Category Archives: Whiskey

Springbank Tasting

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Springbank LogoTonight, I attended a tasting of the Springbank product line hosted by Spec’s Dallas location at Walnut Hill and US75.  Randal Watson from the Springbank Distillery presented each of the whiskys.  Here’s the lineup with some brief notes:

  • Springbank 10 Year Old – $43
  • Springbank 18 Year Old –  $130
  • Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength Calvados Expression – $90
  • Longrow 10 Year Old – $50
  • Longrow Red 11 Year Old Cabernet Sauvignon Finish – $80

Longrow LogoThe best pour of the night was the Springbank 18 Year Old, but the most intriguing for me was the Longrow Red.  The wine finish of the latter really worked well and I’ve learned that there’s an offering with an Australian Shiraz Finish as well. The Calvados Expression was better than I remembered and definitely worth a mention as was the Longrow 10 Year Old, which is one of the best entry-level offerings that I’ve had.

Parker’s Heritage Collection 1st Edition – Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Bourbon, 11 Years,
63.7% ABV, $90

A very generous friend shared a pour of this rare whiskey with me today. It’s an 11 Year Old whiskey with notes of cocoa and tobacco with an evident wood character. That’s about all of the detail that I could get in the brief tasting, but it was generally impressive with good chewy mouth feel and only moderate burn at 127.4°. I wish that I could spend more time with this one or any of the other older editions from this collection. I have a bottle of the 6th Edition Blend of Mashbills (batch #4) and passed on the 7th Edition Promise of Hope, which is still available.

BenRiach and GlenDronach Tasting

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Another Trinity Hall tasting (I love these events) and this time it was hosted by Alistair Walker of the BenRiach and Glendronach distilleries.  Here’s the lineup with some notes:

  • BenRiach logoBenRiach 12 Year Old – $43
    Notes:  This one started out great, but got bitter after a while.  Initially, I was impressed with the notes of vanilla and honey, but this proved to be short-lived.
  • BenRiach 16 Year Old -$75
    Notes:  Nice sherry influence with hazelnut and oak notes.
  • Glendronach LogoGlenDronach 12 Year Old – $46
    Notes:  Much better than BenRiach 12 with more sherry influence.  Also, better than MacAllan 12 (from a recent tasting). This one spends 7 years in ex-bourbon casks, then 5-6 years in sherry casks. It’s blended from malts up to 16 years old (an artifact of the distillery closure from 96-’02), with the youngest being 12 years old.  I highly recommend this one for MacAllan 12 fans… it’s better and costs less.
  • GlenDronach 14 Year Old Virgin Oak – $70
    Notes:  Starts out in ex-bourbon casks, then finished for 18 months in American oak. Sweet and fruity.
  • GlenDronach 15 Year Old Revival – $80
    Notes:  Milder nose, but really great taste. It’s aged in first-fill Oloroso Sherry casks for the entire 15 years.  Easily, the standout of the night.  I want some!
  • GlenDronach 18 Year Old Allardice- $100
    Notes:  Not as good as Revival… less dark fruit and more spice and wood.
  • BenRiach 17 Year Old Solstice 2
    Notes:  Finished in Tawny Port casks and heavily peated. Not available in USA. Spicy, hot, peaty and sweet. Very good!  I might have to search this one out on future European travels.

I’m now a big fan of the BenRiach and Glendronach distilleries.  This was a great lineup of whisky, providing great variety and interesting (even creative) combinations of aging.  I’ve got a bottle of Glendronach 21 Year Old Single Cask Oloroso Sherry Cask (1990) that is bottled at cask strength and is non-chill filtered at home that I can’t wait to try now.

An Unexpected Balvenie Tasting

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Balvenie LineupWhile at Trinity Hall Irish Pub last night for the Highland Park tasting event, I met Jason Stein, the Balvenie Brand Ambassador.  When the event was concluded, the following pours were delivered to our table complements of Jason:

  • Balvenie 12 Year Old Double Wood – $44
  • Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask – $57
  • Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel – $70
  • Balvenie 17 Year Old Double Wood – $110
  • Balvenie 21 Year Old Port Wood – $200

It was a good move on his part because they were all very good.  The only Highland Park offering that was clearly better was the 30 Year Old.  I’ll be exploring more of the Balvenie line as a result of this surprise tasting.

