MrWizard's Ramblings

Stranahan’s Colorado (Malt) Whiskey, Batch 204, 47%
It’s a colorado whiskey and if I recall correctly this happens to be a four barley mash bill. Making this technically an american single malt. These are fairly easy to find but certainly have picked at my curiosity to try them out. The nose is just pure banana pie or perhaps banana bread. Alcohol is barely felt, which isn’t surprising for an older bottle and relatively low proof compared to most bourbons I been having lately. The palate is more banana custard, with a little bit of tobacco notes. Very sweet but those bitter parts balance it out nicely with some bitter chocolate. The aftertaste is about medium with some more spices that float up, general burnt sugar sweetness and not offensive. Frankly it’s an inoffensive American Malt that’s a little too young and a little too boring to score high in the category of malts. It will also not offend anyone really but I don’t see myself chasing this down ever since there are literal tens of thousands of bottles that are better. Worth trying for American Malt checkbox but that’s really it. Being priced about $55 and fairly widely available does work in it’s favor but, yet again kinda young at the price.
Score: C+

Blue Spot Irish Whiskey, 2020 release, 7+ years, 58.7%
This is a blend of different malts matured for at least 7 years in bourbon, sherry, and madeira casks. Being a single pot still whiskey, this will be a blend of single malt and single grain whiskeys as mostly the norm with most Irish whiskeys. The nose is fairly strong with grain alcohol, sherry notes, bourbon spices and some madeira red fruits. The palate is nutty sweet with red wine and sherry there’s a lot of complexities here that could be coaxed out but mostly hiding behind primary flavors. Aftertaste is a little bit bitter and slightly sour with madeira dominating and lack of malt notes to make it better balanced. Overall, I actually like it more than say Redbreast Small Batch, which was way more grain-forward on the nose and palate. If this blend was single malt, it’d probably be amazing. As it is now… it’s on the upper levels of ‘good’. While little rough around the edges this is certainly very very good on it’s own. On the value side, I paid $75 out the door which does make what I paid a fantastic value proposition compared to others in this range.
Score: B+

Tomatin 12, Haskell’s SP, Cask #1831 53.0%
A 2002-vintage Tomatin, aged in ex-bourbon single cask at full proof and one of only 222 bottles. Quite rare single cask Original Bottling by the distillery itself. I’m aware of only a handful of other distilleries that do this and most prefer to go through a 3rd party bottler. I picked this up on a whim from Haskell’s with few other bottles and to be honest I’m not disappointed. The nose is typical malty mineral vanilla situation with ex-bourbon. Color is quite dark yellow amber borderline cider-like. Palate is super clean ex-bourbon spices with a solid nuttiness through that start with peaches but then go into ginger and sichuan pepper numbness. On the aftertaste, the numbness and pepper slowly fades into more malty vanilla. Overall this is delicious ex-bourbon cask that’s hitting all the right notes. It is by no means ground-breaking but I’m really finding it hard to fault a 12 years old scotch for what it is. Value-wise, I believe it was ~$60 which yet again points a solid price here. Zero complaints in context.
Score: B+

Tobermory 22, Old Malt Cask, 54.4%
An interesting 3rd fill sherry cask by Old Malt Cask bottling. The Tobermory is the unpeated branch of Ledaig which are both produced in same distillery but Tobermory isn’t peated and Ledaig is heavily peated. So a rare unpeated Island single malt. Grassy nose, with few sherry notes that are reasonably balanced by the spirit, slightly funky with pears and melons galore. It evokes a very specific dish for me, being a green pear and arugula salad with parmesan and almond slivers that’s lightly seasoned with white wine vinegar. Lots of citrus on the palate with lemons dominating, very fruity and slightly spicy with peppery spice that’s quite subtle, perhaps evoking candied ginger. Medium aftertaste with sweet and subtle vanilla notes. Overall this is citrusy, very very subtle Old Malt Cask that’s quite good for what it is… but not really mind-blowing in any parameter. A solid showing for a distillery checkbox and a fantastic summer shanty sipper.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1380521
Score: B+

