Innis & Gunn Irish Cask

/ / Review /

Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Cask Oak Aged Beer
Scottish Stout Matured in Irish Whiskey Barrels
7.4% ABV
$12.99/4 pack

Website

I was contacted before St. Patrick’s Day about reviewing a new beer from Innis & Gunn. We don’t really do beer reviews here but when I hear it was a Scottish stout aged in Irish whiskey barrels my interest was piqued. For those of you not familiar with Innis & Gunn they make oak barrel aged beers. The founder, Master Brewer Dougal Sharp started quite by accident with a contract to season oak barrels with beer for a whisky producer. Somewhere along the way they tasted the “seasoning beer” and found it to be uniquely exceptional. Since then they’ve played around with a number of different casks and this is their latest.

Admittedly, I have nowhere near the experience with beer that I do with whisky. So in all fairness to the brewer I’m bringing in a pinch hitter on this one. My friend Sam is a mathematics and statistics guru, photographer, foodie, and more importantly a beer enthusiast with decades of experience. I’ve been dragging him down the slippery slope of whisky for a few years now but he still loves a tasty brew. He kindly agreed to help me out with this review.

What the Brewer Says:
Introduction
This special bottling of Innis & Gunn has been matured in rare oak barrels from a famous distillery in Ireland. These barrels had previously been used to mature one of the great triple distilled Irish whiskeys. The result of this unique maturation is a big, full flavoured, complex beer with a delightful warming finish.

Tasting Notes
Nose: Vanilla, Oak, Chocolate, Treacle
Colour: Black
Palate: Rich and intense dark chocolate
Finish: Complex and satisfying, with a lingering oaky sweetness.

Food Matches: Haggis, smoked venison and chocolate cake.

What Sam Says:
This has the consistency of a Lager (I’m thinking of the Guinness “Black” Lager because of its dark/black color) … it’s called a “Stout” but it’s not what I think of when I think Stout relative to the “thick” consistency… maybe the Scots do it differently?

My first impression is chocolate and it had me wondering if it would go well with some dark chocolate. I didn’t have any but I did have some lamb chops with a rather sweet olive tapenade. This beer complimented the food very well. Irish Whiskey Cask? The first thing I was looking for was the strong hints of whiskey, but I didn’t find it (and through my continuing education about whiskey, I did suspect that it might not be as evident as say a beer aged in a bourbon cask). Oddly enough, I was about half-way through the glass, and it was like “there it is!” So I drank some more. The effect of the Irish Whiskey Casks is faint, but I think that’s a good thing. There are some beers aged in whiskey casks that might as well have been a shot poured into the glass. This one complimented the beer and seemed to stay behind the curtain until it was ready to be introduced.

I would recommend this beer to my beer-loving brethren with confidence while knowing that Innis & Gunn is one of those polarizing brews (some love it … some hate it). My favorite Innis & Gunn is still the Rum Cask, but the Irish Cask is a solid #2 in their lineup.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich, malty, a little nutty
Palate: Chocolate sweetness like a dark chocolate of moderate cacao. Nutty with a little bite too it I don’t find in a lot of stouts. Over ripe apples that have gone a little mealy. Golden delicious or granny smith maybe.
Finish: Fresh warm rye bread, the aftertaste of fine aged English cheddar, and a berry fruitiness.
Comments: I don’t have the experience with Innis & Gunn that Sam does but I’ve also heard their beer can be a little polarizing. This is great stuff. Their cask aging gives the stout a sharpness and a layer of flavors that I haven’t seen much in other stouts. This one is a real winner.
Rating: Must Try
I would like to thank the folks at Handcrafted PR for sending over bottles for review.

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Weller Special Reserve

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

W.L. Weller Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Aged 7 Years
45% ABV/90 Proof
$10 – $20
Website
Weller Special Reserve 7 Yr
What the Distillery Says:
The Original “Wheated” Bourbon Whiskey
Replacing the rye grain in our recipe with wheat provides for an exceptionally smooth taste. And at 7 years of age and “Kentucky proof”– 90 proof, W. L. Weller is a truly outstanding buy.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Weller always comes across with honeysuckle sweetness, crisp apples, and black peppercorns.
Palate: Bourbony? 🙂 It’s not very sweet but it’s nicely balanced with oak, caramel, vanilla, and a peppery spice at the end of the palate that runs into the finish.
Finish: Crisp and a little spicy. The spice hangs around through the end of the finish.
Comments: Confession time, I’ve had a really hard time coming up with review notes for this one. It’s not that Weller Special Reserve isn’t distinctive. Rather, I use this specific bourbon in a lot of the cooking I do. As a result, most of the notes I originally came up with are reminiscent of my bourbon meatballs, pecan pie, or bourbon cream cheese frosted red velvet cake. I use is so much because it’s a mellow and pleasing bourbon that works well with food. Think about this alternative the next time you’re in the store and you’re reaching for a bottle of Maker’s Mark. Plus, if you look hard enough you may find it for almost half the price. 😉
Rating: Stands Out, Great Value

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Sazerac 18 Year 2009 Release

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey, The Collector's Cabinet /

Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, 18 Year Old
Bottled Fall 2009
45% ABV/90 Proof
Collectible (Originally $70 to $80)
Website

What the Distillery Says:
Amber chestnut color. Huge, spicy aroma. Very mature, with notes of oak, leather, and molasses. Enormous in every respect, from its thick, chewy texture to its unbelievably spicy and very powerful flavors. The long, warm finish is preceded by notes of mint, eucalyptus, cinnamon, vanilla, molasses, oak, leather, and lingering pepper.

