Stands Out

Glendalough Black Pitts Porter Finish 7 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey

/ / Irish Whiskey, Review /

Glendalough Black Pitts Porter Finish 7 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
46% ABV
$50 – 60
Website

What the Distillery Says
Our 7 year old single malt commemorates the 7 hard years that St Kevin (the guy on the bottle) spent in the wild, and the city of 7 churches he came to build at Glendalough. This single malt has too been shaped by 7 years, and to make it even more special, we finish it in porter barrels.

Dublin is famous across the world for fine stout and porter. We’ve swapped barrels over the years with friends of ours in a local craft brewery, and found their Black Pitts Porter brings our whiskey to incredible depths. Made from roasted, chocolate malt, it really amplifies the malt in the whiskey while bringing dark, rich flavours like cocoa, chocolate and coffee. Their porter spends a year in oak barrels, then we take them and put our 7 year old single malt in for just under a year.

Also, have a look on the label, you’ll see 7 silver crosses. These will lead you to each of the 7 churches, should you ever be stirred into going to Glendalough.

Tasting Notes:
Nose – “Sweet with toffee apples, chocolate and vanilla ice cream.”
Palate – “Smooth and warm with dark chocolate orange, cocoa, toffee and cooked fruit, followed by clove and peppery spices.”
Finish – “Long and spicy with toasted oak, treacle and sweet coffee notes.”

What Gary Says
Nose:  Sweet cereal mash, vanilla with a hint of mint & herbs (maybe thyme?)
Palate:  Crisp but sweet beer malt and caramel cremes, develops a slight spice edge (cinnamon and hint of fruit) as it goes.
Finish:  Short to moderately long, drying with a beer aftertaste.
Comments:  I’m not a beer drinker (I mean – I try different beers every few years to check in with my palate, but just don’t enjoy them). With that, I offer my apologies that I can’t be more specific here – but this definitely brings out a “beer” vibe for me. The nose reminds me of distiller’s beer – if you’ve ever toured a distillery, that smell in the fermentation vats. Whiskey Advocate states that Glendalough’s goal with these new wood finish expressions is “to create different flavor profiles than expected for Irish whiskey.” Mission accomplished! This is certainly a unique Irish whiskey; if given blindly – I wouldn’t have immediately thought “Oh, Irish single malt”. The influence from the porter cask finish gives it a different flavor and finish.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank Glendalough for sending us a sample to review.

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Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond

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

Mellow Corn Straight Corn Whiskey Bottled in Bond
50% ABV
$15
Website

What the Distillery Says
Mellow Corn is authentic American Corn Whiskey, a unique kind of straight whiskey that is rarely seen. As corn whiskey, it must be at least 81% corn grain in the mashbill and can be aged in new uncharred or used charred barrels.
The forerunner and kissing cousin to Bourbon, American Straight Corn Whiskey has a recipe or mashbill that includes the minimum of 81% corn, the rest being malted barley and rye. As world-renowned whiskey writer Jim Murray wrote, “If you are a true student of whiskey, your education is a long way from being complete until you have mastered this particularly charming form.”

What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet cornbread with vanilla, a hint of honey and oak.
Palate: Corn sweet, vanilla with a bit of a bite.
Finish: Short and dry with a slight peppery edge.
Comments: I’m not a huge corn whiskey fan, but this is the standard bearer in the category. It isn’t something I reach for very often, but if you’re learning about whiskey I think this should be a required core class. As corn is the major component in bourbon, it helps to understand what it brings to the party, versus that of the “flavoring grain” (typically rye, or wheat). Spoiler alert – this won’t be as complex as a 4 year old straight bourbon, but it helps in identifying “corn sweet” from other flavors. And as an inexpensive product, I think it’s a no brainer to give it a try.
Rating: Stands Out

What Richard Says
Nose: A bit hot and alcohol forward before opening up honey drizzled warm cornbread.
Palate: Great viscosity, just nice a oily in the mouth with a delicate vanilla sweetness.
Finish: Hot. Wood that’s been wet and rolled in cracked black pepper.
Comments: Gary pretty much sums it up. Not stellar but required reading for all new bourbon enthusiasts.
Rating: Average

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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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