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Nassif Family Reserve American Whiskey, Batch 7, 53.5%
Named after Gene Nassif’s family name, who happens to be the owner of Cat’s Eye distillery in Iowa. This is technically an American whiskey blend of Light Whiskey, high rye bourbon and rye. Almost certainly this is product of them buying a lot of MGP casks as Cat’s Eye bottles Obtainium Light Whiskey line which is all MGP, which is where the core component light whiskey comes from and is like 99% of which is from MGP. Sooo, it’s a MGP blend. Nose is fairly recognizable MGP woody spice mix. The palate is complex actually with everything from cherry cola, to some raspberries so cotton candy and toasted sugar while staying on the lighter side of the spectrum. Wood is there but not super pronounced and it’s not nearly as woody or concentrated as typical MGP SAOS is for example, also being 107 proof vs a SAOS’s 120 or so. The aftertaste is medium length with more of sugar lollipop flavors that stick around for a bit afterwards and a light ginger spice tingle. Quite delicious and certainly a surprise overall this also happens to be proofed about right to please both lovers of high proof stuff and more casual drinkers. It’s not overly complicated, yet not too simple to just be flavored booze. A great, casual drinker here. I cannot recommend this over say a single cask SAOS but it does offer a slightly more casual and a little easier to deal with alternative to that. Would great for @work… Value being circa $50 it’s a solid valuation here.
Score: B

Super quick blurbs off a recent tasting:

George T. Stagg 2019, 116.9 proof
Woody and fantastic for the proof. As much as I didn’t care for the ‘20 bottling this is complete opposite to it flavor-wise, it’s criminally underrated bottle. Woody and very distinctive BT mash1… It’s just purely fantastic overall. Sweet caramel spices and cherry dialed up to 11… Me likes!
Score: A

Barrell Seagrass Rye, 118.4 proof
Rye Whiskey Finished in Martinique Rhum Casks, Agricole Casks, Apricot Brandy Casks & Madeira Casks. Very bitter. Unique, but no like. Sweet with bits of fruit from brandy in the beginning but darn so bitter. Unique and may work under certain terms but No, couldn’t get through the bitterness. I’ll go on a segway here for a moment and quote this particular review: https://www.breaking … iew/barrell-seagrass : “Its unique and striking flavor profile can be rather lavish and challenging at times.”… no… It’s… terrible. The only reason it’s not a drain pour is because quick notes.
Score: D-

End of quick notes.

John J. Bowman, Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey, SiB, 50%
Mark does infinitely better job at this than I do here: https://the-right-sp … pirit-single-barrel/, but I’ll summarize. This is Buffalo Trace (BT) mash 1 distilled second time in a copper pot in Virginia distillery that Sazerac (Parent Company to BT) owns. So essentially this is Eagle Rare. This is good Eagle Rare, this is easily on par with store pick Eagle Rare. And so very few folks know about it. Best-kept open secret, this is good stuff. Expect their recent cask-proof release to catch insane prices on secondary. Huge like for fans of BT mash 1 and solidly priced at about $50 if you can find the BiB single cask version.
Score: B+

Maker’s Mark 2020 Limited, SE4xPR5, 55.5%
While technically marketed as a part of Maker’s wood finishing series, this being one of 1001 possible recipe this is instead a vatting of bunch of different aged bourbons rather than being same age in the stave program. A wheated bourbon Maker’s overall is somewhat of a middle ground between more subtle Wellers (at same proof) and much punchier on spice department traditional higher rye bourbons. Nose is flowery and balanced off with vanilla extract. Sweet toasted wood, harmonizes with more flowers and vanilla on the palate. Spiced vanilla and burnt caramel revels around the mouth. Lightly woody, almost nutty aftertaste is medium long, warming and sweet with notes of leather and wood remaining strong. This is really good and fantastically balanced… but… it feels l little raw around the edges with some chewing and repeated sips revealing some raw and not too pleasant alcohol notes at the edges with the flavors shouting all over each other instead of creating a subtle harmony. If you happen to enjoy your bourbon shouting the entire way at your palate… by all means. A commendable effort by Maker’s of course that showcases their blending abilities at a reasonable availability and price.
Score: B-

vs

Maker’s Mark 2019 Limited, RC6, 54.1%
This is part of Maker’s wood finishing series, this being one of 1001 possible recipes more so than the SE4 above and while the exact recipe is secret, RC6 incorporates mostly American Seasoned Oak staves. Nose is quite wood-forward with bits of alcohol floating up in the vapors. Very wood forward with notable ‘toasted’ nutty quality of the wood flavors. Obvious burnt caramel and vanilla dominate the other notes. Bitter enough to almost entire hide the bourbon sweetness without getting too bitter as to overwhelm the palate. Definite sugar candied walnuts are felt in the aftertaste. Yet again without overwhelming and the sugar sweetness does make an appearance in the aftertaste to relieve the primary palate oakiness which is actually fantastic twist for the experience. Repeated sips are keeping my opinions and taste consistent with the first one so another small kudos and a small bump vs the SE4. Considering that RC6 was essentially Maker’s way to showcase the existence of their barrel and stave finishing program I think they succeeded with ease.
Score: B+

Overall: RC6 is clear winner for me because I seem to enjoy sipping it repeatedly vs SE4 which is good on primary palate and nose and then falls apart on the aftertaste and repeated sips from the glass.

Addendum:

Maker’s Mark 2021 Limited, FAE-01, 55.3%
Not going to write a long-winded description since it’s still Maker’s. Reminds me of something between SE4 and RC6 with a little bit more fruit. It’s on par with RC6 pretty much.
Score: B+
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

It’s the fated hour! I’m finally trying the GlenAllachie samples I got…

GlenAllachie 13, Cask #6871, 59.6%
2007 Vintage, UK exclusive, Virgin Oak casks… Let’s gooooo! Nose got chocolate funky burnt rubber notes going but in a perfume way. Palate… Wood-forward for a 13 year old single cask. Very surprising. Lots of chocolate, tons of malt and minerality. The aftertaste is a little more minerality, slight alcohol tingle and fast-fading wood the primary flavors are a bit on the shorter side, but some remnants linger for a while. Water brings a ton more wood bitterness and makes the malt horribly peppery, avoid the water here. It’s tasty but not that special to be honest. Very wood and chocolate forward making an interesting flavor combo, nearly bordering on bourbon type of palate here, but with malt instead. Not really my jam to be honest, there’s nothing particularly bad here and I really want to like it, yet I’m not having warm and fuzzy feelings about it. Rather forcing myself to finish this sample.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181254
Score: B-

GlenAllachie 11, Cask #5000, 58.3%
A Grattamacco Red Wine cask from 2009… Amusingly, almost pink in the glass. The nose is sorta chocolate with lots of alcohol and a light whiff of red wine berries. This is oddly bordering on light port notes. The easiest way I can describe this… It’s Glendronach Portwood but cask strength and a little light on the port sweetness. Red wine berries forward, with some chocolate in the back this makes for a solid combination of flavors. Small downside is the relative youth and really rather high proof making it slightly too alcohol-forward. The aftertaste is spot on with wine cask influence taking center stage and lasting for quite a while. This is certainly red wine and chocolate pairing… Rather interesting flavor combination to find in scotch. Oh and it takes water fantastically, dialing back some of the proof without losing the flavors. Anyways, this is woody wine that’s quite tasty even if it’s one-sided on the primary and cask flavors and lacking secondary subtle notes to some extent.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181255
Score: B+