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich sweet orange marmalade, lots of vanilla and toffee, with notes of buttered bread.
Palate: A delicious aged rye with the refined complexity of a great cognac. This is very sweet for a rye. Some people may not like that but I really dig it. Toffee, caramel, vanilla, and dark chocolate play on the palate.
Finish: Old oak furniture, antique leather bound tomes, and a crisp minty note.
Comments: My tasting notes may romanticize this one a little but it deserves it. This is an amazing dram of whiskey. On the scale of rye alone it’s off the charts. This is easily one of my most sought after purchases each year. It’s my favorite of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and while it changes year to year, I’ve never had a bad one. It only comes out each October in limited quantities so mark your calendars now.
Rating: Must Buy

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Extravaganza 2012 Recap

/ / Richard's Blog

As with just about everything from March, I’m a little late on my coverage of the 2012 Atlanta Single Malt and Scotch Whisky Extravaganza. Hopefully no one was waiting on my feedback before pulling the trigger on tickets to an event in another city. In the spirit of full disclosure I will tell you that my tickets to this year’s event were complimentary. That being said, I’ve paid for my own in the past and I would continue to do so if necessary. This year’s event was held on Wednesday, March 28 th in the same room at the Intercontinental Hotels as it’s been held in recent years. This year I had the chance to partake in a couple of different experiences compared with years past.

I started the evening with an invitation to the Whisky Panel directly preceding the actual tasting. It was a space limited Q&A session with representatives from Diageo, Edrington, Beam Global, and the SMWS. I walked in and was immediately handed a glass of Macallan 18 Year Old. For all those planning events, dinners, tastings, and whisky related gatherings of any sort this is an exceptional start to the evening. 😉 I sipped Macallan with my buddy Sam as the four person panel answered questions from the audience. The questions ranged from benign to introspective. No amazing revelations were passed along (at least to me) but it was a nice opportunity to get the opinions of those working in the trade. It was also nice to sit down and ask questions instead of trying to squeeze them in among the masses at the main tasting.

From there we headed over to the main tasting event. Immediately I noticed fewer brands represented. Don’t get me wrong, there was still plenty to taste and it was worth every penny of your Whisk(e)y Apostle discounted ticket price. But for someone who has been several years running it was a noticeable reduction. The brands on display included Michael Collins, Dalmore, Highland Park, Macallan, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Glenrothes, Bowmore, Glen Garioch, Crown Royal, Classic Malts, Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Duncan Taylor, SMWS, Ardmore, and Laphroaig. To me Atlanta seems to be a growing whisky market. As such, I would’ve thought more brands would be pushing to represent at the main Atlanta whiskey event of the year. That’s just my opinion. I’m a little biased. Despite this, it was a well organized, fully attended, and enjoyable event. I was sad that Glemorangie Artein and Suntory Hakushu 12 year old weren’t available to taste yet but I healed those wounds with other tasty drams. The only other down side is that they went back to the one table dinner station instead of two smaller ones. As in years past this caused the expected traffic jams of those trying to get food in between drams. This is not a big thing. It’s just something that came to mind.

After the main tasting another new addition drew my attention. The Smoking Lounge was a cigar tobacco tasting hosted by the General Cigar Company. Ambassador Sharon Landry ran a great and informative tasting. We went through numerous wrappers with the same binder and filler, thus allowing us to isolate our personal favorites. This was a nice touch at the end of the evening and the SMWS Springbank bottling I drank during the tasting was fantastic. I hope this makes another appearance next year.

The 2012 Extravaganza was another great event. Fewer drams and food logistics were more than offset by additional activities and the general enjoyment of the event. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you have the chance to partake in one of their events it is highly recommended.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Jefferson’s 10 Year Rye

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey Aged 10 Years
47% ABV/94 Proof
$35 to $40
Website

What the Distillery Says:
Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey is the latest addition to the Jefferson’s Presidential Collection. Bottled at 94 proof, this 10-year-old whiskey offers a perfect combination of age, purity and strength. Distilled from 100% North American rye, it is rich, spicy and exceptionally smooth. A true classic.

Nose: Bright compelling, fruity/bakery aromas of baked banana bread, baked pears and apple cobbler make for delightful early-on sniffing; further air contact time of seven minutes encourages the ripe fruit aspect to deepen as gentle spice notes, especially pepper and allspice, round out an exceptional bouquet experience.

Taste: Moderately oily, delicately spiced and even a touch honeyed; midpalate features the spice element in spades, making for zesty, tangy sipping.

Finish: Aftertaste focuses squarely on the fruit component again along with the last minute hit of rye bread.

What Richard Says:
Nose: The nose is very rich and creamy to me. I get very herbaceous notes and candied nuts.
Palate: This one is very sweet. It’s much sweeter than I would expect from a rye. Vanilla, caramel, and spearmint come through.
Finish: It reminds me of Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Heath Bar Ice Cream served on a barrel stave.
Comments: Many parallels have been drawn between this expression and WhistlePig which goes for almost twice the price. I haven’t tried the other but for $35 this is a nice aged rye. Easy to sip and easy to mix. What more can you really ask for?
Rating: Stands Out

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