Mar 30

Buffalo Trace Bourbon – Review

Buffalo Trace BourbonBuffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

90 Proof

Price Point: $15 – $25 for 750 ML

Distiller: Buffalo Trace Distillery

 

Background

When a distillery picks out a whiskey to take their name, they have to be careful.  A flagship brand has to be accessible (affordable) and high-quality, as it represents the distillery as a whole.  Think about Jim Beam Bourbon, Glenlivet 12 Year Old, and Jameson Irish Whiskey.  The average person does not think about their more specialized whiskeys; they think about those entry level expressions.

Enter Buffalo Trace Bourbon, the flagship whiskey for the Buffalo Trace Distillery.  There’s a lot of pressure on this $20 bottle, as it is tasked with holding up its brothers in Eagle Rare, Sazerac Rye, and even the Antique Collection.  Will it stand up to this challenge?

 

Review

Buffalo Trace has a lot of corn sweetness on the nose.  Very sugary, with mature oak and a little alcohol harshness.

Once in the mouth, this whiskey has somewhat of an oily texture (in a good way), with a standard bourbon sweetness and a touch of rye.  There’s nothing particularly significant or overly interesting with Buffalo Trace, yet it’s still a quite satisfying bourbon.

There’s a nice little burn on the finish, capping off a solid bourbon.

 

Rating & Recommendations

I like Buffalo Trace – it’s simple and cost-effective, thereby earning a rating of 83 out of 100.

This is a pretty standard bourbon, yet a great value for the price point.  An excellent, everyday bourbon.

 

-Ryan

Mar 23

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Bourbon – Review

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old BourbonElijah Craig 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

94 Proof

Price Point: $20 – $30 for 750 ML

Distiller: Heaven Hill Distillery

 

Background

Bloggers are an interesting breed.  In a perfect world, we would all be completely objective and just give our readers the facts.  In the real world, we are entirely subjective, and are really only sharing our opinions.

When I began to see review after review giving high marks to Elijah Craig 12 Year Old, a bourbon that costs $25, I became a little skeptical.  These reviews were beating out scores for bourbons at 2-3 times its price point.  In my confusion, I just assumed nobody wanted to give it a low score only to be mocked by their peers.  So I picked up a bottle of this very unassuming looking whiskey and gave it a try to see just how objective my fellow bloggers can be.

 

Review

The nose on this one is oaky, with limited rye spice – just the way I like it!  It seems very well-aged right from the get-go, which is surprising for such a cheap (price tag, not quality) whiskey.

This is a really tasty bourbon, with lots of vanilla and corn sweetness.  Reminiscent of brands like Buffalo Trace and Eagle Rare in that they are all pretty straightforward bourbons.

The finish is smooth and slightly smoky; very satisfying.  This is a good whiskey to sip on the porch on a summer evening.

 

Rating & Recommendations

I really enjoy Elijah Craig 12, and was pleasantly surprised to find a really nice bourbon for an out of this world price.  I rate this stuff an 88 out of 100.

This bourbon is an excellent value – you are getting top-notch bourbon for a bottom-shelf price.  Would absolutely buy again!

 

-Ryan

Mar 16

Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon – Review

Wild Turkey 101 BourbonWild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

101 Proof

Price Point: $20 – $30 for 750 ML

Distiller: Austin, Nichols Distilling Company

 

Background

If you know my taste in whiskey, you know I can be a bit of a snob.  I’m not a fan of most of the mainstream, large-quantity-produced whiskeys on the market.  And not out of principle (I rate some of these very high), but just because I feel quality and taste is lacking in a lot of these.

Wild Turkey happens to be one of those brands that does next to nothing for me.  I’ve had the bourbon, I’ve had the rye, and I’ve even had the American Honey (yuck!).  But, as you probably have figured out, I’m a sucker for high-proof whiskeys as I feel that they can bring out a lot of hidden flavors.  This is precisely why I picked up a bottle of Wild Turkey 101.

