Wednesday Tastings!

[wmpevans]

All bourbon this week as we focused on the recently arrived GBS Four Roses picks and the Russell's Reserve store pick that just arrived.

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After a little break we moved on to the GBS Four Roses barrel picks, a 9+ yo OBSK and an 11+ yo OESO, with a 2013 LE 13yo OBSK thrown in for comparison. The OBSK seemed to have tons of fruit up front but was well balanced and kind of evolved on the palate to a bit of spiciness on the finish and a really nice thick mouthfeel and good long finish. The 2013 SBLE also had a tendency to change character on the palate and even from sip to sip with perhaps a bit more wood as expected but plenty of balancing sweetness and an even longer finish than the GBS OBSK. Very nice indeed. A bit of heat at the end but just a touch of water worked wonders. The OESO was a bit different with sweetness up front again that changed to a drier finish with an interesting herbal note in the finish. Not spicy but pleasant all the same. Can't recall if this was the case when we picked it but it was perhaps my favorite at that time, even over the OBSK.

Finally for a bit of variety we finished up with the always pleasant store pick barrel 666 "Devil's Batch". Still spicy and yet very easy to drink. This was compared to a TPS 10yo barrel 362 which is of course a different mashbill from the Devil's Batch. This one has a really nice chocolate note on the palate and finish that lingers for awhile. Both are delightful.

All in all a pleasant day! Next week we will likely swing back to the dark side with some unusual barrel finished malts like the Amarone finished Arran and perhaps a Sauternes finished Caol Ila among the options. Unless something else comes along...

Thanks for the tasting notes Bruce, and especially on the GBS FR picks. Can't wait to pick these up on Saturday and give them a try.

[tanstaafl2]

Thanks for the tasting notes Bruce, and especially on the GBS FR picks. Can't wait to pick these up on Saturday and give them a try.

[Renegator]

Just found this thread. Damn, Bruce - nice work. I like those guys over at DBH. So far I've picked up a bottle of their Four Roses OBSO which is my favorite recipe, SOAS 8 year which is fantastic and just picked up the Russell's Reserve store (and Bruce) selection that I haven't opened yet. Thanks for the notes on their Tequila selection - I've been thinking about picking up a bottle. I'm not a huge Tequila guy but my wife loves it and I gotta keep her happy.

[tanstaafl2]

Just found this thread. Damn, Bruce - nice work. I like those guys over at DBH. So far I've picked up a bottle of their Four Roses OBSO which is my favorite recipe, SOAS 8 year which is fantastic and just picked up the Russell's Reserve store (and Bruce) selection that I haven't opened yet. Thanks for the notes on their Tequila selection - I've been thinking about picking up a bottle. I'm not a huge Tequila guy but my wife loves it and I gotta keep her happy.

I suppose I should (modestly, of course) note that I also got to have a small hand in picking out that 8yo Old Scout batch 666.That one flew off the shelves!

[gooneygoogoo]

I suppose I should (modestly, of course) note that I also got to have a small hand in picking out that 8yo Old Scout batch 666.That one flew off the shelves!

I tried to pick up a bottle of this after tasting John's a few weeks ago but It was long gone. I thought it was fantastic.

[tanstaafl2]

No tasting last week as one of our main participants was on the DL and this week it got cancelled by the cannonball run up to Cox Creek yesterday to pick out a Four Roses barrel. Hopefully back in action next week with a comparison of some barrel finished Masterson's rye.

[tanstaafl2]

Finally back on track, at least for a couple of weeks. This week featured a new Masterson's Rye whiskey store pick that had been finished in French oak for a period of time (I can't recall how long). I was able to participate in the sample tasting and the whiskey selected had been my top choice.

But before we got into that I brought along a bottle of the Jeff Ocean I and II as the store had been approached about possibly doing a barrel of the Jeff Ocean II. I didn't think it was a good choice but wanted to give the owner a chance to decide for himself. Of course a single barrel sample might prove to be a particularly good barrel but the price point seemed a bit much for what you got for the mystery whiskey (likely MGP but unknown mashbill) you were getting.

The Ocean I is now getting to be a couple of years old and is only about half full. It seemed perhaps a little diminished from what I remember but I had not tried it in a while. Even so it was darker, despite the lower proof, and more interesting than the Ocean II. The Ocean II wasn't bad but it wasn't particularly noteworthy either and at a $60 or so the price point just didn't seem like a good option for a barrel selection. With the Russell's Reserve still available, the Masterson's Rye just in and a FR OBSV 100 proof pick on the way I think not pursuing this one is a good decision.

Then it was on to the Masterson's. These were not done blind although the bottles are very similar and we tried not to pay attention to which one we were drinking until the end. We had four options to compare, an original Batch 3 rye, a store pick of the French Oak finish from a nearby store (Batch 8, Barrel 24), our store pick of the French Oak finish (Batch 1?, Can't recall the Barrel) and a store pick from TPS that was finished in American Oak instead of French Oak (Batch 6, Barrel 6). All are at 90 proof and except for the original basic Masterson's they were newly opened bottles.

The basic Masterson's was pleasant as always. A nice honey and caramel nose and palate with a bit of spiciness in the finish. Not outstanding but very serviceable.

The Batch 8 store pick from the other store was a good bit drier with a lingering herbal, earthy finish and a bit more spiciness in the finish although it was similar to the basic Masterson's.

Our pick, no doubt with some bias, was similar to the other store but of course so much better! It had a better oily mouthfeel, was drier like the other French Oak finished bottle but had more of the earthy "burlap bag" rye taste that popped up in the back of the palate and then finished with the same spicy finish although it was slower to build as the rye burlap earthiness slowly faded. Really nice I thought and a bit more complex than the competitors pick.

And then came the American Oak finish pick from TPS. I think this one came from another planet! A really interesting, and to me good, if very different planet. The nose exploded out of the bottle with this kind of candied orange/pine needle/sassafras tea kind of personality. I have no idea where that came from! Despite the nose it was initially drier than expected, more similar to the French oak finshed bottles. And then that candied orange/pine needle/sassafras tea flavor just EXPLODED on the back of the palate. That flavor lingered pleasantly on the palate for a long time and that same moderate spicy note tried to struggle up through it in the finish but had to fight is way out. Perhaps not your every day drink but I at least found it really interesting as did everyone else.

