MrWizard's Ramblings

A super fun, informative and enjoyable tasting with Raising Glasses, an independent importer of single casks.

— Raising Glasses Whisky —
Opulence 21 yr Port Dundas Single Grain, 9m Oloroso Cask, 55.7% — Punchy nose, corny. Very sweet palate, though falls a touch flat as is expected with single grain. Oloroso sweet rich and slightly nutty, sherry-dominant syrup, honey. Baking spices in the aftertaste — Score: Yay-
Stories Westland 8 yr Five Malt American Malt, Mt Gay Rum Cask, 55% — Complex and floral nose with rich malt notes. Very chocolate palate with frosted cereal notes. Malty aftertaste with sugars sticking around — Score: Yay
Voodoo Westland 9 yr Peated Malt, Banyuls Cask, 57% — Peated malt, very islay scotch like. Banyuls is a sweet french dessert wine somewhere between sherry and port. Long sticky salty-sweet smoke aftertaste, medium to low peat. — Score: Yay
Bloom Westland 9 yr Pale Malt, PX Cask, #2478 cask!!! 59% — Sister cask to 2479, slightly funkier. Fantastic! — Score: Yay!
Emergence 9 yr Linkwood Scotch, Oloroso Cask, 60.6% — Light honey nose, young malt. Lots of fresh spices. A little young. Honeycomb. Sp — Score: Yay

— Raising Glasses Rum —
Purple Cane Rum - 9 yr Foursquare Barbados finished in Pineau des Charentes, 57% — Good Foursquare with many layers. 1 year in a rye cask and 5 months in Cognac cask — Score: Meh+
Manora - 9 yr Thailand Rum, 55% — Very upfront sweet, slightly funky, reminds me of simple sugar syrup. Enjoyable but not special. — Score: Meh
Whistler - 14 yr Venezuela Rum, 62.1% — Secret Info: It’s diplomatico single cask. Lots and lots of flavors all together. Very tasty — Score: Yay
Yowie - 16 yr Australia Rum, 68.3% — Eucalyptus, mint, tangerine, light funk — Score: Yay

— Brandy/Armagnacs: —
Cadinat 1988, 33 year old, 48% — Fruity, strongly oaked, pleasant overall. Leans towards some wood bitterness from the age. Somewhat similar note to woody sherry casks but leans towards wood instead of funky spice. Hard yet rewarding to comprehend the layers of flavor — Score: Yay-
Cardinat 2005, 16 years old, 51% — Fruity, slightly drying wood, lots of sweet vanilla, less layered and slightly sweeter when compared to above counterpart. Excellent casual sipper — Score: Yay
Pierre Ferrand, Cigare Cognac, 40% — Classic cognac fresh apples & fruit compote. Very fragrant nose. Light body with dried fruit notes instead. Classic sweet vanilla and a touch of heat in the back of the aftertaste. Excellent all around. Slightly too thin to be truly great — Score: Yay-
Hotaling Apple Brandy, 21 years old, 44% — Dry green apples through and through. Some spice and a touch of yeast. Drinks like a highly alcoholic, very dry, apple cider. Use this for spike your apple cider or something — Score: Meh-
1982 L’Encantada Domaine del Cassou, 35 years old, Cask #187, 46.6% — Woody, very fruity, somewhat tannic and lightly drying, vanilla caramel. It’s lighter but not drastically different from Cardinat ‘88 above. Enjoyable, but I’m selling a kidney for it — Score: Yay-
1975 Domaine Seailles, 45 years old, K&L, 46% — Fruity, woody, funky, umami and not nearly as drying as Cardinat 88. Perhaps slightly one-note, or highly compressed flavor profile, but nothing is bad here. Excellently crushable — Score: Yay

A local group I’m part of is doing a Christmas Calendar of blind samples. There are 22 samples with 22 guesses and 22 blind reviews. This is organized by friend Chris, thus the title. The bottles are supposed to be $80+ which both limits the choices and makes it much harder to guess. I’ll be updating this as I go! Previous year’s event is here: https://www.aerin.or … y:entry221204-210258

The format is going to be:

Name — Brief Notes — Guess: — Like/Dislike — Reveal:

1. GN (That’s me) — Classic toasted sugar, wood, roasted corn on the nose; all the telltale signs of a bourbon profile. Toasted caramel popcorn, vanilla, alcohol, and sugar on the palate. Cinnamon, baking spices and cigar smoke in the secondaries and aftertaste. Slightly drying seasoned sawdust at the very end — Guess: N/A — Yay — Reveal: Woodinville Bourbon, Hi-Time Wine Cellars SiB #1576, 61.94%
2. TJ — The nose is spicy, dusty, drying, and nutty. Profile continues the trend of being spicy and nutty evoking bourbon thoughts in my imagination. It’s fiery and laden with wood. Loads of cinnamon and toasted pecans through the entire thing. That proof is literal fire and could be too much for some. I’ve added a drop of water to calm it down — Guess: Beam: Bookers. Uncertain second guess: Coy Hill high proof from Jack — Yay- — Reveal: Bookers 2022-04, Pinkie’s Batch, 61.20%
3. Josh — Perfume, toasted corn and wood on the nose. Very sweet, yet woody, palate with loads of toasted vanilla. Definitely high proof. Spicy, peppery aftertaste that lingers with residual toasted sugar — Guess: Heaven Hill. Elijah Craig BP or Store Pick — Yay — Reveal: Redwood Empire, Pipe Dream Cask Strength Bourbon, MGP Blend, 58.4%
4. IT — Punchy, mineral, spicy, slightly salty nose. It’s a rye! Clean, spicy, vanilla and wood palate, yet not overwhelmingly sweet. The ‘typical’ rye notes aren’t as dominant here so it drinks closer to bourbon instead. Lots of secondary notes that are highly enjoyable with warming spice and cooling mint. Subdued, lightly sweet, and unremarkable aftertaste that lingers around without doing much — Guess: Michter’s rye. Possibly: Canadian Rye: Found North? — Yay- — Reveal: Redwood Empire, Rocket Top Straight Rye BiB, Local Grain, 50%
5. KM — I’m loving the nose, very classic bourbon, yet light and not ‘corny’. Whoa, that palate is punchy and spicy but still speaking bourbon flavors to me. The spice is nearly bitter, yet sufficiently balanced out by the rest. The flavor peaks and then mellows out into a very gentle, but sadly short aftertaste — Guess: Something wheated. Perhaps Maker’s BEP — Yay- — Reveal: Peerless Kentucky Straight Rye, 56.65%
6. MBA — Punchy and spicy. High proof! Nutty with toasted wood, spicy and untamed flavors on the palate. Did I mention lots of wood? Long and meandering aftertaste with great tropical note at the very end — Guess: ECBP, for funsies: C923 — Yay — Reveal: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, C923, 66.5%
7. DW — Very punchy alcohol on the nose; perfume and toasted vanilla sugars. That palate is fiery coming into it cold but grows much better with repeated sips. It’s full of sweet spices and slightly drying. A lightly sour note goes through the palate suggesting a familiar distillery. Long lingering, dry, and spicy-hot aftertaste follows. Plenty of hot peppers in this one — Guess: Old Forester Barrel Proof — Meh+ — Reveal: Elijah Craig Private Barrel 8 years old, Royal Liquors “Joker’s Wild”, 65.45%
8. MC — Salty-sweet umami nose, light smoke note, thought it’s likely the cask char. What seems like a typical sourced MGP note to me, high proof, high cinnamon and peppers. Lots of vanilla. Lingering and mouth coating. Very sweet and vibrant with fresh cask notes. A fiery dessert pour that I suspect it double-casked or finished in something — Guess: MGP-sourced. Nashville Barrel? Nulu Double Oak/Toasted? — Yay- — Reveal: Obtainium Canadian Whiskey 27 years old, Maple syrup barrel finish; 77.6%
9. ?? — This brings a smile to my face. Almost certainly because I know this profile. Brown sugar, toasty vanilla, eucalyptus, mint, spice through the entire thing. Finish that lasts forever — Guess: 99% Certain this is an Old Potrero Malted Rye, Single Cask — Yay — Reveal: Old Potrero Malted Rye 9.3 years old, TW SP, 66.1%
10. KJF — A rye-light nose that’s balanced out by sweet toasted wood. Both proofy and not overwhelmingly so. Lots and lots of wood notes in the mix, the rye is there but not domineering. Something familiar yet I’m unable to put my finger on it. Medium length aftertaste with lightly-drying wood yet again. Enjoyable and forgettable at the same time — Guess: Sagamore Rye SiB — Yay- — Reveal: Nulu Toasted Rye 6.5 years, MGP, TW SP, 60.2%
11. SP — The runners in the glass for this are epic. Clean nose with lots of toast notes, a touch of mint. Medicinal. Seems like a rye, but I’m having doubts. Yet another one where spice is present but doesn’t dominate. Mouth-coating with with a notable note I’m not sure how to describe. Blueberries? Blackberries? Lingering aftertaste with more of that berry pie, cinnamon and toasted sweet wood — Guess: Kinda stumped. Likely American. Barrell? I can see this as a blend. Subtle Spirits? — Yay+ — Reveal: NBC Straight Rye (MGP) 6 years old, Golden Gate SP; 60.53%
12. BT — Punchy, toasted wood on the nose. The absolutely first thought that popped into my head when I licked it in passing was ‘Blanton’s’, but it’s too proofy for regular one. Sweet & woody palate, lots of baking spices and cinnamon, but it’s sugar sweetness not corn syrup. High ‘perfume’ content, aromatic and punchy palate. Warming, enveloping aftertaste that lingers around — Guess: Maker’s Private Cask? Buffalo Trace: Weller Full Proof. Possibly: Stagg Jr — Yay- — Reveal: Jack Daniels Barrel Proof Rye, SiB, 64.25%
13. SR — Something familiar, again. The nose is sweet toasted wood and vanilla powdered cinnamon sugar. More cinnamon and sugar on the palate. This reminds me of MGP bourbon profile. Cinnamon, vanilla and sugar all the way into the aftertaste. Not funky, highly enjoyable — Guess: MGP sourced… Remus. NBC. Clyde May’s 110. — Yay — Reveal: Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye, 54%
14. PC — Sugar, vanilla and alcohol nose, not much else going on in there. Dripping, perfumed, agave syrup basically. Sweet, yet not very complex palate, balanced alcohol, yet still proof-forward as there’s nowhere to hide. Full of sweet and hot peppers. Same sweet & hot peppers continue into long aftertaste — Guess: Light whiskey of some kind. Unfinished obtainium. Balcones something? — Meh+ — Reveal: Frey Ranch Bourbon, PlumpJack SP, 64.23%
15. KT — Smelling salts? Geez that nose is pungent. Mint, untamed alcohol, this smells like something from a workshop can. Sweet & punchy palate with light mint and spice notes. Same on the aftertaste — Guess: Obtainium Rye? Reminds me of Balcones Rye on profile though. — Nay! — Reveal: Frey Ranch Bourbon, WFM Norcal SP, 62.23%
16. JDK — Familiar. Familiar. Floral palate, nose, aftertaste. Bourbon. Spices. Great body. — Guess: Four Roses — Yay- — Reveal: Four Roses Barrel Strength (OBSV), Sam’s Club PS, 53%
17. KK — Familiar. Familiar. Floral palate, nose, aftertaste. Bourbon. Very Spicy. Minty. Woody. — Guess: Four Roses — Meh+ — Reveal: Four Roses Barrel Strength (OESF), Bevmo SP, 60.5%
18. BL — Hot & floral nose. Sweet & hot palate with lots of toasted wood. Drying aftertaste that doesn’t do anything special, keeping the entire experience mostly in-line with itself and only varying in its intensity — Guess: Woodford Reserve High Proof — Yay- — Reveal: Old Forester Barrel Proof, QBB & Neat Drinkers Association SP, 65.55%
19. TT — Great nose, lots of toasted vanilla sugar and wood notes. The palate… malt? Hot cherries? Aaaaand I’m fairly sure I know what this is. There are tons of bottles with similar profile, but i’ll go with what came to my head first — Guess: Aberlour A’Bunadh — Yay — Reveal: Glendronach CS Batch 10, 58.6%
20. CB — Spicy and slightly nutty nose, subdued. Rye-light palate, mint, slight malty notes, nuttyness. Reminds me very vaguely of malted rye profile but super subtle. Long sweet and slightly spicy hot aftertaste that lingers — Guess: I cannot quite figure out if it’s a malt, a rye, or a bourbon! Hedging my bets here with all three. Shenks, WhistlePig, and wildcard malt being Amrut Malted Rye — Yay — Reveal: Stranahan’s Single Malt 10 year, Mountain Angel; 45.1%
21. TV — *Very* corn-forward nose. High proof, corn-forward palate, vanilla and wood. Toasted cask notes dominate the palate and greatly contribute to the experience. Long aftertaste with gentle spices. — Guess: Maker’s Mark Private Cask — Meh+ — Reveal: Cali Gold, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, SFBWSS SP, 59.5%
22. VS — Very nice woody and somewhat proofy nose. Actually not that proofy palate. Sweet and vanilla-dominated balance with some more wood in the mix. Gentle, cereal and vanilla pancake lingering aftertaste — Guess: Blanton’s Gold — Yay+ — Reveal: Old Weller Antique/107, Beer Baron SP, 53.5%

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Happy Holidays!

The title refers to me almost catching up with reviews of pending open bottles and samples I have. Don’t be alarmed, there are more reviews planned ahead as well as a return of local gift exchange. With 22 samples this year this will be its own post, similar to the one I’ve covered just about a year ago… But, I digress. Here’s the usual mish-mash malt reviews from the shelf:

Dailuaine 9, Firkin Rare, K&L SP, 57.0
A Firkin Rare bottling in a ‘zebra’ custom cask of oloroso and amontillado sherry staves. Aged 9 years. The nose is both sweet and funky, with the overall impression tends towards a modern syrupy-sweetness mixed with somewhat sulfuric note instead. The palate is rather a wild ride of sweet graham cookies, toasted almonds, dark salted chocolate. Cinnamon starts mid-palate and continues into a reasonably long aftertaste. Water helps a lot here to tone down the alcohol somewhat and bring the flavor intensity down. Overall: Very complex and multi-layered though most of the flavors are surface-level primary ones. It lacks delicate secondaries, but more than makes up for that in cornucopia of bold flavors here. It’s fun, it’s young and it could be too weird for most with the age and cask combination. It’s a very loud and not-quite-in-tune band that plays songs that I do enjoy. I’ve reviewed Dailuaine before several times and have noted that it does take to sherry well as well as the fact that there doesn’t seem a shortage of their product on the market in all sorts of iterations of casks. This one seems to be an utter overkill on cask craft applied, bordering on some sort of madness, different woods, different sherries, different everything and it does seem like a very unique product… but ‘unique’ doesn’t always substitute for ‘good’. While this mostly worked out for the producer… this should be looked as an exception rather than the rule. Value: Priced at $79 for a 9 year single cask IB product… seems creeping into ‘yellow/warning’ part of the value spectrum.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1673693
Score: B (B+ w/ Water)

Tamdhu Batch Strength, Batch 2, 58.5%
“Exclusively matured in sherry casks”. This is clearly Tamdhu’s take on all-sherry matured cask proof NAS expression. Similar types of releases are also bottled by other distilleries in Speyside. The nose is lightly sulfuric, dry, sherry and alcohol. The palate, on the other hand, is quite sweet, frutty, slightly nutty and well spiced. Though it never quite reaches syrupy consistency it certainly got some viscosity in the glass. Well-oaked sweetness, vanilla, and peppery cinnamon close off respectfully long aftertaste. Overall: Warming, enjoyable and flavorful, this hits that ‘good but not memorable’ niche for me. It’s exactly the comfort drink that’s needed on a chilly evening when one wants that sweet, spiced, sherried pour. And it’s the type of pour that will be fondly remembered in generic brushstrokes as there doesn’t seem to be anything that truly stands in the glass. I personally have 3 or 4 other bottles right behind this one that will be just as good. All that said… Is it as good as the others that i’m trying real hard to not name in this niche? Yes, yes it is! Value: $130 at Total Wine solidly puts this into the the orange/high-warning area for value with comparables. This compares well with the review above… and that bottle is half the price.
Score: B+ (A- w/ water)

Glen Scotia 8, K&L SP, Rum Cask, 58.4%
An original, yet exclusive, bottling (is EB a thing, along with OB and IB?) Glen Scotia’s exclusive cask for K&L Wines # 20/329-3, aged in ex-bourbon and finished in demerara rum cask. Aside: Glen Scotia is the somewhat under-appreciated distillery in Campbeltown, the home of Springbank and Glengyle/Kilkerran. I also happen to have some mixed feelings on Glen Scotia’s bottles… I feel that their quality is inconsistent with some bottlings being amazing and some being mediocre. Anyways, back to this! It really benefits from sitting in a glass for about 10 mins to open up. The nose got salt and iodine, a very light whiff of smoke, and lots of vanilla notes between punchy alcohol and prominently fresh oak. It’s lively and pungent. Sweet vanilla, tropical fruits and minerality on the palate slide into sichuan peppers almost immediately. It’s also impressively viscous for the age. Essentially zero peat or smoke that I can detect on the palate or aftertaste. The secondaries got grassiness and funk from rum and more lovely peppers. Medium-length aftertaste follows with more of the same from the palate. Overall: A treat for the senses; this is lively, fun, enjoyable and sweet, while being punchy and spicy. Think ginger-forward tropical fruit salad. I expected it to be peated, yet it’s not. Very solid offering here. The age is a little young, but when it tastes this good… I don’t care. I will note that it mostly falls apart with water. Value: I don’t regret paying $89 for this at the retailer.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1642388
Score: B+

Glen Keith 24, The Munros, K&L SP, 55.6%
The munros line has an interesting story. The stocks were brought into NYC by a defunct importer, the gentleman owner had unfortunately passed away, and then languished in the warehouse for years. K&L was able to grab a large chunk of the stock on clearance and then offer it to the consumers are very affordable price. I don’t see a lot of Glen Keith out there under its own name as majority goes into Chivas/Ballantine’s blends. Also this is a Speyside distillery! This particular cask was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2017. Aged in a dump hogshead which is a slightly smaller sized cask than a typical hogshead. Let’s dig in! Characteristic red apples and ripe pineapple, with some zesty freshness on the nose. Sweet and highly tropical palate, retains some of the citrus to balance out the sugar. Buttery vanilla with some hebatiousness follows. The aftertaste is a bit of a standout here that lasts for a very long time. It starts with that sweet butter, then slowly come in the spices, with peppers and gingers leading the way then slowly it fades away into a touch of sweet lime. Overall: I’m not sure here. On one hand… it’s old, it’s good tasting and it’s a fruit bomb. On the other hand… it’s not very exciting. Perhaps my palate is too pedestrian to recognize greatness? Or perhaps the flavors are wound so tightly as to lose any meaningful separation? I’m not sure. It’s an honest malt that doesn’t have anything particularly wrong with it. After having a bit of chocolate, the answer may have come to me. There’s a great deal of cask influence that hides in here. If you take away the sweetness balance, it’s basically bitter which may explain why i feel weird about this one. A grapefruit of malt I suppose. Value: A 24 year old single cask priced at $109!? Oh hell yes. A screaming good deal.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485014 Unfortunately, the description is a copy from Glen Grant bottling and is consequently wrong :(
Score: C
Edit: I’ve adjusted the above grade down to a solid C in retrospect and ended up using the rest of the bottle in a “Canyon Blend” with some young sherry bomb leftovers… Which made the Glen Keith taste infinitely more interesting than the original version. Yay for home blends…

Hazelburn 12, Distillery Exclusive, 58.5%
Distilled on 11/6/2010. Hazelburn isn’t actually a real distillery but part of Springbank that uses historical name of a real distillery to bottle their product. I’m also led to believe that Hazelburn is typically unpeated. So basically springbank experimentation with different things. Thank you, friend Charu for the sample. Dusty and funky sweet wood on the nose. Like a dry wood pile or a whiskey aging wearhouse on low humidity, or a woodshop. The palate is super creamy and buttery, with drying vanilla notes yet again backed by somewhat bitter baking spice mix… just when you think it’s over… something magical happens and the malt absolutely explodes into tropical flavors. Coconut, pineapple, mango, it’s a literal fruit punch of sweet flavors. All the spice and the wood are gone, just like a curtain being flung aside. Which leads to sweet and lingering aftertaste with all those fruits, just like drinking light tropical punch that’s also punching you in the face with alcohol. With water the flavors are more integrated together and no longer offer that bonkers shift from dry wood to tropical sugars. Overall: It’s somewhat above average for the first half of the experience and then absolutely sublime in the second half. Which makes me a little torn on how to grade it. Still, it’s bloody good! Value: N/A. Distillery exclusive bottle for export.
It’s this guy: https://www.whiskyba … 16213/hazelburn-2010
Score: A-
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Did I mention I love these distilleries yet? This post’s been a year in the making, with me collecting samples to put enough reviews together as opposed to the more typical mish-mash review grouping that I do.

Glendronach 12 / 2009, Hart Brothers, Rum, K&L SP, 60.9%
A Hart Brothers bottling from a Rum Cask. I wonder why they chose this cask as non-sherried Glendro is rare. The nose is full of tropical fruit and alcohol that doesn’t fade even after some time. The palate is… tropical fruit and alcohol-forward with nothing to hide behind. The savoury spirit fights with sweet rum notes making it multilayered and confusing at the same time. Water helps a little bit to bring flavors together but it’s still a somewhat messy situation. Lots of peppery spice in the secondary flavors and in the respectfully lengthy aftertaste here. Overall: Ignore the flowery description of this very unique cask of Glendronach from the vendor. This is a at best a “flavorful mess”. A tropical fruit pie that’s been blended leaving the flavors but no clear picture for the mind’s eye. Yet again a Hart bottling that disappoints me in ‘this could have been great but it’s not great’ way. Value: At $89 on paper is solid for the distillery name and unusual bottling.
https://www.klwines. … whisky-700ml/1562599
Score: B-

Glendronach 12 / 2009, Hart Brothers, 1st Fill Sherry, K&L SP, 61.2%
A Hart brother bottling, this time it’s Glendronach in 1st first fill sherry butt. The nose is classic Glendronach, slightly savoury and funky with sherry. The palate is… classic sherried Glendronach that is super concentrated. Slight funk, sherry
vanilla sweetness and spice, distillery-characteristic savouriness. Aftertaste is sweet oak vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. Overall: This is great! Fantastic Glendronach cask with great balance and concentration. It lacks some layered depths to push it into unicorn category but it’s still perfect storm of cask and age. First great Hart bottle I’ve got my hands onto, even if it’s just a sample. Value: Priced at $109; in retrospect this is solid price. I should have bought some. But hindsight is 20/20
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1562613
Score: A

Glenrothes-Glenlivet 20, Cadenhead SiB, 56.0%
A Glenrothes bottling by Cadenhead, distilled in 1997, bottled in 2018, aged in a sherry butt. The nose is quintessential speyside example. Stewed dried orchard fruits, light sherry funk, caramel. The palate is all chocolate, dark raisins, some orange rind notes. Aftertaste is more orange peel and dried fruits, with bit of coriander seed character. Overall: This is good! It’s very much my pour of whiskey that I like. It is just a touch… drying in its flavors and that’s the only reason it’s going into my hall of fame. Value: Original price is unknown, likely ~$150.
https://www.whiskyba … 0/glenrothes-1997-ca
Score: A-

Glenrothes 18, Signatory SiB #15961, 58.3%
Another Glenrothes from 1997, this one from a refill sherry cask by Signatory. The stewed dried fruit compote is nearly overwhelmed by dusty, funky, leather on the nose, there’s something very old-school about this bottling. Semi-sweet dark chocolate, cuban espresso, more of the dusty funky leather on the palate. More of the same in the aftertaste, nutty semi-sweet chocolate and a touch of burnt caramel. Overall: If you ever needed an example of ‘they don’t make it like they used to’ this is a prime one. An utterly bonkers combination of quality in malt and cask profile. A near flawless sherried Speyside exemplar. I want more of this. I want more of this! Now! Value: N/A; Sample from friend Charu. Bottled in 2016 it was during the era of different prices for alcohol so it wasn’t all that expensive so any original price to value is no longer relevant.
https://www.whiskyba … 7/glenrothes-1997-sv
Score: A+

Glenrothes 19, Wemyss Malts: “Italian Bakery Delight”, 46%
A departure from sherried examples above. This is yet another Glenrothes 1997, this time by Wemyss malts. This one was aged in what looks like refill bourbon. It’s color is rather pale yellow. Vanilla and apple/pear medley on the nose, a touch of nuttyness and fresh rain smell. Light bodied palate, more of the same from the nose. The malt savoriness plays well with the cask here. A nice double aftertaste starts with neutral vanilla custard and ends with a touch of pepper and bitter walnut that rises up from the back. It’s a fairly short but intense pop of flavor that is surprisingly welcome. Overall: This reminds me of a spiced custard that was made without any sugar. The custard image to some extent does evoke the italian bakery. An enjoyable proposition in the bottle. Unfortunately, the nearly-spent reused bourbon cask makes this a mix of excellent and forgettable. Fantastically refreshing summer pour, it’s forgettable during colder months. A welcome hug from a relative you haven’t seen in a long time and won’t be seeing again. This doesn’t ‘pop’ for me. This is as ‘good’ as it gets, without being ‘great’. A quintessential drinker that is enjoyable and doesn’t require a science degree to analyze. Value: Retailing at ~$150 this is… an average value for the distillery and age, bordering on a below average back in 2016 era.
https://www.whiskyba … 6/glenrothes-1997-wy
https://whiskeyrevie … cotch-review-081717/
Score: B+

Glenrothes 16, K&L SP, Old Particular, 57.2%
A more modern Glenrothes here, this time bottled by Old Particular for K&L wines and aged in sherry butt. I’m also fairly sure I have a bottle of this. Somewhat savoury sherry character and toasted woods dominate the nose and the dried fruits are playing secondary fiddles here. Oranges and chocolate are the primary flavors of the palate. Long, generously spiced, lightly numbing, peppery, yet very sweet aftertaste follows and really brings that orange chocolate liquor theme home. Overall: Did I mention this the ‘modern’ sherried scotch interpretation? A straightforward, consistent and ‘modern sherry’ cask-dominant profile is the king here. This isn’t old dusty sherry though, this is young and syrupy one. There are still plenty of flavors and depth but it’s very different beast from the old school examples. I’d still very much enjoy drinking this nonetheless. There’s something attractive in the combination of straight-forwardness and simultaneous abundance of flavors here. Value: At $119 … It’s alright in this day and age.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1558769
Score: A

Glenrothes, Whiskey Maker’s Cut, 48.8%
Adding a late addition here. A secret santa gift for X-mas of 2023. This is a NAS expression from core range matured in first fill sherry seasoned oak. The nose is dried red apple candy with a hint of spice. There are also notes of other dried orchard fruits leaning it towards fruit punch, though sun-dried apples still dominate. The palate is creamy, somewhat earthy and leathery, but well balanced between malt sweetness and sherry spice, chocolate and coffee notes. With oloroso maturation it’s leaning towards more peppery, nutty, and spicy profile. Warming long aftertaste lingers around for medium period of time. Overall: Very enjoyable for what it is. A pleasant ‘everyday’ drinker for those that enjoy Glenrothes spicy/nutty profile. This bottling is above their regular core range but below single casks and vintage releases on enjoyment. Value: Priced $80-$90 it is a touch overpriced for me to casually buy a general release, but it took a wonderful opportunity with Secret Santa gift as it fit the requirements perfectly.
Score: B+
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Definitely a mixed bag here. As usual catching up

A friend Rohan shared some American Wheat Whiskey from Bainbridge Distillery with me. They are located in Seattle WA. Some of my impressions are below going off memory on these.

Bainbridge Barbados (Rum) Cask — N/A years — 43% — Score: C — Drinkable, yet very forgettable. Any rum influence is lost. If anything the extra rum cask finish may be giving it a bit of a astringent note.
Bainbridge Maple Syrup Cask — N/A years — 43% — Score: B — Sweet, dessert-y and enjoyable. Not overly complicated but sometimes you don’t need anything complicated.
Bainbridge Battle Point Cask Proof — N/A years — 67.3% — Score: B- — I cannot recall anything about this. It’s that ‘memorable’. The high proof is a plus and base spirit is likely same as the others. The score is provisional.

Bainbridge Mizunara Cask, Cask Proof, 67.58%
This is a 100% Wheat whiskey, distilled in Seattle WA. distillery and aged in Mizunara Oak casks. Likely aged around 6 years. The nose is pure vanilla with a touch of green woodyness. It invokes images of sugar cookies throughout. The palate is sweet, with more vanilla notes dominating. Alcohol is quite prominent, bringing warm notes to the palate. Several fresh wood notes remain, bringing some balance and relief to initial hit of sweetness. A veritable cornucopia of baking spices follows with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves leading the charge into the medium length aftertaste. Overall: This is a reasonably enjoyable and layered bottling, that requires some time and contemplation to really enjoy and appreciate the flavors. Considering that this is a wheat whiskey, it’s certainly not for every bourbon drinker but it still stands on its own. Value: Priced at $150 and being a distillery-only limited edition this is… still a high price tag to swallow blindly. Though perhaps palatable based on exclusivity for the fans of distillery or fans of wheat whiskeys.
Score: B+

Sagamore Rye Single Cask — 8 years — 55.7% — Score: B — A Sagamore Rye. It’s a drinkable, flavorful, mildly spiced rye. Same style as the other Sagamore I’ve reviewed in the past… https://www.aerin.org/?x=entry:entry221222-221548

Laws Rye 5 years, K&L SiB #504, 61.75%
This mash bill is called San Lois Valley Rye. And it’s an interested one to try. The nose is all chocolate with alcohol and not many places to hide. The palate has an oddly ‘dusty’ undertone, with notes of pine, chocolate, alcohol again, lot of baking spice. The aftertaste goes right down the chocolate malt stout beer path suggesting a strong presence of malted rye grain in the mashbill. Water helps a little bit with taking the edge off. Overall: The experience is extremely unique; feeling like a mix between 95/5 rye, malted rye from Old Potrero and a chocolate porter backed by a stiff proof undertone. Unique and unexpectedly different, it’s likely to be too different for many. This will 100% appear to a narrow segment that loves chocolate porters and malted rye together. Value: It’s great price on sale for $50 and somewhat passable at $75 MSRP.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1558055
Score: C+

Bardstown Collaboration Series: Ferrand, 55%
This a blend of 7 and 11 year old Kentucky bourbon aged in Ferrand (cognac) Casks for 8 months. Note: Ferrand and Bardstown are owned by the same company. This is very nutty on the nose… and there’s only one standout nutty producer in Kentucky (*cough*Beam*cough*). Thankfully with time some of the nuttiness from the nose fades into more of a toasted granola notes. Even still this reminds me of a peanut butter and chocolate granola bar on the nose. The palate is strongly floral, fruity solidly grounded… bourbon. Light nuttyness remains but it plays well with the floral notes. It’s notable that vanilla or wood notes do not overwhelm here, sweet baking spices, stewed dark fruits. vanilla rounds everything off. The finish brings some cinnamon into the game mostly continuing notes from the palate by replacing vanilla but keeping everything else mostly same. Overall: I’m torn here. This is hard to hate but also not quite easy to love without already being a fan of Beam products. Yet, the addition of cognac finish makes it not quite typical bottling from the distillery but something rather different. It’s floral, somewhat nutty, it’s sweet, it’s not over-wooded. It goes WONDERFULLY with a tiny piece of ice, opening up those floral notes. Value: Eeeeh, Bardstown is overpriced. This was like $140… For a finished 7-11 year old blend… that’s not a good deal. I wouldn’t have paid it blindly.
Score: B

NULU Double Oaked Bourbon, El Cerrito SP, 58%
It’s MGP, finished for 6 months in a fresh cask. The nose is a caramelized sugar and vanilla bomb in a good way. The palate is sugar, vanilla, alcohol bomb with a touch of spice in a good way. The aftertaste is all sugar with baking spice, in this case leaning towards cinnamon, in a good way. There’s a healthy amount of charred wood in the flavor mix, yet it doesn’t make it overly woody, but balances the extra sweetness well. Overall: This is a dessert version of a typical MGP bourbon with extra vanilla and sugar coming from the secondary aging. Sweet, vanilla-forward and reasonably uncomplicated. It’s tasty enough to keep on the backburner for that one-note dessert pour. Value: Total Wine has a similar bottle at $105… which isn’t all that of a bargain to be honest for a likely 5-6 year MGP distillate.
Score: B

Dry Fry Whiskey, K&L SP, Specialty Barrel #306, 72.05%
This bottling is from Spokane Washington Dry Fly distillery. Subtitled O’Danagher’s Hibernian whiskey, which roughly translates to be a four grain bourbon. I’ll also note the 72% abv which is usually way too hot for my palate. Sweet vanilla and toasted wood are the main notes on the nose. Then come aromatic baking spices and a touch of varnish from the cask char. The palate starts off sweet, then becomes somewhat funky, finishing off with a spice avalanche that rolls into the aftertaste. Wood varnish, toasted sugar and vanilla that is noticeably diminishing from the nose, alcohol that is well-tempered by 9 years in a cask, a touch of grain funk. This drinks like something that’s about 130 proof, solidly 15 proof points below it’s stated value. Aftertaste is all cinnamon, ginger and sichuan pepper numbness, likely from the proof that is well hidden here. Overall: Utterly different, utterly drinkable, very enjoyable. There’s not too much going on in the glass but it doesn’t need to be. Value: I’ll admit that I’ve bought it on a whim when it went on sale for $44 and at that point it was very worth it. Original price of $60 that is still very acceptable for a 9 year old single cask in the current market.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1628618
Score: B+

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