2012

Macallan Elegancia

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside, The Collector's Cabinet /

The Macallan Elegancia Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 12 Years Old
40% ABV/80 Proof
Collectible (at time of release it was about $55/liter)

What the Distillery Says:
Unfortunately, because this is a retired expression not much is available on it directly from the distillery. I can tell you that it was a duty free exclusive launched in 2002. Also, it was continually available in 1 liter bottles until it’s recent replacement by the 1824 Collection of Travel Retail exclusive offering.

What Richard Says:
Nose: I really like the nose on this. I get lots of oranges and candied nuts. Side-by-side with the standard 12 Year Old it’s more delicate and refined.
Palate: The palate is much more reserved and a little less sweet than the standard 12. I still get the rich, malty, sherry notes of the standard expression but it’s a little more delicate.
Finish: This dram is very short and surprisingly clean on the finish. It leaves behind a little oak and some nuttiness.
Comments: This is like a lighter expression of the standard 12 Year Old. While that plays well on the nose and finish I feel it’s a little too delicate on the palate. I don’t really like one over the other. It’s more like two sides of the same coin.
Rating: Stands Out

Macallan Elegancia Read More »

New U.S. Releases – January 2012

/ / Richard's Blog

January is usually a pretty light month for the new release rumor mill. In both 2010 and 2011 we only had two whiskeys on our list. 2012 looks to break that trend. How about 11 new whiskeys coming our way? Check out our list below and see if something here might help you start off your year right.

Aberlour 12 Year NCF
Timeframe: TBD 2012
ABV: 48%
Price: TBD
Ah, Aberlour my secret little sherry aged dram. Aberlour has been gaining steam lately. They relaunched with new packaging, reintroduced an 18 Year Old, and now they have a new version on their 12 Year Old in the pipeline. This version will be bottled at 48% ABV instead of the current 40% and will be non-chill filtered.

Breakout Premium Rye
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 43%
Price: $35
This is a new 8 Year Old rye coming to market from the Tennessee Distilling Company (ironically from Pewaukee, WI). No word on the sourcing of this new rye but it’s already been seen in California and Michigan.

E.H. Taylor Jr Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Bourbon
Timeframe: Early 2012
ABV: 50%
Price: $70
According to Buffalo Trace (and Glenfiddich) if a storm tears up your warehouse then you need to release a special whiskey to celebrate. I don’t personally think you ever really need a reason so they can use whatever they want. This particular reason is 93 barrels of bourbon that survived the April 2, 2006 tornado strike on Warehouse C built by Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr in 1881.

Evan Williams Cinnamon Reserve
Timeframe: February 2012
ABV: 70% ABV
Price: $14.99
So apparently this flavored whiskey thing is taking off. While I’m not a huge fan of the category personally I think it’s good to see more whiskey products on the shelves crowding out all that damn vodka. We recently told you about new Red Stag extensions and now Heaven Hill is adding to their Evan Williams Reserve stable with a cinnamon version. This new release will keep their current Cherry and Honey versions company.

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2002 Vintage
Timeframe: Now
ABV: 43%
Price: $25
The roll out of the annual Evan Williams seems to be getting quieter every year. Heaven Hill didn’t even send out a press release this year. They just quietly started rolling out 2002 vintage to replace the 2001 vintage at the beginning of the year.

Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams
Timeframe: February 2012
ABV: 48.8%
Price: $99
Directly from Glenfiddich:
“Cask of Dreams is the celebrated culmination of Glenfiddich’s 2011 Cask of Dreams campaign, a national tour designed to inspire people nationwide to pursue their pioneering passions and dreams and to help bring them to life. Glenfiddich Ambassadors Heather Greene, Freddy May, and Mitch Bechard traveled the country, rolling casks through the streets and landmarks of major cities and encouraged whisky lovers to write their dreams and aspirations on then. The resulting casks were signed by thousands of Americans before their fond farewell to Dufftown to help create Cask of Dreams.

Cask of Dreams is a special marriage of Glenfiddich whiskies taken from a hand-picked selection of American oak casks holding matured whiskies of a variety of ages, with the youngest at 14 Years Old. This whisky was then decanted into the 11 inscribed casks and left to finish in the virgin American oak to bring an intense and powerful vanilla sweetness.”

Glenmorangie Artein
Timeframe: Early 2012
ABV: 46%
Price: TBD
This new 15 year old offering from Glenmorangie is the latest of Dr. Bill Lumsden’s ‘Private Edition’ offerings of finished boutique drams. This release saw time in Italian “Super Tuscan” red wine casks.

Jailers Tennessee Whiskey
Timeframe: Now
ABV: TBD
Price: $23
This is another one from the Tennessee Distilling Company. I have no additional information at this point.

Monkey Shoulder
Timeframe: TBD 2012
ABV: 40%
Price: $30
Monkey Shoulder isn’t new. It’s been around for quite awhile just not here. It’s a blended malt from William Grant and Sons. It’s a blend of three Speyside single malts. While not named, I’m assuming it’s the three that WG&S owns: Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kinivie. I’ve never had the pleasure of trying it but I’ve heard very good things. I’m glad to see it finally coming to the U.S.

SinFire Cinnamon Whisky
Timeframe: February 2012
ABV: 40%
Price: $16.99
Cinnamon is a big hit this month. Hood River Distillers is bringing out a cinnamon flavored Canadian whisky. It’s billed as a “unique, sweet yet sizzling experience.”

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
Timeframe: March 2012
ABV: 45.2%
Price: $50
This new offering is the first permanent line extension from Woodford in its 15 year history. Double Oaked, as you might imagine, spends time in two separate barrels. The first is the standard new charred oak barrel. The second is a deeply toasted barrel with a light charring. The new version is supposed to have additional soft, sweet oak character. Brown Forman was kind enough to send me a sample. As soon as I finally kick this damn sinus infection it will be the first one I’ll try.

That’s all we heard about this month. If we missed anything please let us know. Oh, if you’re looking for that Redbreast Cask Strength 12 Year Old it should start showing up on retailer shelves any day now. 😉

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

New U.S. Releases – January 2012 Read More »

Macallan Whisky Maker’s Selection

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Macallan Fine Oak Whisky Maker’s Selection Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
42.8% ABV/85.6 Proof
$75 to $90 for 1 liter
Duty Free/Travel Retail Exclusive
Website

What the Distillery Says:
The 1824 Collection
The 1824 Collection is a definitive range of Single Malts exclusive to Travel Retail. Crafted by those at its heart, these personal whiskies tell a particular story about The Macallan and draw on its long history, rich traditions and legendary dedication to quality.

Whisky Maker’s Edition
Containing rare whisky distilled from barley grown on The Macallan’s Estate, Whisky Maker’s Edition is personally crafted by The Macallan’s Whisky Maker, Bob Dalgarno and bottled at his preferred strength of 42.8% ABV. This Macallan is exceptionally elegant with a lingering finish.

What Richard Says:
Nose: This one is very green and cereal in nature. Bread, grains, breakfast cereal, and also a not altogether pleasant malty note.
Palate: It’s very viscous and there’s a sweet and bitter interplay that seem at odds with each other. It’s nutty with notes of honey. The palate is also very cereal-like in flavor.
Finish: Dry, hot, and a little bitter.
Comments: Let me start by saying I like Macallan scotch. I have for a long time. At the risk of being one of “those guys” I’ll say that I liked it before it was cool. I also like the Fine Oak Range. When it was released Macallan got a lot of flack for it but I enjoy it almost as much as the Sherry Range. All that said, I don’t like this. If you see the 1824 Collection on your next trip through duty free you might want to pick up one of the other expressions.
Rating: Probably Pass

Macallan Whisky Maker’s Selection Read More »

Running Late Again

/ / Richard's Blog

I’m supposed to have a review of Michter’s Straight Rye up for you all today. Well, thanks to a couple of work related flights last week I have a bit of a sinus infection so I’m a little behind on that one. It’s really hard to taste whiskey when you can’t breathe. I should have it up soon along with a new product release from Woodford Reserve. Next month will be Macallan focused and I already have most of those reviews done so we shouldn’t have the same problem in February.

Also, I’ll be at the Burn’s Night Dinner at Mac McGee next Wednesday so if you see a big dark haired guy with a goatee stop over and say high.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

Running Late Again Read More »

Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
Batch No 11-159
45.7%/91.4 Proof
$35 to $40
Website

What the Distillery Says:
US*1 Small Batch Bourbon
We are proud to offer you our Small Batch Bourbon. In the Michter’s tradition hailing from America’s first whiskey distilling company, this bourbon is made from a proprietary mashbill that features the highest quality American corn and is then matured to the peak of perfection. It is then mellowed by our signature filtration.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Out of the bottle I get vanilla beans, caramel, and uncooked cornmeal. With a little water it opens up to notes of cherries and a Halls cough drop kind of menthol.
Palate: On the palate this bourbon is pleasantly sweet but not as sweet as the nose. It’s a little like Breyer’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Behind that it reminds me a little more of a corn whiskey than a bourbon.
Finish: Like their American Whiskey the finish is a little too hot. It’s only a 4+ year old so that might be expected. It’s a little like wetting a black peppercorn, rolling it in cayenne, and sucking on it. Obviously, a little water mellow it out but in general the finish is a little bland. Oak and spice are a little too boiler plate in a bourbon finish. Also, with water I’m left with a slightly medicinal flavor going back to the menthol that I’m not a fan of.
Comments: I find this bottle a little too average. It’s nice enough for a bourbon in its age range but better can be had for cheaper. I’d probably give it an “average +” rating if we had a more complex rating system.
Rating: Average

I would like to thank Emily with Chatham Imports for sending over a bottle for review. They were also nice enough to send over some recipes with their fine products.

Patsy’s Bourbon Balls

1 cup chopped pecans
6 tbsp. Michter’s US*1 Bourbon
½ stick butter
3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar
16 oz. dark chocolate chips

Soak pecans in Michter’s US*1 Bourbon in an airtight container for four days. Flip after the first two days to fully coat the pecans. The pecans should absorb all of the Michter’s US*1 Bourbon. Mix butter, sugar, and pecans. Roll into 1-inch balls and refrigerate overnight. Pour dark chocolate chips into microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 2½ minutes. Remove chocolate every minute and stir. Dip refrigerated balls into the melted dark chocolate. Place the chocolate-covered bourbon balls in an airtight container and place in freezer until set (just a few minutes). Store in a cool place.

Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon Read More »