It appears it is still available at TPS and on sale I might add (I can see where this might be a tough sell to the average drinker) so those who are nearby might want to at least try a taste at the very handy TPS spirits library to see if it might catch your fancy.

We threw in the WhistlePig as a comparison at the end but it was like drinking tea by this point. Just didn't hold up against all that flavor.

In the course of all this a local distributor delivered several Kavalan whisky's to the store so we figured what the heck, let's throw these in too! After a brief break to "refresh the palate" with water and crackers we went back to work. The basic single malt was very much like a Highland/Speyside dram, especially considering their reportedly very young age, with some nice honeyed fruit notes and a very pleasant finish but perhaps not the best QPR. The King Car whisky is a slightly different blend of barrels (8 different woods reportedly) and is a more refined and mature tasting version of the regular single malt but it is pricey as well at around $100. As a sucker for different whisky from around the world I ended up bringing the King Car Whisky home with me.

And then, after another break, for dessert we popped open the newly acquired Willett 7 and 11yo from P&M. These are big whiskies and the 7yo had nice caramel and almost chocolaty notes but was also quite hot at full proof so it worked best with a splash of water. OK, maybe two splashes! The 11yo was a bit drier and more mature with a more cinnamon dominated flavor to me and was much more drinkable at proof although a bit of water didn't hurt either. I will look forward to exploring these again when the palate is a bit "fresher".

All in all a good afternoon and a nice return to the Wednesday tasting!

[tanstaafl2]

A bit of a mish mash this week with rum, rye and poitin in the mix.

With the long awaited arrival of my private little stock of HW Mid Winter Nights Dram it of course had to be the featured bottle this week. It was compared to a standard Rendezvous and a Rendezvous from a local shop that was released a while back and had been finished for 29 months in refill bourbon casks. Decided this was a good reason to finally break open my last bottle of the H&F Rendezvous!

The standard Rendezvous was solid as usual but did not measure up to the H&F bottle for depth and complexity. The finishing really seemed to bring it to a new level. Then the MWND pretty much stepped it up another level over the H&F bottle (and was the best of the day by far). Earthy fruity port influence dominated with a nice sweetness on the tip of the tongue and lots of spice and raison-y fruit in the back of the palate and finish. Very nice indeed.

We had tasted a few Masterson's a couple of weeks ago and a pick from the Party Source had this really interesting candied orange flavor that I had enjoyed. A fellow SBer was passing through TPS recently so I asked them to pick up another but it seems it was a different store pick. The new one was fine but nothing like the candied orange bottle unfortunately.

We then moved on to the three poitin's. The Teeling was recently acquired from Ireland while the two Glendalough's are both available in the US now. The Teeling is a blended whiskey mashbill of 80% corn and 20% malt from Cooley bottled at 123 proof while the Glendalough is from a newer small distillery that uses malted barley and beets of all things. The Glendalough's are then "briefly" aged in "virgin Irish oak". One is bottled at 120 pf or "Mountain Strength" while the other is finished briefly in sherry casks and bottled at a thin 80 pf. The Teeling was fresh and bright with a nice sweetness and easy drinkability with a goodly dash of malt grain flavor. Unfortunately the higher proof Glendalough smelled rather strongly of fermented sweaty socks and didn't taste much better. Not one I can recommend. The thinner sherry finished version was less overwhelming but the hint of sock was still there and there wasn't enough influence from the sherry cask, which was either a bit weak, was overwhelmed by the socks or just wasn't finished very long (probably some combo of all three) to really salvage it. Oh well, at least they weren't super expensive.

Finally we finished the day with some rum. The Samaroli Demerara 16yo is a 90 proof single barrel rum from the Versailles single wooden pot still that went head to head with the El Dorado 15yo which is a blend of rums from several stills lwhich includes at least some rum from the Versailles still. The difference is you can expect to find sugar and coloring in the El Dorado. And the Samaroli is aged and bottled in Scotland where the temperature is likely to be slightly less than Guyana! The El Dorado is sweet and pleasant as always while the Samaroli is definitely drier and more whiskey like with a slight acetone note in the nose and on the finish. Somewhere down deep one might be able to find the connection between these two but the paths they took to get to the bottle were clearly very different.

The Samaroli Caribbean 2003 is a disguised Cuban rum at 90 proof and aged 10 years in Scotland before being bottled from 2 barrels. It was compared to the Havana Club Anejo Reserva which is a Cuban rum blended from various unstated ages of rum. The Samaroli was again drier and a bit more like whiskey and was a very pleasant drinking rum. I preferred it to the younger blended HC. But neither of the Samaroli's really stood up and distinguished themselves as something special to me that warranted the cost. If you have an itch to try Cuban rum then the Caribbean 2003 will at least be able to help scratch it a bit.

We then finished up with a new special bottling of Imperial Pumpkin Pie Porter from Terrapin. Maybe this was a bad choice to try after whiskey and rum but I found it to be middling porter with little or no pumpkin flavor to set it apart. It was disappointing at best to me.

[tanstaafl2]

After a long hiatus for a bit of globe trotting the Wednesday tasting group was back at it again this past Wednesday. Unfortunately it has taken me until now to share some notes. Fortunately I took some notes at the time although it was a fairly chaotic afternoon and I will no doubt forget something.

We started with a somewhat ambitious spread that included a lot of barrel proof bourbon, wheat and rye whiskey as well as several mildly exotic brandies.

First up was the new Makers Mark cask strength. We found it to be fairly similar to standard MM with a bit more heat. Unfortunately that wasn't a good thing as I always get a bit of bitterness from MM and it only seemed to be magnified this time, extending from mid palate into the finish. A bit of water seemed to add some sweetness to the front of the palate and help balance the bitterness as is the cask with regular MM but I didn't find it to be something I would want to seek out again, especially at the excessive premium for a baby bottle.

Then we plunged straight into the new PHC Wheated whiskey. With a mashbill of 51% wheat, 39% corn and 10% barley this had much more body than the Masterson's 12yo all wheat whiskey which was thin and light. Instead this had a big sweet caramel note at the front of the palate that carried through to the finish with a nice oily mouthfeel and perhaps a hint of a nutty taste in the finish. Very easy to drink at proof with only a touch of spicy heat in the finish. A bit of water didn't seem to make much difference so I would likely continue to drink it a barrel proof. One to look for!

