Blind Whiskey Tasting

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tastingTonight, I attended a different kind of tasting at Trinity Hall Irish Pub in Dallas.  This one included 4 pairs of similarly styled whiskey, which had to be identified as either the named flagship offering or a specific premium offering.  Here was the lineup:

  • Bulleit Bourbon ($20) or Bulleit 10 Year Bourbon ($35) – The 10 Year is a new offering from Bulleit that was introduced in 2013 and I haven’t read any favorable reviews or received any favorable recommendations on it.  I had tasted their regular Bourbon almost 2 years ago and wasn’t impressed.  I approached the judging by expecting the flavor of the 10 year to reflect it’s age, but I was duped. The 10 Year is worse than the original and a definite waste of money.
  • Crown Royal ($18) or Crown Royal XO ($45) – I’ve not had many Canadian whiskeys, so this was new for me.  The cognac influence of the XO was subdued (as was the general flavor of both whiskies), but discernable. I didn’t find either one very interesting, so I would pass on both of these.
  • Bushmills Black Bush ($30) of Bushmills 1608 400th Anniversary ($100) – This was the most difficult to identify because both of these blends have sherry influence.  Black Bush is finished in sherry casks, while 1608 includes whiskies which have been aged in sherry casks.  For me, the 1608 had an added depth of flavor and richness that caught my attention more.  Both of these were good, but I prefer Jameson 12 Year ($39) or Jameson Gold Reserve ($63) over either of them.
  • MacAllan 10 Year Fine Oak ($38) or MacAllan 17 Year Fine Oak ($150)  – This was probably the easiest to identify even though both of these are good.  I had tasted both of them at a previous Trinity Hall event and this helped as well.  The 17 Year just had enhanced flavors and complexity over the 10 Year, but it’s still not worth the price difference.

If you’re keeping track, then you know that I correctly identified 3 out of 4.  I don’t know of anyone at the event who correctly identified them all (like I said, Bulleit duped everyone with their 10 Year Bourbon by making it worse than their original).  This was a good test of whether premium offerings really offer anything special and it was a fun event to attend.  In general, premium offerings need to be approached carefully.  There are those who will offer inferior products with a premium label (e.g. Bulleit), while others will price their premium offering far too high to make them worthwhile (e.g. MacAllan).  Still others, take mediocre products and enhance them to create mediocre premium products (e.g. Crown Royal).  What you’re looking for is the honest producer who will masterfully or cleverly work to create a superior product that is worthwhile.  The closest example of that tonight was Bushmills 1608… even though it’s not a whiskey that I would seek, the premium blend definitely demonstrated a richness, depth and complexity that I expect in a premium offering.

Online Engine Diagnosis

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While vacationing in Branson, MO last week with the family, our van engine started running very rough and lost power on a routine drive to the grocery store.  The engine is a 7.3l Direct Injection PowerStroke with 298k miles on it that’s not given us any trouble in the 13 years that we’ve owned it, so I was expecting the worst case scenario.  I immediately turned to the online forums that I use for advice and recommendations for a solution.  In this case it was TheDieselStop.  Based on the symptoms, the Injector Drive Module (IDM) was the suspected culprit.

Since I was a day away from departure and there was “no room at the inn” for us to stay longer, time was of the essence.  Even worse, the weekend was quickly approaching and it was Thursday night.  I immediately started a search and by Friday morning had arrived at these options:

  • $1000 for new part from local dealer with availability on Tuesday,
  • $500 for remanufactured part from O’Reilly’s with availability that afternoon carrying a 1 year warranty,
  • $250 for remanufactured part from O’Reilly’s with availability Saturday afternoon carrying a lifetime warranty,

I opted for the last one because of the warranty and, to some degree, the price; however, it didn’t arrive as promised on Saturday.  O’Reilly’s told me that it wouldn’t arrive until Monday since it had missed this shipment from Oklahoma City.

Since I had rented a small car ($24/day) in the meantime in order to run errands, I expanded the search to a larger area.  Although AutoZone didn’t have a location in Branson, there were several in northern Arkansas as well as to the north around Springfield.  Amazingly, I was able to locate the same remanufactured part with the 1 year warranty in stock at an AutoZone in Ozark (about 30 miles away).  I was off and running within minutes.

About 2 hours later (got hungry), I arrived with the part and installed it within an hour.  Here’s the kicker… with just an online search and a simple problem description, the diagnosis was correct and our van was back on the road and running perfectly.  I can’t even imagine how I would’ve diagnosed this problem even with all of the tools and time that I would’ve had at home.  I’m super impressed with the experts who share their knowledge and experience via the forums at TheDieselStop and I’m very thankful for their help!

Advent Failure

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Well it should be evident by now that I completely failed at completing my custom whiskey advent calendar.  I did review 10 whiskeys and as a result of the attempt, I have several lined up that I’ll try to get to soon.  Stay tuned….

Glenlivet Tasting

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Glenlivet XXVTonight I attended a tasting event hosted by the great people at Spec’s in Dallas. Pernod Ricard’s Master if Scotch, Craig Vaught, sampled three whiskies from the Glenlivet line:

  • Glenlivet 18 Year – $85
  • Glenlivet Archive 21 Year – $130
  • Glenlivet 25 Year – $400

All of these Speyside whiskies were decent, but none of them were great. The 18 Year was fruity, woody and spicy, but none of it well integrated. The 21 year brought more balance to the flavor profile and improved with a few drops of water. Of particular note is that it pairs well with chocolate. The 25 year had the most pronounced influence of sherry and was quite enjoyable, but it was a toss-up with the 21 (for $80 less). Glenlivet is the top selling brand of Scotch whisky here and its easy to see why: easy name to pronounce and remember, good but not too challenging flavor, age-based progression that’s easy to understand, great history and broad availability. For me, the one Glenlivet that I’m looking forward to trying is their 16 Year Old Nadurra, which is non-chill filtered and bottled at cask strength.

Knob Creek 9 Year Old Single Barrel Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Straight Bourbon, 9 Years,
50% ABV, $34

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve is a hand-selected higher proof offering of their flagship bourbon.  This barrel (#464) was selected by Simon Taylor of Spec’s in Dallas and it’s #10 for this year on my advent list.  I talked about this whiskey with Simon and that discussion convinced me to try his selection (I even had him sign it for me).  There was another barrel selected by Spec’s that day and I may have to try that one as well, since Simon said that it was a close second for him (he described it as “caramel fruit salad”).  Hold on a minute… I’m getting ahead of myself.  I haven’t even poured the whiskey yet.

Okay, it’s in the glass smelling grand!  There’s straw, caramel and a good spicy burn with notes of vanilla, cherry, cocoa, black pepper and pear.  The aroma is fairly bold without water.  A bit of water tones down the burn and brings the pepper and other flavors into balance; however, I don’t notice any other flavors.

The taste is hot and bold, with plenty of vanilla, cinnamon, honey, caramel, tobacco, lemon and apple.  Adding a bit of water causes the peppery spice to mellow and persist into the finish.  Additional notes of cherry, ginger and overripe pear arrive and the tobacco becomes more a hint of powdery cocoa.  The finish persists very long with a good chewy feel and a spicy, woody flavor with just a hint of that cocoa I mentioned earlier.  There’s a mild lemon sourness midway through that retreats about as quickly as it arrives – over a couple of seconds – and works well with the spices.

This is a very good whiskey and one that I enjoy quite often.  I don’t expect that it’ll last very long, so I’d best secure that other bottle before they disappear.  It offers a lot to keep your interest and is easy to drink without demanding too much attention.  I recommend a splash of water with this one as well.

W. L. Weller 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Straight Bourbon, 12 Years,
45% ABV, $20

Due to a slight mishap, I have some tasting time on my hands, so I’m going to attempt to make some major progress in catching up on my advent tasting.  We’ll see how that goes.

