottle. Looking online, prices range from $25 to $33 a bottle. At $25, it's a fantastic value. At $33, it's still well worth buying.

Bushmills 10-Year-Old Single Malt - A Convivial Dram

The Bushmills 10-year-old Single Malt is a rarity in the Irish Whiskey section of your local liquor store: an all barley malt whiskey that's the product of a single distillery.

Most of your Bushmills, Tullamore Dew, Jamesons and other Irish whiskies are blends of whiskies from different grains: barley, wheat and so on). Even the Tullamore Dew Special Reserve I reviewed earlier is a blended whiskey.

Of course, one of the reasons distillers mix in the whiskies made from other grains is to cut the cost. And you can see that reflected in the price: a regular old bottle of blended Bushmills will set you back $20 or so, but this 10-year-old single malt will cost around double that.

If it occurs to you that this sounds suspiciously like how scotch is priced and marketed...you're right. Bushmills is stealing, extremely belatedly, the whole scotch premium marketing plan, lock, stock, and barrel. Personally, I think that's a good thing.

Now, don't let that get you thinking this isn't still very much a traditional Irish whiskey. It most certainly is.

Like most Irish whiskies, the Bushmills Single is triple distilled. This makes a for a lighter, sweeter, and less complex spirit than the average scotch, which is double distilled. Whether you think this is a good or bad thing is purely a matter of personal taste. For me, it depends on the day, the weather and my mood. Sometimes I crave something really complex, and sometimes I desire a lighter, simpler spirit to warm my tastebuds and my evening.

The label says the Bushmills 10 YRO Single Malt spent its decade of aging in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. It doesn’t say how long the spirit spends in each type of barrel. Based on the flavor, I’m guessing it spends most of its time in the bourbon barrel, with a short stay at the end in the sherry barrel, and the Bushmills website seems to back up that assessment.

In the glass, the Bushmills 10 YRO has nice golden color. Neat, I smell oak, with hints of sherry, and the bite of alcohol. Despite already being watered down to 80 proof (40% abc). prior to bottling, adding a splash of water gentles the aroma significantly, bringing up the sherry notes, exposing some honey ones, and dulling the astringent alcohol smell.

Sipped neat, it starts sweet, with some sherry notes and then some oak and alcohol bite. With a splash of water, and a little really does go a long way with this, the transitions smooth out quite nicely. As with the aroma, the sherry notes really pick up, more honey notes come through, and even a hint of chocolate, and the alcohol bite drops down to a pleasant warmth. For me, the mouthfeel also improves - somehow the little bit of extra water made it feel richer and thicker on my tongue. But it retains the classic Irish whiskey characteristics: lightish on the tongue, with a refined sweetness.

With that vital splash of water, this is probably my favorite Irish Whiskey right now. It has more character than, say, Tullamore Dew, but it still sips extremely smoothly. It makes an excellent reading or conversational companion, or balm for a series of brutal defeats at the Rummikub table, especially on warm summer nights.

In the realm of Irish Single Malts, I think this edges The Tyrconnell on flavor, though the Tyrconnell wins on price, though by how much varies from retailer to retailer. The Bushmills 10 YRO Single Malt definitely a solid buy, especially if your tastes run to the lighter side of the scotch world, or if you prefer the lighter flavors of other Irish whiskies to scotch.

Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Bourbon - Tasty, and Gone

Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Bourbon 

(image courtesy of Anchor Distilling)[

The long and short of it is this: I bought my bottle of Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Bourbon about two weeks ago. I'll be replacing it next week.

Please note that I did have some help from my friends.

This is an amazingly balanced bourbon. The nose is soft and sweet. It has a medium heavy creamy mouthfeel. The flavor starts with vanilla and honey and touch of caramel, then some rye spice shows up to give it little pop, and it finishes with some pleasant oaky notes. It's bottled at 92 proof (46% abv), and while it's fine with a few drops of water, I actually prefer it neat. It sips easily...oh, so easily.

According to the label, it's blended in small batches from selected barrels of 4- to 6-year-old bourbon. Given that the flavor is less predominately sweet than Weller Antique Reserve, but not as rye spicy as Blanton's, I'm guessing that it is a low rye grain bill.

Whatever the actual grain percentage in the mash bill, the master distiller (whomever they are) blending this whiskey is doing a fantastic job. The result is well worth price - about $35 a bottle in the US as I write this.

And that's what you should focus on. Because everything about this bourbon is concealed by more than the normal amount of marketing twaddle and historical appropriation that is depressingly common in the US bourbon market.

For certain, this is distributed by Anchor Distilling, which is a subsidiary of Anchor Brewing out of San Francisco. But Anchor doesn't distill, age or blend this.

It's bottled by "Hirsch Distillers" in Bardstown, Kentucky. Who are they? Well, no relation to the A. H. Hirsch, the semi famous distillery owner and liquor executive, whom I assume is now dead (if alive, he'd be 106). And this whiskey has no relation to the famous, and now grossly expensive, A. H. Hirsch bourbon whiskey derived from 400 forgotten barrels starting in the 1980s. In fact, if you read the label carefully, it says in small print: "Inspired by the quality of A. H. Hirsch."

The best guess on the internet seems to be that Hirsch Distilling is another camouflage group for Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, aka KBD, aka Willette. And even then, there's no hint to who actually distilled it, although the Heaven Hill Distillery which has provided a lot of KBD distilling over the years, is as good a guess as any.

Which, of course, means that the master distiller, whose taste buds are the key to this blend, also remains anonymous.

But, does it matter? If the drink in your glass is excellent, do you care that you don't know exactly what company distilled, aged and blended it?

I'm torn. On the one hand, part of the fun of single malt scotch is tale of the distillery and the amount of peat used to dry the malted barley, and the aging and so on. On the other hand, the liquid in the glass has to stand on its own: no amount of history and whisky wonky details can make a bad dram good.

This is a good dram, and well worth the price, in my opinion. I'll buy it again, despite its lack of real history.

We All Taste Different Things in Good Scotch - and That's Fine

Laphroaig's new advertising campaign is brilliantly truthful. You may remember that I reviewed their lovely Quarter Cask expression earlier.

Glen Ord 12 - Damned by Diageo

Look carefully upon that bottle, and that precious bit of whisky it still holds, as you may never see it's like again.

At least not in the US, Europe, Africa, South America, Antarctica and most of Asia.

I rarely swear at the computer screen while writing these reviews. After all, I'm drinking good whisky - that generally translates into a good mood.

But, as I was reacquainting myself with this old bottle of Glen Ord I unearthed from the back of liquor closet, sighing happily with each sip, I found myself damning those black hearted bastards at Diageo with vehemence I would normally reserve for some worthless, slack-jawed, jackass who just cut me off in traffic.

Those f$%#!!'s took my whisky away.

Yes, those blackguards at Diageo, the monstrous conglomerate that owns Glen Ord and several other distilleries, including Lagavulin and so help me God they'd better not pull this crap with that single malt, have ended the distillery editions of  Glen Ord. The whisky barely continues as a single malt as "The Singleton of Glen Ord" in 12- and 15-year-old expressions, but only at the distillery itself, and in Japan.

The other approximately 6.96 billion of us are S-O-L (shit outta luck).

If you look really hard (say, at the Whisky Exchange site in the UK) you might find a retailer with a small hoard some old stock of the Glen Ord 12-year-old.  That bottle will cost about $100 before shipping, which is a damn sight more than my old bottle cost me back in the day.

The rest of the distillery's production presumably goes into blended Scotches, for example, the various Johnny Walker blends (also owned by Diageo). I hope not too much of it ends up in Johnny Walker Red, as that would be a mighty sin.

And what makes this so sad is that this is a really excellent whisky. Glen Ord is a sherry cask aged Highland whisky. While it is similar to the Macallan and Glen Farclas whiskies I have previously reviewed, it does have a different character.

The Glen Ord 12 (RIP) was bottled at 80 proof (40% abv), which is pretty much at sipping strength. I prefer it with a small (very small) splash of water, as that opens up the aromas and flavor for me.

The aroma is sweet sherry with heather notes with a slight subtle hint of smoke. The spirit has a lovely amber color with a tinge of red.