For comparison I brought along a bottle of HHSS1 and HHSS2. The HHSS1 is about a third full and has continued to improve with time. A lovely dense mouthfeel with tons of red fruit on the mid palate that seem to go on forever. There was absolutely no heat to be found and it was dangerously drinkable at proof. HHSS2 was only just recently opened for a quick sample a few days previously so it was nearly full. It tended to have a touch more heat on the nose and was a bit drier and more "mature" tasting through the mid palate. A touch of heat was also present in the finish. I have to say I really like HHSS1 at the moment but HHSS2 is still quite nice and I think it might open up a bit more with time.

We then moved on to a comparison of the new 21 month bourbon barrel finished barrel pick of Double Rye as compared to an earlier pick from another store of Rendezvous that had been finished for 29 months in bourbon barrels. The mintyness of the Double Rye is still present but toned down a bit by the extra aging to make a fairly feisty rye whiskey that now has a bit more of a bourbon character. Might be a good one to introduce bourbon drinkers to rye. The Rendezvous is drier and more mature with less of the minty character and again more bourbon character. It seems a bit less complex than the double rye but still a very pleasant sipper in its own right.

It was about this time that the local rep for Heaven Hill wandered in with EC23 (barrel 27), Batch 6 of ECBP at 140.2 proof and of course the new PHC. Had I only known we could have been drinking his whiskey instead of mine! As I noted elsewhere the EC23 was annoyingly pleasant with that typical paint varnish nose and taste but not so much wood and dryness that I found it ashy. A bit thin after all the barrel proof whiskey but all in all much better than I had suspected. The ECBP Batch 6 was an excellent addition to the line and almost drinkable at proof although a splash of water made it just that much better.

At this point the Jim Beam Quarter Cask, the third offering in the Signature Release line, as well as the brandies from Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Armenia got all but forgotten. And then the rep from Highland Park showed up with Dark Origins and that was pretty much all she wrote. The Dark Origin was pretty much as I expected. More peaty than a typical HP with a touch of sweetness battling a bit of band aid character that I found perhaps a bit too much and almost artificial in nature (although admittedly I was predisposed not to be impressed). It was OK but at $80 or more I just don't think I am interested. My scotch choices of late have tended to focus on something a bit unusual about the finish or some other unusual characteristic that makes it stand out a bit.

Surprisingly I survived this tasting without feeling the need for a nap! Looks like the next round will have to wait two weeks before we can crank it up again.

[tanstaafl2]

This week we thought we might try to go "light" with some lower proof brandy and a few beers to try. Somehow that didn't work out so well. I think I find it easier to sample through a selection of whiskey than beer. And I hate to waste beer if it is at least decent! So it proved to be a belly full!

We started off comparing a new store pick of Knob Creek 120 proof that the store staff went up to Beam to pick. Sadly, I didn't get to go this time. It was compared to another store pick from Fujioka's in Honolulu. That one was purchased last January and dated back to the time when Beam was still using the screw cap. But first there was an open bottle of the latest little piggy and who could resist that?

This pig weighed in at around 122 proof. It was very easy to drink and was a moderately sweet whiskey on the palate with a nice but unremarkable finish. But nothing said $170 to me even with "The Spirit of Mortimer" cap. I may just be able to leave this one on the shelf after all! Next week we will have the previous boss hog to put up against it in a blind SBS just to be sure.

The Knob Creek's were then tried SBS and blind. The clear winner by unanimous vote was he house selection. Neither were bad mind you be the local bottle had a really nice dry cocoa/chocolate note on the palate that extended into the finish nicely that the other simply lacked. Easy to drink at bottle proof and water did not improve it at all to my mind anyway.

Next up were a couple of brandies from Central Asia that I brought home with me. Both were at 84 proof but the taller bottle from Kyrgyzstan was labeled as being 6-7 years old with a number of people telling us it was one of the better ones in the region (most had no age statement and were presumed to be very young). The short bottle from Turkmenistan for example had no age statement and was undoubtedly much younger.

For comparison we had a 5yo brandy from Armenia, Asbach (roughly a three year old) from Germany and the Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac at 90 proof. The K-stan brandy was quite pleasant with that raisin-y fruit component found in the 20yo Armenian brandy I have and a nice dense mouthfeel. It was as good or better than the Armenian 5yo as well. The Turkmenistan brandy was very thin and watery despite being the same proof and tasted like a watered down version of the K-stan bourbon. The Asbach was a nice fruit forward brandy and seemed quite pleasant if unspectacular. The Ferrand was simply a different animal with a very different flavor profile with a bit more whiskey like notes. intended as a cocktail mixing cognac with a bit more proof it was surprisingly good on its own.

After a brief break we switched gears to beer. In an effort to be seasonally appropriate we started off with the new Bell's planet's series with Venus. An apricot, honey, vanilla and cardamom blonde ale beer according to the label this one was a bit of a disappointment. The fruit not dominated but it didn't really say apricot to me. It was more a generic slightly sweet note. And the honey and spices never made an appearance.

So we moved on to a SBS of Pumking from Southern Tier with a fresh bottle compared to a bottle that had been bunkered for 2 years. Pumking is one of my favorite pumpkin offerings each year and I put a couple of bottles back 2 years ago just to see what would happen. Most pumpkin beers are really more pumpkin pie spice beer and Pumking is really no exception, it is just done well. The fresh bottle had the usual rich spices but also had an interesting almost doughy pie crust component. I feared the older one would have lost all hint of pumpkin spice but that proved unfounded. While different from the fresh beer it still carried a nice nutmeg richness as well as having a nice heavy malty flavor. I think I liked the age one even better!

But we decided we were pumpkined out and moved on to a couple of stouts from Southern Tier, the Choklat and the Crème Brulee from the Blackwater series, both also aged for 2 years. Both were good although as with most Chocolate stouts this one still had more of an earthy coffee flavor to it. But the Crème Brulee was amazing, tasting pretty much like a rich milky crème brulee with lots of caramel and vanilla and seemed to really have benefited from time on the shelf. Combined they were also quite good but the Crème Brulee dominated when mixed about half and half.

