Stands Out

Buffalo Trace White Dog Rye Mash

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review /

Buffalo Trace White Dog Rye Mash
62.5% ABV
$15 (375 mL)
Website

What the Distillery Says
Dating back to George Washington and the birth of a nation is a proud history of crafting whiskey. Some of the first whiskey distilled in America was Straight Rye. Keeping with the traditions of America’s founding fathers, Buffalo Trace Distillery offers this raw, clear, un-aged and high-proof distillate right off the still. The taste has a hint of spicy rye. This whiskey is known as White Dog. It was later discovered this spirit was perfect for aging and gave way to what we today know as Straight Rye Whiskey. Enjoy this White Dog the way early Americans did more than 200 years ago.
TASTING NOTES: Seriously spicy, with some corn sweetness and lingering earthiness.

What Gary Says
Nose: Alcohol, corn along with sourdough, rye bread, and barley malt; some water tamps down the alcohol and really thickens the nose, bringing anise with buttered popcorn.
Palate: Warm, sharp anise bite with a hint of corn and pepper; water brings the sweetness above the burn and makes the anise more prominent, along with another baking spice (maybe clove) while tamping down the pepper.
Finish: Peppery and short.
Comments: While I can’t say this is something I’d pour very often, this was better than I expected – and if I was buying white dog to keep on hand, I thought this had the best “bank for the buck” of the three I tried. Only a couple of bucks more than Heaven Hill’s Trybox New Make Rye, but I enjoyed this quite a bit more than that. I have pretty low expectations with white dog, and honestly am not a fan – but this had more character than I expected. If you do like white dog and haven’t tried it, I would recommend giving it a go.
Rating: Stands Out

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Jim Beam Double Oak

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Jim Beam Double Oak Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finish in Oak
43% ABV
$25
Website

What the Distiller Says
TWO CHARRED BARRELS, ONE INTENSE BOURBON. Like all of our bourbons, the new Jim Beam® Double Oak is crafted in charred oak. Its rich flavor comes from being aged a second time in another separate barrel.

TWO CHARRED BARRELS, ONE INTENSE BOURBON.
Jim Beam® Double Oak is first aged in charred American white oak barrels, then we pour it into another freshly charred barrel to mature for a second time. The added interaction with the oak wood results in a liquid intense in flavour, smooth in taste.

What Gary Says
Nose: Beam’s signature peanut-twang, toasted crème brulee, vanilla and oak with a hint of cocoa.
Palate: Tad sharp but sweet tapioca and vanilla, caramel corn, hint of cinnamon and a dash of pepper over oak.
Finish: Short and drying with some pepper spice at the end.
Comments: Full disclosure – I bought this bottle as a joke (sorry Jimmy – thought I’d out-class your White Label at happy hour!) Well the joke was on me, because I really enjoy it! Is it my favorite bourbon I’ve tried in the past 12 months? No. Top 10? Probably not. But I like it a helluva lot more than I expected to. I’m not a big fan of Jim Beam White Label, nor am I a fan of heavy oak – so I had very low expectations going in. But for the price point – this is a very decent bottle of bourbon with better balance than I expected.
Rating: Stands Out

What Richard Says
Nose: I swear that the more time goes by the more that peanut funk from Beam products becomes more pronounced. You either love it or hate it but all I get is that plus a vanilla and oak.
Palate: More sweet corn forward with a big helping of dry wood to the point of being almost bitter.
Finish: Wood. I’m just left with wood.
Comments: Beam is trying some new things. I appreciate that. They don’t charge you an arm and a leg for them either. I really appreciate that. But this whiskey is a bit of a one trick pony. It’s a very woody trick at that.
Rating: Average

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Advent Day 16: Kavalan

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review, Richard's Blog /

Day 16 of the Whisky Advent Calendar comes all the way from Taiwan…

Kavalan Single Malt Whisky
40% ABV
$75
Website

What the Distillery Says
Kavalan Classic Single Malt Whisky exemplifies the sheer quality of whisky currently coming out of Taiwan. The skills of Master Blender Ian Chang work with the humid Taiwanese climate to create whisky that is diverse and complex. Fresh and clean, the spirit is rich with silky smoothness and hints of tropical fruits, mango in particular.

Nose: Clean, elegant, floral (pleasant & refreshing fragrance of the butterfly orchid), fruity and seductive. With hints of honey, tropical fruits (mango in particular), pear drop, vanilla, coconuts and suggestions of chocolate.

Palate: A hint of sweet mango juice with that spicy complexity and gentle warmth on a medium, oily and citrus finish.

Tasting: Kavalan classic is the perfect partner for seafood. We suggest sometimes you can dilute Kavalan classic with water, the perfect racio is “Kavalan Classic 1: Water 5”, and add ice to cool.

What Richard Says
Nose: Poached pear and green apple sweetness with a mild malty backbone.
Palate: Delicate and floral with notes of under ripe apples, expressed citrus peel, and digestive biscuits.
Finish: Lingering wet wood and vanilla extract.
Comments: I’ve only been fortunate enough to try Kavalan a few times and this is my first experience with their signature malt. It is a lovely, clean, well crafted malt that sits a bit middle of the road. It won’t offend any camp of whisky enthusiast but it won’t set them on fire either. One for the Glenmorangie fans out there.
Rating: Stand Out

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Advent Day 11: Ailsa Bay

/ / Lowland, Review, Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky /

A new distillery, a new malt, a new day of Advent….