"I shine, not burn" is the motto on the bottle, and that's exactly how it drinks. It start out with smooth sweetness of sherry, heather and honey. About midway through, some fire, a little spice and a suggestion of smoke that rapidly disappears enter the flavor mix. It all fades pleasantly away, leaving your fast buds demanding more.

Is it worth $100 and international shipping costs? That's a tough call. I easily like it as much as the Macallan 12, probably a little bit more. But $40 plus more? Damn Diageo for making me have to think about that.

If you are traveling, and do get a chance to taste the Glen Ord 12, then I recommend you leap at it. Because if you're one of the S-O-L 6.96 billion, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

(PS - let me know if you're going to be visiting the Glen Ord distillery. I might need a care package.)

Glenfarclas 12 - A Slightly Spicier Sherried Scotch

Glenfarclas 12 is a Speyside single malt aged in ex-sherry casks for 12 years.

Wait, that sounds familiar...isn't that Macallan? Or Aberlour?( Oh, A'Bunadh!)

Well, yes. It's the same general recipe: whisky made with water from the River Spey drainage, using low peat malted barely, and aged fully or partly in ex-sherry casks. However, these whiskies are not interchangeable, much the same way that Islay neighbors Lagavulin, Laphroig, and Ardbeg are not interchangeable. Despite the similarities, they all have distinctly different flavors.

Glenfarclas is usually compared most directly to Macallan. Because more folks in the US have encountered Macallan than Aberlour. I'll follow along with that convention.

Glenfarclas is bottled at 86 proof (43% abv), just a little more than the equivalent Macallan. There are folks who swear that they can tell the difference between and 80 proof and 86 proof whisky, but I am not one of them. I like both with just a small splash of water.

Glenfarclas 12 has a sweet sherry aroma that emanates pleasantly from the glass and that can be enjoyed from it sits upon the table. Raising the class to the nose to investigate further brings a bit of an unwelcome surprise - a sharp undertone that reminds me of rubbing alcohol.

Sipped, sherry is the first flavor, some fruit notes, then a hint of honey, and then a bit of spiciness,. The finish is on the short side - is that a little ginger I taste?

Glenfarclas 12 feels lighter in the mouth than the Macallan 12, and the Macallan has a slightly richer, sweeter, smoother flavor.

Which is better? That's a question of personal taste. I prefer the Macallan 12 to the Glenfarclas 12, but I can easily see others taking the opposite tack, finding more enjoyment in the lighter character and spicier flavor of the Glenfarclas.

As for which is the better value, at this age, only a couple of dollars separate the two, with the Glenfarclas being the cheaper. That differential is too small to  dissuade from buying the Macallan 12 instead, especially since both cost more than $50 a bottle.

Interestingly, the price differential expands more than exponentially as the two get older. The Glenfarclas 17 is  around $90, while the year older Macallan goes for about $150. A bottle of 25-year-old Macallan will set you back $850, while the Glenfarclas 25-year-old weighs in at a relatively modest $145 or so. So, if you're looking to add a quarter-century-old whisky to your bar for gravitas, but are on a tight budget, the Glenfarclas is the way to go.

Bowmore Darkest 15 - Ruby Red Blend of Peat and Sherry

 

The standard expression from Bowmore is 12-year-old whisky aged in ex bourbon barrels. To get Darkest, they dump that spirit into ex-Oloroso sherry casks and let it age for another 3 years. The result is a darker, redder spirit that represents a departure from the standard Bowmore palate.

Bowmore is an Islay scotch, which means peat. However, while Bowmore is definitely peatier than the mainline scotches, it's nowhere near as peaty as the monsters of the southeastern Islay coast: Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroig.

And while some folks may blanch at the idea of combining peat and sherry, I've previously reviewed Ardbeg Uigeadail which blends those exact flavors brilliantly. So I was very interested to see how Bowmore take on the idea came out.

Bowmore bills its Bowmore Darkest 15 as "one of the most beautifully balanced Bowmores." I can't disagree with that assessment.

Darkest is bottled at 86 proof (43% abv), which means it's been watered down to sipping strength. Still, I drink mine with just a little bit of water, as I feel it improves the aroma and flavor palette.