We finished up with a limited release from Rodenbach, known for its variations on the Flanders Red Ale style which are typically fruity but tart and sour. This one is blended with cranberries, raspberries and sour cherries. I expected more sourness from the beer but it was a bit sweeter than expected. Definitely not as tart as the more typical Grand Cru.

All in all a great day but not exactly a light one!

[tanstaafl2]

This week was a bit more of a marathon than usual. As I noted elsewhere a special guest star arrived just in time for this weeks tasting. And then I had an invitation from a friend to a "BBQ lab" to try out the food he is considering using to start up a catering business. Beer was naturally going to be a part of the experience. Made for a long but enjoyable day.

Talked a little bit about the superb KaVaLan sherry cask and the comparison to the Chieftain Mortlach here. As I noted both are highly enjoyable but in a SBS blind tasting I think I would still choose the Chieftain for that fantastic earthy character that adds some complexity to the fruit on the palate and finish.

From there we moved on to our regularly scheduled program. First up was a SBS of the old and new Whistlepig Boss Hog. My recollection proved to be correct and while the new 13yo is a sweet easy drinking whiskey it doesn't seem to have a lot of rye character. The older bottle, while also a bit sweet, is higher proof and has more of that rye earthy spiciness. The new WP remains an easy pass for me.

Next up was a comparison of the Nikka Coffey Grain whisky with its counterpart, the Nikka Coffey Malt. Surprisingly the Coffey Grain was the better bottle for me with a nice spicy component and more depth and mouthfeel. The Coffey Malt was a very light balanced whisky but just seemed a bit bland compared to the Grain. A bit of a surprise and disappointment.

Another bottle direct from overseas (although I have heard it is coming to the US) was the Bains grain whiskey from South Africa. Its a relatively young whisky although it is not too dominate with the grain flavor as there is a nice nutty flavor on the finish and sweetness in mid palate. Not bad at all.

Then it was on to a few Irish whiskey with yet another bottle fresh from overseas, the Teeling Single Grain, a corn based whiskey that is finished in California Cabernet casks. A nice lightly sweet whiskey with a slightly orange tint that had a bit of red fruit helping to balance out the sweetness and young grain flavor. It was compared to the regular Teeling Small Batch with a rum cask finish that is available in the US. Also very pleasant if not particularly complex. A nice sweetness but no real rum notes stuck out like with Angel's Envy. It was also compared to another Cooley whiskey, Greenore, that presumably is using the same base grain whiskey but with no wine cask finishing. Greenore 8 had less grain character on the nose suggesting that perhaps the Teeling was a bit younger. A light but pleasant and simple whiskey. The Greenore 15 showed its greater maturity with a denser mouthfeel and some sublte barrel notes helping to balance out the sweetness. This is a whiskey I find quite enjoyable.

We then capped off the afternoon festivities with a bit of the Cambus 21yo grain whiskey from Scotland. This one is as expected rich and dense with a lovely honey character. Not sure if this is again oil or more likely a barley dominated mashbill but what ever it is, it is quite good!

Then after a brief break it was off to the BBQ lab to refuel before changing gears to beer. I brought along a couple of newer choices to include the Hibiscus Gose from Boulevard and a new beer now available in cans from one of the many new local breweries. In this case it was the plum saison from Orpheus called Atalanta. This one was nicely tart with some tasty plum overtones and I thought it well worth it. A low ABV beer that would be particularly pleasant on a warm day.

Second from the left is the pumpkin home brew of one of the hosts. While not everything is a hit they do a nice job and this one was pretty good. Others included the newish Terrapin imperial pumkin pie porter which is pretty good, the Ass Kisser Smoked Porter which was OK, Lips of Faith Cascara Quad which is not one of my favorites, Southern Tier Goat Boy which is a very nice Weizenbock that I rather enjoyed, a Prairie Bomb which lives up to its name but is too much coffee for me, the Hibiscus Gose which is light but refreshing and easy drinking and low ABV, The Fall Woodchuck cider and the Orpheus which for some reason quickly got the nickname of "vagina" beer. Can't figure out why...

Sheesh, makes me tired just thinking about all that! And there is still a big whiskey weekend to go! Friday night starts with a dinner at Southern Arts featuring nine whiskies from Glenmo and Ardbeg and cigars in addition to a six course dinner. And Saturday is already double booked!

There may be a few spaces left for the dinner still so anybody local who is interested feel free to PM me for the details (I have no affiliation with the event accept as an attendee).

[tanstaafl2]

Unfortunately a last minute postponement this week. Hope to get back to it next week!

[tanstaafl2]

Sadly last week got postponed at the last minute and the upcoming holiday has sent this one down in flames as well. Hope to get back at it next week to kick off December with some Christmas cheer!

[tanstaafl2]

After an unintended break we were back in business this week to start the Christmas season off on the correct foot! unfortunately I left my notes behind so this will have to be done by my always unreliable and booze addled memory.

First up was a SBS of the last three birthday bourbons (2012, 2013 and 2014).

This was done blind with the assistance of a non participant. Of note the 2014 was an unopened bottle while the other two had been open for some time. Not sure what, if any, role that played but it was the 2014 that was the consensus pick. It had the best nose of the three which made me think it was the 2103. As I recall the 2013 was the driest finish. The 2014 had a nice spiciness and sweetness combined while the 2012 was a bit more one dimensional with caramel sweetness. I will have to consult my notes to confirm that though.

Next it was a taste of the Jawbreaker I had acquired. Just enough left in the bottle for about three tastes. An excellent whiskey although I seem to recall it was supposed to have a lot of cinnamon character and I didn't get much of that. Better than any of the OFBB's.

From their we moved on to the Corti Bros. "Exquisite Whiskey", a sourced bourbon finished in well used sweet wine casks. Truly hard to tell this was bourbon or even whiskey. Much more rum like character to me and very enjoyable.

It was paired against the Belle Meade 9yo sherry finish. Much more bourbon in character but this too had a significant finish to it but more of the classic red fruit and raison-y sherry notes. But I find it to be quite good as well.

Just for the heck of it we threw in the Ka Va Lan port finished Concert Master single malt as we transitioned over to the dark side. A very pleasant whiskey again with the red fruit flavors but a bit more subtle than the Belle Meade sherry finish. I found this one to be a bit less sweet and very easy to drink.

Then on to the second SBS of the day with the new Compass Box Lost Blend versus an original CB Eleuthera. We should have done this one blind as well but did not. In addition the cork on the older bottle broke almost immediately. Oh well, we had a spare!

All the participants had previously tried and liked the Lost Blend. But the quick consensus was that the Eleuthera was the more richer, mature tasting whiskey. To me the peat component was similar but the Lost Blend uses another malt from Allt-A-Bhainne distillery (that is reportedly nearly 20yo) to combine with the Clynelish, which almost certainly is used in a lower proportion than in the Eleuthera, to provide the highland component. Don't get me wrong, they were both good, but the Eleuthera was better. I think we might do this again blind next week just to see if we were overly influenced by the label!

We finished with another taste of the new Taghta as one of our group had not tried it yet. As before, a bit briny with a bit of a musky character that gave it some depth and fullness.

The poor old Michter's Toasted Oak will just have to wait for another day. Instead we finished with a couple of beers. First was the Jekyll "Off the Grid" Barleywine. A very tasty and respectable offering from a smallish local brewery. Then we followed up with a new arrival, the Terrapin French Toasted Wake and Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout. Interestingly and probably deliberately the cap smelled a bit like French Toast (or really more like maple syrup). That was about it for the French toast influence. There was perhaps another hint of maple in the bottle but this was mostly a big coffee stout straight from Jittery Joe's! I am not a big coffee person but this was certainly interesting.

[wmpevans]

Thanks for posting Bruce. Always enjoyable.

[Renegator]

Yeah, thanks for the notes, Bruce. I enjoy this thread.

Unfortunately I missed out on OFBB this year. I really liked the 2012 and the 2013. Glad to hear they are still putting out a high quality product with the 2014.

[tanstaafl2]

Yeah, thanks for the notes, Bruce. I enjoy this thread.

Unfortunately I missed out on OFBB this year. I really liked the 2012 and the 2013. Glad to hear they are still putting out a high quality product with the 2014.

I will be curious to let it sit a bit after being opened and see if it makes any difference. That was the biggest difference from the 2014 and the previous two. I didn't remember the 2014 being that much different when I tried it at the WoW event in Atlanta last month.

[tanstaafl2]

Perhaps the final Wednesday Tasting of the year yesterday as it begins to get busier for the holidays. We did our best to make it interesting with several blind comparisons.

First up was a blind SBS of the two batches of PHC Wheat thanks to a sample of the 126.8 provided by a fellow SBer (Haven't seen that batch in these parts). The findings were consistent among our group and also surprisingly similar to what SKU reported recently.

While I don't really get any soapy bourbon notes on the nose (not really sure what that should taste like!) the 127 definitely is less sweet smelling and more oaky on the nose with maybe just a touch of acetone/varnish. On the palate it builds a nice caramel flavor by the mid palate with more oiliness than the 126. The oak bite returns as it moves towards the finish but stays in balance throughout. A very pleasant whisky indeed.

The 126 smells sweeter and has a quick burst of caramel sweetness on the tip of the tongue. But this quickly dries out in the mid palate and turns a bit bitter and tangy at the start of the finish which lingers through the shorter finish. That bitterness stuck with me, kind of in the sub mandibular salivary gland area, well after the finish faded. While not bad it does not hold up to the 127. Had I never been able to try the 127 I would probably still like this but not as much. The bitter tangy note and lack of balance throw this one a bit off the mark.

Next we did a blind SBS of the new 7yo Bernheim (newly opened) against an older NAS Bernheim that had been open for awhile. Both are 90 proof. The older one was surprisingly darker than the 7yo side by side. Even more surprising was that we all liked the old one much more than the new bottle. The new one seemed really bland and unassuming from the nose to the palate and through the relatively short finish. While no where near as interesting as either batch of the PHC Wheat the old bottle had a soft sweet nose with more caramel sweetness on the palate that carried into the finish. It just seemed more mature testing with more mouthfeel as well. Not a lot mind you but more than the 7yo. Neither had much in the way of an oaky balance that was present in the PHC version which is probably not all that surprising. Not sure what to make of this. Could the fact that the older bottle had been open for awhile even though it was still pretty full have made a difference? Only time will tell!

Then we switched gears to malt with a little deja vu all over again to start with. First up was a repeat of the SBS with CB Eleuthera and the newer Lost Blend but this time done blind. Last week the Eleuthera had proved to be the favorite. While opening it the cork broke and while I capped it with a temporary plastic stopper and put in a new cork once I got back home I can't be sure just how well sealed it had been with the plastic stopper. In any case this week in the blind tasting the Lost Blend proved to be the favorite across the board. Both are good and the similarity between them is there but I have to wonder if the cork played a role this week. Or maybe it was all the Bernheim that came before it!

We had to keep it a bit short this week (only nine different whiskies after all...) but we tried to finish with a bang!

Next up were three of the Ka Va Lan Solist series at cask strength. I need to check the batch numbers on these but the Sherry Cask came from Binny's thanks to an assist from a fellow SBer while the other two were unearthed in Tennessee. No sign of them in Georgia yet that I know of. Of course I have them now so I am not looking as hard!

First was the ex bourbon cask, followed by the Vinho Barrique (a selection of American red and white wine casks that were then retoasted) and finally the oloroso sherry cask. None of them are chill filtered nor do they have any coloring added.

The ex bourbon cask was a really nicely balanced malt at 115.6 proof that was much like any well matured highland scotch might be with a decided bourbon character to it despite likely being only around 4 years old. Certainly likely to be the most approachable by the bourbon drinker. Plenty of vanilla and perhaps a touch of fruit sweetness from some unknown depth! The finish dries out a bit but remains long and pleasant with only a bit of grainy character overlying the flavor.

The Vinho Barrique weighed in at 118.8 and brought much more red fruit flavors to bear but never seemed out of balance. The grain notes seem to be gone here making this one really pleasant and surprisingly mature tasting. A bit of spice slides in with the finish but its not at all unpleasant or unwelcome. I tended to favor this one a bit more than the ex bourbon cask. And I never got around to trying a bit of water as they are all remarkably easy to drink at proof.

