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Wednesday Tastings!


tanstaafl2
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Very interesting. Sounds exotic! I've held an interest for cachaça ever since honeymooning in Brazil, though I haven't acted on it. Thanks for the notes!

Don't give up on the Red. I did not enjoy the Cab but I really like the Australian Shiraz and the Port versions. That Burgundy bottle was a dud for me though. I tried and tried and tried to like it but by the time I finally killed my bottle, it still tasted like feet. I should probably find some more to see if my reaction remains the same.

I confess I was hoping for more on the Cachaca but it was worth a shot! I will keep looking for the Longrow Red Shiraz and Port but it doesn't seem like it is coming to Georgia that I can find.

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Walking into this on Wed was a much better option than sweating my butt off at the gym. Good seeing you and thanks again for sharing.

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Walking into this on Wed was a much better option than sweating my butt off at the gym. Good seeing you and thanks again for sharing.
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A bit of a change of pace this week and we made an effort to reel this monster back in after last weeks excesses! We tried to hold it to just six bottles but we ended up with six and a half...

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Today featured a few tequilas for a change and then an encore for one that didn't get a fair review during last weeks melee.

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First up were a couple of Herradura Reserva Reposado special editions from 2012 (port finish) and 2013 (cognac finish). But first we had to go all "Bruce" on it and try the standard Herradura Reposado! Herradura is a B-F product and suffered a bit of controversy over the use of a diffuser to process the pina. B-F says while they did it briefly they don't use it anymore on the Herradura line, saving it instead for the lower shelf El Jimador and Pepe Lopez line. Well, I don't have a pre-diffuser bottle of Herradura to compare with this (this occurred back in around 2010/2011) so I have to go with what is in front of me.

The basic reposado, aged about 11 months and weighing in at the usual modest 80 proof level like many tequila's (including all of the ones tasted today), has a nice clean agave note on the nose and the palate brings more agave and an interesting hint of citrus before moving on to a nice peppery agave finish. Decent enough for a mid shelf option. We then went first to the lighter colored cognac finish which is presumably the same 11 month old reposado that is finished in cognac casks for 3 months. The cognac finish added a moderate sweetness while keeping much of the agave profile but completely wiped out the interesting citrus-y tang of the standard bottle. Not overwhelming and certainly not worth the big price difference to me. The port, which showed much more red coloring as compared to the cognac which was mostly a deeper gold and the lighter gold regular bottle. Again sweeter up front but with much more prominent red fruit character and a bit more weight on the palate. The agave was still there but had moved further towards the back of the bus. The citrus note was once again gone. In the finish the agave note and peppery character tried hard to reassert itself but it remained a battle with the solid red fruit character. But the balance was pretty good and made it quite enjoyable. While the port out did the cognac finish neither really justified the big sticker price. Not that I really expected them to. The 2014 edition is a scotch finished tequila including some Islay whisky but I decided to pass. If I want smoke in my tequila I can just drink Mezcal!

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We then moved on to a Chinaco blanco and anejo for a different profile. While Herradura is a lowland tequila from the Jalisco region, Chinaco is something a bit different, being a "northern" tequila from the state of Tamaulipas on the eastern side of Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. Some credit it with being the first "premium" brand in the US in the early 80's. Some of the early bottlings were highly thought of but I have never had a chance to try any. But it has always been one I have enjoyed. The blanco, which is a bit unusual in that it ihas just a tinge of yellow to it, begins with a big agave nose followed by a fresh bracing agave flavor that turns to lots of pepper in the finish. I don't sip many true blancos but this is one I can have on occasion. It is of course also great for your favorite tequila cocktails! The anejo, finished for 3 years, which is longer than a lot of anejos, opens with a surprising amount of oak on the nose. It doesn't all carry forward to the palate fortunately as there is a nice agave character that helps balance out the vanilla flavors while just a hint of pepper adds life to the finish. I think I need to try the Chinaco reposado again to see how the middle ground holds up but I really enjoy this one as a neat pour of something a little different. And not a bank buster at around $55-$60.

