Stands Out

Jameson Bow Street 18 Years

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review / ,

Jameson Bow Street 18 Years
Cask Strength Irish Whiskey

55.3% ABV
$170-$190
Website
Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Cask Strength

What the Distillery Says

A special place in our hearts required a whiskey to match.
Jameson Bow Street 18 Years is a special blend of rare pot still and grain Irish whiskeys produced at the Midleton distillery. After ageing for almost two decades, these whiskeys are married together and spend their final finishing period in our original home, at the Jameson Distillery Bow Street in Dublin.

Launched in 2018, this whiskey is our rarest release and is bottled once per year, at cask strength.

Nose: Rich wood-driven influence with deep toffee notes and spice.
Taste: Toffee and oak remain consistent with hints of leather and vanilla along with a subtle sherry nuttiness creating depth and complexity.
Finish: Long and full with the sweet toffee notes slowly fading while the toasted oak and spice linger throughout until the very end.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, angel food cake, soft oak, honey, almonds, floral, bit of leather and milk chocolate.
Palate:  Toffee, honey, oak, sherry notes of raisins, milk chocolate, caramel, spicy with clove and nutmeg.
Finish:  Moderately long, nutty with caramel and spices.
Comments:  The grain component in this blend shines through. Water thickens this nicely, and brings out more malty grain notes (but don’t get me wrong – it doesn’t come across as ‘young’) and tamps some of the spiciness. I liked this one more each time I went back to sample it. Not sure I like it enough to shell out the coin (although I still kinda regret not buying a cask strength Jameson when visiting their visitor center in Dublin; this really does shine at the higher ABV).

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Broken Barrel Hersey Rye

/ / Review, Rye Whiskey /

Broken Barrel Hersey Rye

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves

52.5% ABV
$35
Website
Broken Barrel Heresy Rye Whiskey
We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

Rye | Re-imagined

This Rye whiskey is distilled in Owensboro Kentucky – just like our bourbon. However, it is unlike any rye whiskey you’ve ever tasted. Charred French oak gives a woody body to the spirit, while ex-bourbon (still soaked from the previous tenant) and ex-sherry cask staves all join forces to create a fiery, yet balanced and smooth taste and finish. We use the same proprietary Oak Bill™ to embolden this rye whiskey and give it an uncommon and untraditional taste and character.

Call it sacrilegious, call it untraditional, call it heresy—we won’t be offended. But trust us. Once you taste it, you may begin to question the tradition yourself.

Mash Bill:
95% Rye
5% Malted Barley

Oak Bill™
40% French Oak Staves
40% Ex-Bourbon Cask Staves
20% Sherry Cask Staves

Heresy Rye Whiskey was awarded the Gold Medal in 2019 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for rye whiskies.
Batch 001 | Launched August 2018

What Gary Says

Nose:  Soft rye spice with mint eucalyptus, bit of dill and vanilla.
Palate:  Bright with mint, citrus zip, baking spices and black cherries.
Finish:  Short with mint, cocoa, pepper and dried fruit notes.
Comments:  I’ve remarked before that rye whiskey is the one whisk(e)y type that I find which “isn’t as bad” young, and that continues to be the case. Don’t get me wrong – I’d prefer a well aged rye over something young (in this case, it is 2 yrs old)!  But in the context of the previous Broken Barrel whiskies, I did like this one the best.  The stave treatment does lend to some dark fruit notes on the palate and finish, which round out the herbal and more citrus notes of the rye nicely. Bit of water tamps the edges a bit, although I wouldn’t add a lot.

Rating: Stands Out

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Broken Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Broken Barrel Cask Strength
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Broken Barrel Staves

57.5% ABV
$45
Website
Broken Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey
We would like to thank Broken Barrel Whiskey Co. and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

Broken Barrel Bourbon features a unique blend of corn, rye, and barley that makes it perfectly balanced to infuse. We partnered with an incredible world-class Kentucky Bourbon distillery to select the finest bourbon base for our products. The bourbon is aged a minimum of one year (it has to be) to be called a Kentucky Bourbon, which also ensures a specific quality we’re looking for before incorporate our Oak Bill™.

WHAT IS THE OAK BILL?

After a minimum of one year in new charred oak barrels, the bourbon is dumped to steel tanks, where each batch of Broken Barrel is hit with new French oak staves, ex-bourbon barrel staves, and a blend of ex-sherry cask staves.

Rich, complex, layered and beyond beautiful, Broken Barrel boldly goes where other whiskies won’t – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mash Bill:
70% Corn
21% Rye
9% Malted Barley

Oak Bill™
40% French Oak Staves
40% Ex-Bourbon Cask Staves
20% Sherry Cask Staves

A note about Staves – there is a tremendous amount of surface area when using staves to age and flavor a whiskey – much more than merely using the inside of a barrel. There are several more surfaces making contact with the liquid, each adding its own character and flavor.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, candy corn, vanilla, bit of oak and subtle dark fruits.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with caramel and toffee, sharpens with pepper spice and cinnamon, dark fruit notes of black cherry and raisins.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with pepper, oak and dried fruits.
Comments:  Very similar to the Small Batch – guessing it is the same spirit just bottled at a higher proof.  Bit tannic/sharp, although some water tamps that a bit. Similarly young, although I found dialing this in around 105 proof or so definitely brings it up a notch over the Small Batch.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Ledaig Cadenhead 19 Year

/ / Island, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Ledaig 19 Year Cadenhead Small Batch
Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky

53.7% ABV
$200
Website
Ledaig 19 Year Cadenhead

What the Bottle/Tag Says

Ledaig Distillery
Region: Island
Founded: 1798
Water: Mishnish Loch

The original distillery founded in 1798 was known as Tobermory. The distillery was closed in 1930 and was reopened as Ledaig in 1972. Today Ledaig is the name used for the peated version of Tobermory.

The whisky in this bottle has not been treated to change its colour. It is free from additives and has not been subjected to chill filtration.

Tasting Note:
Nose: Oily, with a hint of sea breeze. Fennel, rosemary and some lemon thyme along with flashes of wet smoke.
Palate: Very oily and then some grassy notes, some wet smoke and hints of aniseed.
Finish: Soft smoke lingers with wet grass and some mineral notes.

Distilled: 1997
Bottled: 2016
Age: 19
Strength: 53.7%
Cask: 1 x Bourbon Hogshead
No. bottles: 240

What Gary Says

Nose:  Oily and medicinal with peat smoke, savory herbs of rosemary, oregano, tarragon and thyme, creosote, sea air, heather and wisps of smoked fish.
Palate:  Oily mouthfeel, peat, minerality, smoke, vanilla, raw honey, pepper spice and a hint of anise.
Finish:  Long and thick with smoke, peat and vegetal notes.
Comments: Compared to the 14 year, this is lighter in color and is absent the lovely fruit notes (both due to the bourbon cask rather than the sherry). This is much more of a peat beast, which I enjoy a really peat-focused dram on occasion. A bit of water thickens this up really nicely, bringing out more sweetness with vanilla, subtle caramel and a bit of white chocolate (and I love how it clouds up with some water – thank you non-chill filtration!) I’d recommend letting this sit in the glass for a bit, as it helps take some of the edge off.  A very different dram than the 14 year, and really highlights the influence of the cask itself.  While Laphroaig was my first true love in the world of Scotch, over the years I’ve found I definitely reach for more sherry and port matured whisky – but variety is the spice of life.

Rating: Stands Out

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Longmorn 2002 17 Year

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / ,

Longmorn 2002 17 Year
Signatory Vintage The Un-chillfiltered Collection
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Bottled Exclusively for The Whisky Exchange

56.2% ABV
$160
Website
Longmorn 2002 17 Year Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Bottle Says

AGED: 17 years
DISTILLED ON: September 17, 2002
BOTTLE ON: May 5, 2020|
MATURED IN: a Bourbon Barrel
CASK NO: 800638
BOTTLE NO: x of 229

Cask Strength | Natural Colour

What Gary Says

Nose:  Bright fruit notes of peaches, green apples, kiwi, coconut and cotton candy with fresh walnuts.
Palate:  Sweet with fruit salad, cherries, nutmeg, vanilla with a bit of toffee and nutmeg before pepper spice builds.
Finish:  Moderately long with fruit notes, vanilla and cracked white pepper.
Comments:  This is a really bright and fruity dram, with orchard and tropical fruits. I’ve tried a few Longmorns, and liked every single one (although I don’t recall the others being this fruity). The Whisky Exchange points out that they “… love Longmorn, and this bourbon-barrel-matured single-cask bottling showcases the fruitiness that so often gets lost in drams from the distillery.” I think they nailed it.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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