Clynelish 14 - Honey, Heather and a hint of Sea Air

An author friend was kind enough to bring a bottle of the Clynelish 14-year-old single malt to the annual Solstice party my wife and I host. He was even kinder to leave it behind for people to continue sampling when he and his wife had to head for home.

The bottle did survive the night, but with rave reviews. I couldn't resist stealing an extra dram from it to write this review before returning the bottle,

The Clynelish Distillery (now owned by Diageo) has an interesting history: while there has been a Clynelish Distillery for hundreds of years (since 1819 in fact), this Clynelish Distillery was built in 1968 across the street from the original. The original simply didn't have the capacity to keep up with demand, so they copied the stills and built a new facility with more of them. You can find a full rundown of the history at the Malt Madness entry on Clynelish.

Clynelish hails from the northern highland coast of Scotland, in the same general region as Old Pulteney.

Compared to the Old Pulteney 12, the Clynelish is a lighter, more nuanced dram.

Clynelish 14 has a lovely golden color. The nose is honey and heather and salty sea air and a whiff of smoke. For me water, doesn't change the nose much.

This a wonderful whisky, with just enough complexity to keep it interesting. Just a little bit of water, and it's easy to over do it, and you're sipping spicy honey, The taste starts off sweet, jumps to a mildly spice pepper pop and then fades to a lovely, happy glow of pepper and honey and just a tiny bit of peat smoke on your tongue. And I do mean a tiny bit of peat - I have to concentrate to pick it out. The mouthfeel is medium-heavy - more weighty than you'd expect.

Clynlish 14 is a excellent sipping whisky: a perfect companion for good conversation, a game of cards, or a night reading by the fire. At $50 a bottle in the US, it's not even too dear a dram. Highly recommended.

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.)