GlenAllachie 15, Cask#901042, 63.0%
To be honest… This one I’m looking forward to…. Very unmistakably sherry colored and tons of sherry notes on the nose. Very much varnish/mastic smell suggests oloroso, but ooooh does it smell good in combination with the seemingly consistent chocolate notes from the malt. An absolute sherry bomb, this reminds me somewhat of the Chieftain’s Glentauchers 15 I’ve had last year vs Kavalan’s mulled sherry with every spice possible. This is straight and to the point, wood, sherry, malt, fairly dynamic and non sticky consistency. Definitely does not feel like a 63%… Aftertaste is very slightly letdown by not lingering for little longer, but fading fast instead. Still, while it fades it’s well balanced and to some extent toasted wood sort of wins in the end finishing with toasted nuts on the very back. Surprisingly delicate for such intense sherry concentration on the nose and palate. Definite chocolate sherry bomb and arguably the best of the 3 GlenAllachie samples I’ve tried so far. Very much a sherry bomb and dead ringer for that Glentauchers 15 described here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200423-122847… Now for the sad part… value-wise it’s not that great and being a UK-exclusive… best of luck getting it cheap.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/181253
Score: A-

Braeval 22 (1994), Munros, 55.6%
Somehow I feel like I’ve reviewed a Braeval before… But I guess I didn’t. Let’s try again. A distillery formerly called Braes of Glenlivet this is part of Chivas portfolio and doesn’t seem to have any Original Bottlings, though Independent Bottles do tend to float up occasionally. For what it’s worth, I like IB’s; so all the better here with an unaltered single cask. Nose is.. Vanilla & Banana yogurt, creme custard with some citrus notes, very lively. The palate is surprisingly restrained after that luscious nose is somewhat reminiscent of a slightly woodier old malt cask on the mouthfeel. So vanilla, bourbon spice that’s bordering on bitterness, tons of malt and some white pepper. Few grass notes appear too, or perhaps it’s the cask wood playing tricks on me. Malty, buttery, bitterness dominates slightly secondary flavors and the aftertaste though it lasts for a very very long time which could be either good, if one is looking for a somewhat medicinal aftertaste or bad depending on the preference here. Many many layers of flavor here that would please ex-bourbon cask folks this takes water like a champ (just like just about every 20+ year old scotch) and that bitterness layer opens up into… lots of other layers, but primarily, it mostly fades away which is awesome. Water is highly recommended. Very approachable by just about anyone and quite flavorful in its own way. Value-wise this was a pretty solid value offering, all gone by now of course.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485016
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/140044
Score: B+ (w/ Water)

Tormore 22 (1995), Munros, 45.4%
Another Munros bottling… Little darker, suggesting a reasonably active cask and having a huge nose while at relatively low proof. Unfortunately, this is a bit rubber-forward on the nose too reminding me somewhat of Clyde Mays Bourbon with a sort of hot roofing rubber smell. The palate is surprisingly creamy with more of that rubber glue notes that personally I cannot get around. The aftertaste is about medium and gently-fading. This drinks surprisingly hotter than the proof stated which is quite odd for a 22 year old whiskey. Overall, it’s reasonably nutty, tasty bottling with the ‘right’ palate, yet with enough of the burnt rubber note that makes me want to skip this. Betcha my wife wouldn’t taste the rubber in this. Anyways, myself… no like! Which marks this as the lowest grade I’ve ever given to a single cask scotch so far.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485015
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/140043
Score: D (B+ if you’re not tasting the rubber note)

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” — (wasn’t said by) Mark Twain

https://www.anchorbr … o-say-what-says-who/
Whoever really said, it is mostly true. Today, at the very end of June, the temperature outside barely broke 65 degrees or so with chilly, cold, and gusty winds while majority of the rest of the country is suffering from heat wave… We’re not here to talk about the weather but instead to review whiskey and what a time to be alive and drink peated malts if not when it’s cold outside. With the usual disclaimer that I don’t actually like peat… Let’s dig into more backlogged samples. I’ll expect the grading going all over the place here.

Glen Scotia 14, Tawny Port 52.8%
Bottled for Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020. This is the successor for the rum cask finish in 2019, which was delicious. https://www.aerin.or … y:entry200411-073247… The nose is smoked berry compote. To be honest I’m quite confused since it doesn’t smell like a Scotch. Dark smoked plums and intense green pine? It has been sitting in my glass for a while as I was stressing to drink it. It is quite velvety in texture, the peat level is high. Much higher than the Rum cask from 2019, together with higher levels of iodine salinity. Thankfully it’s well balanced off by the tawny port jamminess and dark fruit with a bit of chocolate sweetness. This somewhat reminds me of smoky dark chocolate with salt and cayenne powder. Overall, while I quite enjoyed the ‘19 Rum version, this isn’t my jam even if I do enjoy sweet peat. This is almost pure islay that’s been sweetened up by port. Not unpleasant, it’s red dessert wine, smoke and whiskey mix but I find myself fighting though the peat levels here. Someone that enjoys peat would likely enjoy it much more than I do.
Score: B- (Peat!)

Highland Park (HP) 2020, Cask Strength, 63.3%
I got an odd relationship with HP… Some bottles I really dislike https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201205-225320 … and some I really like https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210523-215817. Nearly sulfuric on the nose with some smoke, iodine and sherry notes. Sweet and quite fiery on the front of the palate, with lots of residual heat and smoke coming up in the back. Someone salty, smokey and slightly spicy aftertaste but not much to write home about here as it fades into near-obscurity after some time… Pleasant but not great. The nature of NAS makes itself be known here with younger barrels which is odd, considering the palate is quite woody. For a peated offering this ain’t too overwhelming and is balanced well. Some water amps the sweetness and cuts the burn making it quite enjoyable overall. A NAS bottling sherried malt with some peat but not overwhelming. Water is recommended. Still, frankly lack of subtle flavors and slight woody bitterness in the aftertaste department makes it not all that desirable pour for me. It’s also not that bad by itself.
Score: B-

Clynelish 14 SiB, Selkie Queen, 57.1%
A Joshua Thinnes Single Cask pick (if that makes any difference to the reader). I treat to myself… From myself, though a sample. Little lick of the last drop from the sample bottle brought in so much honeycomb… Crazy… Let’s not beat around the bush. It’s a refill Clynelish. Super pale and it’s 14 years old. May as well be an Old Malt Cask. On the plus side it’s a pick from a person with a solid palate so fingers crossed. Old oak cereal minerality, bit of yellow citrus, and honeycomb on the nose. Lucious, thick, slightly wood-bitter, honey and stone fruit on the palate. The aftertaste is more honey and is sadly somewhat unimpressive compared to the palate… Interestingly, it is begging for water. With few water drops… well it’s an Old Malt Cask behavior. Pepper and oak in addition to previous flavors. It’s… good… but… Clynelish really needs at least a bit of sherry to offset its character and shine… Pleasant, extremely complex and contemplative this could feel underwhelming because of its subtlety. At the same time it’s so tightly layered with lighter scotch flavors that it can take hours to figure them out. I’m certainly enjoying my glass… yet I’m wondering if i would have enjoyed this repeatedly and I’m leaning towards a ‘not on regular basis’. Due to high complexity this isn’t an everyday pour by any means… but it is also its downfall as it’s chock-full of blink-and-miss flavors. Easily in the top of every Old Malt Cask bottle that I’ve tried till now. Must like n-th refill bourbon casks though… On the value side, I don’t recall original MSRP but it was higher than I would have paid for IB Clynelish 14… It’s not worth it and also sold out. It’s a great pick that seems to have been priced unreasonably high.
https://www.subtlesp … its.com/selkie-queen
Score: A-

Caol Ila 10, Islay Straight, Sovereign 59.6%
A 2010 Sherry Butt spooned Caol Isla? Okay. In sherry? Sure, lets try. It’s a young Islay in sherry. I’m expecting salty sweet smoke with a fairly substantial proof. So far, the nose doesn’t disappoint. Smells like sweet smoked seafood. Tastes like sweet smoked fish jerky even if not surprisingly a tad too hot on the palate. The aftertaste is fantastic though it reminds me of a good cigar and I don’t smoke. Peat isn’t too overwhelming here and neither is sherry they work together nicely. Comparably straightforward bottling, this is tasty in a smoked sherry ways but due to low age it lacks much in terms of secondary or very complex flavors that would develop over time in a cask. On the value side, this is extremely solid and aggressively priced offering, no complaints.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1499782
Score: B+

Kilkerran (Glengyle) 8, Oloroso 2020, 57.1%
The Kilkerran/Glengyle 2020 bottling of recharred oloroso casks at 8 years old. Kilkerran is an offshoot of Springbank distillery where Springbank can experiment with things rather than sticking to more traditional versions of their distillery bottling. Well… It’s cask strength Oloroso… so yay varnish/mastic is strong with this one. On the palate it becomes something different though. Still, the palate offers slight mastic notes, the wood, and sherry, and spirit’s super light peat offer a very interesting balance that really wants to be enjoyed more and more it really coats my tongue. Oloroso casks bring stewed fruit compote balances well with light smokiness and wood notes. The nature of Campbeltown malt is also good at hiding imperfections, naturally being lightly smoked and malt-forward. Honestly, this is a good bottle. Value is honestly a touch too high for the age and mostly okay on flavor departments. I personally skipped this one as other bottlings from the distillery are hit or miss with this one being one of the few that hit it out of the park but hindsight is 20/20.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1503114
Score: A-
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Well it is Friday night so let’s do rye reviews again. I’m slightly under the weather for few parts of this review so fingers crossed. I’ll revisit few things when I can for second opinion.

Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye, 66%
Not too sure what’s so ‘premium’ about this but label gotta label. Jokes aside, Alberta (R) is a registered trademark somehow. This is quite obviously Canadian rye whiskey and this is a batch cask strength with batches varying in proof a bit. IIRC mine is a batch two. At 66% abv that’s hot stuff in there. Nose is wood, some sweet rye spice, and a lot of alcohol. Palate is very hot, somewhat cinnamon forward with lots of wood and surprisingly not a too much sugar, keeping it quite balanced, aside from scorching heat of the alcohol. It is certainly sweet and woody and spicy but reasonably so in terms of overall experience. Pleasant baking spices and sweet aftertaste develops for a long time after initial burn is gone. This really rather cries out for water. Water cuts the alcohol and sweetness a tad and makes it… quite tasty and a bit woodier with slight bitterness now balancing out the sweetness after the alcohol is no longer overwhelming everything. A bit of licorice and pine palate peeks through as well. Unfortunately as with a lot of ryes, this gets more bitter, the more it sits in the glass so there’s certainly some inflection point where bitter overwhelms the good. Overall it is reasonably drinkable for the price though it’s also nothing too special to write home about the MSRP is about on point for the overall experience here. Water to cut the burn is recommended required as well as drinking it reasonably fast. This may become my Manhattan fodder.
Score: B-

Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye (2019), Cask#79, 56.3%
Another Michter’s Rye from yesteryear? I was considering adding it to the overall Michter’s rundown https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201129-222309 but reviewing it here is good enough, no? Nose, charry, woody, slightly smokey rye spices. To be clear, not actual smoke but notes of super toasted wood instead. Palate is sweet rye deliciousness. Candied orange peel, rye and eucalyptus spice, caramelized sugar. Woody, almost to a point of bitterness but backs off on the bitter notes right before it gets anywhere near unpleasant. Somewhat disappointingly short finish as per pretty much every Michter’s bottle. Overall, yah it’s legit. The secondary pricing on this is a bit insane and plenty of retailers are asking $200+ which is utterly unreasonable… Near MSRP this is solid solid stuff and quite tasty even for this grump that doesn’t like rye.
Score: A-

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Rye (2020), 65%
A 2020 limited run of Jack’s Single Cask Rye that’s proofed rather high. This became a hot commodity almost immediately. A note to be made about color here, with this being nearly chestnut-colored. Very Jack style nutty varnish on the nose. Mouth-coating toasted spicy nuts and some rye spice on the palate. Surprisingly tame for such high proof. Long and mouth-tingling aftertaste which is super nice. Overall… Hmm, I see why plenty of folks are calling it ‘fire’. Tasty but I’m having a hard time finding rye in there. Frankly, just stick to Single Cask full proof Jack and don’t pay premium for this. But pretty much nothing is worth its secondary value. The bourbon is sweeter in the corn sweetness way so rye does dial back the sugar in a pleasant way. If you see it at MSRP, worth getting.
Score: B+

Barrell Rye #M768, 7 year MGP, Beast Masters Pick, 57.56%
Somewhat a mouthful of a name, this is a Barrell Rye from MGP, nicknamed “Hannibal Nectar”. It’s been chilling in my glass for quite a while actually due to unforeseen distractions, so whatever oxigen would have done to it is already done. Let’s dig in! Well, the nose seems like a reasonable rye with with MGP spice twist though surprisingly sharp on the alcohol side of things. The palate is… surprisingly good. Woody, spicy and just about perfectly sweet without being too much. Quite warming on the palate the alcohol lets itself be known but with the rest of the big bold flavors it integrates well. Solid amount of wood and sweetness show up in the aftertaste that lasts a long time. Overall, I like it a lot. Price and availability aside, this is solid drinking stuff. I’m not usually a fan of ‘traditional’ rye but this gets my vote for being quite tasty and old MGP stuff is pretty darn good with that MGP spice doing well in Rye and barrel influence. MGP 4 year old rye is too young: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210212-220609 but extra few years in a cask does wonders.
Score: A-

Domaine des Hautes Glaces (DHG) Single Malt Rye, Cask #79, 53.1%
Oh boy… This one got a story. Don’t I just love stories to go with my whiskey? A 100% malted rye from France, aged in used fortified wine casks. A single cask bottling with reasonably high proof. Sounds good yet? Yes it does! The nose is super herbal with malted rye flavors overlayed by grape sugar. So tightly wound between herbaceousness and spice as to be nearly smokey like a flowering grass fire smoke. The palate starts like a rye and turns full on herbal about midway through, then nearly fades and, surprisingly, roars back again with full chocolate and herbs assault on the tongue. This secondary assault slowly fades over a very long time in to the super pleasant aftertaste very similar to having fortified herbal wine. Lots of mint, sage, thyme, some eucalyptus and rosemary on the herbal notes. This is highly reminiscent of Herbs de Provence spice mix. Overall: Holy cow yes! A little young to develop it’s own secondary flavors but any longer and it would have been overwhelmed with too much cask influence, so likely bottled at the proper time. Lovers of all that is weird in whiskey sign up here. This and Old Potrero malted rye single casks are fantastic examples of what I really like about malted rye whiskey. It’s not perfect but its minor flaws are well masked by the outstanding qualities. Where OP is much darker and broodier this leans towards the light side of the spectrum without losing too much of a dark character. Not for every occasion and certainly not a casual drink; this is just something weird, unique and outstanding at the same time. Best I can describe it as herbal whiskey. Value: at $70 are you kidding me? Buy if you can (no chance; it’s been sold out).
Read the good stuff here: https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1515177
Even the general release is pretty awesome: http://www.whiskyfun.com/#140621
Score: A- (*Not for everyone)

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown