MrWizard's Ramblings

Edradour 10, Signatory, Cask #364, 46%
An independent bottling of Edradour by Signatory, with a fairly standard 46% abv… While this isn’t from same series as Royal Brackla (reviewed here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry210507-201920) it’s certainly seems to be from the same general direction. Lets get it out of the way… it’s a sherry bomb… mostly in a good way. The nose is wood shop varnish and sweet whiffs of charred caramel or burnt sugar (this is unpeated)… Palate is light sweet tobacco, yet again burnt sugar caramel. Mellow bitter-sweet chocolate and warming with sherry and malt. The aftertaste is long with more varnish sherry sticking around the palate and a little bit of tobacco. Quite delicious and much much better balanced vs Brackla. This does not disappoint. It may not mind-blowing but for a solid single malt and an Edradour checkbox… it’s well worth a pour and a sip.
Score: B+

Glen Garioch 10, Old Particular K&L SP, 59.2%
A bourbon-cask aged, Glen Garioch from Old Particular, by way of K&L. Interestingly, Glen Garioch 15 was one of my first reviews: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry190108-083714, though that one was Distillery/Original Bottling, vs an Independent. Nose is honeycomb with apricots and vanilla. A reasonably prominent amount of alcohol smacks me in the face since it doesn’t have anything to hide behind here. The palate is mouth-coating, velvety and oh so delicious. Little bit salty barley tea, anice, sweet vanilla-oak, and what a malty monster. The aftertaste is long, peppery with little bit bitter citrus and a dash of dustiness. Quite tasty overall. Value: Ummm it was $55… yah it’s good deal.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1510025
Score: B+

Benromach 10, 43%
This is the pre-redesign distillery bottling of a 10 year old malt. It’s also lightly peated, and considering I’m not huge peat fan let’s see how it goes. Malt, sherry and a solid bit of iodine on the nose with peat integrating nicely with that salty note. The palate is slightly off from the nose. More charcoal, salinity and a little bit of peat with not as much of a sherry sweetness of what nose would suggest. Nuts, brown sugar. Slightly bourbon-like with malt vs corn notes of course, it drinks surprisingly hotter than its proof. The aftertaste is coffee, burnt sugar, perhaps grilled (to the point of charring) fruits; it sticks around for a while but neither impresses nor disappoints. Yet again reminds me somewhat of a decent bourbon with that charcoal and roasted nut notes. Overall… it’s one of the weird ones that makes me think more of an American whiskey rather than a scotch. I’m glad I’ve tried it though, and while I’m not floored by its flavors, it’s a solid drinker that could be a bargain crowd pleaser for general whiskey drinkers and would appeal to both Bourbon and Scotch sides of the table. Value is fairly decent for the flavor levels at circa $50.
Score: B-

Waterford Organic Gaia 1.1, Irish Single Malt; 50%
I cannot quite talk about Waterford without briefly talking about terroir… but since others write better than me… I’ll summarize… Terroir is basically the area and methods of production that gives the product its specific qualities of taste smell etc… Typical terroir when disclosed is soil, elevation or region based, but Waterford takes it to some extreme levels with their transparency to nearly the point of silliness. Read this for more details: https://www.whiskymo … ng-the-whisky-game/ …
So back to the Gaia 1.1… It is an Irish single malt whiskey grown and produced locally and it comes in a fairly cool glass bottle with glass stopper. So their marketing team is on point here. Let’s hope the contents measure and and dig in. On the nose thick rick malt and vanilla cookies and lemon custard and a tiny bit of ammonia sharpness. Slightly oily and mouth-coating on the palate, more vanilla custard with cloves and nutmeg not very sweet, but more of a mellow yet nutty spiciness covered by oak and malt, slight salinity too. Long long aftertaste with citrus, vanilla and sichuan peppers. I really wish it was a little older than 4 years on average as there’s not a whole lot of secondary flavors that had a chance to develop. Really lovely overall and I quite appreciate the above and beyond on transparency… Seriously they got ‘Sounds of the countryside’ and every single barrel used… It’s nuts. Value: This is MSRP circa $100 and I’d say it’s worth it for the story but not when consumed blindly or at a bar… So that pushes it towards ‘average value’. As per my guidelines, price is not factored into score.
https://beta.waterfo … ir/organic-gaia-1-1/
Score: B
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

The madness continues!!!

Berry Bros Blended Malt, Sherry Matured, NAS, 44.2%
This is the sherry cask matured version of this: https://malt-review. … -rudd-blended-malts/. I was curious to try it as it came to me as part of a sample acquisition and it was cheap enough to try and sate FOMO. Fairly classic sherry notes in the nose with spicy plum notes. Quite a bit of spice and alcohol for a 44% abv at least while sniffing it… The alcohol mostly calms down with time with some chocolate notes replacing it. The palate is gentle, sweet, slightly nutty and malty but not much else seems to be going on in there. Little bit of char lets itself be known in the secondary notes and aftertaste. Slightly too sweet and unbalanced the aftertaste is generic malt and sherry yet again with some surprising coffee or mocha notes in the very end. Value… According to quick search this is a circa $40 bottle which makes it a solid NAS purchase. A crowd-pleaser, likely for @work (or bar) drinking this is nothing to write home about if imbibed in a more contemplative setting. I don’t particularly dislike it as I actually enjoy sherried malts… but it’s simply not at all exciting or complex.
Score: C+

Teeling (Cooley) 19, Nectar Pick, 55.6%
Irish Teeling Distillery has some interesting history but the short version is that all their older single malt is coming from their previous distillery which was called Cooley. Read here: https://en.wikipedia … i/Teeling_Distillery… Anyways, this is a 19 years old single cask in Ex-Bourbon. Nose is malty vanilla butter cookies with coconut and mango. That nose is good! The palate… Well mango-coconut again, deliciously nutty sweet and warming. The aftertaste is mostly… sweet with more tropical fruit notes and fades slowly with warm spices lingering. This is just… delicious overall… It’s so good!
https://www.whiskyba … /teeling-19-year-old
Score: A

Craigellachie 1995, 24, Exceptional Cask; 52.2%
A sherry (exceptional) cask Craigellachie… Courtesy of a friend (Orpheus, thank you). A sherry cask, single cask Craigellachie … The nose… how would I describe it… Old leather jacket, light mastic, red fruits, very perfumed, and a little musky. The palate is woody, nutty, sherried… luxury with some very tasty fruit flavors in the back. Red grapes perhaps. Late harvest zinfandel wine. An absolute beast of a palate that unravels slowly and in layers. More sweetness and fruits on the long aftertaste that fade slowly. overall… Holy cow this is great stuff. My sample rack has been somewhat stacked towards really good samples but it also suggests that I’ve more or less zeroed in onto what I enjoy drinking. Anyways… value of this being circa 250 isn’t all that great but I don’t count value in score.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/161208
Score: A

Bruichladdich 15, Chorlton Whisky, 59.5%
Another small sample by way of Orpheus. Thanks friend! This is a Bruichladdich 15 in Bourbon Barrel. The nose is nuts and apricots, marzipan and toasted sugar with ever so slight iodine note. Classic nutty Laddie that’s got huge personality on the palate. Warming alcohol, bourbon spices. Orange zest and malt, though a little bit hot on the alcohol side. Long pleasant finish with nuts a little bit of tobacco, more bourbon spices and some bitter orange zest. Beautiful but not truly spectacular, yet well worth trying. Like a gallery painting… it may not be your favorite… but it’s still in a gallery. I guarantee there are plenty of layers of flavor to discern here… but there are also plenty of other pours out there too. No idea what the value here is since it was a sample during a tasting and is a UK bottle.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/176099
Score: B+

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

Because… Why not? So these are Billy Walker’s (who’s a legendary ex-GlenDronach (among others) master blender) signature releases that he personally blends (same distillery so still Single Malt) annually. All the components are at least 10 years old. Btw this get more sherried and darker in color with progressive batches.

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #1, 57.1%
Coming out at number 1… This is a Oloroso, PX, Virgin Oak mix. The nose starts a bit like Aberlour Casg Annamh https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201226-170937, but with time becomes almost pure vanilla sugar. Delicious nose to say the least, reminding me of some of the best home baked goods. The palate is sweet, sherried, slightly nutty and spicy. A long, warming and quite complex, buttery finish with some spice finish. In short, all that is tasty in Speyside whiskeys. I don’t want to draw too much parallels with Casg, but it really does remind me of it, though clearly higher proofed. Basically a vanilla sugar or perhaps a vanilla butter cookie in the glass with a solid malt core, unlike some single grains which are butter cookie without the malt. Highly enjoyable full proofer and I would absolutely drink this pretty much any time.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/111366
Score: A

Wow… what a way to start… That score (above) came out of nowhere.

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #2, 54.8%
Contender number 2 comes in as a blend of Oloroso, PX, Virgin Oak… which is similar to contender number 1… though not a guaranteed to be the same proportion. To be fair… the nose is almost the same… if perhaps a little bit more sherried. The palate is a very different number. It’s still mostly sugar coated nuts… but less complex or interesting vs #1… The aftertaste is… well, malty, spicy and sweet with sherry but not too complex. This is a great everyday pour overall but it doesn’t make me think. Very much a higher proof Casg Annamh as opposed to #1 which weared off and did its own amazing thing. Where 1 was special… this is somewhat generic. It’s really good on it’s own; yet not outstanding at the same time.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/121381
Score: B+

Both 1&2 are Oloroso, PX, Virgin Oak but the grades are a good reminder how same-ish components on paper can make for a VERY different result

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #3, 58.2%
Coming in as #3… it is a 1st Fill Sherry Cask, Oloroso, PX mix. Oh, this nose is just pure chocolate and perhaps a little bit of a banana. The palate is nutty sherry indungence. Wood, malt, sherry sweetness, nuttyness. Fantastic. Does not drink anywhere near it’s proof either. The aftertaste is moderately long and delicious with chili spices coming to play with chocolate. It’s essentially a dark chocolate with chili. This is a slam dunk pour.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/136699
Score: A

#3 is Amazing!

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #4, 56.1%
Batch #4 brings in…PX & Oloroso Sherry Puncheons + Virgin Oak! Quite restrained on the nose after the glory that was #3… It took me a bit of swishing to get to it open up… But once it did… Strong perfume notes, red orchard fruit jam and some chocolate covered cherries. Very gentle and silky on the palate. More of the cherry and milk chocolate notes from sherry. The aftertaste lasts for a while and as cherry fades, light chili spices comes in to replace it. A tasty fruity cherry and chocolate pour that’s not super complex aside from those main notes on the nose palate and aftertaste… yet doesn’t get boring. Also I like cherries and chocolate so I’m certainly biased.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/167436
Score: A-

#4 is a bit of a letdown after batch 3 glory…

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #5, 55.9%
And finally… a PX, Oloroso, Virgin Oak, and Rioja Casks recipe in Batch #5. So this in on paper a #4 with addition of Rioja (Spanish red wine) casks. Nose is red berry punch and bits of chocolate yet again. Did I say ‘chocolate’ enough times in these reviews yet? Spicy, very complex, sherry, wood, red wine, wild berries of different sorts on the palate. Warm as it goes in. Nutmeg and cloves on top of cup of chocolate in winter. Almost dessert red wine or port notes by combining Rioja and sherry. Slightly bitter after ‘chewing’. The aftertaste is nutmeg and cloves, very warming and lasts for a long while balancing bittersweet spices. Perhaps an overly complicated due to sherry AND red wine casks, but certainly an enjoyable pour. Seems to get better the further I taste it.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/178036
Score: A-

#5 takes a slight edge over #4 due to complexity but perhaps not quite enough for a clear A grade

Overall:
My order of preference in the line up is… #3, #1, #5, #4, #2… with even numbers scoring slightly less while still being quite enjoyable overall. A fantastic choice for any Scotch lover as one really cannot go particularly wrong with either batch here.

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

Some more samples of American whiskeys (?)… Let’s GO!

Old Elk Sour Mash Reserve, Batch 1, 52.5%
According to the info out there the mash bill is 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye and it was distilled in New York state somewhere and aged 6 years. Quite corn-and-grain-forward nose with solid alcohol component and unmistakable ‘funk’. Blindly this reminds me of some of the Heaven Hill bottles but that’s blindly. The palate is very pleasant with sweet silky texture and well-integrated wood notes, some cinnamon and plenty of vanilla caramel. Because of high malted barley content, this is quite malty in the undercurrents of flavor. Is pleasant but drops off reasonably quickly though leaves nice woody/spicy/malty residual notes on the back of the tongue. Overall this is quite tasty on the ‘outside’ flavors and somewhat lacking on the subtle, as is the case with a lot of bourbons. I’m still enjoying my sample so it’s certainly is drinkable. Well worth a bar pour, perhaps not quite everyday bottle drink. Very oddly this reminds me of a thinner and slightly weaker Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, but without the underlying complexity that 12 years in a cask can bring.
Score: B-

Yellowstone Straight Bourbon, Total Wine SP, Single Cask, 54.5%
A total wine store picked single cask… This is so peanutty, that if I didn’t read the label that it’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon I’d swear this is Dickel sourced. But more likely this is Barton and I’m likely smelling Barton’s roasted corn situation. This is a Luxco brand and product as Yellowstone itself doesn’t distill to the market but sources and blends. Anywho, peanuts aside… Nose is more raw peanuts vs roasted (Dickel peanuts). Palate is corn, some peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla creme, reasonably sweet overall. Aftertaste is light wood, more vanilla peanut brittle. Frankly this isn’t my thing. Considering my experience with another Yellowstone over here: https://www.aerin.org/?x=entry:entry201212-193013 … I think I’ll do a hard pass on any Yellowstone products for a few years.
Score: D

Balcones Rumble, Spec’s SP, 69.4%
And now for something different.