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Finally it was time for an encore for the Kilchoman 3yo port matured whiskey. For comparison I broke out an early bottle of Kilchoman, the Summer 2010 release, which was also a 3yo whiskey finished only in ex-bourbon barrels. As those of you who drift over to the dark side now and again know Kilchoman has gained a pretty good reputation with their young peated whisky and this was the first release to cross the pond. Vibrant peat and smoke with little to know hint of its true age, the 2010 Summer Release is a very pleasant whiskey, if somewhat of a one trick pony. Finally we reevaluated the Port matured version that had gotten short shrift last week as it came late in the day of that long marathon. The remarkable ruby/mahogany color continued to fascinate and initially the big fruit notes really worked with the peat, which was a bit more mellow than the Summer Release. But this one tended to show its youth a bit more with time. As the only high proof spirit of the day at 110 pf (The Summer Release was 92 proof I believe) this one did seem a bit hot and a touch of water really helped the port flavors bloom and help balance the slightly youthful flavors. Still, quite tasty and worthwhile for such a yound whisky!

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Then for "dessert" we finished off with a few beers. The Cannon Dragger and Big Shanty were new offerings from yet another newish brewery in Atlanta. They had been doing mostly kegs to this point so these were some of there first bottles I believe. The Cannon Dragger was a fresh IPA that had a g=big juicy grapefruit nose but was way too hoppy and bitter for my palate. The Big Shanty was a "Graham Cracker" stout and the nose really did smell like graham crackers and cinnamon. The cinnamon did not carry to the palate but the graham cracker flavor sure did! Unfortunately there wasn't much body or maltyness under that for me to find it a very interesting stout. Maybe with some age it would improve but it was a bit of a disappointment over all. In between we fit a Bell's Oracle DIPA that had about 5 months of age on it. The hops had mellowed a bit with time but it still wasn't really my cup of tea.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks like pictures are kinda sorta working again so on to the frivolity from yesterday!

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This week was a bit of a hodgepodge but the focus was most definitely on the new 1998 Caol Ila 15yo unpeated cask strength release. But first it was a replay of the Crown Royal single barrel from last Saturday.

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On Saturday it was compared to an older Crown Royal from 2000 or so. Could be before and possibly a little bit after if they still used old labels but this one still has Seagram's on the label. That CR didn't seem typical of current CR (drier, almost rum like) so today I brought both back in as well as a smaller bottle of CR form about a year ago. The smaller bottle seemed more like the sweeter CR we all remembered but it was still no competition for the Single Barrel offering.

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Then it was on to the main event! These three, the 2012, 2013 and 2014 release of the annual unpeated version, were tasted blind. It did not fit what I remembered but the 2013 "Stitchell Reserve", a blend of whisky's of various ages, tasted a bit more grainy than the other two and really stood out. The 14yo, reportedly aged for 14 years in ex-sherry casks (The bottle just says "European Oak") was excellent as I remembered. There was little difference between these two but one was a touch sweeter. I presumed that was going to be the 14 but I was surprised to learn that it was the 15, aged in all bourbon casks and freshly opened, that I was tasting while the 14 came across a touch drier. Both had a lovely mouthfeel and despite the lack of peat perhaps a whiff of smoke on the palate. It was close but the 15 carried the day for me.

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That done, it was on to our odds and ends. First up was Rogue's Dead Guy whiskey (Ocean aged for a whole month...). We tried it along side the Rogue Dead Guy Ale it is made from. The whiskey often gets at best less than stellar marks and this one lived down to expectation. Not awful but it was awfully young. Even the beer seemed a little flat.

So for dessert we moved on to Miodula "Presidential" Honey Liqueur. A really light nice honey and herbal liqueur at 80 proof, this has always been a personal favorite. Today we were comparing it to a US made version of the classic honey liqueur of Lithuania, Krupnikas. This was much bolder in spice flavors and sweeter tasting as well although it was also 80 proof.

To finish off the festivities we concluded with a new Vanilla Creme Brulee from Southern Tier that was compared to a bottle from a couple of years ago. This beer ages really, really well! The fresh one had a lot of vanilla on the nose and palate but wasn't quite as rich tasting. The older on had less vanilla but was denser, richer and more chocolate in character. Sign me up for the older one!

 

 

 

 

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That done, it was on to our odds and ends. First up was Rogue's Dead Guy whiskey (Ocean aged for a whole month...). We tried it along side the Rogue Dead Guy Ale it is made from. The whiskey often gets at best less than stellar marks and this one lived down to expectation. Not awful but it was awfully young.

Not one of the state's finer products.

Even the beer seemed a little flat.

Interesting. I wonder how old it was.

I like the stuff, and buy it occasionally. It's actually a lager, not an ale; in fact a helles bock.

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Interesting. I wonder how old it was.

I like the stuff, and buy it occasionally. It's actually a lager, not an ale; in fact a helles bock.

It could have been a little bit old. I don't do a good job tracking when I buy them and beers tend to get lost on the shelves at my house! I will have to look for a fresh one to give it a fair review.

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Then it was on to the main event! These three, the 2012, 2013 and 2014 release of the annual unpeated version, were tasted blind. It did not fit what I remembered but the 2013 "Stitchell Reserve", a blend of whisky's of various ages, tasted a bit more grainy than the other two and really stood out. The 14yo, reportedly aged for 14 years in ex-sherry casks (The bottle just says "European Oak") was excellent as I remembered. There was little difference between these two but one was a touch sweeter. I presumed that was going to be the 14 but I was surprised to learn that it was the 15, aged in all bourbon casks and freshly opened, that I was tasting while the 14 came across a touch drier. Both had a lovely mouthfeel and despite the lack of peat perhaps a whiff of smoke on the palate. It was close but the 15 carried the day for me.

That 14yo never seemed to make it to shelves around here. I usually prefer dry to sweet, so it sounds like the one for me. I haven't had an unpeated CI since the 2010 release, which I liked very much although I was really in my infancy of malt appreciation at the time. I passed by the 15yo just the other day and your little comparison here is making me think twice about that...

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That 14yo never seemed to make it to shelves around here. I usually prefer dry to sweet, so it sounds like the one for me. I haven't had an unpeated CI since the 2010 release, which I liked very much although I was really in my infancy of malt appreciation at the time. I passed by the 15yo just the other day and your little comparison here is making me think twice about that...

It is pricey for a 15yo but just unusual enough to be interesting even before trying it. After trying it I felt it was well worth the cost, so much so that I have since acquired a second one.

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A little bit "heavenly" yesterday for this weeks tasting as we had three different blind tastings with the feature tasting being the three Angels Envy cask strength bottlings.

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But first up was a tasting of samples of Dobel Tequila for a possible store pick. We did this fairly recently and were not impressed with any samples but gamely decided to try again!

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Options were French barrel with light, medium and heavy toasting, a mix of French and American barrels with medium toasting and an American barrel with medium toasting. After tasting them we picked the top 2 (mixed barrel and French medium) as well as a sample from the previous store pick for a blind tasting. My preference was the mixed barrel and it was better than the previous sample but still didn't stand up to the first bottle we picked earlier last year. Second place went to the French medium toast which was a touch sweeter and might appeal to the general customer more but lacked the complexity of the mixed barrel to me.

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Next it was the main event with the AECS bottlings from 2012, 2013 and 2014. These were tasted blind. The 2012 got something like 21-24 months of port as opposed to the usual 3-6 months of the regular AE. Supposedly the 2013 was the same whiskey as the 2012 but with roughly an additional year in the post cask. The "provenance" of the 2014 is unfortunately unknown to me. although the 2014 appears to be the darkest in color of the 3. The 2012 as you can see was almost 2/3 gone while the 3013 was recently opened and only a small amount tried and the 2014 was newly opened for this tasting.

This was a split decision as several liked the 2014 while I and a couple of other people preferred the 2013. The 2014, despite being the lowest proof, was the hottest out of the bottle although it might settle a bit with some time. it opened up nicely with a touch of water (as was the case with all of these). But the 2013 was the easiest to drink at proof and was the richest and densest of the bunch albeit some might see it as a bit one dimensional with the dominant deep fruity port flavor. This is not to say the 2012 was bad but it probably had the least port influence of the bunch although it was most close to the 2014 for me. But they were all damned fine whiskey!

Next we moved on to a tasting of three different batches of Abelour A'bunadh, 36, 40 and 41. 36 was acquired as a sample as part of the recent Whiskey White Elephant party and inspired this little blind SBS. I believe it was 41 that was described by some as having too much sulphur but I have never noticed it being a problem in either batch 40 or 41. And I can now say Batch 36 seemed perfectly delightful as well. However in the blind tasting it was batch 40 that carried the day by a small margin over both 41 and 36. Surprisingly that seemed to pretty much be the consensus pick with perhaps one lone holdout.

Given that we had such a light day we moved onto a couple of beers for "dessert"! First up was a SBS (not blind but the differences were obvious) of a fresh Hopslam and a year old Hopslam.

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For me the older one wins every time as it tones down the hops (which I am not a big fan of) and helps bring the honey forward. But I think maybe next time I will check it at 6 months rather than a year. Also tried were a Victory Hop Ranch and a Horny Goat WisconZin IPA that has had Zin grape juice added to the fermenter to produce some fruity notes (I liked the WisconZin better but am not an IPA guy in general). We also tried a Founders Black Rye which was not half bad despite a fairly high 78 IBU rating.

Then for grins we tried a Greylock bottled Gin & Tonic. We probably shouldn't have as it was pretty bad!

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"36 was acquired as a sample as part of the recent Whiskey White Elephant party and inspired this little blind SBS."

Nice! Wish I could have made it, will try and stop by again hopefully soon.

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Bruce,

Wow, the color on that '14 AECS really stands out!

Once again, thank you for the fine report- as it looks like it was another tough day at the office.

Living vicariously through you,

Paddy

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Bruce,

Wow, the color on that '14 AECS really stands out!

Once again, thank you for the fine report- as it looks like it was another tough day at the office.

Living vicariously through you,

Paddy

Tough indeed! And then last night I was forced to go to a whisky tasting. It's wearing me out!

The 2014 is striking in its color difference. I would love to get more detail on the time in port for each of these (not to mention the source of the bourbon itself) but there is not much on the web I can find and not much on the AE website either unfortunately.

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This weeks Wednesday tasting was both interesting and disappointing in a way.

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This week bourbon and scotch shared the billing. But first up was the new Woodford Rye which has just arrived in town although apparently in just a trickle of bottles so far.

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It arrived a bit unexpectedly so I didn't have a chance to bring anything to really compare it to. It was pleasant enough but for me suffered in comparison to Rittenhouse due to the low proof (around 90) and to Sazerac Rye and several others due to their rather high level of fondness for it (It was priced at about $44-45). A bit of cinnamon to me but nothing else that really distinguished it to me.

Then it was on to the first of our two main events. This one featured a blind tasting of the newest orphan, Forged Oak, against its sibling, Barterhouse and a 2013 Eagle Rare 17. All the reviews to date suggested this one could be the best of the bottles to come out of the orphanage. Alas, it was not to be. in fact, it was the worst of the three. It seemed dull and closed off with little nose and not much more on the palate. The Barterhouse had the most woody character of the three while the ER was nicely balanced and in a different league from the orphans. We let the Forged Oak sit out a while hoping that would improve it. It did get a bit better but it remained a disappointment. I am hoping maybe I just got a bad bottle and will bring it to the upcoming GBS soirée to let the goat give it a go and in hopes somebody else will have another bottle for comparison.

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Fortunately the day was saved by a SAOS pick that was made available to us by another local bourbon enthusiast from a store in Missouri that apparently does store picks frequently. It was a very nice 11yo bourbon at 115.4 proof. It was a touch hot to me initially but calmed a bit with a smidge of water. Full mouth feel with some nice leather and chocolate flavors and a good long finish but not any excessive woody tannic bitterness. A nice pick and another excellent barrel from Smooth Ambler.

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Then we got all "crafty" for a moment with several bourbons from Eastside distilling in Oregon. The rep claims (take that for what it is worth...) the Burnside and the Oregon Oaked are both made in house (and it appears they have been around long enough to have done so) but the label has that disconcerting "Produced and bottled by" description and other reviews clearly suggest this is sourced whiskey. The bourbon is a young but not overly young tasting whiskey that was pleasant enough with a modest fruit component on the palate and the youth showing up in a slightly grainy finish although I don't recall what the price was and that could certainly impact the relative "pleasantness" (I seem to remember $30ish). The Oregon Oaked is the same whiskey I believe that then gets further aged for 60 days in a local Oregon oak barrel (specifications unknown as to size, new or used, etc). This little touch adds something like 50% to the price for little real improvement. The fruit character is diminished but there doesn't seem to be enough wood added to make much difference.

The last one was a curiosity called "Cherry Bomb" which the company admits is sourced "whiskey" (not bourbon mind you) from Buffalo Trace. In reality we saved this for last (fortunately). It is 60 proof and has Oregon cherries added (juice I presume although they claim it has bits of cherry in it and no other coloring or flavoring). It had been tried before and was generally liked but this time it was a disaster. Kind of a spoiled cherry tea flavor to me and nothing like what others recall tasting previously. No one is quite sure why it was so different. I should note that all three were freshly opened for what ever that is worth.

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Finally it was on to our co-main event which was the debut of the newest Glenmorangie private edition, Tùsail. it was joined this afternoon by the Bere Barley 6yo from Bruichladdie and the recent Glenmorangie Taghta just because I really wasn't quite sure what else might go with it. The Bere Barley is a curious deliberately grainy whisky that lived up to expectation with lots of new mown hay accents and an intriguingly slightly sour barn yard character on the palate.

Tùsail was nothing like this. Made with Maris Otter barley that was more typically used for brewing and of an indeterminate age but probably less than the typical Glenmo 10 years this one was more a honey barley nose and palate with no grainy character to speak of. Not overly complicated but very pleasant to drink with a nice sweet finish. The Taghta was its usual salty dry self and a pretty stark contrast from the Tùsail but proved to be an interesting and pleasant contrast in whisky.

As I noted we finished with the Cherry Bomb which really put a damper on the whole affair but at least it didn't mess up the palate beforehand. Thank goodness for small favors...

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Tough indeed! And then last night I was forced to go to a whisky tasting. It's wearing me out!

The 2014 is striking in its color difference. I would love to get more detail on the time in port for each of these (not to mention the source of the bourbon itself) but there is not much on the web I can find and not much on the AE website either unfortunately.

Appreciate your tasting notes on these, as I only have the 2013 and 2014. Now I'm not so unhappy to have missed the first release, as it sounds like the lesser of the three.

The AECS event with Wes Henderson was in Dallas the week after I got my bottle of the 2014, but I had a conflict and was unable to attend. If i could have gone, I fully intended to try and pick his brain on the specifics of each release.

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Appreciate your tasting notes on these, as I only have the 2013 and 2014. Now I'm not so unhappy to have missed the first release, as it sounds like the lesser of the three.

The AECS event with Wes Henderson was in Dallas the week after I got my bottle of the 2014, but I had a conflict and was unable to attend. If i could have gone, I fully intended to try and pick his brain on the specifics of each release.

There is one in Atlanta in a couple of weeks which I plan to go to as of now and I fully intend to (try to) get as much detail as I can from Wes! We will see how that goes.

I need to do these three again I think. On further reflection the 2012 and 2014 seemed more similar and the 2013 was the one that stood out with a real plethora of port flavor. I certainly didn't think the 2012 was bad. Quite the opposite. It may have been that the 2013 had so much port that it tended to dominate the whiskey and as a result may have not been enjoyed as much by many people. I happen to rather enjoy a plethora of port! But it did tend to make it a bit more one dimensional.

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This weeks tasting was wiped out by Snowmageddon 2015 (which proved to be a complete miss in the Atlanta area but was a bit worse just north of the city). Wasn't the weather that cancelledit though so much as the panic buying in the face of the "approaching massive winter storm" which paralyzed local leaders with fear a full 24 hours before the first snowflake fell due to the events of Snowmageddon 2014. Milk, bread and booze are staples of course! And not necessarily in that order....

Oh well, we will try again next week.

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Again postponed due to another commitment. This time it was a wine show by one of the distributors. "Trade only" but fortunately I got an invite. Not a big wine drinker, especially not red wine drinker, but had a few interesting ones to include Silver Oak, Heitz and Opus. But my favorite was a 2009 vintage port from Quinta do Portal.

Hopefully next week we get back on track!

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Sounds like a good porto Bruce. Did it show well with cheese, or better with chocolate IYHO?

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Sounds like a good porto Bruce. Did it show well with cheese, or better with chocolate IYHO?

I think it could probably "swing both ways" but my sense was that it was more of a cheese port. I have others (Malamado for example, an Argentinian port style Malbec) that I like better with chocolate.

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Back on track, hopefully for at least the next couple of weeks, with a new tasting. This one featured MGP ryes with a couple of bourbon tastings thrown in for good measure. As you can see I was ready to take notes for this one!

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But first we repeated the blind tasting of the three BTEC 12yo rye bourbons that had been aged on different warehouse floors, first done a couple of weeks ago at the GBS gathering. Again level 5 & 9 were judged to be superior to floor 1 with 5 edging out 9.

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Then we were on to the main event. We initially had 6 ryes, Taos Lightning 17yo from Cask 15 and 16 (90 proof), a store pick of 8yo Old Scout, a 15yo JE Pepper (91.3 proof), a 6 yo Batch 3 of BP Redemption and finally Bulleit rye. However 6 was judged to be at least one too many so we cut the Bulleit from the blind tasting. The Taos Lightning and Pepper were newly opened while the two barrel proofers had been open for some time. The barrel proofers were cut to approximately 100 proof and off we went.

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We had 4 participants in addition to myself and I took one for the team and did the pouring so it wasn't blind for me. Despite that the consensus pick for best was the Taos Lightning Cask 15. One participant was even able to guess all 5 bottles correctly. Second was a bit of a toss up between the Redemption and the Pepper which I found to be pretty decent if grossly overpriced (I took that hit for the team as well as it was the one bottle I know of that was fairly close in age to the TL). Rumor is the new Redemption BP 10yo is going to have an even more ridiculous price tag. The TL cask 16 faired poorly as the 4th or 5th pick along with this OS barrel pick (from another store I might add...).

The TL cask 15 had a lovely nose although I didn't get any pickle juice. Instead it was almost a touch of red fruit for me. Sweet fruit on the tip of the tongue which gave way to an interesting earthy herbaceous/dill note (one person said it was basil). After discussing SKU's review with the group a couple also agreed with the sandalwood note. The finish was long with a nice balance of light sweetness and little or no heat to be seen. The 16 was a bit tired tasting in contrast with a hint of the same herbal note but only faintly and a shorter and mildly herbal finish. I didn't get much in the way of medicinal tones and I tried hard but could find no pineapple (no one else did either even after we discussed SKU's review).

Then I decided to break out the CEHT rye just for fun to compare to the TL 15 cask. Damned if it wasn't just as interesting if in a slightly different way. Nice dense mouthfeel with some earthy character and a slight honey overtone pretty much through out. The age and mashbill of the CEHT are unknown to me (speculated to be maybe 8-9yo and roughly 90% rye) but every time I go back to it I seem to like it even more and it is generally pretty available. May just have to live with the slightly higher than preferred MSRP.

Finally we got a chance to try a K&L Faultline that was from the first batch (I believe. The bottle provides no indication of batch) against a newly purchased one from what I think is now the third batch. A very similar profile and perhaps the newly opened 3rd batch was a touch more "vibrant" than the older bottling or maybe we imagined it (wasn't a blind comparison). In any case both were very nice.

A couple of unremarkable beers closed the day. Next week we may head back across the pond to Scotland unless something new turns up!

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Wow - interesting that the Redemption was tied for 2nd at only 6 yrs old. I'm a big fan of batch 3, but then again - it is the only one I own! I heard the same on the 10 yr price, and don't expect to bother, but keep thinking I should add another 6yr to the bunker. Tough when SAOS BP ryes are showing up with more age for less money - but sounds like folks liked that better than the SAOS (at least that particular pick). Thanks for sharing - always like to hear the fun y'all are having mid-week!

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Wow - interesting that the Redemption was tied for 2nd at only 6 yrs old. I'm a big fan of batch 3, but then again - it is the only one I own! I heard the same on the 10 yr price, and don't expect to bother, but keep thinking I should add another 6yr to the bunker. Tough when SAOS BP ryes are showing up with more age for less money - but sounds like folks liked that better than the SAOS (at least that particular pick). Thanks for sharing - always like to hear the fun y'all are having mid-week!

Yes, I wouldn't give too much credence with that particular pick. Wasn't one I cared for as much as some other SOAS ryes picks. The Redemption surprised me as well.

Binny's lists the 10yo BP at $159.99! No thanks. I will make do with the 6yo Batch 3.

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I got an email from a local offering the 10yr redemption BP at $150, and at first I thought they were gouging, but turns out that's the going rate. I passed.

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