Must Try

Booker’s 2021-02 “Tagalong Batch”

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Booker’s “Tagalong Batch” Batch 2021-02
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

6 Years, 5 Months, 0 Days
63.95% ABV
$90
Website
Bookers 2021-02 Tagalong Batch
We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says:

The second release of the Booker’s® Bourbon 2021 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2021-02 ‘Tagalong Batch.’ This batch celebrates the way my dad, Booker Noe, learned the ropes at the distillery – by ‘tagging along’ with his grandfather and my great grandfather, Jim Beam.

Growing up, the distillery was like Dad’s playground; he loved spending time with his grandfather and everyone else who worked there, asking questions and expanding his knowledge. That’s ultimately how he developed his curiosity and passion for whiskey, and it was how he became such a talented Master Distiller.

The tradition of ‘tagging along’ has continued generation to generation. I learned much of what I know about whiskey by following in Dad’s footsteps, digesting all of the information I could while working side-by-side at the distillery. It’s also a tradition I continued with my son Freddie, and one I hope he’ll share with his children in the future.

Tagging along had some other rewards too, such as heading to the nearby lake to cast a line together after a hard day’s work. We all have fond memories of that quality time, and I hope you enjoy this batch as part of your quality time with family and friends too.
— Fred Noe, Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller

TASTING NOTES
Nose: Aromas of vanilla, caramel and “sweet brown” wood sugar flavors
Taste: Unique, yet unmistakably Booker’s® Bourbon
Finish: Pleasant, warm finish, both sweet and spicy

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich vanilla, caramel, chocolate fudge, oak, peanut brittle, cinnamon, leather, bit of toasted orange zest.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel with fudge, salted caramel, nutmeg, honey, cinnamon, oak, bit of pepper and subtle fruit notes (maybe baked peaches).
Finish:  Moderately long with fudge, caramel and oak.
Comments:  While I don’t have a lineup of previous batches to compare against, I really like this one. I usually get a some chocolate, but this one is more pronounced with it taking on a more fudgy angle. A bit of water amps the peanut notes, brings out a bit more citrus notes on the palate, and tamps the pepper (which isn’t that sharp). And it continues the streak of “hadn’t met a Booker’s I didn’t like!”.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Glenrothes 19 Year Speyside Single Malt Scotch

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / ,

Chieftain’s Glenrothes 19 Year
Speyside Single Malt Scotch

53.2% ABV
$165
Website
Chieftains Glenrothes 19 Yr Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Bottle Says

Distillation Date: January 1997
Bottling Date: September 2016
Wood Type: Pedro Ximenez Finish
Cask Number: 91822
Number of Bottles: 437
Unchill-Filtered
Natural Colour

What Gary Says

Nose:  Honey suckle, barley malt, heather, vanilla, hint of spent matches, coffee cake, ginger, dark fruits, bit of anise, smoked pork, figs, pipe tobacco and nutmeg.
Palate:  Rich and thick mouthfeel, warm with honey, stewed fruits over coffee cake, cinnamon, pepper, clove, nutmeg and molasses.
Finish:  Long and wet, honey dripping with raisins and a bit of sulfur.
Comments:  Wow – a really nice, robust, intense dram – balanced with sweetness and a bit of savory smoky notes. A bit of water brightens it up without thinning. I liked this quite a bit more than Glenrothes 18 yr I tried, and I’m pretty sure it is the Pedro Ximenez finish (which I do like). This is also one of those drams where I actually prefer the nose over the palate, which isn’t to short-change the palate. This is a winner on all fronts, but the nose is really enchanting!

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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Barrell Bourbon Batch 029

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Barrell Bourbon Batch 029

57.94% ABV
$90
Website
Barrell Bourbon Batch 029
We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

The base of Barrell Bourbon Batch 029 is an herbal and viscous blend of Indiana bourbons. The blend was expanded with 6 and 7-year-old rye-grain Kentucky bourbon, chosen for its exotic cinnamon spice note and floral 9 and 10-year-old wheated bourbon. Finally, a small amount of 6, 14, and 16-year-old Tennessee bourbon was added for a fruity nose and a long, oxidative finish.

  • A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
  • Distilled and aged in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana
  • Selection of 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, and 16-year-old barrels
  • Aged in American white oak barrels
  • Bottled in Kentucky
  • 115.88 proof cask strength bottling

FLAVOR NOTES
An initial burst of fruit: Williams pear and dried papaya on the nose, lime cordial on the palate; then a lengthy evolution through rye-driven mulling spices and rich oaky lactones. Ultimately, the profile settles comfortably into an array of dessert notes including treacle tart, milk chocolate, and Boal madeira.

​Neat
Appearance: Roasted pumpkin flecked with bright gold.
Nose: A classical opening of brown sugar-laced oatmeal and freshly conditioned leather. As you swirl a Glencairn glass, Williams pear, cantaloupe, and mulled wine develop. Curiously, from a rocks glass the evolution is more tropical, leaning rather toward tangerine, dried papaya, and mint tea with honeycomb. In either case, herbs soon follow — basil, dill, and wasabi powder. The aroma finally stabilizes into something resembling Pedro Ximenez sherry, displaying rosewater, treacle tart, and boiled cider.
Palate: Unmistakably cask strength. A bright, pithy lime cordial note is rounded out by Mirabelle plum and sugar snap pea. Once the palate has acclimatized, more traditional flavors of affogato, molasses, and roasted mixed nuts emerge.
Finish: A bold salinity tugs at the taste buds, calling soft pretzel to mind. As it fades, soft flavors of milk chocolate and shredded coconut wash over the palate.

With a few drops of spring water
Leafy aromas of tarragon, pandan and celery come to the fore. Nutritional yeast and roasted parsnip reveal a lightly savory dimension. Meanwhile the palate grows much darker in character, as espresso beans and ripe puerh tea dominate. Levity returns on the finish, with unexpected notes of guava and cherry blossom.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich vanilla, caramel, berries, cigar paper, leather, oak, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, a hint of minerality and tarragon.
Palate:  Rich and sweet toffee, chocolate, hazelnuts, light caramel, cinnamon, butterscotch, pepper spice and clove.
Finish:  Moderately long, damp with cocoa, honey and baking spices.
Comments:  Have yet to try a batch I didn’t like, but I really like this one; just right in my wheelhouse. Delicious neat although gets even better with some water, thickening and bringing out a note of peanut butter. A robust, unapologetically brash while nicely balanced bourbon.

Rating: Must Try

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Cadenhead’s Small Batch Mortlach 21 Yr Single Malt Scotch Whisky

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / ,

Cadenhead’s Small Batch Mortlach 21 Yr
Single Malt Scotch Whisky

53.5% ABV
$150
Website
Cadenhead's Mortlach 21 yr Small Batch Single Malt Scotch Whiskey

What the Producer Says

Distilled in 1994 at the Mortlach Distillery.
Matured in Bourbon Hogshead for 21 years.
Bottled in 2015.
One of only 492 bottles.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla sponge cake, raw almonds, subtle peat and vegetal notes, nectarines, tropical fruit, heather, tobacco, rice pudding, allspice and a hint of ginger.
Palate:  Spicy bite, fruity with apricots, nectarines, pears, pepper spice, honey, walnuts, allspice, chocolate, and cherries.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with apricots and a nutty pepper spice.
Comments:  Really nice dram – sharp neat but a bit of water brings out more chocolate and cherries, and thickens nicely. Here in the United States, we see ‘small batch’ used commonly in the world of bourbon despite having zero legal meaning (could be as few as a single barrel, or as many barrels as you want – 50, 500, 5,000, limit is only your imagination). It is much less common in Scotch whisky. In this case, there being 492 bottles of this small batch, it is likely only 2 or 3 casks (a hogshead cask is 250 liters, which would be 357 750 mL bottles full; scotch whisky loses about 2% to evaporation each year, do some math and you land at 2 casks with slightly less than 2%, or 3 casks).

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Barrell American Vatted Malt

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / ,

Barrell American Vatted Malt Whiskey
Blend of American Single Malts

November 20, 2019 Batch

58.75% ABV
$80-$100
Website
Barrell American Vatted Malt

What the Blender Says

We partnered with small and large producers across the country to select whiskeys that express the full diversity of American terroir and style. The resulting blend is remarkable, and we are proud to be the first to showcase the growing category of American single malt in this way.

We chose the name “American Vatted Malt” as an homage to the old Scottish category of vatted malt, which was once the preferred nomenclature to describe a blended whisky made entirely from single malts. Today, the Scots refer to that style as blended malt, but affection for the term “vatted” lives on.

As a new category, American single malt producers are notoriously creative, looking to their local environment and regional traditions to create distinctive whiskeys. That meant the blend was a challenging one technically, as it asked us to bring together a plethora of unique components. Never before have we strived to balance the distinctive tang of Southwestern mesquite smoke with the sweet and creamy maltiness of malted barley, or contrast briny coastal peat with the warm vanilla character of toasted oak. The resulting blend is complex and multi-faceted, rewarding the drinker with unfolding layers of flavor.

This first release of American Vatted Malt was years in the making, as many of the components in the blend come from emerging distilleries that have never traded or sold bulk whiskey before. The physical and logistical work of sourcing and blending with a group of small, independent producers is neither easy nor short, but we believe it lays the groundwork for a new, exciting, and collaborative future. Some of our collaborators have asked to remain anonymous, but the core group of participants includes:

• Balcones Distillery, Waco, Texas
• Hamilton Distillers Del Bac, Tucson, Arizona
• MGP, Lawrenceburg, Indiana
• Harvest Distillery, Valatie, New York
• Santa Fe Distillery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Kings County Distillery, Brooklyn, New York

We look forward to continuing to work with this group of innovative whiskey producers while searching out new partners for future releases of Barrell Craft Spirits Vatted Malt. In addition to expanding our ever-growing portfolio of spirits, this new project is an important step in advancing our vision of the next chapter of whiskey in America.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Toffee, cocoa, barley malt, caramel, toasted oak, cedar, subtle coconut husk.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel, caramel, black currants, dark chocolate, allspice, nutmeg, pepper with blackberry preserves.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with pepper and toffee.
Comments:  A really lovely pour. As a fan of quality vatting/blending (thanks to Compass Box for helping me see the light!), I can appreciate when it is done well – and this is done really well. Not a surprise, as I’ve yet to try something from the folks at Barrell Craft Spirits that I thought was done poorly (hopefully not jinxing them!). American single malt is still a pretty small category here, and you shouldn’t confuse it with single malt scotch or you’re likely to be disappointed (not that it is of less quality, but it doesn’t taste similar). And as a small category, there are even fewer vatted malts like this. A unique take on a unique spirit, and knowing much of this is fairly new – I can’t wait to see what they release with more age!

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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