Last but not least was the Sherry finish again at 115.6 and it is a sherry sledgehammer. Despite that the light grain character still manages to work its way into the flavor although without really distracting much from the sherry tidal wave. Big and bold but perhaps a bit more of a one trick pony and lacking the subtle character of the Vinho Barrique for me.

After those three bruisers it seemed reasonable to call it a day. Hopefully back at it again early next year! :toast:

[tanstaafl2]

Started my holiday on Friday so it was a good time for a little impromptu Friday version of a Wednesday tasting! To keep it a bit "light" we decided an all beer tasting was in order.

Just for the heck of it we started off with the absurdly expensive yet gift friendly Guinness 1759, weighing in at 9%.

Made with peated malt and labeled an "Amber", it includes a box and an attractive black painted bottle. Of course this hides the contents so it was surprising when these poured out much darker than expected. Unfortunately it was pretty much downhill from there. Decent nose but no peat or smoke on the palate. A bit of caramel in the mid palate with a relatively short pleasant finish. Very drinkable, almost a session beer despite the well hidden proof but of course the price is just absurd.

Next up was another oddity, the Stone Master of Disguise Imperial "Golden" Stout (9.7%).

It started out fairly promising with the remarkable color and a huge coffee malt nose. Alas the palate was as bland as Budweiser. It did have a decent oily thickness but the finish was slightly bitter that gradually built to an unpleasant stickyness that stayed with you far longer than desired. A total loss for me.

Then we moved on to the highly anticipated Founders Big Lushious (7.8%) which I apparently did not take a close up picture of. Strong raspberry and perhaps a whiff of chocolate on the nose. This poured a dense black with a solid chocolate brown head. There was a nice and encouraging burst of sweet/tart raspberry on the front of the palate with a nice chocolate taste behind it. Sucking in a bit of air with the mouthful seemed to really emphasize the raspberry and chocolate flavor. Remained sweet into the finish with only a slight bitterness of coffee towards the end, A dessert beer but really well done with a delightful lingering finish.

Next up was a Prairie Christmas Bomb! (Prairie is relatively new to Atlanta). A complete opposite from the Big Lushious, this is savory and spicy with moderate burnt coffee malt flavor underlying it. Interesting but hard to get one's head around. The chile spicyness is muted from the typical Prairie Bomb! to me (which has not been a big favorite for me in the past anyway) but it has the same syrupy nature despite being only 11.5%. I am undecided on this one.

Next were a couple of the classic Backwoods Bastard with one a new bottling and the other from 2012. The usual rich goodness but for me the 2014 were better. The 2012 may have passed its peak.

Finally we did a SBS of the new Sierra Nevada Barrel Aged Narwhal (12.9%) with a standard Narwhal from 2012 (amazing what I find when I dig around in the basement...).

The 2012 was fine but again perhaps has sat a bit too long although I like that the hops has been kicked down a notch. The barrel aging really made the Narwhal an excellent beer with lots of vanilla and caramel while restraining the sometimes over exuberant hops of SN. Well worth seeking out if you can find it.

[tanstaafl2]

Had hoped for a bigger spread to kick off the New Year but the schedule got changed at the last moment and we had to settle for a relatively quick Friday special edition of the Wednesday tasting.

This tasting was full of Contradiction. Smooth Ambler Contradiction that is!

Started with an 8yp barrel proof store pick of the high rye mashbill (The Highway to Hell Barrel #666). This remains a superb bourbon with a great cinnamon caramel profile that is easy to drink at proof and yet opens nicely with a drop or two of water. Gives you a really strong caramel sweetness at the back of the palate and top of the finish that just lingers! While certainly not likely to be identical to the 9yo that makes up 73% of Contradiction it was the closest I had handy. Probably the off the shelf 7yo at 99 pf would be closer if a bit younger.

We followed that up with a 26 month old Yearling of the house distillate that is presumably similar the the 27% 2yo in Contradiction. This has a big grainy, corny nose but surprisingly little of that continues into the palate. While certainly softer (and thinner at 92 pf) this was surprisingly good and I could drink it on its own as is (Although this could use more proof for sure!).

Next we couldn't resist making our own blend with roughly 30% yearling and the rest from Barrel 666. Not bad but perhaps it could use a bit of time to marry and it almost seemed a shame to dilute the lovely flavor of that older bottle!

Finally it was on to the Contradiction. When first opened last week this had a significant component of the grainy nose from the young whiskey. But a week and a few drinks later it seems to have mostly faded away. You could still pull it out with effort but it was no longer primary. On the palate it had some initial sweetness and that grainy character buried in there but the solid caramel of the older bourbon was primarily in control. This remained in the moderately long finish. A very pleasant whiskey indeed! While at $55 or so it still seems a bit pricey when recent single barrels of 8 or 9 yo bourbon is running less than $50 I did enjoy the chance to try this little experiment.

Now, if I get could more of a single barrel like the Barrel 666 (especially for the original $40 it cost although that seems unlikely going forward) or something similar like the Jawbreaker single breaker I had the pleasure of trying recently then it would be no contest. But unfortunately I can't. The Contradiction was a fun and interesting bottle to try but I do wonder how that 9 yo component might taste on its own!

Still, I look forward to trying the in house wheated bourbon when it is ready to go. I think it has potential as it pushes out to 4-6 years. I just hope it is reasonably affordable by then... :cool:

[tanstaafl2]

Yesterday was our first full tasting for 2015 and we wanted to make it a good one! Featured this week was the new Lost Prophet along with the three prior Orphan Barrel bottles and a couple of new and very different Longrow's.

But first up was a very unusual single barrel cachaça from Novo Fogo that had been aged for 9 years (one of the distilleries earliest barrels) and was bottled at a cask strength of only 82 proof. Far too expensive but the temptation of something unusual got the better of me with this one! Chalk this one up to a learning experience. I really should have brought a moderately aged agricole for comparison but I did not think of it until too late. Not that it would have mattered as this was not really similar to any 9yo or so agricole I have had.

While it was reportedly aged in American oak it is not clear what the size or source of the barrels is. I suspect it is at least a standard sized bourbon barrel (it yielded 240 bottles after all) but that it was broken down, sanded and retoasted before use based on this review of the standard barrel aged version. In any case the barrel influence here seems subtle as the color is remarkably light for a 9yo spirit aged in the rainforest!

