Gary

Managing apostle and whiskey enthusiast

Old Bardstown Estate Bottled

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Old Bardstown Estate Bottled
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

50.5% ABV
$30 – $35
Website
Old Bardstown Estate Bottled

What the Producer Says

Small Batch – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
tasting notes
Nose is sweet, herbal, citrus. The palate is herbaceous, sweet fruit, vanilla, on a layer of oak and earthiness that goes on like a champion marathon runner.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Musty oak with vanilla, cinnamon, hint of anise and fall leaves.
Palate:  Starts sweet with caramel sauce, vanilla cream frosting and walnuts; sharpens with a cinnamon bite, white pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and a bit of clove with oak throughout.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length with a lingering vanilla frosting and baking spices.
Comments:  This isn’t ‘Willett’ distillate (at this time), and is a decent enough 101 proof bourbon. Non-age stated, but that musty oakiness is typical of some older whiskey – along with the sharper palate. Not overoaked, but a health dose of wood if you like that sorta thing.

Rating: Stands Out

Old Bardstown Estate Bottled Read More »

Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask (2018)

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask

Selected by The Whiskey Library DC, Scotch Trooper &
Dekalb Bottle House, Cask No 5
49% ABV
$50
Website
Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask

What the Blender Says

(Referencing the bottle details):
French Oak Barrel
Married 1/24/2017
Bottled 7/16/2018 (married 18 mos)
192 bottles
The Great King Street range from Compass Box is dedicated to creating contemporary Scotch Whiskies in the full-flavoured style of the great 19th Century blending houses. In creating these blends, we drew upon archive recipes from the golden age of whiskymaking then updated them with our own 21st Century custom cask maturation techniques. The result is a style of Blended Scotch unlike anything else available today.
Bold, Peaty, Sherried

What Gary Says

Nose: Thick peaty goodness, raisins, roasted marshmallows, subtle sea air with baking spices, wisps of barbecue sauce and rubber bands.
Palate: Thick and oily mouthfeel, peat with medicinal notes and dark fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, a hint of curry spice.
Finish: Moderately long, oily with lingering peat and subtle spice.
Comments: Third of these ‘single marrying casks’ I’ve bought, and only regret is not grabbing multiples. While I would buy any of them again given the chance at retail, this is my favorite. Just a lovely, intense, robust whisky with spice notes from the french oak. Compared to the standard Great King Street lineup, the additional proof points and marrying casks make more of a difference than you might suspect.

Rating: Must Buy

Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask (2018) Read More »

Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask (2018)

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask

Dekalb Bottle House Exclusive, Cask No 27
49% ABV
$50
Website
Compass Box Great King Street Artists Blend Single Marrying Cask

What the Blender Says

(Referencing the bottle details):
American Oak Hogshead
Married 1/18/2017
Bottled 7/16/2018 (married 18 mos)
162 bottles
The Great King Street range from Compass Box is dedicated to creating contemporary Scotch Whiskies in the full-flavoured style of the great 19th Century blending houses. In creating these blends, we drew upon archive recipes from the golden age of whiskymaking then updated them with our own 21st Century custom cask maturation techniques. The result is a style of Blended Scotch unlike anything else available today.
Rich, Round & Fruity

What Gary Says

Nose: Rich, baked apple chips, vanilla, biscuity, rickhouse oak, bits of apple cider spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg).
Palate: Rounded, slightly waxy mouthfeel with apples, pears, vanilla, honey, allspice, nutmeg, a hint of cinnamon give way to freshly cracked pepper.
Finish: Moderately long, damp with building pepper spice and over-ripe pears.
Comments: This is the 2nd Compass Box Great King Street Marrying Cask I’ve bought, and they’ve all punched well above their weight for the money. I had an opportunity to try this at the launch party, and immediately bought one. Unlike private barrels, these aren’t everywhere you look – but I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on one.

Rating: Must Buy

Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask (2018) Read More »

William Heavenhill Single Barrel

/ / Bourbon, Review /

William Heavenhill Single Barrel

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 14 Years
57.5% ABV
$250
Website
William Heavenhill 14 Yr Single Barrel

What the Distillery Says

Nothing unfortunately (no mention of it on their website).
This particular William Heavenhill single barrel was offered at the Bourbon Heritage Center in Bardstown, KY. During a visit, my dad and I had a chance to try it as part of a tasting, and he liked it well enough to buy one (and was generous enough to provide me a sample to review!)
Additional details from the bottle include:
Barrel 24
Barreled: 2/6/2003; Bottled: 7/11/2017

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich salted caramel, fudge, charred oak, vanilla bean, a slight tannic, smokey, sulfur note, subtle cinnamon with hints of anise and clove.
Palate:  Thick and creamy mouthfeel, nutty dark chocolate with bits of caramel, black cherries, dates, oak and pepper spice; a tad hot.
Finish:  Long and drying with oak and pepper spice.
Comments:  This is a bit more oak prominent than I prefer, but not overly oaked. I remember loving this when tasting it in Bardstown (although not enough to buy a bottle). I struggled with what felt to me like a very good single barrel version of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof w/ 2 more years – at triple the cost (or more). So I didn’t buy one, but remember thinking it was delicious all the same. I was disappointed to not love it nearly as much when I sat down on three different occasions to make tasting notes (I suspect something with my sample, although not sure what – who knows).  It takes water well, maintaining that lovely mouthfeel and tamping the hotness enough.

Rating: Stands Out

William Heavenhill Single Barrel Read More »

BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43% ABV
$55-$65
Website
BenRiach 10 Yr Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says

Bottled at 43% vol, the BenRiach 10 Years Old is Classic Speyside in character. The cask formula focuses on ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks – exactly the types of wood we favour at BenRiach. This fresh, lively, fruit-laden single malt captures WARM OAK SPICES, GREEN APPLE, DRIED APRICOTS, PEACH and BANANA with subtle touches of ANISEED, LEMON ZEST and BARLEY.

TASTING NOTES
COLOUR: Crisp summer gold.
NOSE: A fresh and lively combination of crisp, green orchard fruits, stem ginger and hints of tangerine mellows to creamy vanilla with a delicate note of mint and a gentle twist of citrus, all held together with a sweet barley back note.
TASTE: Warm toasted oak spices flood through green apple skins and dried apricots, ripening to hints of peach and soft banana. Subtle touches of aniseed and lemon zest create a contrasting edge to the fruit and add an intriguing character to the long, crisp barley finish.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Floral and cereal with honeysuckle, apples, pears, peaches, vanilla with a hint of lemon and cinnamon.
Palate:  Cereal sweetness with vanilla, honeyed-malt, a hint of spice (nutmeg).
Finish:  On the short side, drying with a bit of spice.
Comments:  Not objectionable, but a bit uninspiring. I prefer the nose over the palate by a fair margin. While it definitely fits into the Speyside character, it is on the thin end of that spectrum.  For the money, I’d go for a Balvenie 12 yr Double Wood or Macallan 12 yr, both of which are within $5 of the same price here in Atlanta –  but obviously different strokes for different folks.

Rating: Average

BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt Read More »