The single malt journey continues!
Brief notes on Courage & Conviction due to tasting samples and being a lot of these. TL;DR… while few aren’t all that interesting… overall I’m quite impressed with the flavors and these are worth trying for someone under the influence of FOMO to try everything they can.. but the value is actually questionably bad.
Courage & Conviction, Bourbon Cask, 46%
Nose is unmistakably bourbon casks with some minerality and bit of alcohol. Ex-bourbon apples and pears are surprisingly joined by strawberries and raspberries. The palate… is a little thin on texture, fruity and malty with a solid bourbon spice and alcohol kick. The aftertaste gets little nutty, with more warming spice and finally some solid malty vanilla notes. Overall: Enjoyable and quite fruit-forward on flavor this is quite tasty. I could certainly recommend getting a bottle for someone that likes single malts. Yet this is definitely leaning towards apple and berry fruit punch that’s dusted with a liberal amount of peppers, cloves, and nutmeg so it may not be everyone’s cup of enjoyment. I’m not paying for a bottle but will enjoy it by itself in a bar setting. Value: ~$80 is an average deal for a solidly tasty American Single Malt if just the novelty… NAS makes it a hard to compete with Scotches at the price bracket.
Score: B-
Courage & Conviction, Cuvee (Wine) Cask, 46%
Cuvee is a red wine. And I’ve made no secret in the past of being a fan of wine casks with single malt. Strong red fruit influence on the nose. Primarily plums but some cherries too. What I’d expect from wine casks. Basically a plum and cherry fruit punch. Perhaps dried cherries due to concentration. Surprisingly nutty and quite vanilla custard-forward palate, akin to creme brulee with fruit jam or spicy vanilla panna cotta, also with fruit jam. Spicy sweet and malty aftertaste with chocolate and a little bit of tobacco. Overall: Rather enjoyable and multilayered in a dessert cake kind of way. Value: at about $85… for an uncommon cask finish… It’s a maybe?
Score: B+
Courage & Conviction, Sherry Cask, 46%
A sherry cask finish now. The nose is similar to red wine, caramelized plums, red fruits, some baking spices; nearly burnt jam. Some sulfuric (rubbery) notes, but mostly sweet and fruity. Like a fruit punch from with prunes rather than plums. Few red raisin notes show themselves. The aftertaste is… more sweetness and baking spices fading into pleasant and warm maltiness. Overall: Enjoyable but I’d recommend skipping this one… Too many nicely sherried single malts out there that are way better and this offers nothing particularly new, if still somewhat enjoyable to drink. Value: Assuming it’s similar to the other cask expressions at ~$85… It’s still about average or low value here.
Score: B
Courage & Conviction, ‘Flagship’, 46%
Finally, The Flagship, (aka a mix of ‘most’ of the above, because why not). Noticeable sherry varnish on the nose, backed by plenty of fruits. The palate got a bit of everything, ex-bourbon apples and pears, some sherry sweet funk, and a little bit of baking spices. Aftertaste is rather spicy, indicating both youngish malt and very active cask. The spice notes are nicely balanced by sweet and maltiness from sherry and the malt itself. Overall: I quite like this and I’m finding it particularly enjoyable. Value: Probably another ~$85 this is still low to average value for american single malts that is NAS with low clarity on specs and age.
Score: B+
Compass Box Menagerie 2021, 46%
Sample provided by a friend Logan. Aaah Compass Box. I’m a fan of yours… even if John Glaser sticks peated malt into just about anything. I’m too lazy so read it here: https://www.compassb … m/whiskies/menagerie… It’s like 50% Mortlach, with some Laphroaig, Glen Elgin, Deanston. The idea this is supposed to evoke (as is with every Compass Box bottle, the idea matches the label name)… Anyways this is supposed to evoke ‘animalistic malt character; something wild’. The nose is fantastic, orchard fruits and nuts, little bit of smoke and savoriness, similar to drinking apple juice by the campfire. The palate is a malty beast indeed. Sweet and velvety almost to the point of syrup, yet with more carnival popcorn (sweet and salty with vanilla, sans the caramel). Long sweet and finally somewhat smoky-warming aftertaste follows. Overall: Oh this would be so amazing if Laphroaig was older in the mix, it desperately needs complex sweet smoke rather than ‘hit me in the face with salty’ smoke. It’s great but a touch off the mark for me in the very end. I’d drink it most evenings, still. Highly enjoyable and complex. Value: At MSRP of $120 it’s not cheap but it’s also not too expensive in the current market, plus Compass Box Limited… so you know it’s transparent on contents vs the sea of ‘mystery blends’.
Score: A-
Kaiyo, Plumpjack SP, Cask #5399, 56%
Sample provided by a friend Logan. A Japanese whiskey for something different tonight. Single cask from Plumpjack aged in Japanese Mizunara Oak. No age statement. So these Kaiyo casks got a history. No age statement, no distillery statement either as allegedly these are purchased as teaspooned new make japanese malt (essentially single malt) and then aged in company warehouses in Japan… BUT they are at least partially aged on a ship offshore to avoid gray area of Japanese Whiskey on the label being made and aged in Japan, though it essentially that. You can read some thoughts by others here: https://www.singlema … kaiyo-cask-strength/… Onto this!
Nose: Funky wood varnish, almost rotting vegetation… Smells like my compost bin full of a grass clippings after a hot afternoon. Also tons of vanilla and some sherry like sweetness… and somewhat noticeably alcohol-forward. Velvety, nutty, sweet, spicy palate. Honey roasted pine nuts through and through with nutmeg spice or whatever comes out of starbucks nutmeg shaker. With time, this becomes caramelized plantains. Lingering cinnamon on quite a long finish. Overall: This is a liquid meal at a great Cuban restaurant. What a ride! This is a flavor bomb that keeps on giving. It’s also completely disjoint experience of three distinctly different things that have almost nothing to do with each other that are coming from the same glass. There’s so much to unpack here and it continues to change as it goes along. Some will love this chameleon whiskey, some will not. I think it’s too inconsistent for me, to the point of almost being a cacophony rather than a coherent music score. It somewhat reminds me of a version of Barrell’s American Malt reviewed here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry211026-200236. Value: This is $99 at Plumpjack… I’ll go with a reluctant ‘better than average for the full proof flavor bomb’ considering how much japanese whiskey been upcharged in the last two years and this is actually cask strength.
A note: This started at much higher score but the more I drink it, the less excited I am about it.
Score: B
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown