24 Days of Christmas Whisky: Day 16 
A Sexy American Single Malt!

Whisky: Wasmund's Single Malt

 

Distillery/Brand:

Wasmund's

 

Bottling:

Wasmund's Single Malt

 

Region:

American

 

ABV:

48%

 

Colour:

Old Sauternes

Review:

I was supposed to head to a friends whisky tasting last night, but sadly had to run out to the family business to help out during the public holiday rush. Because of this I decided that when I got home I had to crack open something special.

An American Single Malt Whisky.

Score!

Now I'm a huge fan of Stranhan's Single Malt, from Colorado, but this whisky is from Virginia's Copper Fox distillery.

I had no idea what I was walking into as I've never tried the distillery, it's aged from between 14 and 18 months from everything I can find online. Distilled in pot stills, and very small
batches, one barrel at a time from everything I've read and heard.

It poured an extremely deep dark golden color that made me grin and ask myself how they get so much color into such a young whisky.

It's got a very odd nose and when I poured it the very first aroma I got was candy canes, lots of peppermint and cinnamon, then the nose evolved in the glass over the course of an hour or so with smoke covered toffee apples coming out, and then slowly some chocolate oranges appearing. There is an aroma of peat that surrounds the rest of the nose, but it's not overpoweringly so.

A very nice and complex little nose that takes a while to open up and show it's sexy little potential.

The nose makes me really eager to take a taste so I'm going to do just that!

Spicy! Spicy and fruity actually!

Pepper, cinnamon, mint, apples, chocolate oranges and faint peat roll around the palate making me smile. God I'm loving what the Americans are doing with single malts!

A very long and dry finish with lingering cinnamon apples ends the whisky and makes me smile.

Lovely, just lovely. This is a whisky that I'd love to run out and buy.

Sadly though I've never seen this bottle for sell in Australia, however looking at prices in Scotland and England I'm willing to bet that it'd run around $100 AUS a bottle.

That would be totally worth it! If you're looking for a whisky that is not quite like anything you've ever had before this is the whisky for you. If you get a chance to try it, do so!

Nose:         23/25
Taste:        22/25
Finish:       21/25
Balance:    21/25

Overall:     87/100

24 Days of Christmas Whisky: Day 15; My First Grain Whisky!

Whisky: Compass Box Hedonism

 

Distillery/Brand:

Compass Box

 

Bottling:

Compass Box Hedonism

 

Region:

Scottish Grain

 

ABV:

43%

 

Colour:

Chardonnay

Review:
 A long day, especially for a weekend day, with the power turned off while I attempt to get some weekend chores down has left me tired and feeling just a little bit irritable.

In order to brighten up my mood I decided to crack open another sample from my Christmas present from my wife, an advent calender of whisky samples from Master of Malt.
24 different whiskies covering various styles, ages, countries, it's been an awesome present so far.

Tonight I decided to go with a first, my first grain whisky!

Compass Box Hedonism.

Now from everything I understand this is a blend of grain whiskies from different distilleries, covering a range of years.

Cameron Bridge, Carsebridge, Cambus aged from 12 to 29 years in first fill ex bourbon casks.

Now for quite a while now I'd heard from many whisky people, not all, but many, that grain whiskies were bad, bitter, not pleasant, cheap filler used in scotch blends such as Chivas and Johnnie Walker, something that no true whisky lover would willingly drink.

However I tend to ignore those kinds of comments unless I've had experiences to back them up so when I saw a sample of Compass Box in my calender I had a giant grin erupt on my face.

When I crack the sample glass and pour it into my glencairn the very first thing I notice is the pale pale yellow that it pours.

The second thing that immediately hits me is the aroma.

You can definitely tell the bourbon cask influence on the whisky, aromas of vanilla and coconut, oak and cinnamon come wafting out of the glass and across the room as I sit here watching the new Masterchef Professional Australia series with my wife.

The vanilla and coconut are so strong that my wife can smell it from across the room as she sits next to me.

A closer nose pulls up some nutmeg, red pepper, hints of citrus and mint beneath it all.

It's a lovely STRONG little nose.

Time for a taste though!

Vanilla, pure and simple is the first thing to hit the palate, feels a little dusty, a tiny bit of chemical flavor, almost like paint thinner, bitter oak, a little metallic, then spicy, a little minty.

Not quite sure what to think of the palate, at times I like it, at times I really dislike it.

The finish starts off bitter with oak and chocolate then goes sweet with cherries, and vanilla.

Interesting whisky, and I'm still not quite sure what I think of it. Part of me enjoyed it, part of me really disliked it. I don't know that I'd bought of it, but I'd be quite happy to try another sample or taste of it. It really seems like a whisky that you'd love or hate, but I'm left feeling odd.

Yes odd is the word to describe me right now, undecided.

I've yet to see this bottle for sell in Australia, except for one shop in Perth and they were selling it for along the lines of $130 to $140 AUS, which at least on this taste, I wouldn't pay for a bottle of this. However if I were to see a bottle of this in a bar I'd happily buy a dram to try it out once more!

Grab a bottle of this if you're looking for something a little different and don't mind shelling out a bit of cash, however if you're watching your whisky money closely, I'd keep looking.

Nose:          22/25
Taste:         19/25
Finish:        20/25
Balance:     20/25

Overall:      81/100

24 Days of Christmas: Day 14: Sherry Bomb Pleasure!

 

Whisky: GlenDronach 15 Yr Old Revival Sherry Cask

 

Distillery/Brand:

GlenDronach

 

Bottling:

Glendronach 15 Year old Revival Sherry Cask

 

Region:

Speyside

 

ABV:

46%

 

Colour:

Old Sauternes

Review:
Tonight when I got home from work, I'm tired, I'm sore and I decided that I needed a nice dram to take the edge off, to absorb me into the world of whisky.

Fortuitously I have a steady supply of such whiskies, thanks to my wife and Master of Malt.

Tonight I went, yet again, for a distillery that I'd never tried before, which is the way I like it, something new, something different.

See the thing about me and whisky is that I treat old favorites like an old friend where you both know one anothers tall tales, you know about the one that got away.

You enjoy one another, you know where your stories are going to go and you go together like peanut butter and jelly.

You can also be a little bit too predictable.

This is why, at least for me, that variety is the spice of life. I'm always looking for the next new whisky to become one of my new old friends.

Tonight I was introducing myself to GlenDronach 15 Year Old Revival Sherry Cask.
Aged for 15 years in Oloroso Sherry casks for 15 years this whisky pours a lovely deep dark golden color that just makes me smile.

It's a typical sherry nose, dark fruits like raisins, toffee, chocolate, hints of vanilla and smoke (which is interesting!), quite an earthy feeling nose. Underneath it all is a faint aroma that is rubbery and the only low point in the aroma.

Time for a taste though!

Again it follows like a nice typical sherry bomb!

Raisins, toffee, chocolate, burnt coffee, wow some nice nutty flavors there along with some spices.

Mmmmm quite enjoyable.

The finish is long, dry and spicy with the burnt coffee and chocolate shouting out.

A very enjoyable and solid sherry bomb style whisky, a whisky that tastes more intense then the 46% abv that sits at, which makes me happy, it's more intense, but not in a bad way.

This is one of those whiskies that I'd totally go to when I wanted to introduce someone who's never experienced a really nice sherry whisky before, right before I move them to the Aberlour Abunadhs.

I've sadly yet to see this whisky for sell in Australia, but I'm willing to guess that this bad boy would be running close to $100 AUS if you could find it, which is a pretty damn good deal. Mind you at that price I'd still go with Aberlour Abunadh instead, but if I wanted something a little less intense I'd be heading straight here.

Nose:        21/25
Taste:       22/25
Finish:       22/25
Balance:    20/25

Overall:     85/100

24 Days of Christmas: Day 13; Double Cask Pleasure

 

Whisky: Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask

 

Distillery/Brand:

Aberlour

 

Bottling:

Aberlour 12 Year old Double Cask Matured

 

Region:

Speyside

 

ABV:

43%

 

Colour:

Young Sauternes

Review:
Last night I decided to crack open yet another sample from my whisky calender from Master of Malt, I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to crack open Aberlour 12 year old Double Cask Matured.

Aberlour 10 year old was one of the very first single malts that I ever tried and considering
how much I love Aberlour Abunadh, you pretty much pick the batch, I was quite pleased to see a sample in my calender, especially of one I hadn't tried before.

Now the Aberlour Double Cask Matured is just what it sounds, a whisky that has been matured in two different casks. In this case traditional oak barrels and sherry barrels. And you can definitely pick up hints of the traditional oak barrels on this lovely little whisky.

I enjoyed this whisky over a lovely 90 minute period while I sat down and ate dinner with my wife, watching the new crime mystery show, Elementary.

An interesting little nose on this Speyside as the aromas waft out of the glencairn as I sit here.

You can immediately smell the sherry casks influence on this whisky with aromas of sultanas and raisins, vanilla coming off it, but there's more, as time goes on more and more the traditional oak barrels have their say, with amusingly enough toasted oak, then cinnamon, apples, hints of smoke and after about an hour or so, maple syrup all coming off the nose.

Very enjoyable.

When I take a sip it is immediately clear once again that the sherry casks have had their say, with sultanas coming through clear as day, then the oak speaks up once more as the whisky slowly goes more sweet and spicy with cinnamon, honey and vanilla all coming out. At the very end of the dram, after about an hour or so, floral notes enter into the palate, but never overpoweringly so.

A Soft fruity finish with apricots, grapes, oak and vanilla finish off the whisky and making for an enjoyable dram.

Sadly I haven't found this whisky for sell here in Perth, however I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find it running at around $80 or so AUS which isn't a bad price to pay for this whisky, as I said it was quite enjoyable and something I'd be happy to try again.

Nose:         22/25
Taste:        20/25
Finish:        20/25
Balance:     20/25

Overall:      82/100

24 Days of Christmas Whisky: Day 12; Spicy Turkey!

Whisky: Wild Turkey Rye

 

Distillery/Brand:

Wild Turkey

 

Bottling:

Wild Turkey Rye

Region:
American

 

ABV:

50.5%

 

Colour:

Old Sauternes

Review:

Today I decided to crack open yet another sample of whisky from my sexy whisky calender.

I've been in an American whisky kinda mood so I decided to crack open my sample of Wild Turkey Rye whiskey while I'm sitting here watching The Wire.

Now I've only tried Wild Turkey once before, for when my wife decided to make some ribs that are done with some sexy bourbon sauce. I wasn't blown away with my first taste of it, that's for sure, so here's hoping this is going to go better.

A sweet spicy nose comes off the glencairn once the whiskey is poured, rye spices, almost bready at times, quite a good deal of honey, a whiff of pepper, some vanilla, a good dose of citrus.

A nice pleasant nose, nothing super exceptional, but nice and easy going, enjoyable.

As the city deteriorates even further in The Wire, with school finance issues and a drug dealer hiding all the bodies, I decide that it's time to take a sip.

Spicy with a good dose of rye, some oak, peppery, a wee bit of vanilla, but more bitter then anything else and sadly with the faintest hint of chemical flavor that is vaguely unpleasant.

A spicy finish, peppery with burnt oak and rye and that chemical flavor coming through, ends the whiskey. At the very end of the finish is the faintest hint of fruit, oranges I'd say.

It's definitely not the worst whiskey I've ever had, but I've certainly had quite a few rye whiskies that I've enjoyed much more. However all those whiskies are more expensive then this guy, which runs at around $50 a bottle over here in Australia, which makes it a fairly reasonable price for what you're getting.

If you're looking for a change up in the American whiskey scene and haven't tried a rye whiskey, this isn't the worst place to start, but personally I'd rather spend a wee bit more money and grab a bottle of Sazerac Rye.

Nose:          21/25
Taste:         19/25
Finish:         19/25
Balance:      19/25

Overall:       78/100

24 Days of Christmas Whisky: Day 11: 
Kissed by Four Roses

Whisky: Four Roses Single Barrel 2012

 

Distillery/Brand:

Four Roses

 

Bottling:

Four Roses Single Barrel

 

Region:

American

 

ABV:

54.7%

 

Colour:

Old Gold

Review:

 So tonight after a long day at work, hell after a long week at work I got home and decided to try yet another whisky from my awesome whisky calender from Master of Malt.
This time I've decided to jump across the pound back to the good ol' US of A!

Bourbon!

Maybe it's in response to all the people I hear each week that say Americans can't make whiskey, maybe it's because I'm tired of hearing about people pouring bourbon into coke, I just don't know why, but when I got home tonight, I looked at several imperial stouts in the fridge, a couple Belgian strong ales, a few Scotch blends and a lot of single malts and the Four Roses just called out to me.

Now this surprised me, quite a bit, because the last time I'd had Four Roses, while it wasn't bad, my brother in law and myself both found it too syrupy, too sweet, almost sickly so.

But this one was sitting at cask strength, and was the Single Barrel from 2012 and like I said, I knew that I needed to crack it open it tonight.

So I crack open the sample bottle and pour it into my glencairn where it pours a very sexy dark golden color, with long thick thick legs that almost hang onto the side of the glass, ever so slowly going down the glass sides.

Sweeeeet.

Lovely little nose on this, very typical bourbon nose, but still lovely. There's something so nice about taking a whisky, nosing it, and going that's a nose of the homeland.

Coconut, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Honey, Vanilla, faint hints of cherries and cocoa.

Loving it! Just the thing that I needed tonight to get me in the mood.

What a lovely taste!

Spicy, but sweet, a strong oak presence, quite a bit of vanilla and coconut.

It's very easy drinking, especially for almost 55% ABV, very sweet though, but not sickly so.

A nice long finish with cherries and vanilla that lingers a good long time. Lovely. Just lovely.

Now for the sad part, I've yet to see a cask strength Four Rose for sale in Australia, and the 50% ABV version that is standard over here, yeah that one I've seen go for $120-$145 AUS, when you can find it, and it's very difficult to know which batch of that Four Roses your drinking.

That sadly makes me suspect a bottle of the cask strength will hit at least $150 AUS, just guessing, or more and once you start reaching those prices, especially $200 plus, you might as well start staring at a Stagg.

It's a pity, because I'd like to own a bottle of this. I can think of a few friends who'd get a kick out it.

Que cera cera, sadly what will be, will be.

If you get a chance to try this batch, this strength, do so, you won't regret it.

Nose:        23/25
Taste:       21/25
Finish:       21/25
Balance:    21/25

Overall:     86/100

24 Days of Christmas: Day 10 
It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn!

Whisky: Bowmore 15 Year Old Darkest

 

Distillery/Brand:

Bowmore

 

Bottling:

Bowmore 15 Year old - Darkest

 

Region:

Islay

 

ABV:

43%

 

Colour:

Full Gold

Review:
So I've been enjoying this very sexy whisky advent calender from Master of Malt. My wife bought it for my Christmas present after receiving the very subtle hint from me when I sent her the email advertising it.

A calender made up of 24 different whiskies, from all over the world in all sorts of different styles at different ages and different strengths.

I've been working my way through this calender slowly, savoring the different whiskies. I'd started with entry level whiskies, slowly moving my way up the ladder, getting into older whiskies, whiskies at higher strengths, whiskies that I can't get my hands on.

The whisky I cracked open tonight was one I've been eyeing all week, an Islay, which after the week I've had, felt just like the whisky I needed.

Bowmore 15 Year Old Darkest.

Now I've had Bowmore once before, but this is the first time I've tried this expression and it's the first time I'm reviewing a Bowmore.

This Bowmore has been aged for 13 years in bourbon barrels and then aged for the last 2 years in Oloroso sherry casks.

It pours a sexy dark color that just makes you giggle and go "this is going to be good!"

Intoxicating aromas off the glencairn once it's been poured. Very sweet nose, you can immediately see the sherry's influence, ripe red fruits, cherries and raisins, along with the beautiful peat, it slowly becomes spicy, mainly cinnamon and then slowly shifts into hints of vanilla and dark chocolate.

Mmmmm.

This is a whisky I'm happy to nose for hours.

However I need to take a drink eventually so here goes!

Slightly ashy with peat, a little bit oaky and then it goes fruity again with the red fruits, not nearly as intoxicating as the nose, but not bad. Slightly thin mouthfeel, but not enough to be a big detraction.

The finish is where this whisky comes back to life though, long and fruity with cherries and butterscotch. Beautiful!

An enjoyable little whisky, that sadly I've yet to see in Australia, but if you were able to find it I'd expect to pay $100 to $120 AUS for it, which strikes me as a fair price for this little guy.

If you get a chance to try it and you like your sweeter Islay's go for it.

Nose:        22/25
Taste:       19/25
Finish:      21/25
Balance:   20/25

Overall:    82/100