Review

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2000

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Single Barrel Vintage 2000, Barrel No. 438
43.3% ABV/86.6 Proof
$25 to $30
Available nationwide

What the Distillery Says:
This Bourbon was personally selected by our Master Distiller, only after meeting his exacting standards for this vintage. Taken from a single barrel, it is the purest achievement of the Bourbon making art. Bottled unblended with other barrels to preserve its individuality. Hand-numbered as a sign of its limited availability.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Fresh grass, wildflowers, and butter on the nose.
Palate: The palate is very clean and subdued. Vanilla notes stand out and it is overall creamy, oaky, and infinitely drinkable.
Finish: A little sweetness clings to the oak on the finish and plays around with a slight bit of spice too. Mild and very enjoyable.
Comments: Evan Williams has released vintages every year beginning in 1986 through 2000 at around the 10 year old mark. The quality has varied over the years as can be expected but this year’s vintage is something really nice. Generally speaking, the vintage bottling tends to be some of the best stuff coming out of Heaven Hill in the 10 year age range for each given vintage. I really enjoyed this dram. It’s not particularly bold or unique but it is sinfully drinkable and at this price why not buy two.
Rating: Stands Out, Great Value

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New Year’s Resolution 2011

/ / Review, Richard's Blog

What are we going to do differently in 2011? Review more whiskey. We don’t personally think too much about our opinions of whiskeys beyond our own palates. However, people seem to like us to review whiskeys on the website. So with that in mind we were reviewing the backlog in the Whisk(e)y Apostle whiskey cellars and thought about making this resolution for 2011. We are going to try our hardest to review at least a whiskey a week this year. We’ve been delayed in the past by getting notes from both of us before posting but we’re going to try to work through that. Some reviews may come from Matt first with Richard’s notes following later and some may come the other way. Ultimately, we will always try to have both our perspectives.

We’re also going to try to do themes for each month because that seems like a fun idea. January will be 2010 Annual Bourbon Releases so that you can read our thoughts while you can still find the stuff in the stores. We’ll announce the theme at the beginning of each month and try to have a new review up every Friday. That’s the plan at least. So for January look for these coming reviews…

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2000 Vintage
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2010
Four Roses 2010 Limited Edition Small Batch
Four Roses 2010 Limited Edition Single Barrel

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Maker’s 46

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Maker’s 46 Kentucky Bourbon Whisky
47% ABV/94 Proof
$35 – $40
Available in most U.S. markets

What the Distillery Says:
How It’s Made: Fully matured Maker’s Mark is removed from its barrel. Top hoops are removed from the barrel, and the barrel head is pulled. Ten wooden seared staves are then affixed to the inside of that barrel. Searing the staves caramelizes the sugars in the wood, adding a unique flavor that finishes on the front of the tongue. The fully matured Maker’s Mark is then put back in the barrel and aged several more months. When it tastes exactly right, Maker’s 46 is removed from the barrel, bottled, corked and dipped.
Aroma – Pleasant, sweet, toasty oak nose with caramel overtones. More intense aroma without an alcohol nose.
Taste – Rich, creamy seared-oak flavors; caramel and vanilla notes linger on the front of the palate, but it is still soft enough to hold on the tongue even at 94 proof.
Finish – A big mouth-watering oaky finish. Long with a little spice, staying forward on the palate without the bitter bite found in older whiskies.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The slight increase in proof gives a surprising increase to the alcohol component on the nose. Most likely because standard Maker’s tends to be a delicate bourbon. I apparently disagree with Maker’s on this one (see distillery notes above). There is some oaky sweetness but I’m losing it behind the alcohol.
Palate: Much more oak on the palate than standard Maker’s (as to be expected). Mostly what comes through is caramel, vanilla, and leather.
Finish: This is the part I care for the least. I get an unpleasant woody taste that I can’t quite nail down. The finish on this “finished” bourbon needs work.
Comments: Talk about hoopla. I can’t think of any whiskey in recent memory that was talked about as much or waited for with as much anticipation as Maker’s 46. It’s supposed to be their first new bourbon in 50 years although John Hansell already debunked that myth. Don’t get me wrong, I like this bourbon, I do. I just don’t understand why everyone is falling all over themselves with praise for it. It’s better than standard Maker’s Mark but it’s not the Bourbon of the Gods or anything. It’s really just finished standard Maker’s…and there’s nothing wrong with that. Scotch has been doing that for some time with varied results. If you like Maker’s then you’ll like this. If you’re on the fence about Maker’s then you might like this. If you don’t like bourbon at all, this isn’t going to convert you.
Rating: Average, although better than standard Maker’s Mark

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Amrut Fusion

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Amrut Fusion Single Malt Indian Whisky
50% ABV/100 Proof
$50 to $60
Worldwide Availability

What the Distillery Says:
Tasting Note :
Nose : Fresh oak,hint of vanilla,fruity and sublime peat.
Taste : Intially fruity and transcending to shear delicacy of fruity peaty notes.
Finish : Long and supremacy of peat-fruit combination balance out very well

What Richard Says:
Nose: The nose is very rich with ripe fruits and citrus notes overlaying something distinctively medicinal. Cloroseptic throat spray? Water tones all the other notes down to just a mild earthiness.
Palate: No sweetness out of the bottle. Very hot. Dark chocolate and vanilla. With water sweetness ang grassy notes come out. Despite the hotness, I prefer it without water.
Finish:Hot and spicy like a hot curry until you add water and then it tones down to a light oak.
Comments: Interesting. I like this better than the standard single malt but I’m still not enamored with the Fusion. It’s much more balanced but it just doesn’t stand out to me. If there was some of the cinnamon in the standard expression in the Fusion’s palate it would have a nice Mexican Hot Chocolate flavor. Maybe I’ll try mixing the two myself.
Rating: Average

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Do we accept samples for review?

/ / Review, Richard's Blog

Yes. You can joke and say “Who would turn down whiskey?” but this is a valid question. Some people review only things that they buy and some people review only things that are sent to them. While we actually purchase most of the whisk(e)y that we review it is out of necessity more than anything else. Plus, we’re usually buying the stuff anyway. 😉

For those who read our blog, we don’t treat the whisk(e)y any different regardless of whether it was sent to us or purchased by us. The only difference is that we disclose in the review if the sample was sent to us. We usually do reviews periodically (and hopefully with some regularity) based on what’s in our liquor cabinets at any given moment. For samples sent to us we trying to have a pretty short turnaround time out of respect for the company that sends it to us. This is usually because the samples tend to coincide with a seasonal promotion, new release, etc that may be time sensitive.

In the past we’ve received generosity in the form of review samples from Pernod Ricard, Cooley, Charbay, and several others. If you have something you would like us to review then contact either Matt or myself through email.

Your Whisk(e)y Apostles,

Richard & Matt

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