The Exclusive Blend 1994 – 20 Years Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
50% ABV $100
What the Bottle Says
Distilled in 1994 / Aged in oak casks for over 20 Years Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Natural colour and without chill filtration for a more flavourful whisky
The finest Highland and Speyside Scotch Malt Whiskies all distilled in 1994, blended together and married in first fill ex-Sherry oak casks.
Matured exclusively in ex-Sherry butts from Jerez, Spain, this blend of the finest malt whiskies is full of rich chocolate, fruit salad and sweet oak. Expect a long, oily and fruit-laden finish.
What Gary Says
Nose: Soft sherry, dark fruit, vanilla, chocolate, floral, subtle smoke, oak, herbal savory notes of grilled meat. Palate: Rich, sweet, fruity with plums, figs, blood orange and cherries, pepper bite with baking spices of nutmeg and clove. Finish: Moderately long and drying with cherries and spices. Comments: This is from independent bottler The Creative Whisky Co (who unfortunately was purchased a couple of years back apparently for their assets). A very nicely balanced dram. Fruity and spicy, although a tad sharp. Takes water well which opens up the floral notes but keeps a nice rich mouthfeel.
IT’S A MONSTER OF A DRAM Ardbeg Wee Beastie is the latest permanent expression to join the Distillery’s Ultimate Range. At just five years old, Wee Beastie is a feisty young creature with a formidable taste.
SOMETHING BIG AND SMOKY… Our whisky creators set out to make the rawest, smokiest Ardbeg ever. The result is Ardbeg Wee Beastie and this tongue-tingling, beautifully smoky dram is the youngest Ardbeg we’ve ever made.
On the snout, intense aromas of cracked blacked pepper mingle with sappy pine resin and a sharp tang of smoke. Suddenly, an explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate, creosote and tar. Savoury meats sink into the palate before the long salty mouthcoating finish slinks away… revealing the inner beast of this Islay icon.
Young and intensely smoky, this is a dram untamed by age. Matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, Wee Beastie is perfect for enjoying neat or as the mouth-watering main ingredient in a powerfully smoky cocktail.
Non chill-filtered at 47.4%.
TASTING NOTES COLOUR: A glint of bright Gold (Auric) AROMA: The first sniff alerts you to a nearby presence… heightened senses are filled with very bright, fresh herbal notes, with creeping hints of vanilla and pear. Rich Turkish coffee mingles with sappy pine resin, with honey-glazed ham lurking in the background. With water, more herbal top notes like vetiver and fennel captivate and pull you in, while beguiling scents of aniseed, green apple and leather cause you to drop your guard. Out of nowhere, a sharp tang of smoke and a crack of fresh black pepper fire warning shots across the senses. TASTE: Suddenly, a rich, explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate, creosote and tar. A powerful blast of eucalyptus thrashes about with antiseptic lozenges and aniseed. The raw, smoky intensity gathers pace, before smoked bacon and savoury meats sink into the palate. FINISH: The long, salty mouthcoating finish retreats, with hints of cocoa and fudge slinking slowly away.
What Gary Says
Nose: Peat, creosote, fresh pine, seaweed, smoked pork butt, dried fruit, earthy, mineral notes with a bit of sulfur and hint of coffee. Palate: Sweet, grainy with honey, salty peat, creosote, bit of chocolate, earthy notes with pepper spice. Finish: Short to moderate in length, drying with lingering spices and peat. Comments: I like Ardbeg, and am also a sherry fan – so maybe I had unreasonable hopes for this (given its age). Don’t get me wrong – there isn’t anything off putting with this, but the youth is apparent, and the sherry influence is fairly subtle (maybe too subtle). Not bad, but not special either – and given the price point, can’t imagine reaching for this over the standard bearer 10 yr old.
6 Years, 3 Months, 10 Days 63.25% ABV $90 Website We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says:
The second release of the Booker’s Bourbon 2020 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2020-02 “Boston Batch.” This is named after the production site where 6th Generation Master Distiller Booker Noe first started his distilling career.
The distillery, now renamed the Booker Noe Distillery, is located in the small community of Boston, Ky., and was purchased by the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in the early 1950s as a second distilling location to increase production capability at the time. Because Boston was removed from the day-to-day of our flagship Clermont, Ky. distillery, Booker was able to experiment with whiskey a bit more and really master the bourbon-making process. Some may say this is where he found his love of experimentation.
If you ever wanted to find Booker, Boston is where he’d be. That plant was his life for more than 40 years. His wife always said that the Boston plant was Booker’s first baby, and Fred Noe was his second.
TASTING NOTES Booker’s “Boston Batch” has a rich light brown color. The aroma contains vanilla, toasted nuts and hits of baking spices. The flavor is full and has a finish that can be enjoyed neat.
What Gary Says
Nose: Toasted caramel, vanilla, cocoa, charred oak, nutty spice; bit of water brings to mind smores with charred marshmallow and graham cracker creeping in. Palate: Warm caramel with dark chocolate, cinnamon, pepper, vanilla, honey, bit of peanut butter at the end; some water tamps down the pepper bite and brings out some orange zest. Finish: Moderately long and drying with oak and spice. Comments: While there is variation in batches, I can’t recall a batch I didn’t like – and this one doesn’t break that streak. A delicious, high proof and intense dram that doesn’t soften too much with water (just enough). If you’re not accustomed to the heat, pouring over a cube and letting it sit for a while helps (and if you find yourself with a bottle and still not caring for it – please reach out; happy to try to provide some disposal options for you!.
Little Book Chapter 4: Lessons Honored Blended Straight Whiskey
61.4% ABV $125 Website We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says
Little Book Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored,” is the fourth chapter in 8th Generation Beam Distiller Freddie Noe’s acclaimed Little Book Whiskey annual release series. This year’s release honors the man who taught Freddie some of life’s most important lessons — his dad and Beam’s 7th Generation Master Distiller, Fred Noe.
Little Book Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored,” is an ode to what Fred has taught Freddie through the years, and the lessons that have been passed down through the generations of the Beam family. Integrity, remaining true to himself, patience and knowing when to slow down are just some of the lessons that have made Freddie who he is today, both as a man and as 8th Generation Beam Distiller.
Each annual release of Little Book features a different blend of uncut and unfiltered liquid streams carefully chosen by Freddie Noe himself and meticulously blended until it meets his vision. Little Book Chapter 4 is composed of three liquids that have a special connection to Fred and the lessons instilled by him.
Blend Components: 4-year-old Kentucky Straight Brown Rice Bourbon delivers more complex notes of oak and fruit. It’s a very approachable liquid that gives the final blend a noteworthy quality. 8-year-old Kentucky Straight “high rye” Rye Whiskey lends complex, sweet flavors from its time in the barrel paired with a rye spiciness that lingers into the blend’s finish. 7-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey anchors the unconventional flavors from the rye and brown rice liquids with a depth of character representative of the Small Batch Bourbon Collection.
Tasting Notes: Little Book Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored” features flavors of full-bodied vanilla balanced by notes of rich charred wood and dried cherries. The finish is soft and decadent, leaving a warm caramel taste on your tongue, followed by a spicy finish from the rye.
Sipping Suggestions: Little Book Chapter 4: “Lessons Honored” is best enjoyed neat or over ice.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich caramel, nutmeg, vanilla, oak, orange zest, note of peanut butter cookies, touch of dried mint. Palate: Thick mouthfeel, sweet with chocolate covered black cherries, caramel, spicy with nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, peanut butter, honey and a bit of mint. Finish: Moderately long and drying with caramel spices. Comments: I really love the nose on this – reminds me a lot of Knob Creek with a twist. The palate is really sweet with spice notes – not syrupy but close (which I like my bourbon on the sweeter side). Bit of water doesn’t hurt it – in fact I think it shines. I wish I had some Little Book Chapter 3 to compare it to, not that it is a competition. Mint is a different note I’m not accustomed to from Beam, but it goes well. While each release/chapter is a unique take, they’re all done really well.
Hochstadter’s Family Reserve 16 Year Straight Rye Whiskey is a cask strength limited release created for the most discerning connoisseurs and collectors. The first ultra-premium offering in the Hochstadter’s portfolio, it is unfiltered, undiluted and full-flavored at 123.8 proof, delivering an intense explosion of robust rye flavor.
Made from 100 percent farm-grown rye grain and aged 16 years in newly charred American Oak Barrels, this rare and bold offering is sourced from Alberta Distillers Limited and bottled at cask strength in Philadelphia, PA. The end result is unfiltered, undiluted and full-flavored, delivering an intense explosion of robust rye flavor.
What Gary Says
Nose: Lovely! Oak with tobacco, baking spices – clove, soft cinnamon and a bit of anise, toffee, dried mint, cherries, nutmeg, toasted orange zest, sandalwood, notes of pine, lemongrass, and walnuts. Palate: Warm baking spices of clove, cinnamon, citrus zip, vanilla, oak, bit of ginger, mint; some water thickens the mouthfeel and brings out more mint, vanilla, and cherries. Finish: Long, drying with fruit, pepper, and herbal spices. Comments: This is a phenomenal, well aged rye. I’ve been blessed to have enjoyed some unicorn ryes (Black Maple Hill 18yr old, Doug’s Green Ink 22yr Willet), and I’m not saying that this is exactly like those – but it definitely reminded me that sort of experience. 16 years is a long time in new oak for a whiskey. I tend to not prefer bourbon or rye that old, as it has just too much oak in many cases. This isn’t too oaky, and has a lovely balance of the sweetness with some herbal, almost savory spice notes. The $200 price tag is the only thing that keeps this from a solid ‘Must Buy’ in my book, although after tasting this sample – I absolutely am going to buy a bottle.
