This unusual limited release 18 year old is the oldest unpeated CAOL ILA ever bottled and was matured in refill American Oak casks. It has a style as clean and fresh as the pale sky that follows clearing rain, with a bitter-sweet warmth and an appetising salty edge. Crisp, smooth hints of fruit and a wild strawberry sweetness dance boldly across the tongue like flecks of foam over wind-lashed waves.
What Gary Says
Nose: Cut hay, salted caramel and vanilla, strawberry greens, gentle smoke and a hint of salted sea air; a bit of water brings out more smoke and maritime notes. Palate: Rich and thick mouthfeel that starts soft and gradually warms, caramel with berries, apricots, peaches, pears, bit of allspice and smoke pick-up in the middle along with honey malt. Finish: Long with a warm and subtle spice nod. Comments: Wow – this is delicious! I like Caol Ila, and when I heard ‘unpeated’ I’ll admit that my immediate thought was ‘Folks, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it’. I was curious how this would be without the peat, and I am so glad to have had a chance to try this. Just a lovely, complex dram that highlights the craftsmanship of the makers. Some might wonder if peated malt is a lower quality (where the peat can cover up some mistakes). This shows that isn’t the case. Takes water well, although drinks like it is closer to 50% than 60%.
$30-$70 (depending upon sales!) Sold on Amazon (or other sites, availability may vary but try Groupon as well) We would like to thank Benjamin Hopper and Eravino for sending us a sample to review.
What the Producer Says
The unique design is skillfully hand-blown with a ship inside. As you empty the decanter the ship emerges from the wine or liquor, creating a phenomenal effect. Our product is made to complement the rest of your modern tableware, like glasses, bowls, and plates. Features a hand-crafted wooden stand with 4-bar glass bases that acts as a coasters to prevent water marks. Beautifully carved with an elegant and natural shape that compliments your home decors.
HIGH QUALITY: 100% handmade and high quality 100% Lead Free Crystal Glass that provides a brilliant, colorless finish that allows for the true color of wine to be fully appreciated. Crafted out of fine crystal for timeless shine and durability.
FOR ALL OCCASIONS: An excellent conversation piece for any occasion. It is capable of holding just the right amount of your favorite wine for a small get together with friends. Each one is handmade from the finest, completely lead-free glass. One set features 1 large Globe Whisky Decanter with a capacity to hold up to 850ml of liquid and 4 elegant glasses.
AUTHENTIC HAND- BLOWN GLASS: Made of lead-free crystal crafted by skilled artisans with an expert hand and an eye for quality. You literally taste the history and feel precision workmanship in the palm of your hands. The unique design is skillfully hand-blown with a ship inside. As you empty the decanter the ship emerges from the wine or liquor, creating a phenomenal effect.
PRESERVE FRESHNESS: Features a fitted glass stopper that seals the decanter, ideal in keeping the freshness of your favorite beverage while in storage to stay on its aromatic and flavorful state.
THE PERFECT GIFT: For those who have everything, you need a gift they don’t have. This is probably it. Offer them this stunning wine accessory and put a wide smile on their face! Perfect gift for wine enthusiasts, lovers and collectors, whether it’s for Anniversary, Birthday, Mother’s day, Christmas, or any other holiday. That is truly timeless provide an understated simplicity on the table.
What Gary Says
Decanter sets like this are about decoration primarily. Obviously if you don’t like ships, you likely wouldn’t want this particular set. When asked if I would be interested in reviewing a decanter set, I made it clear that my focus would be on the function (as well as overall impressions). I shared that I’ve seen some decanters that are lovely to look at, and a complete pain in the ass to actually pour whisk(e)y from – and I’d hate to find that was the case.
The decanter itself is pretty lightweight – coming in just over 7 ounces. A standard 750 mL bottle (like Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond for example) is double that at 14 ounces, and a hefty decanter-style bottle like the recently discontinued Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit bottle comes in at 26 ounces. My point is that 7 ounces is pretty darn light, which has its pros and cons. In the pros column, that it makes it easier to handle when full of whisk(e)y. In the cons columns, it likely wouldn’t survive being dropped. To be fair – I expect the same is true of most display pieces like this, so I don’t really consider that to be a negative.
When setup, the entire set takes up about 8.5 inches cubed (one side is slightly shorter than that, like 8.25 inches). That’s fairly compact, which I’d consider a plus. It lists the capacity as 850 mL, and I wanted to see how it took that. I cracked open a brand new Early Times Bottled in Bond, which comes in a 1 liter bottle, and measured out just over 800 mL. Below is an image showing the decanter ‘not quite full’.
You can see where the liquid is starting up the neck – and more importantly – you can’t really see the ship when it is full! I poured about half back into the bottle, and you can see how the ship ’emerges’ from the depths below.
If this will be ‘more display than pouring’, I’d recommend filling it more like 250-350 mL (about what is shown in their marketing images) to showcase the ship – although as a lot of volume will then be exposed to air, the flavor may alter in time.
The decanter itself is wide enough that I can’t grab it with one hand with confidence (don’t quite get half-way around it). I mean – I could grab it, but I wouldn’t want to have it slip out of my hands. I found it was better to lift it from the neck – although when in the stand, there wasn’t quite enough room to get a finger completely around the neck.
Not a big deal – just used the stopper to tilt it up a bit to get a handle on the neck. Once held, the stem at the base of the decanter fit nicely between two fingers, and I didn’t have any issues pouring – although it pours better when less full. Speaking of pouring – as with any bottle (not just decanters) you have to be careful of your pouring angle. To illustrate (note I’m not wasting whisk(e)y here!) I tilted it up too much, and the gurgling along with the flared lip just makes a mess.
While the flared lip makes the result a bit more messy, this is just physics and you get a similar mess with almost any bottle. You have to start slowly and ensure you’re allowing air to pass through the neck to displace the liquid. Below illustrates that this pours perfectly fine when you do it properly.
All in all, it is a perfectly serviceable decanter, and does what it is supposed to do. My wife has forgotten more about glass than I’ll ever learn, and she thought it was fairly well done in terms of the execution of the blown-glass decanter. My main concern would be that if I wanted to have it showcase the ship while on display, I’d need to keep it less than half-full. If I’m pouring from it regularly (and just replacing that small amount), no big deal. But if I have it more for display, over time the whisk(e) may deteriorate. That said, you may want to have it full while on display in order to showcase the ship emerging at a get together where you’re pouring for friends and family.
If you’re looking for just the decanter and stand, and don’t care for the additional glassware, they are sold by themselves for $40.
While I drink my fair share of whisk(e)y, I’ve only ever had a couple of decanters – so if you are a decanter connoisseur and have questions I didn’t answer or think about, please email me and let me know! Be happy to amend this review (provided I still have the decanter).
Distilled Fall 2015, Bottled Fall 2019 Barrel 15-4134 55.8% ABV $50 Website
What the Distillery Says
BARREL PROOF WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION AGED AT LEAST 4 YEARS HIGH RYE MASH BILL – 30 % RYE
New Riff Distilling’s core Bourbon expression is a genuinely high-rye, full bodied whiskey offering savory, spicy character, bottled at Barrel Proof without Chill Filtration. Featuring a mash bill of non-GMO grains at 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley, it represents a new riff on Kentucky’s most hallowed whiskey traditions. Aged four years in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels, there are no shortcuts taken in our production. All New Riff whiskeys are made with the full sour mash Kentucky Regimen; all carry an age statement, and are always bottled without chill filtration.
At New Riff, single barrel expressions are a way of life. As former Kentucky liquor retailers, we are intimately familiar with some of Kentucky’s most famed private barrel Bourbon selections ever, and we bring that experience to New Riff. A New Riff Private Barrel selection, whether for trade or private clients, offers an unparalleled experience, replete with tasting notes and an immersive process in our warehouse. Each New Riff single barrel has been tasted and approved by our production panel. Our retail and on-premise partners then select each of their private barrels themselves. In the end, you can taste a New Riff Single Barrel knowing it was fully vetted and thoroughly tasted and approved.
TASTING NOTES While each Single Barrel owns its specific flavor profile, New Riff Bourbon generally shows big and spicy flavors. This is not a light, delicate, simple whiskey—we have crafted for robust and fulsome flavor from start to finish. Our unfiltered bottling regimen allows all the character of the barrel to shine through in the glass.
Appearance: Extra rich, unfiltered deep amber color. Nose: Butterscotch rounding into fresh oak, with hints of vanilla and rye spice. Taste: Broad, fulsome mouthfeel, leading to a sweeter vanilla accent, before a gathering of rye spices (clove, cinnamon, mint, dark berry) into the finish. Finish: Long, rye-led finish, with brambly red-black fruits amid white pepper and clove.
What Gary Says
Nose: Corn flakes, vanilla, light caramel cremes, cinnamon, oak with a bit of anise and clove. Palate: A tad sharp and on the spicy side with caramel and vanilla, brown sugar, oak, hints of dark chocolate and toffee. Finish: Short, drying with toffee, brown sugar and spice. Comments: For a four year old bourbon, this is solid. I like that New Riff isn’t cutting corners, and using full sized barrels (and appreciate the non-chill filtration!) Also really liked what I heard in an interview with Ken Lewis by Bourbon Pursuit (which was after I wrote this review). At this price point, you’re paying a premium like you would with a craft distillery – but getting a solid whiskey, and supporting folks who are in the whiskey business to make great whiskey. I’m hoping that as products get some age (and they recoup some of their fixed costs) the prices will come down. One thing I’m not a big fan of is their bottle. I like to see the color of my whisk(e)y in the bottle, and the matte black treatment done to the top half (which I find is well executed as it fades, and artistically is attractive) tends to make it more difficult to see the true color of the whisk(e)y. I’m not throwing that out as an accusation (the bourbon in the glass has a nice color, even at just four years old), but just an observation.
BOTTLED IN BOND WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION 100% RYE (95% RYE, 5% MALTED RYE) AGED AT LEAST 4 YEARS
New Riff Distilling’s core Rye whiskey is full-bodied, offering hugely spicy character. Building upon America’s 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act—already the highest quality standard for aged spirits in the world—New Riff Rye is Bottled In Bond Without Chill Filtration. Featuring a unique mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted rye, it represents a new riff on our hallowed local Rye whiskey traditions. Aged four years in full-size 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels, there are no shortcuts taken in its traditional production. All New Riff whiskeys are made with the full sour mash Kentucky Regimen; all carry an age statement and are always bottled without chill filtration.
Our distillers learned the black arts of the hardest whiskey in the world to make—the famed 95% Rye—under the direct tutelage of the distiller who mastered it in Indiana, Larry Ebersold of Seagram’s. Taking Master Larry’s instruction in hand, we put a riff on it to the tune of adding 5% malted rye, a unique twist that aids in pulling additional flavors out of the rye and adds a touch of the elegance of malted rye. New Riff Rye is splendid with a splash of water, and of course folds magnificently into classic Rye Manhattan and Old Fashioned cocktails.
TASTING NOTES Appearance: Extra rich, unfiltered deep amber color. Nose: Spicy and detailed, showing mint, black pepper, and vanilla with hints of orange and oak. Taste: Cinnamon spice, vanilla and sweet toffee moving into a bold mouth feel with rich Rye spice, caramel and toasted oak. Complex flavors drink older than four-year-old. Finish: Bold Rye spice with vanilla buttercream and lingering brown sugar, plus a mineral-grassy Rye tone that fades slowly.
What Gary Says
Nose: Big time rye spice with mint, dill, citrus spice tending more towards lemon/lime than orange, some vanilla with cracked pepper, pine, and subtle oak. Palate: Nice creamy mouthfeel with a sharp rye bite, vanilla, mint, cinnamon, pepper, a lemon/lime citrus zip with a bit of caramel. Finish: Short with minty pepper notes and lingering caramel sweetness. Comments: I’ll agree with that that this drinks better that most four-year old ryes. I appreciate the non-chill filtration, and that definitely helps. This takes water well, opens up the pine on the nose and mellows the rye bite a bit, bringing up a bit of honey. I won’t lie – $50 for a 4 yr bottle-in-bond rye stung at the register, but in a blind tasting – I liked this markedly more than Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond (and only a tad less than Pikesville 110 Rye, which is a bit higher ABV and 2 yrs older). After listening to an interview with Ken Lewis by Bourbon Pursuit (which was after I wrote this review), I’m an even bigger fan – and can’t wait to see how New Riff’s whiskey is with some age on it.
At Maker’s Mark, our wood-finishing series was created to explore new, unique expressions of our signature whisky. Beginning as fully matured Maker’s Mark® at cask strength, Private Select is created by adding 10 custom wood finishing staves to each barrel. It’s then aged in our limestone cellar to extract a unique, flavorful taste profile. Participants in this special barrel program get their say in the selection of these wooden staves. The finishing staves can be any combination of five flavor profiles chosen especially for this program. With 1,001 possible stave combinations, each expression of Private Select has a customized finish and taste profile that is unique, yet undeniably Maker’s®. Maker’s Mark Private Select® is available in select markets and also at our distillery.
Below are the notes on the different staves The Maker’s 46® stave: The one that started this whole experiment. It delivers notes of dried fruit, vanilla and spice that you may be familiar with if you’ve tried Maker’s 46. The Baked American Pure stave: Baked American Pure is American oak that’s slowly toasted. It adds notes of brown sugar, vanilla, caramel and spice. The Seared French Cuvée stave: Seared French Cuvée is a French oak stave that’s cooked with infrared heat. It imparts toasty notes of oak and caramel. The Roasted French Mocha stave: Roasted French Mocha is French oak cooked on high in a convection oven. It adds pleasant traces of char, maple and cacao. The Toasted French Spice stave: Toasted French Spice is a French oak stave, cooked at both high and low temperatures in a convection oven. This stave has a flavor profile of smoke, coumarin and spice.
The finishing with the additional staves is typically 9 weeks.
This specific barrel’s stave selections were:
Seared French Cuvée: 1 Maker’s 46: 4 Roasted French Mocha: 4 Toasted French Spice: 1
What Gary Says Nose: Caramel, toffee, butterscotch, bits of dark chocolate, hints of anise, cinnamon, french oak. Palate: Sweet but spicy, caramel corn, toffee, nutmeg, dusting of pepper and cinnamon, hints of clove and vanilla. Finish: Moderately long with lingering baking spices. Comments: Like other Maker’s Mark Private Selections, this is more spicy than your typical Maker’s Mark (even the cask strength version). I like this a lot, and this makes an outstanding Old Fashioned. Takes a bit of water well, keeping the spice while tamping down the edges a bit.