Highland Park Tasting

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Loki

Last night, I attended the Highland Park tasting event at Trinity Hall Irish Pub in Dallas.  These Trinity Hall events organized by Marius Donnelly continue to be great in every aspect: well organized, well attended, excellent selections and a lot of fun with people who are serious about whisky.  Here’s the lineup from last night:

  • The Black Grouse – $28
  • Highland Park 12 Year Old – $40
  • Highland Park 15 Year Old – $56
  • Highland Park 18 Year Old – $110
  • Highland Park 25 Year Old – $300
  • Highland Park 30 Year Old – $430
  • Highland Park Loki – $220
    • 15 Year Old Limited Edition from their Valhalla Collection

The best pour of the night was the 30 Year Old, followed by Loki and the 25 Year Old.  Also, worth noting is that the 12 Year Old is quite good for the price and both the 15 and 18 Year Old are not good at all… even The Black Grouse was more enjoyable than these.  As a bonus, I came away with a Highland Park ball cap and an unusual glass.

slant-2-oz.-shot-glass

 

Bourbon Essentials

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Glencairn GlassToday, I attended a Bourbon Essentials class offered by Total Wine & More in Dallas.  After a brief presentation on the history of bourbon and some useful information about bourbon and whiskey in general, we set out to taste 13 bourbons (listed in order of tasting):

  • Jack Daniels Black
  • Buckhorn
  • Jim Beam
  • Southshot
  • Maker’s Mark
  • Winchester
  • Weller Special Reserve
  • Watkins Select
  • Knob Creek 100
  • Old Bardstown
  • Buffalo Trace
  • Wathens Single Barrel
  • Angel’s Envy (TW selection)

For me, Angel’s Envy was easily the best of the bunch, while Buffalo Trace and Wathens Single Barrel were honorable mentions. Buffalo Trace was easily the best value. The really disappointing news was that most of these were not very good.  The only other acceptable offerings for me were: Weller Special Reserve (fourth on my list), Old Bardstown, Watkins Select, Winchester and Maker’s Mark.  I could not recommend any of the remaining whiskeys.

Prior to this class, I was only familiar with Angel’s Envy and Buffalo Trace and I still highly recommend both of them.  Beyond those, I would still recommend Evan Williams Single Barrel, Weller 12 Special Reserve or Eagle Rare 10 over Wathens Single Barrel at about the same price (actually, all of them should be a few dollars less). Another great value, if you can find it, is Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (White Label).

The MacAllan Tasting

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The MacAllan LogoLast night I attended a tasting of single malts from The MacAllan at Trinity Hall Irish Pub in Dallas.  Jerry Fonicello from The MacAllan was there to introduce each of the pours and was both informative and entertaining, if not a little “over the top.”  Marius Donelly (proprietor of Trinity Hall Irish Pub) did a great job of putting this together at a reasonable price (including food) and with a great selection.  Speaking of the selections, here’s the lineup that we tasted with our local prices for a bottle:

  1. The MacAllan 10 Year Old Fine Oak Single Malt – $36
  2. The MacAllan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak Single Malt – $40
  3. The MacAllan 15 Year Old Fine Oak Single Malt – $70
  4. The MacAllan 17 Year Old Fine Oak Single Malt – $130
  5. The MacAllan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak Single Malt – $146
  6. The MacAllan 21 Year Old Fine Oak Single Malt – $250
  7. The MacAllan 25 Year Old Sherry Oak Single Malt – $640

The standout values for the night were the Fine Oak 10 and Sherry Oak 12, which were both good.  I would give a slight nod to the Sherry Oak 12, which had a more interesting flavor profile due to the sherry influence.  The standout of the night was the Sherry Oak 18, which I consider a very nice whisky, but overpriced.  Everything after that was severely overpriced, in my opinion.  The Fine Oak 21 was interesting, but not dramatically more so than the Fine Oak 17 and the Sherry Oak 25 was a disappointment when compared to the Sherry Oak 18, especially at more than 4 times the price!

I’m really glad that I was able to attend this event and get this experience at a price that would’ve matched that of a single pour of the Sherry Oak 25.  This helped solidify my previously unfounded belief that The MacAllan makes very good whisky at outrageous prices, while offering the masses some solid values at the same time.  Even in the lower price range, you can find better offerings, but you can always return to these for a reliably good and solid whisky.  If you’re interested in trying their best, then it might be worth it to spring for the Sherry Oak 18 before it disappears from shelves as The MacAllan introduces an entirely new range next year.  I don’t expect much change with the new line that would dissuade me from the evaluation that I came away with last tonight.  I might even try some of their new entry-level whisky when they’re available.

High West Rendezvous Rye

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Straight Rye, 6-16 Years, 46% ABV, $40

This is a blend of 6 and 16 year old sourced rye according to the distiller. That makes it the oldest rye I’ve had yet.  It’s also worth noting that the 6 year old rye contains 95% rye in the mash bill (only 51% is required to call it rye whiskey).

The nose is mild, but nice… toffee, straw, ginger, cocoa and dark cherries. The taste fruity and spicy up front and mildly woody on the finish without loosing the fruity and spicy elements… and it lasts a long time. The flavors are lemon, ginger, cherry, apple, pear, honey, dark roasted coffee, black pepper and orange. The finish is woody, but not leathery and the complementary spice and subtle fruits add a lot to it.

This is a great rye whiskey and my favorite to date, edging out the Willett Single Barrel mostly because of the nice aging elements. I’d love to get a taste of their now depleted 16 year old Rocky Mountain Rye, but that’s highly unlikely. At some point I may spring for a bottle of their 21 year old version.

Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23 Year Old Bourbon

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Straight Bourbon, 23 Years, 47.8% ABV, $200

I really never thought I’d even get a sample of this legend, but I was graced with a bit from my friend, Sorin (a huge thanks to him!). The entire Van Winkle line is very elusive and extremely hyped, so I feel special getting this brief glimpse into history. It truly is a bit of liquid history as this juice hails from the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which closed many years ago. It’s rumored to be in the plans for a re-opening, but the whiskey distilled there is highly sought after and almost depleted. Well, enough of the history and on to the whiskey.

The nose is full of toffee, caramel, straw, cocoa, dark cherry and a bit of cigar box. The flavors are massive! In general, its a hot whiskey with lots of spice, candied fruit, tart fruit and wood. It’s unlike anything I’ve had before. The finish is long and much less woody than I expected. The tastes up front are honey, vanilla, apple, cherry, gingerbread, pear, caramel, cocoa, lemon drop, fruit cake and tobacco. It’s nicely chewy on the palate with a nice spicy transition to the finish. Everything just merges together perfectly on the way to a mildly woody, but not leathery finish, while the subdued flavors persist in the background. This is one experience I wish I could extend!

Simply put, this is amazing stuff! I really hope I can land a bottle someday. I wasn’t expecting it to be this good, since hyped products rarely are. This is definitely an exception and I’ve heard that some people like the 20 Year Old and even the 15 Year Old better. Unbelievable! If you get a chance to taste a Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon, then don’t pass it up!  By the way, the price listed is suggested retail.  If you can find a bottle (a big “if”), then you’re likely to pay much more.

Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength Calvados Cask Finished

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Campbeltown Single Malt, 12 Years,
52.7% ABV, $90

There aren’t but a few Campbeltown distilleries in operation today, so I’m excited about this offering from Springbank. It comes highly recommended and is still available (it’s a limited edition) so that plays a role in the timing as well. After all, I only have a 1.5 oz. sample (thanks, Mark!).

It pours a clear golden color or a light amber. On the nose, its lightly peaty with a soft smoke that’s barely detectable. There are added notes of honey, toffee, ginger, cherry and vanilla (sorry, I don’t get any apple).

The taste is hot ginger with lots of vanilla, lemon, orange, white pepper and the finish is woody with mild peat and smoke. The spices linger in the background, but aren’t bold. This definitely needs some water.

With the addition of a few drops of water, the apple appears but it’s still light. The peat and smoke are subdued, but the honey remains dominant with notes of grass and white pepper. The taste becomes spicy and hot briefly, but diminishes to a mildly bitter wood, ginger, leather and white pepper finish. The fruit up front is dominated by spice; however, I still taste bitter pear, pineapple and apple along with vanilla. I’m going for more water.

The initial burst of spice is almost overpowering and it still settles into a spicy and woody finish… more water. By the time that the peppery heat is tamed, the fruits are too subdued. The spice is far too dominant here and I’m disappointed. It could really use some help from that Calvados cask, but I’m just not getting it… at least not to the degree required to restore some balance.

Having come this far, I’m pretty sure that the water destroyed the fruit and enhanced the spices and that’s the opposite of what I was hoping to achieve. It could be that the balance was best at full proof.

Based on this experience, I’m thinking that I’m going to pass on this $90 offering (and that’s with $15 off for the next few weeks), but I’m still not sure. It’s hard to believe that all of these people have been that far off in their praise. It’s also possible, that I just don’t appreciate this whisky.

Update

I was provided with another sample (thanks, Gene!), so I’m giving it another try. This time no water!

My notes above still stand. The taste is spicy, slightly sweet and fruity. The wood arrives last and carries into the finish with the spices as the sweetness and fruits fade. The finish is leathery, bitter wood and spices of ginger and white pepper. The fruits up front are mildly tart and sweet with flavors of green apple, orange, lemon, tart cherry, peach, persimmon and pink grapefruit. There are notes of vanilla and grass, but the prominent flavors are fruit and spice that transition to a spicy bitter finish. As i sip it more, i discover more sweetness up front that lasts a bit longer, but the spice still wins out easily. Also, at this proof I start to experience some numbing that subdues these sweet flavors as they develop. It’s very flavorful, but I don’t think its the style I prefer. For me, this is not well balanced mostly because of the bold spice and wood. I stand by my previous assessment and will pass on this one. If you like this profile, then this is a fine whisky.

I was discussing this one with a friend and we wondered if this one works better on ice, which is the way he drinks his whisky but not the way I drink mine. In any case, I share that just in case its your method and you like a spicy, woody malt.