As mentioned, Darkest is a lovely dark reddish amber in glass. With the addition of that bit of H2O, the aroma is rich, sweet sherry and caramel with some hints of strawberry.

In the mouth, I'd characterize it as heavy. The flavor is smooth, sweet, sherry and fruit notes blending seamlessly with the peat and honey of the standard Bowmore before fading to a gently peppery sparkle.

It's interesting what those extra 3 years in the ex-sherry casks do to the spirit. The oiliness that is one of the defining characteristics of the 12-year-old Bowmore for me is gone, a welcome change. The peat flavors, while still present, are much subdued, and on this spring night in North Carolina, undetected by my nose.

This a refined, rich dram, soft and easy to sip.

I personally prefer it to the 12-year-old Bowmore, although the $30 price premium for Darkest makes me wince a little. It makes an excellent gift for a whisky enthusiast.

Naturally, the question that presents itself is: how does Darkest stack up against Ardbeg Uigeadail? They share a similar idea: peaty whisky partially aged in ex-sherry casks, and, at least in the US, are generally priced within a couple of dollars of each other.

Honestly, they are different. Which one you prefer is going to be a matter of personal taste.

Darkest has a heavier mouthfeel, darker color, and it just sort of envelopes and caresses your tongue with rich flavors.

Uigeadail is a little lighter in mouth feel, lighter in color, has more peat and smoke, and dances across your tongue, thrilling it with a wonderful riot of flavors.

I prefer Uigeadail by a little bit, but I won't argue with folks who prefer Darkest. It's a lovely whisky, and well worth a try.

Talisker 10 - Fire and Spice

 

Talisker hails from the Isle of Skye, which lies just off the west coast of the scottish mainland. It is the only distillery still in operation on the island.

The 10-year-old expression is the distillery's standard, base expression. It's aged in ex-american whiskey hogsheads (barrels), apparently just outside of Glasgow these days, according to this 2011 article. Talisker still has warehouses on site, apparently, which it keeps full by migrating casks from the mainland facility as it taps the older ones on site.

Talisker 10 is a golden brown, and has a complex aroma and caramel and pepper. It's bottled at 91.6 proof (45.8% abv), a little higher than most other distillery edition single malts, which usually weigh in at between 80 and 86 proof.

So, a youngish scotch with no extra sexy finishes, just a decade in one type of barrel. How good can it be?

Quite good. Excellent in fact.

Talisker is the taste equivalent of sitting in front of a blazing fireplace in a house on the seacoast on a chill night in the late fall, with the windows cracked so you can smell salt in the air and hear the crash of the waves. It's fire and spice with an underlying sweetness that engages the tongue in a delightful dance.

Sipped with just a tad bit of water, there's peat there, both from the malt and the underground springs the distillery draws on, but this is no Islay peat monster. There's sweetness, then the smoke moves in slowly, and before it overwhelms, it gets nicely balanced with bit of saltiness, a some more sweetness, and then the signature Talisker spicy black pepper finish, which fades to a lingering finish that reminds me of a salty onshore breeze and makes my tongue warm and happy.

This unique and complex taste doesn't really have an equivalent in the universe of single malt scotches. If you haven't tried it, and don't hate peat, you owe it yourself to sample it.

Talisker is not a cheap dram - here in the US, it'll set you back $65-$70 a 750ml bottle. I was fortunate enough to score my liter bottle at a duty free shop in the Caribbean for the same price as the 750s were selling for in the liquor stores at home, making it a great bargain.

However, when that bottle is finally done in, I will be replacing it, even if I have to pay full US retail. Talisker has earned a permanent place on my personal bar.

Angel's Envy Bourbon - The Curse of the Ever Empty Bottle

As far as I can tell, the natural state of a bottle of Angel's Envy Bourbon is as pictured above: drained empty by your friends.

And if you have no interest in reading the next 600+words, here's the review in a nutshell: it's wonderful stuff, you owe it to yourself to give it a try, and it's earned a permanent place on my bar, if I can figure out a way to keep a bottle around for more than a week after opening it. It'll set you back about $50, and it's worth every penny.

I recommended this as part of my last minute 2013 gift guide, but didn't do a full review. Several weeks later I discovered that the local ABC stores had started carrying it, and picked up another bottle to share with friends at the monthly First Friday art walk at City Market Studios and Gallery.

That bottle did not survive the night.

After almost two years of whisky on First Friday, it stands out as the only bottle I did not get to finish at home.

But that left me with 1 bottle, so all was good. And then I took that bottle, still unopened, to share at a whisky tasting at Mysticon in Virginia.

It survived the tasting, but with barely enough nectar left to provide for this review. And now that bottle is now empty as well, and I am sad.

Angel's Envy is truly special. It shows what a master craftsman can do when they set out to create something special. In this case, it was master distiller Lincoln Henderson (recently deceased), who helped birth Woodford Reserve, creating a special whiskey to help his son break into the whiskey business.

Everything about the base bourbon, from the grain bill (72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malt), to the yeast, to the distillation process to the use of charcoal filtering instead of chill filtering, to where in the warehouse (top rack) the whiskey is aged, and for how long, is designed to create a spirit that will blend well with the flavors that come from being partially aged in a used ruby red port barrel.

And that's how most of what's in an Angel's Envy bottle gets there: distillation, aging in a charred oak barrel for 4-6 years, and then a further 6 months or more in a port barrel shipped over from Portugal. However, reading the marketing materials on the Angel's Envy website, I discovered another interesting tidbit: some of the whiskey apparently goes straight into port barrels after distilling, and then is blended back in with the oak aged bourbon at some point in the process.

Of interest to whiskey geeks - these materials also claim that bourbon ages quicker than scotch due to warmer climate of the US and the use new charred barrels (the scots tend to age in used barrels, commonly, bourbon).

And now onto the whiskey itself.

Angel's Envy is a lovely golden liquid. Bottled at 86.6 proof (43.3% abv), it's is medium heavy when sipped neat, which is generally how I drink it.

The aroma is an enticing blend of honey, oak and sweet port. And then there's the flavor.

Smooth and sweet and subtle straight from the bottle, with a surprisingly mild alcohol bite. The flavor starts with the honey sweetness and touch of rye spice familiar to all bourbon drinkers, but then you realize the ruby port flavors slipped in at some point, and you're not sure when, and your tongue doesn't care, it just wants more.

This a far different experience than the distinct oak pop! at the end of the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. These flavors blend seamlessly, much more in the style of a good single malt scotch, with everything singing in harmony across your taste receptors.

And this, of course, is why you never have any around. It tastes so damn good and sips so damn easy that your friends just can't help themselves.

This is an easy recommendation. If you find it, buy it. Give it as a gift. Get your friends hooked on it. That way you can help empty their bottles when you visit them.

Because your bottle will never last long.

(PS - This is another bottle that your artsy friends will hound you for, even after it's empty.)

 

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked - That's A Spicy Bourbon

 

One of the best trends in bourbon these days is the experimentation with finishing the whiskey in casks other than the traditional charred american oak. New woods and casks previously used to age other spirits expand the bourbon flavor universe, increase the diversity of flavors and and open up a new vistas for exploration.

Which is a good thing, because until now bourbon's flavor variety was painfully constrained compared to the immense flavor universe offered by single malt scotch. The difference in flavor between Woodford Reserve and Old Weller Antique Reserve, for example, is a tiny, inchworm-measured thing, compared to the flavor differential between Ardbeg Uigeadail and, say, Dalwhinnie.

In fact, you can almost see the bourbon makers looking across the pond at the scotch distillers and wondering how they get so much taste (and market!) differentiation out of whisky that essentially all has the same mash bill: 100% malted barley (by contrast, bourbon makers generally have three mash bills (recipes), to choose from).

Part of the secret is something the scots have been doing for decades now: aging their whisky in all sorts of different barrels: used bourbon barrels (!), used sherry cask, used port pipes, rum pipes, and even, occasionally, in french oak barrels. The interaction between barrel and whisky, usually over the course of many years, changes the flavor of the spirit, as compounds dissolve out of the wood and into the whisky, and other compounds in the whisky are absorbed by the wood.

Woodford Reserve is on the first bourbon distillers to step up to the plate and imitate the scots. The standard expression gets an additional 9 months in a second oak barrel, prepared differently than the standard maturation cask. This second oak barrel gets a longer toasting, but a lot less char. As a result, it imparts a lot more of its oak flavors to the whiskey.

So, how does the Double Oaked compare to the standard Distiler's Select, which one of my all time favorite bourbons?

Colorwise, the the Double Oaked is noticeably darker and more burgundy hued. The aroma is caramel and vanilla and honey, similar to the standard Distiller's Select, but softer, not as sharp.

Both are bottled at 90.4 Proof (45.3% abv), share a similar mouthfeel and are best, to my taste, with just a little water added.

And now we reach the heart of the matter - flavor. The Double Oaked starts off just like the standard Distller's Select: you get the caramel, vanilla and honey promised by the aroma, some pepper and spice from the rye and just as that's fading away..

BAM! Spicy oak jumps out and slaps you upside the taste buds.

It's a surprise all right. The nose promises a softer, richer Distller's Select, but gives no warning of that aggressive oaky pop waiting for you at the end. My Distller's Select review mentions oakiness 'reasserting' itself in the finish: in that expression, the oak notes in the finish say distinctly, "we are here." By contrast, the oak waiting for your taste buds at the end of a sip of Double Oaked kicks down the door and yells "Oak in da house!".

Is this bad? Is this good?

It depends on what you like. It took me completely by surprise when I first cracked the bottle, but I've decided I like it.  Those extra notes at the end add a new dimension to the flavor and the drinking experience and cause me to pay more attention to simple pleasure of tasting what I'm drinking.

Now, the next question is, is it worth the price? As of this writing, the Double Oaked will run you $15-$20 more a bottle than the Distiller's Select, which is a hefty price premium.

That one, I'm punting on. What will say is this: if you like bourbon, the Double Oaked is definitely worth trying. You may decide that extra oak pop at the end just doesn't do it for you. Alternately, you may decide that the extra layer of flavor elevates the Double Oaked to must have on my bar status.

 

 

Aberlour a'bunadh - Richly Flavored Throwback

 

Aberlour a'bunadh is a cask strength  - my bottle weighs in at 119.8 proof (59.9% abv) - single malt scotch from the Speyside region of Scotland. It's aged in used Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, which adds distinctive flavor and color to the whisky. Aberlour boasts that a'bunadh is produced and bottled without modern falderal such a chill-filtering for clarity or watering down to lower, sipping proof (usually between 80-86 proof).

It's released in small batches, in a bottle style that was distinctive when it was introduced, but that has been successful enough that Aberlour has switched its two other standard distillery expressions, the 12- and the 16-year-old to the same style bottle.

The bottle carries no age statement.

It's irrelevant. The whisky is awesome.

It has a lovely burgundy color, and, when cut with some water, a wonderful aroma of sherry and malt with just a hnt of allspice. With the right amount of water, it has a medium heavy mouthfeel, and rich sherry flavors blending with malt sweetness, with some spicy hints along the way, especially in the medium long finish.

One of the fun parts of drinking cask strength whisky is figuring out just how much water to add bring out the maximum flavor and gentle the alcohol burn without diluting it too much. Some folks claim they can drink cask strength whisky neat and not miss anything ... to each their own. I'm part of the greater mass of folks who generally need some water to make the cask strength stuff sing.

For me, a'bunadh hits its sweet speed when I cut it with about 25% water...put another way, 4 parts a'bunadh, 1 part water in the glass, swirl it around, and then send your tongue to heaven.

a'bunadh will set you back about $75 - $90 a bottle in the US, so it's not a cheap dram. But if you like your whisky sweet and rich with lots of sherry flavor, you should avail yourself if you can manage to fit it into your budget at all.

This, naturally, brings up a comparison to the Macallan Cask Strength that I reviewed last year. It's a tough call, but I think I give the edge, by a small margin, to the a'bunadh. I feel confident in saying that if you like one, you'll probably like the other.

On a more practical note, a'bunadh has pretty wide distribution, at least in the US, and may be easier to find than the  Macallan Cask Strength.

Highly recommended, and, incidentally, a great gift for the single malt fanciers on your birthday and holiday lists.

Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel - Worth the Wait if You Can Find It

 

So what do you get when you leave good bourbon in charred oak barrel in the back of a Kentucky warehouse until it's old enough to vote?

You get a bourbon that is luscious, smooth, gorgeous and all around wonderful. And, if a warehouse fire interrupts the supply chain, you apparently get to wait until 2018 or so until they bottle it again (hat tip to Chuck Cowdery and commenters for that tidbit).

Which means, alas, the Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel (ECSB 18 for short) is in exceedingly short supply. I see it listed online for $60 a bottle, but no one has stock. Back in the day, it was a $40 a bottle..but if you're a bourbon fancier and you spot a bottle in liquor store somewhere, it'll be worth the $60.

(Side note - Heaven Hill, the folks who make the Elijah Craig bourbons, have been putting out extremely limited editions of 20- and 21-year-old Elijah Craig Single Barrel in similar looking bottles, for increasingly much  higher prices, to sort of fill the gap.)

So, what would you get for your $60, should you find one of these rare bottles on a store shelf?

The short answer is one of the top 3 bourbons I've ever had.

The long answer is a richly colored reddish brown bourbon, with a subtle aroma of oak and honey with a dash of maple syrup.

In the mouth it has a nice weight to it, heavy without being oily. The flavors come on smoothly, and blend together so seamlessly it can be hard to distinguish them. I taste some rich honey, followed by oak and rye spiciness that fades pleasantly to alternating sweet and spicy notes and then to a faint, lingering, happiness of the taste buds.

As a straight bourbon whiskey, ECSB 18's grain bill is at least 51% corn. The "flavoring" grain is definitely rye ( as opposed to wheat - see my review of Old Weller Antique Reserve) which provides a nice counterpoint to the corn's sweetness. It is, by all accounts I can find, a low rye recipe, which limits the amount of rye bite in the final flavor.

For the record, the third grain in bourbon is barley, which provides important enzymes and mouthfeel to the whiskey, but whose flavor contributions are apparently greatly outweighed by the corn and rye/wheat, even when the barley amount exceeds the rye/wheat amount.

As a single barrel whiskey, each bottle of ECSB 18 comes from one and only one barrel.  This is different from most whiskies, which are bottled from the contents of tens or hundreds of barrels being mixed together to create the distillery's signature flavor.

As a result, some bottle-to-bottle variation is to be expected if you manage to procure bottles from different barrels. That variation will be bounded by the tastes of the master distiller selecting the barrels, but there will likely be more variation than with whiskies bottle from mixed barrels.

ECSB 18 is bottled at 90 proof (45% abv) - which means it's been watered down some from cask strength (probably closer to 110 -120 proof). It drinks nicely neat, but I prefer it with just a little water added.

It's going to be hard making this bottle last until 2018...

Which brings me to a closing note: that bottle. That lovely unique, antique style bottle with the intricate designs, which is guaranteed to have all your crafty or artistic friends asking you just what you're planning to do with it when you finish the whiskey inside. It's gorgeous, and the whiskey inside is every bit as good.

Tullamore Dew Special Reserve: Tasty, but Not So Special

The regular expression of Tullamore Dew is generally my go-to standard blended Irish whiskey. It's inexpensive and I like it just a little more than Jameson's. So, I was intrigued when this new variant hit the local store shelves carrying an age statement (missing from the regular Dew's label) and a hefty 75% price premium.

According to the Tullamore Dew website, the the Special Edition Dew gets more aging, and a slightly different mix of whiskies: more malt and pot still distilled whiskey (the good stuff) and less of the non malt whiskey distilled with some other, not so marketable still type (the "meh" stuff?). Both share a mix of triple-distilled whiskies made from different grains aged in bourbon and Oloroso casks, although the Special Reserve Dew makes a big deal out of those casks on the label, and the regular Dew doesn't really mention them.

So, if you're standing there in the liquor store, torn between the $20 bottle of regular,just plain regular Dew, and the $37 bottle of the sexy Special Reserve Dew with it's age statement and promise of being aged just so in bourbon and sherry casks, which one should your trembling hand add to your basket?

It depends - do you need to impress someone who doesn't read this site?

Buy the Special Reserve Dew.

Do you want to explore the subtle differences between whiskey that's at least 12 years old, vs whiskey of a presumably younger, but indeterminate age?

Again, buy the Special Reserve Dew.

Are you looking for the best value for your whiskey dollar?

Buy the regular Dew.

Alternately, if you're looking to spend in the price range of the Special Reserve Dew and are attracted by the sherry cask aging, go a few dollars more for an Abelour, Glenfarclas, Balvenie Double Wood, or Macallan 12 year old single malt. All of these have much richer sherry notes in their flavor.

I'm not saying the Special Reserve Dew is a bad whiskey. It most certainly is not. To my taste, though, it is not 75% better than the regular Dew...not even close to being that superior.

I say that based on sitting here, with a glass of each, side-by-side. Based on how they look in the glass, they are almost indistinguishable. They are both honey colored, with the Special Reserve being barely perceptibly darker.

Both weigh in at 80 proof (40% abv) meaning both have been watered down from cask strength. This isn't a knock - the lowered proof allows one to enjoy all the flavor available while sipping either one neat, rather than having to experiment to find the right amount of water to add.

Both have very similar aromas to my nose: sweet with a touch of sherry.

There is a discernible difference in flavor, but not a stunning one. Both are light bodied, starting with honey sweetness that quickly fades to a muted sherry and oak flavors before disappearing in a medium short finish.

The Special Reserve Dew is just a little softer, a little smoother, with a little more sherry and detectable oak and overall slightly richer flavor.

For all the mention it makes of the sherry casks on the label, the Special Reserve either spends little time in them or the sherried whiskies are a small part of the blend. You can find the flavors, but you have to think about it. If you're expecting the rich sherry flavors you find in the single malts I mentioned earlier, you'll be disappointed. (For the record, the regular Dew gets a pass here, because it doesn't make prominent mention of the sherry aging on it's label - in fact, I didn't even realize it used sherry cask aged whiskey in the mix until I was researching for this review).

Is the Special Reserve Dew better than the regular Dew? Yes.

Is it $17 or per bottle better than it's $20 a bottle younger sibling? Not to my tastes, alas. I'll be keeping the regular Dew around, but when this bottle of Special Reserve Dew is gone, I won't pay to replace it.

The Whisky Advent Calendar - Plan to Give it

 

 

This was my most excellent early Christmas present from my wife. Why am I only reviewing it now?

I had to finish it first. With parties and travel, I didn't get through all 24 days until after Christmas.

I'll jump right to the heart of the matter: when you plunk down your $247 + shipping (and they do ship to the US) for the Whisky Advent Calendar, do you get gift value commensurate to your coin?

My answer, is yes. I got 24 days of whisky discovery, a chance to sample products from more than 20 distilleries in 5 countries. The selection was mostly single malt scotch (13 of the 24 days) with the balance filled in with, blended scotches (3), bourbons (3), American malt whisky (1, from Texas), Japanese malt whisky (1 single, 1 blend), a Swedish single malt, and an Irish single malt.

There were no bad drams. There were some that I didn't enjoy as much as the others, but that's going to be the case in any sampler package.

There were also some amazing whiskies in there. I'm now plotting to get ahold of a bottle of Glencadam - the 30ml sample of the 21-year-old in the calendar seduced my taste buds with amazingly complex flavors. And finishing the 2013 edition off with a dram of 40-year-old Glenfarclas was a master stroke - now I have another entry on my "List of things to buy when I win the lottery."

So, if you're looking for a gift for a whisky fancier that will put a smile on their face for most of the month of December, start saving your pennies now for the 2014 Edition of the Whisky Advent Calendar.

I'll also point out that Masters of Malt also offers several other boozy advent calendars: the Premium Whisky ( just north of $400) made of rarer drams, two variations of GInvent Calendars for the gin enthusiast, and a Rum Advent Calendar for the pirate in your life.