First up is Weller 12 Year Old Bourbon, a reasonably priced wheated bourbon (like Pappy Van Winkle).  Price-wise, this offering from Buffalo Trace is slotted in-between Weller Special Reserve and Old Weller Antique (107°), but many prefer it to the latter.  In fact, members of the Straight Bourbon Forum have created their own blend of 50% Weller 12 and 50% Old Weller Antique as a compromise (or is it improvement?).  If you’re really serious about your whiskey (I am), then Buffalo Trace also offers William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon as part of their Antique Collection (a limited annual release of 5 whiskies).  It’s a barrel-strength offering (my 2012 bottle is 123.4°) that is quite popular and very hard to find in most parts of the country.  Enough background, it’s time to smell this baby.

There’s a bit of straw in the mix, but it’s more subdued than the malts I’ve been drinking lately.  A spicy ginger and pepper reach my nose with a bit of burn while the sweetness of the honey, caramel, dark cherry, vanilla and sweet tobacco provide balance.  This is a decidedly different experience than nosing a rye-forward bourbon (most of them out there) and I enjoy it a lot.  For me, it’s the dark fruits that come out in the wheated offerings that I like so much and this $20 whiskey provides an ample demonstration.  It’s a less spicy and sweeter aroma that I find more enjoyable (not that I don’t enjoy the rye-forward bourbons or rye whiskey… some of those are coming up).

That this is a different kind of bourbon, is immediately evident.  The dark cherry, overripe apple, vanilla, caramel, honey and plum arrive first along with a bit of lemon drop tartness.  The spices arrive next as ginger, cinnamon and black pepper and are accompanied by the onset of the wood tannins, which build as the mouthfeel becomes somewhat chewy.  The finish is spicy and mildly leathery with a bit of charred oak flavor that linger for a long time.  The black pepper fades very slowly and I’m left with remnants of sweet tobacco and oak.

I really enjoy this bourbon and highly recommend it if you’ve never tasted a wheated bourbon (for me, Maker’s Mark doesn’t count… this is much better).  For me, it’s the best wheated bourbon value out there and, yes, I do prefer it to Old Weller Antique.  If you end up liking it as much as I do, then you’ll be pleased to know that it’s offered in handles (1.75l) as well.

Ranger Creek Rimfire

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Single Malt,
No Age Statement,
46% ABV, $35 (375 ml)

For #8, we’ll add a bit of smoke from Ranger Creek. It’s a single malt whiskey distilled from their Mesquite Smoked Porter and is the 2012 release from their Small Caliber Series.  The porter is smoked over Texas Mesquite before being distilled and aged.  This is the first whiskey of theirs that I’ve tried… here goes nothing.

The color is a golden color, but lighter than the earlier Buffalo Trace. The nose is mildly smoky with a hint of sulphur. It’s also spicy, stemming mostly from ginger and black pepper, but there’s little else going on here. It’s hard to detect the other aromas because they’re so distant: menthol, honey and caramel. This is perhaps the weakest nose on a whiskey that I’ve encountered.

The taste is equally diminished up front, but builds a bit on the way to a finish of dark chocolate (very distinct) and mild smoke (more like flint). Up front there’s vanilla, honey, black pepper and caramel, but the chocolate becomes more and more prominent and the black pepper compliments it well. This is the most chocolatey whisk I’ve ever tasted. Eventually, the finish settles into a spicy, tart and bitter dark chocolate flavor. The flavors that started things off become more and more muted as the pepper in the finish grows and are joined by a mild spearmint. After spending a while trying to figure this whiskey out, I settle into a tart, spicy vanilla entry… a spicy chocolate interlude… and finally a mildly spicy bitter chocolate finish.

This is an odd whisky and the name, Rimfire, hardly fits it. Cocoa Powder might be more appropriate. With an uninteresting nose and a mostly chocolate flavor, this whisky is pretty boring. If you love dry dark rustic chocolate, then I can recommend this; otherwise I would pass. There’s not enough going on here.

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Boirbon

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Straight Bourbon, 9 Years, 45% ABV, $20

I’m still playing catch up from the North Texas ice storm that somehow put a damper on my whiskey advent activities. Here is #7 – a familiar pour that I’ve been through several bottles of – Buffalo Trace.

With a medium amber color and viscosity that provides a nice coating on the glass, BT looks really nice. The nose is of vanilla, cherry, plum, honey, old cigar box, lemon drop, black pepper and a bit of charred oak. Sometimes I notice a bit if green grass and green pepper.

The initial taste is lemon, vanilla, caramel, cherry and honey, which gives way to a bit of white and black pepper on the way to a mildly wooded finish. Eventually, some grass and ginger join the fray between the initial burst and the finish. There’s also a bit of leathery cocoa… like cocoa powder just before the finish arrives. I continue to sip on this whiskey and a tobacco flavor develops on the background… not as forward as on the Eagle Rare 10 that I like, but a nice addition nonetheless.

This is a very solid whiskey at a great price and still one of my favorite bottom-shelf bourbons. I tend to step up to Eagle Rare 10 or Evan Williams Single Barrel for a few dollars more, but I like this for any mixing that I do since it’s available at a good price in 1.75l bottles.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

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Islay Single Malt, No Age Statement,
57.1% ABV, $75

Next up is an Islay single malt from Ardbeg to finish the night.

A nice golden color and a bit of oiliness coats the sides of the glass. One whiff and I’m certain that this Islay and maybe more like Laphroaig than the Ardbeg Ten that I’m used to. Smoke, peat and a hint of iodine rise from the glass. Notes of honey, ginger, apple, straw, lemon and sea salt rise through the smoky vapors. Leaving it I disturbed for a bit allows me to gently inhale smells of grass and tobacco.

The flavors are delayed slightly and then mildly explode into honey, grapefruit, apple, orange, cherry, ginger, cocoa and white pepper and it’s all bathed in mild peat and smoke. The finish is more peat with a mildly leathery wood and mild spice as the salt and sweetness fades. It never reaches a dry mouthfeel, but the mild bitterness is evident. The fruity flavors in the midst of the smoke are lots of fun while the spices keep you attentive. I was expecting more of the oily iodine or sulphur characteristic of Laphroaig, but I don’t detect any… maybe just a hint after drinking several sips and only after the fruits and spices completely fade. No, this is a more refined yet bolder Ardbeg… much less sweetness than Ardbeg Ten with more tangy fruit.

This is a serious whisky that you can’t just casually enjoy. It forces you to engage it with some focus and the attention is well worth it. I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I do. It’s much better than Ardbeg Ten and probably my favorite Islay to date.

Signatory Fettercairn 15 Year Old 1996 (Vintage Collection)

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Highland Single Malt, 15 Years,46% ABV, $50

Highland Single Malt, 15 Years,
46% ABV, $50

This is #5, so I’m still 6 days behind schedule after this one. I’ll have to go for 2 tonight. First up is a Signatory bottling from a now defunct highland distillery.

Firstly, I’ll note the pale coloring. Although it pours a pale yellow-gold, the nose is moderately bold. There’s lots of honey and straw with notes of ginger, overripe pear, mild tobacco and sea salt.

The taste is fruity and delicate at first, giving way to a gradual build of mildly peppery spice and an equally mild woodiness. The fruits linger all the way through to the finish and fade slowly. Initially, there’s lemon drop, orange, pear, vanilla and apple, then a gradually increasing amount of ginger that is joined by black and white pepper. The peppers are mild, while the ginger is more prominent. The mild sweetness up front is contrasted with a dry, woody and mildly bitter finish. The lingering and soft fruitiness provides good balance as the wood fades. After a while, I notice a bit of brine that is quite complementary along with a really smooth honey flavor… not like raw honey, but more like a creamed honey that goes well with the candy, fruit and spice

This is a very nice whisky and one I might have to pick up (thanks for the sample, Mark E.). Some refer to this as a nice Summer whisky and I get that. I’ll add that it’s quite nice on this cold winter night as well.