Balcones says Rumble is “crafted from fermented Texas wildflower honey, Mission figs and turbinado sugar, it is twice distilled in traditional copper pots then artfully matured in premium oak casks.” So definitely not bourbon or malt but closer to a Rhum Barbancourt with figs and honey in the distillate and aged in Texas.-https://www.reddit.c … _22_balcones_rumble/

Let’s dig in… Ruuuuuubbbeery fig taste for me, quite interesting and almost up sherried rum/brandy (which is basically what it is) way but there’s a note in there I cannot get over and it’s spoiling everything for me. This is a 3rd bottle that I ran into with overwhelming rubber note for me. You get a sample and somehow don’t taste that… all the power to you, as this is quite drinkable and very unique and interesting but for my palate that’s a bust. There rubber does fade slightly occasionally and then it’s quite a tasty drink… but only occasionally.
Score: N/A (Not a whiskey)

Cat’s Eye Obtainium Tennessee Rye 5 years old, 61.1%
Cat’s Eye distillery bottles Obtainium brand which mostly bottles some solid MGP Light Whiskeys and few other things, as well as an occasional sourced rye. This bottle happens to be a 5 year old cask proof Tennessee Rye, suggesting that this is either Jack or Dickel rye with my finger falling towards Dickel based on some external information, even though Dickel produces a fairly low amounts of rye and I’m no aware of any cask proof editions of it. The interesting thing here is that bottle says “Distilled in Tennessee” which is at odds with Dickel’s regular rye famously is distilled at MGP and aged in Tennessee. Nutty but not overly so nose with no real peanuts going on. Quite highly octane from the proof though still decently balanced vs rye spices. Some dark fruits with lots and lots of mint with dill and some eucalyptus on the palate. Very anise-driven palate and aftertaste that lasts for quite a while. Contrary to the nose, this drinks quite well once past the first moment of initial burn. Overall quite nutty, dilly, and minty experience in the glass. Very different from most rye whiskeys I’ve had. Overall I’ll say I quite enjoy it though not for everyday drink, I can see myself pouring myself some and sharing this unique bottle occasionally. I would heavily suggest getting a sample or a pour from a bar. Value: This was circa-$60 so flavor to price ratio for days here. If you like dill and mint in your drink this probably pushes up to B+ grade or so.
Update: Confirmed to be a Dickel-sourced.
Score: B-
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Mannochmore 13, Carn Mor Strictly Limited, 47.5%
A limited edition from PX Sherry aged Mannochmore which not a common distillery to see in retail. The nose is full of orange oil and sweet sherry fruit notes leaning towards quite sweet tropical fruit punch. Surprisingly… hollow on the palate. There’s plenty of oak and nuttyness but none of the sweetness that the nose promises shows up and the palate ending up almost non-existent in the middle before oak and sherry spice kick in. Due to that missing mid-palate this aftertaste ends up slightly bitter and nearly off-putting with a tons and tons of the burnt walnuts going on in there. Interestingly most of malt character seems to be missing or so buried under sherry that there’s nothing to balance out the other notes and the experience is very disjointed even if this is something unique and different. It does get better with repeated sips but the nose promises and doesn’t deliver and the palate is somewhat mellow sweet but mostly hollow for me. On the plus side the sherry is well integrated, firm but not overwhelming. If the sherry level was same and this was circa 18 years old… It’d be amazing with more cask vanilla and complex flavors, as it stands, it is a good effort that’s frankly falls rather ‘flat’ in practice.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/167869
Score: C+

Scapa 20, G&M Connoisseurs Choice, 2000, 56.2%
A K&L Exclusive Gordon & McPhail bottling of a refill sherry 20 year old Scapa. Never tried the distillery. Let’s try for the checkbox. Sherried cologne on the nose with solid citrus zest core that veers slightly into varnish. To be fair the nose is fairly generic sherried malt. Varnish notes mostly dissipate after about 15 mins in a glass. The palate is full of citrus primarily burnt oranges, solid sherry palate is quite creamy and mouth-coating in consistency which is great for… Aftertaste is fantastic, long woody and a little spicy and warming; very pleasant with more of that burnt orange skins. Perhaps slightly reminds me of a not too sweet old fashioned cocktail. The aftertaste takes the win on this one with nose and palate being alright. I wish I had some Deanston 20 to SbS this with but from my memory it reminds me of the two which isn’t a bad thing. Value to be honest is rather low being an IB circa 169 but fans of citrusy dry sherry are welcome to apply as it’s above average.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/178187
Score: B+

Strathmill 11, Carn Mor Limited, STR Cask. 47.5%
This is an STR cask meaning… it underwent a specific Shaving, Toasting and Re-Charring process, likely ex-sherry cask that was then STR’ed. A prominent charry woody sherried nose with a very dark color. Dark plum notes with a bit of sherry varnish dominate. Palate is dominated by the nose notes. Charry, woody and a little bit of sweetness, this reminds me greatly of a bourbon. Something along the lines of Eagle Rare that’s still got a bit of malt and sherry in it. Quite interesting but certainly not an everyday drink due to concentration and youth, making it very cask-forward but not quite subtle. This would be well appreciated by bourbon-lovers that want to get into single malt. I’m actually somewhat enjoying this overall but the almost entire absence of any secondary flavors is quite disappointing for a single malt to commit to a full bottle.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/171455
Score: B+

Mystery Sample, ???
A mystery sample which I will fill in details in after the review, as I’ve been asked to review this blind. The nose is oloroso sherry with that note that I call ‘woody varnish’ though it’s not true varnish but somewhere between paint thinner and actual wood lacquer smell. This is specifically the note that Oloroso (and the like) evoke in my mind. For comparison, PX has stewed fruit compote and figs and is very distinctly different on the nose. Anyways, back to this. This is nutty woody oloroso. With a bit of alcohol in the mix. Creamy sweet and sherried consistency. I’m pretty sure this is single malt. Somewhat reminds of Mannochmore 13 up above. Plenty of sherry and wood that combine into chocolate flavors but not a whole of subtle secondary notes, suggesting youngish spirit overall. More balanced toasted sweet wood (chocolate) and little dusty spices that come up in the aftertaste. This slightly reminds me of a Glendronach 12 with the sherry and the malt. Overall: I like it, it’s a somewhat nutty-sweet sherry bomb number that’s manages to be quite tasty. Relative youth makes it a tricky one to truly enjoy since the casks hide most imperfections but overall I’d enjoy it for a casual pour. Also, the more I drink the more I seem to enjoy it for what it is. Value: Unknown, but ‘good’ for anything under $100.
Guesses: Single Malt. Oloroso Sherry casks, likely 1st fill, age: 12 years or less, proof: 90. Country of origin: Scotland (by playing the numbers game of chances it not being a scotch). I’m not going to guess at distillery as there’s at least 20 distilleries in Scotland that I can think of that could produce a sherry bomb such as this, though nutty/sweet profile somewhat suggests Speyside.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/182831
Score: A-
After reading the actual link: “Kaiyo The Sheri”… Woooowee! Was I wrong on country of origin (japan) here… and the casks type, and thinking this was a single cask of some sorts. But instead it’s a triple cask of PX, Oloroso and Mizunara… Also, to be fair, Mizunara oak gets completely drowned out by the sherry casks so I would have never guessed that. I was correct on proof and it being a malt at least, and very likely the youth. With the price of $130+ it makes it somewhat of a medium value (not factored into score) which is somewhat overshadowed by occasional independently bottled Speysider. And yes, it still reminds me of Speyside sherried scotch.

Clynelish 14, G&M Connoisseurs Choice, 2006, 55.5%
A bit of a treat for myself. Waxy honeycomb, some sherry, nuts and dried plums on the nose. Also, alcohol but it is well balanced by the other smells. Oh, so much honey and honeycomb on the palate, with nutty and spicy undertones. Milk chocolate and hazelnut are all over the aftertaste. Overall: This is a treat and a once in a while pour, highly complex and sophisticated beyond its years. The whole complexity package that drinks easily circa 20 instead of its stated age of 14. Get yourself a bottle or a pour if you can, and contemplate about the glass, this is certainly a rare excellence. Value: IIRC this was $139… Don’t worry that this is twice the price of the regular 14. This is fantastic. Though I’d think twice if it was past $160.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/184614
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown