“I have travelled the world and sampled many attempts at pleasing nectars, but it is solely this distillation on Islay; a tiny, charismatic Scottish isle, that has claimed my palate, Yea, and my heart into the bargain.” Nick Offerman TASTING NOTES PALATE: A glorious adventure in ‘sweet peat’ through the combination of the intense peat and charred wood notes of Lagavulin with the roasted coffee, dark chocolate and sweet caramel notes from the Guinness casks.
What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet peat with sea air, hint of Guinness stout, ashy with leather, a hint of dried fruits with chocolate. Palate: Creamy and sweet with vanilla bean, chocolate, some tropical fruit notes of mango and dried pineapple, underlying peat smoke. Finish: Moderately long with sea salt, chocolate malt and pepper with peat. Comments: This is delicious! Classic Lagavulin profile, but the Guinness really adds a lovely dimension without taking center stage. The 4 month finishing in former Guinness Beer Casks from the Open Gate Brewery in Maryland seems to have struck that right balance. I enjoyed the first Offerman Edition, and like this one even more (note that these were sampled months apart – just getting the reviews posted in close proximity!). If I have any complaint, it is that Lagavulin doesn’t acknowledge this fine dram on their web-site (their site in general leaves much to be desired, although if I wasn’t looking for content for a review – probably wouldn’t care!) If you’re a fan of Lagavulin, I’d absolutely seek this one out.
“I have travelled the world and sampled many attempts at pleasing nectars, but it is solely this distillation on Islay; a tiny, charismatic Scottish isle, that has claimed my palate, Yea, and my heart into the bargain.” Nick Offerman
What Gary Says
Nose: Peat, sea air, smoked fish, iodine, creosote and tar with fruit notes tucked underneath. Palate: Rich mouthfeel, sweet with treacle, butterscotch, peat, gentle spices, fruit and honey with peat smoke. Finish: Moderately long with honey and peat. Comments: The nose is fairly dry and acrid, like a peat fire on the coast, with some fruit notes that you have to work to find. Then the palate comes out sweetly swinging! After a couple of passes on this one, I thought to myself “Wow – I’m not sure if I might not like this as much as Lagavulin 16 yr.” I wish I had done that earlier, as I only had enough to do two blind side-by-side comparisons. In both I thought they were very similar, and I picked both as better than the other. While I’d love to have a more clear winner, the fact that this gave Lagavulin 16 a run for its money is high praise in my book. And if you are a Lagavulin fan, I think this is priced to where you’ve got to try it for yourself.
6 Years, 6 Months, 12 Days 62.75% ABV $90 Website We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says:
The final release in the Booker’s® Bourbon 2021 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2021-04 ‘Noe Strangers Batch.’ This batch celebrates the genuine, social nature of 6th Generation Master Distiller Booker Noe, and the way he could turn a stranger into a friend for life in no time.
Booker’s way of making friends was second nature to him. When Booker took a liking to the products that a salesman was selling, he would call his wife and say, “Set an extra plate at the table, I’m inviting this salesman to dinner!” In another instance, Booker was invited to a rally for the Blue Knights® Motorcycle Club, an international brotherhood of active and retired law enforcement officers who share a passion for motorcycle riding. There he struck up a conversation with some of the members, and the next day, he invited more than 300 of them over for lunch. His knack for making friends carried into his work as well. In Kentucky and out on the road, Booker wouldn’t leave an event until he shook hands with everyone that wanted to talk to him. And just like that, after shaking hands and a quick conversation, they’d become a fan – and a friend – for life.
Booker taught his son, 7th Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe, to ‘treat others how he would want to be treated’ — a lesson that the Noe family holds true to this day. Like they always say at the distillery: come as friends, leave as family.
Booker’s “Noe Strangers Batch” has a nice color coming from the time it rested in charred white oak barrels. The aroma has vanilla and brown spice, with a sweetness that continues upon the first sip. The initial heat isn’t overwhelming and leaves a taste that’s balanced with a long and warm finish, perfect for the colder months ahead.
What Gary Says
Nose: Caramel, vanilla, dark chocolate, oak, slightly burnt peanut brittle and baking spices. Palate: Chocolate brownies, caramel, peanut butter, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and cracked pepper. Finish: Moderately long with oak, cocoa and pepper spice. Comments: I’ve lost count at this point, but this is another really solid Booker’s batch1. It could be just the holidays, but I got more peanut brittle/butter than I usually do – but don’t have a line-up to side-by-side (just comparing my notes from prior batches). This also takes water well, keeping a thick mouthfeel and tamping the pepper spice while keeping that gooey caramel goodness.
Rating: Stands Out
1Full disclosure – I have had a batch of Booker’s that I didn’t care for. I’m not 100% certain of the details (can’t find my notes), but remember my rationale for buying it. Batch C07-A-12 back in 2014 was higher proof than normal (130.4) and older than you typically see (7 years, 8 months). Coming after the first roundtable batch (2013-6) which was the best batch of Booker’s I’d had (at that point), I thought that more proof AND age must make this even better, right! Wrong. But I digress – my point being that in recent years, while some have griped about the age dropping from what it once was (typically over 7 yrs old), I think that the consistency has improved while maintaining a solid, quality barrel proof bourbon. – and the quality has been solid.
Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey Aged 20 Years
50% ABV $500 Website We would like to thank Grain & Barrel Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Producer Says
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (Dec 6, 2021) – Grain & Barrel Spirits’ (“G&B”) has released a limited-edition Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey, which was aged for 20 years and bottled in a Prohibition-era Chicken Cock replica apothecary-style bottle at 100 proof (50% ABV). The mash bill contains 90% rye and 10% malted barley.
Originally established in Paris, Kentucky in 1856, Chicken Cock – known as “The Famous Old Brand” – was forced to move production up to Canada during Prohibition. The Canadian Rye whiskey produced during that period was then smuggled back into the U.S. in tin cans, earning the brand the nickname, “the whiskey in a tin can.” It was around this time that Chicken Cock rose to fame as the featured house whiskey at The Cotton Club (located in Harlem at 142nd St. and Lenox Avenue), one of Prohibition’s most legendary speakeasies. Here the brand was ceremoniously opened table-side where Duke Ellington and his orchestra regularly performed on the Cotton Club’s stage. In an excerpt from ‘Music is my Mistress,’ Ellington said, “during the prohibition period, you could always buy good whiskey from somebody in the Cotton Club. They used to have what they called Chicken Cock. It was a bottle in a can, and the can was sealed. It cost something like ten to fourteen dollars a pint.” ($140+ today).
“This luxury spirit and commemorative tin honor Chicken Cock’s Prohibition-era history and a period where the brand ventured north to carry on its tradition of bringing high quality whiskey to patrons across the country,” said Matti Anttila, founder of Grain & Barrel Spirits. “This rare straight rye whiskey signals a return to pre-prohibition times when the classic spirit was more prevalent, while also honoring the brand’s history and heritage. We even maintained the spelling of ‘whiskey’ versus ‘whisky’ on the original tin from Prohibition.”
Tasting Notes:
Appearance: aged 20 years in a used bourbon barrel, the whiskey glistens with a soft, yellowish-brown hue
Aroma: sweet candy combined with slight grassy rye, earthy notes, hints of citrus/orange peel, spice and white pepper
Flavor: a wonderful combination of vanilla, spice and sweet molasses, nicely complimented with mild overtones of pepper, citrus and toasted oak
Finish: a long finish with a wonderful balance of pepper, spice and sweetness, that lingers with a buttery mouthfeel
After Prohibition, Chicken Cock enjoyed a resurgent couple of decades before a distillery fire just after World War II put it out of business. In 2012, Anttila rediscovered the brand and set out to resurrect it to its Prohibition-era glory alongside Master Distiller Gregg Snyder whose résumé includes distilling, cooperage, and executive positions with Brown-Forman, Austin Nichols, as well as board positions with the Associated Cooperage Industries of America, Kentucky Distillers’ Association, and others. Since that time, the team has introduced a flagship KY Straight Bourbon and KY Straight Rye Whiskey, made in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Company as part of its collaborative distilling program.
Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey (1,595 6-pack cases) is available for the suggested retail price of $499.99 per 750ml bottle online via Passion Spirits, Flaviar, Caskers, and Cask Cartel and soon nationally via special allocation.
What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet, cotton candy, grassy with mint, herbs, lemongrass, subtle orange zest with a hint of pine. Palate: Vanilla with oak, herbal rye spice, cinnamon and pepper with a notes of citrus and brown sugar. Finish: Moderately long, damp with oak and fading vanilla. Comments: For a 50% ABV whiskey, the nose on this is a tad sharp right from the bottle; some time in the glass helps and is definitely recommended (and worth the wait!) The rye mash bill shines through. Coming after another aged Canadian whiskey, it was an interesting comparison – although without mash bill details on the other it isn’t really an ‘apples to apples’ comparison. This one is a bit sharp, as you might expect with a 90% rye whiskey. Nothing off putting, but priced more for collection than for drinking.
Canadian Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Sherry and XO Armagnac Casks
60.82% ABV $250 Website We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.
What the Blender Says
Matured for 24 years
Distilled in Canada
Aged in the US and Canada
Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
121.64 proof cask strength bottling
BCS Gray Label Whiskey began with two selections of 24-year Canadian whiskey barrels: one set was fruit-forward and tropical, and one was woody, with a light floral aroma. A portion of the fruit-forward blend was transferred into Oloroso Sherry barrels and a portion of the floral and earthy blend was transferred into Armagnac casks. The remaining whiskey from the two groups was then combined to mingle. When the timing and flavor from the finishing casks peaked, the three components were carefully blended together. The mature, spicy whiskey is front and center, reminiscent of wheat fields edged with wildflowers. There is a rare and noteworthy concentration of aroma, enriched with a candy sweetness and leafy earthiness from the finishing casks, that calls to mind a toasty Belgian waffle. Appearance: Pale straw with steaks of dark amber. Nose: Meticulously layered, with aromas from every stage of production, from field to distillation, to aging, to finishing. The whiskey’s floral character manifests elderflower, with maple and lavender tucked in as well. Notes of rosehip jelly and candied plum, indicative of Armagnac barrels, blend seamlessly with those of fresh, tropical fruit. The grassiness of the whiskey transitions to the nutty character of the oloroso cask. Notes of ginger, wintergreen, and pine pitch are present though the whiskey is not especially woody. Palate: More oaky than the nose, as suggested by butterscotch, coconut milk, and root beer, nearly obscuring the Canadian whiskey’s trademark green apple brightness. There is a concentration of honeydew melon, gooseberry, and old English cider apples. Meanwhile the earthiness expands to include olive oil, sunflower seed, and licorice root. Finish: The spirit’s herbaceous side takes center stage, starting with tarragon, shiso, and spearmint. Spicier notes follow, among them caraway, cardamom, and fennel-seeds. A marine-like minerality lingers, mostly salt with hints of weathered herbs. With a splash of spring water: The fruit notes on the nose shift from fresh to cooked, with grilled peach and pineapple joined by apple pie and dried orange peel. The floral notes, get richer, displaying saffron, propolis, and orange blossom honey. The palate gets tangier, with yogurt and malt vinegar lending a welcome brightness to the earthy sesame and maple syrup flavors.
What Gary Says
Nose: Thick with maple candies, dried tropical fruit, cedar sawdust, wisps of pine with a light, floral perfume note. Palate: Thick with butterscotch, apples, sarsaparilla, maple syrup, raw honey, dark berries with anise. Finish: Long with a building rye spice, mint and root beer. Comments: I am a fan of older Canadian whiskey. Compared to domestic bourbon or rye, the lower temperatures allow the spirit to mature differently, taking on the lovely nuance you get with age without a lot of oak. This is really tasty, with that subtlety and balance. A bit of water brings out buttercream frosting and more floral notes.
