Richard

Founding Apostle

Dalmore 15 Year

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky /

The Dalmore 15 Years Old Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
40% ABV/80 Proof
$75 to $85
Widely Available
The Dalmore 15 Years Old Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says:
Delivering the perfect balance between spirit, wood and maturity, The Dalmore 15 Year Old is the mainstay of the Distillery’s range of malts. It has been crafted from wood infused with three rare Sherries from worldrenowned Gonzalez-Byass—Apostoles, Amoroso and Matusalem—to achieve a deeply mellow whisky.

Color: Rich mahogany.
Nose: Intense and firm. Well structured with slightly sweet malt tones. The nose has great finesse, with fragrances of orange, marmalade and spice, and just a hint of Oloroso sherry in the background.
Taste: Good attack on the mouth; well balanced between elegance and muscle. Aging in Oloroso butts helps to soothe the heat of the spirit and brings a concentrated, citric mouth-feel to the forefront.
Finish: There is no mistaking the sherry wood finish of the malt, which closes with a medium-long, complex sweetness.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Classic Dalmore on the nose. Rich and savory with hints of oranges, clove, sherry and cinnamon bread (think Amish Friendship Bread).
Palate: Very hot on the mouth. Much more than you would expect from something in the 40% ABV weight class. Fruity and slightly spicy but the wood and sherry kick out at you fast and heavy.
Finish: Sherry, wood, ginger, and kind of a molasses cookie taste.
Comments: I can’t say I love this one. I don’t find the value in trading up from the Gran Reserva. I guess it’s the palate. The nose and finish are very nice but the palate doesn’t do it for me. And after all, don’t we buy the stuff to drink it?
Rating: Average

We would like to thank Laura with The Baddish Group for providing us with review samples.

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Crown Royal Black

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Crown Royal Black Blended Canadian Whisky
45% ABV/90 Proof
$30 to $35
Widely available across the U.S.

What the Distillery Says:
“Robust, full bodied blended Canadian whisky.”

What Richard Says:
Nose: Warmth, mild oak, and a little burnt sugar. Very bourbon like.
Palate: Surprising sweetness on the palate like brown sugar. There’s something else that reminds me of something sweet and chewy. It could be raisins but that doesn’t seem quite right.
Finish: The finish starts off warm, moves toward a medicinal note that I’m not a fan of and then finishes with a charred oak flavor.
Comments: Crown basically positions this as the big brother of their standard offering. Kicked up a notch if you will. I really think that’s a needed notch. There’s a lot more going on here and I like it a lot more than standard Crown. I’d actually choose to drink this. That said, I’m not a big fan of Crown so if you are, you might not like this different approach. It’s kind of like Crown for bourbon drinkers.
Rating: Average

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How can we improve?

/ / Richard's Blog

We’re looking to change up a few things about the site in the next month or two and wanted to get suggestions from the masses. Is there anything we should add? Remove? Do more of? Do less of?

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Shoot us an email or comment on this post.

Thanks,

Your Whisk(e)y Apostles

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Four Roses Mariage 2008

/ / Bourbon, Review, The Collector's Cabinet /

Four Roses Mariage Collection 2008 Release Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
53.9% ABV/107.8 Proof
$70
Collectible

What the Distillery Says:
2008 is the 120th anniversary of the Four Roses name. We’re celebrating with an exquisite limited edition small batch Bourbon – the first release in our Mariage Collection. From time to time, our Master Distiller will select a few exceptional barrels from our 10 Bourbon recipes and marry them by hand. He has married two to honor the day our Founder, Paul Jones, Jr., proposed to a beautiful Southern Belle. She replied that if her answer were “Yes,” she would wear a corsage of roses to the upcoming ball. Paul Jones waited excitedly the night. When she arrived, she wore a corsage of four red roses. He named his Bourbon “Four Roses” as a symbol of his passion for her.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Vanilla, candied apple, and berries
Palate: Sweet and spicy, like dipping a sugar cube in a Szechuan hot pot. The flavor is all spice, candied fruit, and berries.
Finish: Very oaky on the finish and all the heat on the palate dies down on the finish. Impressive for a barrel strength bourbon.
Comments: This particular mariage was a recipe of OBSV aged 13 years and 5 months mixed with a recipe of OESK aged 10 years and 10 months. No, this is no longer in production. There were two iterations of the Mariage release over 2008 and 2009. Beginning in 2010 it is now a “Limited Edition Small Batch” release. That just means they are using more than two recipes per bottling. This one was really very nice and call out saying “this is what small batch bourbon should taste like.” I love it. I’m sad that mine is all gone. Given the opportunity you should try it.
Rating: Must Try

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