So, what does it taste like? Well, it has a moderately herbal nose, almost like a trace of anisette, and little to no alcohol on the nose. The palate has a mildly spicy flavor with little in the way of mouth feel. A bit thinner than expected. It certainly doesn't seem very "rummy" despite its origin from sugar cane juice like Rhum agricole. It tastes more like an herbal liqueur that has a long sweet finish that really grows over time. Very pleasant and easy to drink but not a bottle I would feel the need to try again. Oh well, worth a shot!

So then it was on to big bad Diageo and the Orphan Barrel series, including the newest member, Lost Prophet, a 22yo bopurbon from the Stagg (now BT) distillery. All four weigh in at or near 90 proof. First up was the 26yo Old Blowhard. This was surprisingly drinkable for me last time and this time was no different. A musty leathery wood nose with little of the varnish character I have found in something like EC23. A touch of heat and spice that quickly turns to vanilla and then fades to an herbal quality towards the back. A modest mouthfeel at most. Only in the finish does the wood stand out with a dry and slightly ashy finish although with time that finish evolves into a bit of an herbal character and maybe just a touch of sweetness. Is the cachaça messing with me a bit? Water did nothing except make it a bit more bitter all around.

Next up was Barterhouse which a had a similar but less intense nose followed by a thin but delicate sweetness on the palate. the Finish was less dry and it seemed to come off a bit more well rounded than the OB. Next was the 20yo Rhetoric which again had a similar nose but had a creamier mouthfeel with a fair amount of vanilla on the palate initially but was otherwise a bit less noteworthy than the previous two. Too bad you can't cherry pick the best elements of each!

Finally it was time to open the newcomer, Lost Prophet. Immediately different nose with less wood and less of the musty leathery thing going on. Instead it was a bit more herbal. It had a similar oily viscosity as the Rhetoric but less vanilla on the palate as the herbal note of the nose carried through the palate and into the finish. Very little heat or spice and the finish had little woody character to me.

Still not sure if I like the Lost Prophet or any of them for that matter although the decent price point of the Barterhouse continues to make that one the most interesting. I suppose the presumed heavy filtering is what is making them all taste just a tad uninspired.

Then after a brief cheese and crackers break we switched gears to the Longrow. First up was the 11yo cask strength (104.2 pf) Longrow Red finished in Cabernet barrels for 4 years. Popping the cork the first thing you get is Wham, Bam, Band-aids and Iodine, Ma'am! This is not a bad thing of course. And there was little in the way of what I would call smoke, just peat. It also tasted a bit hotter than the proof with peat and heat through the palate. The Cabernet drinkers swore there was a splash or red berry fruit at the end of the palate and start of the finish but quite honestly it escaped me. The finish was just more peat to me. A touch of water helped tame the heat a bit but the wine influence was lost on me. It was not bad but if the rest of the Longrow Red series is like this then I think one example is enough. Not enough balance for me.

Finally we plunged into both the Longrow 14yo Burgundy finish and darkness (a car apparently took out a power pole and left us without power for a couple of hours). This was also cask strength at 112.2 and was aged 11 years before an additional 3 years in 'fresh" burgundy casks. However this was quite different from the Red as the peat was clearly in a secondary role here. Nice hints of red fruit on the note interacting with the peat. The palate was definitely a bit sweeter with cherry/red fruit flavors and a touch of wood towards the end that carried into the lingering finish. A touch of water helped to further emphasize the fruit character. Much more interesting to me although others liked the blast of peat in the Longrow Red more.

So that was about it, right? Oh no! After another brief break it was time for a beer or two to wash it all down.

We started with the newest addition from the Bell's Planet series which so far had been pretty disappointing. Mercury was no exception. Billed as a Belgian Pale Ale style the only thing they got right was that it is pale. It is also largely devoid of any flavor. We also used this opportunity to try the new Spencer Trappist Beer, also a Belgian Pale Ale style. Spencer is the ninth and newest of the monasteries to be permitted to use the trappist designation and is the only one to be located in the US (Massachusetts). Compared to the Mercury it was a huge improvement but when paired against Orval, for me an archetype of the Belgian Pale Ale, it also fell a bit short.

Next we tried Gregorius, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale from Stift Engelszell which is another recently recognized Trappist monastery brew from Austria, against another classic, the Trappistes Roquefort 8 Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The Gregorius fared much better against the TR8 but still fell short in comparison to this classic example of the style.

Then just for the hell of it as we were sitting around in the dark we decided to finish the whole thing off with a bit of 3 Taverns Heavy Bells, a bourbon barrel aged quad from a local brewery as insulation against the increasing chill! This is definitely one of the better local brews available for those who like the strong higher proof quad style of Belgian ale.

A long but enjoyable day!

[maybeling]

Yeahhh... I'm sorry I missed this. Would have liked to try the Lost Prophet and the Longrow Red. I have about a 1/4 bottle left of the Longrow 14 yo Burgundy and I love it, but never bothered to pick up the "Red". Also a big fan of the Longrow Rundlets & Kilderkins. Springbank (etc.) is one of the only SM Scotches that I really long for nowadays as I've shifted heavily towards American whiskey. Finishing with Trappists too, dammit!

[tanstaafl2]

Yeahhh... I'm sorry I missed this. Would have liked to try the Lost Prophet and the Longrow Red. I have about a 1/4 bottle left of the Longrow 14 yo Burgundy and I love it, but never bothered to pick up the "Red". Also a big fan of the Longrow Rundlets & Kilderkins. Springbank (etc.) is one of the only SM Scotches that I really long for nowadays as I've shifted heavily towards American whiskey. Finishing with Trappists too, dammit!

Well, if you get a chance be sure to make the Longrow Red last! Pretty much blitzed the palate.

[tanstaafl2]

Pretty much went hog wild this week! Started off with a tequila sampling for a possible store pick of Maestro Dobel that I had forgotten about. Dobel is a Cuervo product that is a blend of reposado, anejo and extra anejo which is then filtered so that it is clear. Didn't make sense to me because they had to be taking away flavor but I guess they were chasing the vodka crowd. The store did one last year I got to help with and it was much better than I had expected. This time the samples did not measure up and particularly failed when compared to last years pick.