 

Review

Of course, the nose is a little harsh due to the high proof.  Once past that initial burn, there are some pleasant notes – some cherry and vanilla.  Just a hint of rye shows up on the tail end.

Wild Turkey 101 has a very nice taste.  It seems well-aged for something with no statement on the label.  There’s some nice corn/oak sweetness, and very little rye influence (a positive for me).  Add your standard caramel and vanilla and you’ve got a good tasting bourbon.

The finish is lengthy and pleasant, the way a high-proof bourbon should be.

 

Rating & Recommendations

I was pleasantly surprised by Wild Turkey 101, which is why it deserves a rating of 83 out of 100.

This whiskey was better than expected considering its counterparts in the Wild Turkey family.  This is an excellent value, and I will most likely purchase again.

 

-Ryan

Mar 09

Spice Tree Scotch – Review

Spice Tree ScotchSpice Tree Malt Scotch Whisky

92 Proof

Price Point: $55 – $65 for 750 ML

Distiller: Compass Box Whisky Co.

 

Background

I have written reviews on two other Compass Box whiskies – The Peat Monster and Hedonism.  The former is one of my top rated whiskies and the latter fell a bit short of my expectations.  Just like the others, Spice Tree promises a unique whisky drinking experience, with plenty of, well, spice.  Let’s see how it stacks up to the other Compass Box expressions.

 

Review

Just as expected, lots of warm spices on the nose – tobacco, ginger, and cloves.  Spice Tree is absolutely packed with great aromas.  This is a nosing whisky on steroids.

The taste is very malty with notes exposing its Highland heritage.  A lot of the spice drops off in intensity once in the mouth, which is why you should savor the aromas while you have the chance.

Spice Tree’s finish is equally as impressive as the nose, where the spices kick back for a beautiful, lengthy finish.

 

Rating & Recommendations

I really enjoy Spice Tree which is why it has earned an 88 out of 100 from me.

This is another solid expression from Compass Box, and this one certainly lives up to its reputation.

 

-Ryan

Mar 06

Wine vs. Whiskey

Macallan 12 Year Old Scotch DetailSometimes writing a whiskey blog can be difficult.  I often find myself itching to write about other things (sports, movies, music, etc.), but I want to make my content as relevant as possible.  However, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to branch out a little bit and explore other spirits.  Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Wine is something I never really got into, and never thought I would.  I always felt that red wine was too bitter and white wine was too sweet.  I couldn’t understand why a drink made from nothing but grapes could have any discernible variation.

I was an idiot.

I first started to learn to enjoy wine on my latest trip to the Dominican Republic.  Not quite the “wine capital of the world”, but you have to start somewhere, right?  At the resort, wine was poured for you at dinner whether you wanted it or not.  I couldn’t be rude and refuse, so I politely drank the wine.  Over the course of our week stay, I went from forcing myself to genuinely enjoying the wine.

In the months since our trip, I have found myself learning more and more about wine, in a similar fashion to how I learned about whiskey.  I am even starting to understand sherried and other wine barrel-finished Scotches (Balvenie DoubleWood, Macallan 12 Year Old, Glenmorangie Lasanta, etc.) better than before.

Do you find yourself switching to wine once in a while?  Do you see it as equally interesting?  More?  Less?  Let me know in the comments.

 

-Ryan

Mar 02

Tatoosh Bourbon – Review

tatoosh-bourbonTatoosh Hand Crafted Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

80 Proof

Price Point: $45 – $55 for 750 ML

Distiller: Tatoosh Distillery

 

Background

Does the picture to left look a little funny compared to my normal images?  It should.  That’s because I didn’t buy a bottle of Tatoosh Bourbon; I had samples sent to me from the co-founder (read my post about social media for an explanation).

The Tatoosh Distillery is in the whiskey capital of the world – Seattle, Washington.  Yeah, I thought that was a little weird, too.  My mom always told me not to judge a book by its cover, and I suppose I shouldn’t judge a whiskey by its geographic upbringing (case in point – Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey).  I sat on the samples I received for a little bit as I was busy reviewing other whiskeys, but finally had the time to find out what Tatoosh Bourbon is all about.

