Review | Whisk(e)y Apostle: Proselytizing the way of the malt

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

January 28, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky / Must Buy

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

Dekalb Bottle House Exclusive, Cask No 27
49% ABV
$50
Website

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

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William Heavenhill Single Barrel

January 24, 2020 / Gary / Bourbon, Review / Stands Out

William Heavenhill Single Barrel

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 14 Years
57.5% ABV
$250
Website

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

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BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt

January 22, 2020 / Gary / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / Average

BenRiach 10 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43% ABV
$55-$65
Website

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

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Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve

January 16, 2020 / Gary / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / Stands Out

The Yamazaki Single Malt Japanese Whisky Distiller’s Reserve

43% ABV
$70
Website

We would like to thank Paul (check out his reviews here, or on Dapper Drams) for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says*

* Note that there is no mention of this product on their web-site, the below content is from various sources including packaging images.

Yamazaki Whisky is Suntory’s flagship single malt whisky, from Japan’s first and oldest malt distillery, multi-layered with fruit and Mizunara aromas. Released in Spring 2014, this is one of two Distiller’s Reserve single malt whiskies from Suntory in Japan. This single malt from the Yamazaki distillery is jam-packed with superb red berry notes, gained from the whisky being matured in Bordeaux wine casks and Sherry casks. It also features malt matured in Mizunara casks, adding subtle fragrant oak notes.

TASTING NOTES
Color: Gold
Nose: Strawberry, cherry, Mizunara (Japanese oak)
Palate: Raspberry, white peach, touch of coconut
Finish: Sweet vanilla, clear finish with, hint of cinnamon

What Gary Says

Nose: Fruity with citrus, peaches, green apples, banana, grapes, a bit of red wine casks and Mizunara oak, hints of strawberries, cherries, and almonds.
Palate: Sweet and full of fruit notes, peaches, pears, fresh berries, caramel sauce, honey, and almond cookies.
Finish: Moderately long with lingering mixed fruit and notes of wine.
Comments: This is like a liquid fruit salad in whisky form. Quite light and fruity, it has a lot going on – albeit it mostly in the fruity/nutty spectrum. Not a critique, but an observation. If you like fruity whisky, this is a lovely dram that you could spend some time with picking out all of the varieties. You also get the nuance from the various casks which is interesting. While I rather enjoy it, I can see where others might find it lopsided and lacking balance (maybe a bit more spice and savory notes).

Rating: Stands Out

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Jim Beam Straight Rye

January 14, 2020 / Gary / Review, Rye Whiskey / Average

Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

40% ABV
$20
Website

What the Distillery Says

(This is a discontinued label, replaced with the Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Rye in early 2015 which is bottled at 45%)

What Gary Says

Nose: Soft rye spice with mint, eucalyptus, vanilla, honey, charred oak and a hint of cherry and lemon zest.
Palate: Thin mouthfeel with vanilla and cinnamon, a sour oak note and just a touch of citrus pepper spice.
Finish: Short with oak and pepper.
Comments: This is the older version, and as a straight whiskey with no age statement, safe to assume it is just over 4 yrs old. The new version is similarly non-age stated, although bottled at 45% ABV. The nose is rye, but light – and the palate reminds me more of a young bourbon than rye. Nothing objectionable, but not very good either.

Rating: Average

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