Must Buy

Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut
50% ABV
$23
Website

What the Distiller Says
Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey aged five to six years that features a medium body and combines caramel sweetness with charred oak, enriched with light fruit notes. The premium expression offers a smooth and complex mouthfeel with a warm, lightly charred oak finish – the perfect gift for a bourbon lover looking to try something different this holiday season. It has a dark amber color with aromas of soft charred oak, sweet caramel, vanilla and hints of dried fruit.
After aging, bourbon typically goes through a chill filtration process, which involves forcing the liquid through a dense filter to remove fatty acids formed during distillation. Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut skips this step, which results in a fuller taste and palate feel. This can also cause the liquid to look cloudier compared to filtered bourbons, especially on the rocks.

What Gary Says
Nose:  Rich, rickhouse oak with dark cocoa and that signature Beam peanut note; vanilla with a hint of cinnamon and anise.
Palate:  Nice mouthfeel – creamy and viscous; sweet vanilla caramel with cinnamon spice that creeps up but maintains a solid balance. Peppery as it fades.
Finish:  Moderately long and dry.
Comments:  This reminds me of a younger Knob Creek. I really love that this is non-chill filtered; the mouthfeel shines. This is a limited edition, although I hope they plan to release this same type of bourbon every year. It’s just flat out delicious, and a great value (which is hard to come by these days). I know some folks don’t care for the signature Beam-peanut twang, and I’m honestly not a huge fan of that. But it plays well here. I just can’t imagine anyone buying this and for the money feeling like they made a mistake.
Rating: Must Buy

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Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask (2017)

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Great King Street Artist’s Blend Single Marrying Cask
Dekalb Bottle House Exclusive, Cask No 6
49% ABV
$50
Website

What the Blender Says
(When referencing the standard Artist’s Blend, Compass Box says):
Rich, round, fruity. Artist’s Blend is a tribute to a time when blenders used an artistry, creativity and craft to make this combination of flavourful single malt whiskies and delicate single grain whiskies one of the world’s most famous drinks.

What Richard Says
Nose: This bottle still has that fruity, spicy, oak nose but made more robust by the additional time in new French oak.
Palate: Big vanilla sweetness pops out right away. Creamy peach custard, vanilla sugar, a nip of black pepper around the edges.
Finish: The oak and spice come big time on the finish. Lots of cracked black pepper and allspice.
Comments: This version takes the blend to a new level. The finished blend is then filled into new French oak cask and matured or married for an additional year. That plus the addition of pushing the proof from 43% to 49% makes the already delicious Artist’s Blend a more muscular and imposing version of itself. This is only available through a handful of liquor stores around the US. Dekalb Bottle House is the only store in Atlanta that got one. They bought cask 6. At $50 a bottle this is pretty much a steal. Go, now, hurry and get a bottle before they are all gone.
Rating: Must Buy

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Mortlach 16 Year (K&L Wine)

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Mortlach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Distilled 1998
The Signatory Vintage Un-Chillfiltered Collection
$100
55.8% ABV
Website

What the Bottler Says
Can we keep the Mortlach momentum rolling? It seems that ever since we released that amazing sherry butt of Mortlach from Chieftain’s all those years ago, we’ve been riding a wave of Mortlach enthusiasm for the sherry-aged Speyside beast. Diageo even released their own single malt version (maybe we had something to do with that, eh?) We’re always on the lookout for more Mortlach, especially sherry-aged barrels, and it turns out that Signatory had a sherry-finished butt sitting in their Pitlochry location just there for the taking. The first sip is all you need to get excited: lots of gingerbread, cinnamon, holiday cookie goodness just explodes on the palate, with cakey, sherry flavor rounding out the back end. At full proof, it’s as much of a beast as ever. But the fact that this cask was simply finished in sherry, rather than aged in the sweet wine from day one, is a big benefit. The maltiness of the whisky is still there at the core and the finish still sings of whisky

What Richard Says
Nose: Spicy and fruity. Allspice, sage, cinnamon, vanilla, nectarines, and dried apricots.
Palate: Rich and mouth coating with a terrific sweetness. Cigar humidors, more dried apricots, cinnamon candies, high cacao dark chocolates, and a big smack of sherry.
Finish: A nice woodiness with hints of graphite and cinnamon. When everything else fades you’re left with dark chocolate cocoa powder.
Comments: This beasts needs the water. Even for those, like myself, that regularly indulge in the 52-58% cask strength dram this one needs a few splashes or it comes out too hot. Delicious, but too hot. You’ll only be tasting the first dram otherwise. Sadly, this barrel is all sold out. With Diageo releasing their own ridiculously overpriced proprietary bottlings of Mortlach I’m sure the glory days of independently bottled, heavily sherried Mortlach are nearly gone. But there may still be time. If you are a fan of sherry forward malts (Macallan, Aberlour, Glendronach, etc.) and you see something like this Mortlach at a reasonable price then grab one. They rarely disappoint.
Rating: Must Buy

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Knob Creek Single Barrel

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve
Selected by the Georgia Bourbon Society
60% ABV
$35-$45
Website

What the Distillery Says
Our distillers handpick exceptional barrels to be enjoyed in their full, unblended glory.
COLOR: Our darkest and deepest amber and henna color.
TASTE: Deep and complex flavors of vanilla, nuts and oak.
AROMA: Robust vanilla and caramel notes; slightly smoky.
FINISH: Long and full, perfect for easygoing sipping.

What Gary Says
Nose: Hot and thick, sweet vanilla, brown sugar, nutty caramel and cinnamon with pepper spice undertones and oak; with water the heat is tamped down and spice notes pop (cinnamon, anise, allspice) as well as the oak; reminds me of a breeze through a rickhouse.
Palate: Warm and sharp, viscous sweet honey with vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, hints of gingersnap cookies and brown sugar, bits of chocolate; with water the mouthfeel thins a bit but the flavor remains intense, nutty cinnamon with honey and sugar-cookies.
Finish: Moderately long and honeyed before drying out.
Comments: I generally like high proof pours, but this one out of the gate is a bit on the hot side for me (but only a bit). Luckily it takes water like a champ without losing the intensity of flavor. This barrel was 10 yrs, 10 months, and 15 days old when we dumped it (one of the great things about doing a Knob Creek barrel pick was we literally got to help dump the barrel and see it bottled, rather than having to wait months for the bottles to arrive), and the proof out of the barrel was 138.4. It was stored on the 7th floor of a 9 story rickhouse, so up there a ways – although I would have expected this to be more oaky with that information. There is oak for sure, but the sweetness and spice really stand out, and the oak is more of a background player – which is right up my alley. As a private selection, you won’t find this on the shelves, but the couple of other store picks I’ve tried were quite nice – so if priced favorably, I’d recommend grabbing one.
Rating: Must Try

What Richard Says
Nose: Toffee, furniture varnish, leather oil, vanilla extract, and a bit of that classic Beam peanut funk.
Palate: Caramel, black pepper, empty cigar boxes, cinnamon Red Hots, dark cocoa powder, and burnt brown sugar.
Finish: Surprisingly dry for such a luscious whiskey.
Comments: This is a private selection but I’ve had several and I have yet to taste a bad one. These say 9 years on the bottle but the ones being privately picked by liquor stores tend to be a fair bit older. Usually in the 10 to 12 year range. So for $40 you can get an 11 year old, near barrel strength straight bourbon from a large prominent distiller. Uh, this is probably one of the best bourbon deals out there right now.
Rating: Must Buy

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Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$130
Website
Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza

What the Blender Says

As the name suggests, the liquid draws its inspiration from our Signature Range classic, The Spice Tree, but reinterprets it through the use of older components and a significant portion of sherry-cask aged malt whisky. The Spice Tree’s trademark spice character is retained but set within a richer, more elegant frame with a new depth of flavour and complexity.

Decadent and playful on the nose, you will find notes of sherry wine, dark berries and the fragrant sweetness of traditional sweet shops.

On the palate there is juicy red fruit, a dark brown sugar richness, the trademark Spice Tree ginger and clove spice character and an endlessly long, spicy, substantial finish.

32.6% First Fill Sherry Butt aged malt from Glen Ord
17.2% First Fill Sherry Butt aged malt from Benrinnes
2.6% Refill American Standard Barrel aged malt from Allt-a-Bhainne
27.7% Light/Medium Toast Hybrid Cask aged blended Malt scotch composed of 60% Clynelish, 20% Dailuaine, and 20% Teaninich
4.3$ Refill Hybrid Cask aged blended Malt scotch composed of 60% Clynelish, 20% Dailuaine, and 20% Teaninich
15.6% Heavy Toast Hybrid Cask aged blended Malt scotch composed of 60% Clynelish, 20% Dailuaine, and 20% Teaninich

FLAVOUR DESCRIPTORS
Decadent and playful on the nose, you will find notes of sherry wine, dark berries and the fragrant sweetness of traditional sweet shops. On the palate there is juicy red fruit, a dark brown sugar richness, the trademark SPICE TREE ginger and clove spice character and an endlessly long, spicy, substantial finish.

AVAILABILITY
Limited Edition release of 12,240 bottles worldwide. Bottled August 2016.

BOTTLING DETAILS
Bottled at 46% | Not chill-filtered | Natural colour | LEAD BLENDER: John Glaser

What Richard Says:

Nose: Grassy, slightly bitter, stewed fruits and a bit of a sherry backing.
Palate: Cherry tarts with chocolate sauce, crisp apples, candied ginger, berries, and brown sugar cookies.
Finish: The finish is where the name shines. Loads of black pepper and baking spices.
Comments: Extravaganza for sure. This is an incredibly delicious whisky that oozes rich fruits layer with spices. It’s much more sherry flavor forward than regular Spice Tree but both fans of Spice Tree and neophytes will enjoy it. Grab the bottle if you see it.

Rating: Must Buy

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich butterscotch, buttercream frosted vanilla sponge cake, peach cobbler light on cinnamon, apricot and subtle dark fruits with a bit of clove.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, sweet peaches, vanilla, pears, honey, waxy with clove, cinnamon, cherries and a hint of banana.
Finish:  Long, slightly drying with butterscotch and baking spices.
Comments:  Absolutely lovely and dangerously drinkable. Thickens with a bit of water, bringing out some nectarines (although it doesn’t need any water). While a limited edition, I’ve seen this on the shelves years after its release, and for the price – think this is a no brainer, especially if you’re a fan of Compass Box.

Rating: Must Buy

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