 

Review

Tatoosh has a really nice corn / oak combination on the nose.  It’s sweet; very reminiscent of Ridgemont Reserve.

This is really a delicious bourbon.  Tatoosh is very sweet and well-aged.  There’s dark cherries here and plenty of oak to show that quality bourbon isn’t only from Kentucky.  I’d probably like to taste a higher proof bottling – 40% just isn’t doing it for me these days (although Tatoosh does a good job of not tasting too thin).

The finish has a little bit of a bite (in a good way), with real big oak finding its way onto the palate once again.  I also detect a hint of green apple.

 

Rating & Recommendations

I may have been skeptic of Tatoosh at first, but they make a solid bourbon, earning an 87 out of 100.

These guys are off to a really great start with their whiskey, and I would recommend picking up a bottle if it’s available in your area.

 

-Ryan

Feb 27

Does Higher Alcohol Content Mean More Value?

Macallan Cask Strength DetailI wrote a post a little while back called “The Truth About Proof”, which (if you read it) would lead you to believe that more alcohol means more flavor.  But, in my opinion there’s much more to it than that.

Considering that very few, if any, whiskeys are extracted from the cask at the standard 40-45%, the contents of your bottle are watered-down.  Often this is because that range is the most acceptable to the human tongue.  And let’s face it, most of the people drinking whiskey are not connoisseurs; rather casual drinkers.  One part 80 proof Jack Daniel’s plus two parts Coca-Cola and a handful of ice is just the right alcohol level for the majority of people.  I’d put that at somewhere around 10-14%, but I wasn’t a math major.  Now let’s pretend that we want to keep our alcohol content in that same level, but we are going to use Old Grand Dad 101.  We may change the equation to half a part whiskey (imagine seeing that in a recipe!) and two parts Coca-Cola, with a handful of ice to keep things cool.  Again, I’m sure my math is way off, but you get the point that less whiskey is effectively achieving the same results.

Now let’s pretend that none of us are all that sophisticated, and we’re only drinking whiskey to get inebriated (I’m sure none of my readers can relate to this).  I’d venture to guess that a bottle of Booker’s would last quite a bit longer than a bottle of Evan Williams.  You’ll pay a premium for the higher proof whiskey, but you’ll get much more mileage out of it.

I happen to believe that quality and flavor are far more important than proof.  But, I do get conflicted as I typically enjoy higher proof or even cask strength whiskeys more than their standard brethren.  What do you think?

 

-Ryan

Feb 23

Barton Irish Whiskey – Review

Barton Irish WhiskeyBarton Imported Irish Whiskey

80 Proof

Price Point: $15 – $25 for 1 L

Distiller: Unknown

 

Background

Cheaper whiskeys such as Virginia Gentleman and Ten High serve their place at the bar as something to mix, but hardly ever to drink by themselves.  When you don’t specify the type of whiskey you want, these are likely what you will get.  If you order an Irish car bomb, and don’t specify something like Jameson, you will likely get Barton Irish or something similar.  There’s not necessarily anything wrong with these whiskeys – they serve their place just as the top-shelf whiskeys serve their respective places.  But this blog reviews whiskeys by themselves, so below is my interpretation of Barton Irish Whiskey.

 

Review

Pretty boring, typical Irish nose with this one.  Not a lot of dimension, and fairly alcohol heavy.  I suppose that is the allure to certain Irish whiskeys, but it doesn’t work with Barton.

The taste is light and refreshing, but still nothing too special.  There’s a hint of a floral flavor behind the same old Irish taste.

The finish is brief and unsatisfying – yawn!

 

Rating & Recommendations

Barton Irish Whiskey is pretty cheap and boring, earning a rating of 71 out of 100.

Some whiskeys serve their purpose as a well drink for bars and restaurants, and this one is exactly that.  Unless you’re dropping it into an Irish car bomb, don’t bother wasting your money.

 

-Ryan

Feb 20

The Power of Social Media

Twitter Social MediaI find social media fascinating.  Now more than ever, conversations can be started in the simplest of ways and relationships can be strengthened with a few clicks of a mouse.  Networks like Facebook and Twitter make it easier than ever for the majority of people in the world to be accessible.

However, I’m also a skeptic.  For every one person making an honest effort to interact with actual human beings, there are ten people trying to take shortcuts and automate their marketing.  This is a bad move.

In case you didn’t know, I have a Twitter account for this blog that I’m pretty active on (shameless self-promo: I also have a Facebook page that needs a little love).  Once in a while, I get distilleries pitching their products to me, and I typically ignore them once I investigate and find out that they’re automating their marketing and attacking every other similar Twitter account to mine (type “whiskey” into Twitter’s search bar and see what you find).  There’s even a company that continually follows and unfollows me to try to get my attention – I don’t think so!

As you can see from the image above, I received a “mention” on December 29th from a distillery asking me to try their product.  For those of you new to the blog, I live in Pennsylvania, which means I’m very limited in the whiskey I get to sample.  I responded to the distillery and brushed it off, not receiving a response for over a week.  Just when I thought they were on to the next one, I received a reply.

I ended up communicating with Tatoosh Spirits through email with their co-founder, Troy.  He arranged for two small samples to be sent to me, and sure enough they arrived on February 1st.  I know many other bloggers receive samples from time-to-time, but this was unique for me considering I live in Pennsylvania and this was completely born through social media.  I have yet to try the Tatoosh Bourbon, but I am very excited to review and help Troy out.

Even more recently was the Maker’s Mark proof fiasco.  The iconic wheated bourbon brand announced that it would lower its proof from 90 to 84 to meet increasing demand.  After a severe backlash across virtually every social network, the company retracted its decision in order to keep loyal consumers happy.  In a statement on the Maker’s Mark website, the leaders of the company write “Since we announced our decision last week to reduce the alcohol content (ABV) of Maker’s Mark in response to supply constraints, we have heard many concerns and questions from our ambassadors and brand fans.  We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark.  While we thought we were doing what’s right, this is your brand – and you told us in large numbers to change our decision.”

I think that proves the power of social media.

 

-Ryan

Feb 16

Macallan 12 Year Old Scotch – Review

Macallan 12 Year Old ScotchThe Macallan 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

86 Proof

Price Point: $50 – $60 for 750 ML

Distiller: The Macallan Distillers Ltd.

 

Background

Well over a year ago, I posted a review of the Macallan Fine Oak 10 Year Old.  It was not a favorable review.  Afterwards, I avoided Macallan with the understanding that the rest of their line would be similar.  That was quite a mistake!

A few months later, I ordered the standard Macallan 12 Year Old in a bar, and really enjoyed it!  There are very few Scotches that possess a comparable intensity in sherry aroma and flavor.  My mind was made – Macallan was good stuff!

 

Review

Macallan 12 Year Old starts out with a strong presence of sherry on the nose.  This is very similar to Glenmorangie Lasanta.  There’s some nice oak in there as well, but it seems like a few more years in the barrel could add a lot to this whisky.

The taste is very wine-like; interesting if you are used to bourbons and non-sherried Scotches.  Macallan 12 Year Old is more mature here than on the nose, but still a little young for my tastes.  I also prefer Lasanta between the two mainly because of the difference in proof.  One interesting note is a distinct bit of dark chocolate – very nice!

There’s a nice bite on the finish for 43%.

 

Rating & Recommendations

I enjoy this whisky as a change of pace, which is why I rate it an 85 out of 100.

Macallan 12 Year Old is very different from most other whiskies, and certainly miles ahead of the Fine Oak 10 Year Old.  I would recommend sampling an older expression or going with the Lasanta for the same money.

 

-Ryan