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Is this a rye?

Very nice color. Solid, but not anything more that some of my other scotch whiskies bring. I’ve been working on this bottle for some time. Decently integrated and a pleasurable pour.

SHERRY BOMB! You get the youth on the finish but this is a great scotch! The nose is fruity and dense. Very sherry forward but in a more fruit forward way than I expected. The initial palate flavors are rich, but fruity, like fruit punch. Yum. Then all of a sudden - BAM - Deep and dense sherry flavor. Darker, raisin, fig, date, but still some lighter fruitiness. Drinks young, but not about 59% ABV. Very smooth and rich. Less malty than some might like although it is there. Additionally, not too much wood influence as the sherry takes over. This is intense. 8.5/10

Looks good. How is it? Finally some sun here in Connecticut. Still low 60s but at least it isn’t raining!

Update: She's given the JD tour the green light!

This one is 84.4. I’m a dumbass. I went in there without my reading glasses. It was the lowest proof 15 year I’ve ever seen. But I was already down the road before I realized the age. I certainly would’ve purchase more. I like these occasionally…

I was at the Monger’s earlier today, and noticed the New Riff Balboa Rye on the shelf. While, it may have been in Georgia for some time, I’ve never seen it. Couldn’t resist picking it up.

Chilly, drizzly, crappy day here, today. Starting the after With a Mortlach 15yr. Two reasons: I just like saying Mortlach, and Mortlach sounds like a descriptors of this weather. “What kind of weather are you having?” ”Mortlach…” ”Yuck”

“That’s what she said.”

Good pour. Impressed for Irish Whiskey. Very smooth (drinks like it is less than 55% ABV) but good flavors without being overpowering. I tend to like strong flavors but wasn't expecting that here. The nose is misleading. It is strong and initially smells like rum and raisin as the name says. After it opens up for a few minutes you get more of the PX notes - raisin, grape, fig, date, etc. however the rum notes are still present. If a traditional Irish Whiskey is a 3/10 on flavor, this is a 5.5/10. You get rum funk balanced with sherry sweetness without being to sweet. This is not a sticky sweet whiskey at all. A little sweet, but the rum notes pull away from the PX sweetness and not in a bad way. Overall, balanced and totally worth the price. I do not have anything like it, thus making it a worthwhile purchase. 7.75/10 overall, but as Irish Whiskey goes, it's a higher score.

Yup!

.....as well it should.

Just got this. Supposed to be a sherry bomb, something I like. Cask strength and fairly young (7 years old), but I often like younger single malts that are less woody and still rich flavored. I am fine with older single malts as well, but a younger age does not scare me at all. I'll report once I try it. Very excited.

Brain fart. I was thinking 4R and moved it to OF. But damn that BB was good!

Just picked this up. Excited to try it. Not a big Irish Whiskey guy as they are generally lighter/milder in the flavor department. However, rum and PX Sherry finish got me interested as did cask strength. I was getting a scotch I was interested in from the same shop and figured I'd give it a go. $70 for a cask strength Irish Whiskey is good, especially if it is a good pour. I have The Wild Rover, by High N' Wicked and it is good, but did not blow me away. I felt it didn't really know what it wanted to be and the PX notes are not strong. I will try the Killowen in the next couple of days and report.

Agreed.

I have considered the 15 year variety too but there's quite a price jump between the 13 and 15 year. $250 for the 15 year seems high to me.

I burned off some brush in the bonfire last night. Unfortunately I have much more to do. It really has piled up and without my boys around it has gotten ahead of me. Anyway I took a bottle of Peerless Rye with me that was a store pick from 5 years ago. It has a wonderful spearmint note in the mid palate. A couple of neighbors saw the flames and smoke so it turned into an evening of hotdogs, chips and s’mores with rye. Happy FRyeday!

I know it's off topic, but I was able to find the Old Forester Single Barrel, Barrel Proof. I'm headed out in a bit to pick it up. I don't much care for Rye, but do like higher proof, so will tee this and the Sagamore Double Oaked this weekend.

My bottle of Knob Creek 18 arrives this week. Of course a 21 year variety is forthcoming so depending on price, I'll look to add that to my collection as I enjoy Knob Creek and find it to be fairly priced.

Thanks Mal. I forgot about that one. Bookers in CA have always been shelf turds. Even now with the price settling at $89-99 they languish on the shelves. Good for me because I always have one open.

I knew that extra $20 would come with a steep grading curve!

The BB is 10-12 years old and bottled at 90 something proof, changes by release. It seems a drier profile compared to other versions of OF. I get tannin like strong tea, dry wood like cedar cigar box. At low 90 something proof, and not much sweetness, it can feel sort of thin. It's ok, but not my favorite in the OF line up.

https://www.bookersbourbon.com/bourbons/2018-02-backyard-bbq From what I remember, it was a tasty batch. Beam had recently hiked the price but it was still easily obtainable here in MA.