Ailsa Bay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
48.9% ABV
$65
Website

What the Distillery Says
With exacting precision, Ailsa Bay brings whisky-craft and innovation to a new level with its singular vision: The creation of a precision-distilled single malt, perfectly balanced between smoke and sweetness.

PPM: THIS IS THE PRECISE MEASUREMENT OF THE ‘PHENOL’ CONTENT IN PARTS PER MILLION. THE HIGHER THE ‘PHENOL’ LEVELS THE MORE ‘PEATY’ THE WHISKY WILL TASTE. AILSA BAY CONTAINS 21 PPM, WHICH IS ASSESSED PRIOR TO BOTTLING GUARANTEEING A MORE ACCURATE MEASUREMENT.

SPPM: AILSA BAY IS THE FIRST WHISKY TO HAVE AN ANALYSED MEASUREMENT OF SWEETNESS IDENTIFIED. THIS IS POSSIBLE THROUGH A REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS DEFINED BY MASTER BLENDER BRIAN KINSMAN. THE WHISKY IS DEFINED AS HAVING 11 SPPM WITHIN IT, WHICH GIVES IT THE PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN THE PEAT AND SWEETNESS.

Micro Maturation: AILSA BAY IS ALSO THE ONLY SCOTCH WHISKY TO UNDERGO A PROCESS CALLED ‘MICRO MATURATION’. THE DISTILLERY’S NEW MAKE SPIRIT IS FIRST FILLED INTO HUDSON BABY BOURBON CASKS THAT ARE BETWEEN 25-100 LITRES IN SIZE, FOR SIX TO NINE MONTHS. THE RELATIVELY SMALL CASKS – TRADITIONAL AMERICAN OAK BARRELS CAN CONTAIN UP TO 200 LITRES OF SPIRIT – ENABLES INTENSE RAPID MATURATION. THE LIQUID IS THEN TRANSFERRED INTO VIRGIN, FIRST-FILL AND REFILL AMERICAN OAK CASKS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE PROCESS IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND WITHIN THE SCOTCH WHISKY INDUSTRY.

Nose: FRESH WOOD SMOKE WITH NOTES OF SMOULDERING DAMP HEATHER AND AN EXTINGUISHED BONFIRE. FOLLOWING THE SMOKE IS A WAVE OF OAKY SWEETNESS AND HOT BUTTERED TOAST WITH AN INTRIGUING HINT OF CARAMELISED APPLE.
Taste: AN IMMEDIATE PUNCH OF PEAT IS QUICKLY BALANCED BY A BURST OF VANILLA OAKINESS. THE FLAVOUR MEANDERS BETWEEN SMOKE, FRUIT, CREAMY TOFFEE AND BACK AGAIN. WITH EVERY SIP THE COMPLEXITY OF THE WHISKY DEEPENS AS LAYER UPON LAYER OF FLAVOUR IS REVEALED.
Finish: AN INTRIGUING BALANCE OF OAKY SWEETNESS AND PEATY DRYNESS.

What Richard Says
Nose: A lovely light floral smokiness. Like burning heather or dried wildflowers in a campfire wrapped in a warm nuttiness.
Palate: A rich sweetness playing with that peat smoke. Fruit preserves, amaretto, and vanilla bring the sweetness.
Finish: Short and a bit hot with the heat coming from Big Red chewing gum cinnamon.
Comments: Described as “peat and sweetness” I think that is very apt. Damn, this is a fine dram. The only shortcomings I find are the heat on the finish which tells the tail of small barrel. Even though it was only used partially in the aging process you just can’t seem to undo that. The closest dram I can think of would be the Cask Strength Compass Box Peat Monster. There’s no Ailsa there but the interplay of sweet and smokey is very similar.
Rating: Stands Out

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Advent Day 10: Scallywag 13 Year

/ / Review, Richard's Blog, Scottish Whisky /

And on the tenth day of Advent, my calendar gave to me….

Scallywag 13 Year Old Blend Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$65
Website

What the Blender Says
Our Scallywag 13 Years Old Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky is a limited edition “big brother” to the original Scallywag and is the first Scallywag bottling to carry an age statement. Matured exclusively in Sherry Butts, Scallywag 13 Years Old is bottled at 46% and proudly without colouring or chill-filtration.

The nose is big, dark, distinctly sherried, raisin-y with home-baked fruitcake and molasses to the fore. Palate-wise, the sweet dark sherry opens, then detect late vanilla, nutmeg and ginger mixing with rich cereal tones: all of which combine in the still spiced finish offering a long and wagging tail-end of mocha.

What Richard Says
Nose: Rich and sherry forward with a bit of toasted fennel seed.
Palate: Less of a sherry monster than on the nose but still notes of dark chocolate fudge, baking spices, and stewed dark fruit.
Finish: The cinnamon and dark chocolate linger in a medium length dry finish.
Comments: This is a great introduction to sherry forward malt. It’s easy to drink with all of the high notes of a good sherry forward whisky with no hang ups.
Rating: Stands Out

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