So then it was on to our regularly scheduled program! This was a mix of high end cognac, armagnac and a variety of single malts plus an odd Spanish malt and grain whisky thrown in for good measure! Unfortunately the notes quickly got pretty sketchy and the hand writing was even worse as the afternoon progressed!

So first up was the brandy. The Hine Triomphe was a spendy blend of older cognacs from one of the bigger cognac houses bottled at 80 proof. The Navarre is also a blend of older cognacs, reportedly the average age is 40-50 years old that was bottled at a cask strength of 90 proof. I had intended to do these blind but in my rush to try them I forgot all about that. Not sure it would have been much of a battle though. After an initially musty nose that slowly developed deep fruit and grape notes the Navarre moved to the palate with an intense earthy leathery raisin/grape taste that just seemed to say maturity. There was also some oakiness but it just never seemed to interfere with the fruit. Despite dense legs in the glass it did not have a particularly dense mouthfeel. The finish brought a touch of earthy spice and then finished off with that long grape/wine finish. The Hine had most all of that as well but it seemed dialed back in every quarter and just came off as a bit thin in comparison. Probably should have had the Hine first in retrospect. I also think it was doctored to some degree. It just seemed a touch artificial.

Next it was on to the Gourry de Chadeville. It was 16 or so years old and billed as the "Stagg" of cognac and weighed in at an impressive 128.6 proof. And yet that didn't seem to matter. There was no heat on the nose but there was an almost tart cherry note rather than grape or raison. Easy to drink at proof and with a very commendable mouthfeel. It also had a veritable kaleidoscope of flavors with lots of soft spice and herbal character and maybe a touch of herbal tea in the finish. A touch of water helped those flavors really bloom as well and brought out more vanilla sweetness as well. I recalled Sku saying it was more Armagnac like and I brought along the Pellehaut 17yo and the Darroze 20 to compare. Both are good but neither could match up to the "Chad"! It was the best of show by far even compared to the excellent but very different Navarre cognac.

Then after a brief break for a bit of cheese and crackers we changed gears and countries, moving to Spain for some unusual Spanish whiskies. They were a 5yo Malt and Grain (mostly corn) bottling of a single Palo Cortado sherry barrel that produced about 330 bottles each (although the bottle says 300?). These we did manage to try blind and there was a clear difference as the grain whisky proved to be a bit grainy and could not be rescued by the sherry barrel. The malt on the other hand was much more polished and balanced and would be one I will drink again. Well, I will probably drink both again!

Then it was on to some heavy hitters (The notes began to dry up at this point so this is mostly based on my at best fuzzy recollection!). These two were Bunnahabhains from 1997 that were described as "heavily peated". The Cheiftain was a 1670 cask strength and had not had any special finishing whilst the Murray McDavid was 13yo and had been finished in Chateua lafite casks. They certainly did not taste like the same whisky at the core. The MM kept more peat in it despite the finishing while the Cheiftain seemed to have mellowed out a good bit more, if indeed it was originally the same distillate. I liked them both but to try to describe any specific notes would just be guessing at this point!

Finally we finished with the 3yo Kilchoman port whisky and compared it to the 16yo Bowmore Port matured. The Kilchoman was surprisingly balanced despite its very tender age and had a great balance of peat to port. The Bowmore was as superb as I remembered it from the past but in retrospect clearly this needed to be two separate tastings! I will bring back those last four for another visit soon.

Then, after that marathon, we cooled down with a couple of very different beers from two newish local breweries. The Creature Comforts Southerly Love and the Jekyll Barrel Aged Barleywine. I am sure they were both excellent...

[AaronWF]

But first up was a very unusual single barrel cachaça from Novo Fogo that had been aged for 9 years (one of the distilleries earliest barrels) and was bottled at a cask strength of only 82 proof. Far too expensive but the temptation of something unusual got the better of me with this one! Chalk this one up to a learning experience. I really should have brought a moderately aged agricole for comparison but I did not think of it until too late. Not that it would have mattered as this was not really similar to any 9yo or so agricole I have had.

While it was reportedly aged in American oak it is not clear what the size or source of the barrels is. I suspect it is at least a standard sized bourbon barrel (it yielded 240 bottles after all) but that it was broken down, sanded and retoasted before use based on this review of the standard barrel aged version. In any case the barrel influence here seems subtle as the color is remarkably light for a 9yo spirit aged in the rainforest!

So, what does it taste like? Well, it has a moderately herbal nose, almost like a trace of anisette, and little to no alcohol on the nose. The palate has a mildly spicy flavor with little in the way of mouth feel. A bit thinner than expected. It certainly doesn't seem very "rummy" despite its origin from sugar cane juice like Rhum agricole. It tastes more like an herbal liqueur that has a long sweet finish that really grows over time. Very pleasant and easy to drink but not a bottle I would feel the need to try again. Oh well, worth a shot!

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!

Then after a brief cheese and crackers break we switched gears to the Longrow. First up was the 11yo cask strength (104.2 pf) Longrow Red finished in Cabernet barrels for 4 years. Popping the cork the first thing you get is Wham, Bam, Band-aids and Iodine, Ma'am! This is not a bad thing of course. And there was little in the way of what I would call smoke, just peat. It also tasted a bit hotter than the proof with peat and heat through the palate. The Cabernet drinkers swore there was a splash or red berry fruit at the end of the palate and start of the finish but quite honestly it escaped me. The finish was just more peat to me. A touch of water helped tame the heat a bit but the wine influence was lost on me. It was not bad but if the rest of the Longrow Red series is like this then I think one example is enough. Not enough balance for me.

Finally we plunged into both the Longrow 14yo Burgundy finish and darkness (a car apparently took out a power pole and left us without power for a couple of hours). This was also cask strength at 112.2 and was aged 11 years before an additional 3 years in 'fresh" burgundy casks. However this was quite different from the Red as the peat was clearly in a secondary role here. Nice hints of red fruit on the note interacting with the peat. The palate was definitely a bit sweeter with cherry/red fruit flavors and a touch of wood towards the end that carried into the lingering finish. A touch of water helped to further emphasize the fruit character. Much more interesting to me although others liked the blast of peat in the Longrow Red more.

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.