Must Try

Templeton Rye Barrel Strength Straight Rye Whiskey 2018

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey / ,

Templeton Rye Barrel Strength 2018
Straight Rye Whiskey

57.2% ABV
$60-$70
Website
Templeton Rye Barrel Strength Straight Rye Whiskey 2018

What the Bottle* Says

Limited Bottling 2018
This special addition to the Templeton family is a barrel strength edition matured to perfection in flame charred American oak barrels. Natural, non-chill filtered and bottled at 57.2% ABV, this limited release is bursting with rye spice and black pepper giving way to summer fruits, butterscotch and oak. Templeton Rye Barrel Strength is both complex and intriguing and represents the expression in its purest form. This exquisite whiskey is a fitting tribute and salute to the town of Templeton – a small town with a strong spirit.
Produced and Bottled By:
Templeton Rye Spirits, LLC. Templeton, IA
Distilled in Indiana
* The Templeton Distillery website makes no mention of this whiskey.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Bright with mint, eucalyptus, lime, dill, ginger, subtle vanilla and pear.
Palate:  Rich thick mouthfeel, orange spice with cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, honey and mint.
Finish:  Moderately long with citrus notes, pepper and mint.
Comments:  This is a really nice, barrel proof rye. Although I don’t care for the lack of transparency (which is putting it mildly) from Templeton, and might not support them financially (this bottle was gifted), the whiskey itself is pretty delicious. And if you don’t care about the backstory and just want a decent high-proof rye, I think this fits the bill. A bit of water thickens, and damps down the edges nicely bringing out more sweetness.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Cotswolds Dry Gin

/ / Other Spirits, Review / ,

Cotswolds Dry Gin

46% ABV
$50
Website
Cotswolds Dry Gin

What the Distillery Says

Our Cotswolds Dry Gin is a delectable blend of nine carefully-considered botanicals, including local lavender from nearby Snowshill and freshly-peeled pink grapefruit and lime zest. Due to the unusually high volume of botanicals we use, our gin causes a beautiful pearlescent cloud to appear when ice or tonic is added. To make the ultimate Cloudy G&T, mix with premium tonic water, lots of ice and garnish with a bay leaf and a slice of pink grapefruit.

The finest ingredients
Juniper berries, coriander seed and angelica root form the classic foundation for our London Dry-style Gin. We then add Cotswold lavender from nearby Snowshill and bay leaves. The citrus element comes from freshly-peeled lime and pink grapefruit zest – unusually we use fresh peels rather than dried because of the greater quantity of essential oils. This entails peeling several hundred limes and grapefruits per week, by hand! The final botanicals are cardamom seed and black peppercorn, to give a hint of spice.

Lovingly crafted
Quantity matters. We put about 10x the average volume of botanicals used to make most premium gins in our copper pot still. This process creates the richest possible flavours and mouthfeel due to the high proportion of essential oils and botanical extract. These flavour-rich oils are the reason our gin goes from clear to cloudy when tonic or ice is added. The pearlescent glow, also known as a ‘louche’, happens because we choose not to chill-filter our gin to remove the oils as this would reduce the rich flavour and mouthfeel.

What do we mean by purity? It’s what we throw away that makes what we keep so special. The slower we run the stills and the more heads and tails (unpleasant beginning and end of the run) we discard, the purer the gin will taste. Our ‘heart cut’ is rested for 5 days to allow the flavours to marry. The only thing added before bottling is demineralised water to reduce the strength. This process, known as ‘single-shot distillation’, creates a superior gin. We never ‘stretch’ the batch by adding more neutral spirit (known as ‘multi-shot’), so the gin we distil is the gin you drink.

Tasting notes
Nose: Fresh notes of grapefruit with earthy coriander backed-up by sweet, piney juniper. A hint of perfumed Cotswold lavender.
Palate: Clean, pine juniper spice with fresh citrussy grapefruit. A touch of dryness from the angelica root, with eucalyptus notes from bay leaf. Subtle lime and lavender.
Finish: Clean and balanced. Juniper, citrus and some cooling notes from bay leaf and cardamom.

What Gary Says

DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not familiar with Gin (so read at your own risk!)
Nose:  Lavender, lime, pink grapefruit, botanicals, pine and a hint of juniper.
Palate:  Lime, lavender, pink grapefruit and a bit of pepper.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, with lime and grapefruit.
Comments:  Usually the nose and palate of spirits are similar, but I was struck by how nearly perfectly aligned they were in this case. I haven’t been a fan of gin; not sure what I had tried before but it left me feeling like gin was just a juniper bomb (probably how someone who hadn’t ever had whisky and tried Laphroaig might think all whisky is like chewing on peat!) This was a refreshing education. I still get this “cleaning product” vibe, but that isn’t meant to be negative (again – Laphroaig has notes of bandaids and earthy peat, which wouldn’t sound appealing – but I love it!) This was the first of three samples I tried, and was the most complex and my favorite.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Compass Box Orchard House

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Compass Box Orchard House
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$51
Website
Compass Box Orchard House Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Blender Says

Fruit-forward & spirit-driven
What is more universally delicious than ripe fruit? Even the greatest chefs have been known to serve a simple dish of strawberries or a single, perfect peach as a dessert.

Orchard House gathers together some of the fruitiest malts Scotland has to offer, including whiskies from the Linkwood and Clynelish distilleries; what’s more, we have sourced many of these whiskies as new spirit and laid them down in our own oak casks. This, our monument to fresh fruitiness in Scotch whisky, has been many years in the making.

When neat or poured over a large ice cube, Orchard House makes for an outstanding pre-dinner malt. It will ably partner amber and pale ales, as well as swathes of soft cheeses. Welcome to our home among the fruit trees – the door is unlocked.

TECHNICAL DETAILS: Natural colour | Not chill-filtered

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Aromas of apple and pear dominate, with hints of pineapple, lemon and lime zest, and Earl Grey tea. Take a sip and note the malty and gingery flavours. These are soon joined by honey, wild strawberries and vanilla shortbread.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Fruity and floral, green apples, poached pears, hint of lemon zest and apple cider.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with peaches and cream, apples, vanilla, pears, nutmeg and honey.
Finish:  Moderately long and drying with fruit and subtle mulling spice notes.
Comments:  This is delicious, and dangerously drinkable. It has a really nice fall vibe, with some apple cider – perfect for this time of year. I picked this one up at the same time as Compass Box Canvas, and I liked this almost as much as that – but like the price point on this way more. It doesn’t have the same mouthfeel (which I wouldn’t expect), but if you’re a Compass Box fan – I’d definitely give this one a try.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend
Blended Scotch Whisky

51% ABV
$75
Website
John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend

What the Blender Says

John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend honors the past whilst being an invitation to raise a glass to the next 200 years.

2020 marks 200 years since John Walker first opened the doors to a small grocery store in rural Scotland, setting in motion a chain of events that would change the world of Scotch whisky forever. This is a limited edition release inspired by our first commercial blend ‘Old Highland Whisky’ the first of our whiskies to be exported from Scotland to the four corners of the world.

As John Walker opened the doors to his grocery store two hundred years ago, we invite you to do the same when you open this celebratory Scotch whisky blend to unveil the historic image of where our journey began.

A lot has changed since those early days, but our entrepreneurial spirit remains the same.

THE STORY BEHIND THE JOHN WALKER & SONS CELEBRATORY BLEND LIMITED EDITION

The John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend is inspired by a breakthrough moment, the release of ‘Old Highland Whisky’ in the 1860s, which was created primarily for export and became the first of our whiskies to travel from Scotland to the four corners of the world. With more whisky being sold overseas, the iconic design of the square bottle and uniquely slanted label were distinct and helped the name stand out against other whiskies.

“John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend is a sensorial journey featuring notes of sweet dried raisins, subtle spice and marzipan, which develop into hints of roasted nuts, icing sugar sweetness and gentle peat, with a soft pepper finish. It celebrates an historic moment in the our story.”
– Jim Beveridge, Johnnie Walker Master Blender

FLAVOR
NOSE: On the nose this whisky has sweet dried raisins, subtle spice and marzipan.
PALATE: The palate develops hints of roasted nuts, icing sugar sweetness and gentle peat.
FINISH: The finish is soft pepper.

(whisky advocate notes)
This spicy concoction, inspired by John Walker’s original Old Highland Whisky, has a nose of marzipan, candied peel, raisin, marmalade, aromatic spices, pepper, and ginger loaf, with a trace of cool smoke and peppermint. The strength and pepperiness give this plenty of clout, with a flavor unique among Johnnie Walker whiskies: brown sugar, hazelnut, royal icing on wedding cake, nuts, pepper, clove, peat, and blackened fruitcake.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Fruit notes with raisins and apricots, caramel, chocolate, subtle vegetal notes with peat.
Palate:  Rich and thick, dark fruit with toffee, caramel, chocolate, spice notes kicking in with nutmeg, cinnamon, hazelnuts, allspice and pink peppercorn.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with dark fruit, honey and spice.
Comments:  One of the better Johnnie Walker (I know – this is ‘John Walker’) blends I’ve tried. Appreciate the higher ABV, although drinks nicely neat. Takes a bit of water well, opening up the fruit notes more with some apples and pears peeking in. A nicely balanced dram!

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Daviess County Double Barrel Bourbon Limited Edition

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Daviess County Double Barrel Bourbon Limited Edition
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Missouri White Oak Barrels

48% ABV
$50
Website
Daviess County Double Barrel
We would like to thank Lux Row Distillers and BYRNE PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

This limited-edition, small-batch bourbon whiskey is finished in fresh Missouri White Oak barrels with a #2 char and toasted heads. The car and toast combination adds rich dark chocolate and caramel notes to the finished product. It was developed in partnership with Ducks Unlimited and, like all Daviess County variants, it is a mix of ryed and wheated bourbons and is 96 proof.

“The double-barrel finishing process that goes into Daviess County Double Barrel Bourbon is a perfect nod to our Ducks Unlimited partnership, and it brings a unique flavor profile to our latest Daviess County offering,” said Lux Row Master Distiller and long-time DU member, John Rempe. “Expect a nose that includes crisp, toasted-oak notes, caramel and vanilla; sweet caramel, honey and toasted-marshmallow flavors on the palate, and a finish of caramelized sugar and lingering dark chocolate compliments of the toasted head finish.”

TASTING NOTES
AROMA: Crisp toasted oak notes, caramel and vanilla
PALATE: Sweet caramel and honey with toasted marshmallow
FINISH: Caramelized sugar and lingering dark chocolate

What Gary Says

Nose:  Toasted oak, salted caramel, vanilla, dusty cocoa and a hint of roasted corn.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel, caramel, vanilla, honey, bit of dark chocolate, oak, nutmeg; a turtle brownie edge piece.
Finish:  Moderately long with brown sugar, oak and cocoa.
Comments:  This latest offering in the Daviess County lineup is thus far my favorite. I enjoyed the other finishes, but the double barrel finish just turns up the ‘bourbon’ notes that I love (caramel, vanilla) while adding some chocolate. Left me thinking of a turtle brownie edge piece (that’s slightly burnt). Previously, the Daviess County Kentucky Straight Bourbon French Oak Cask Finish was my favorite, but I did a blind sbs to check myself and found that while both are quite nice – I liked this one better. I’ve had some double barrel aged bourbons where they went too long in the second barrel and came out an oaky mess, so kudos to the team at Lux Row Distillers for getting this one right (not that I’m surprised!) This one isn’t available everywhere, so if you can get your hands on it, I’d recommend trying it out.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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