Tastes
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Torabhaig Allt Gleann The Legacy Series 2nd Edition
Peated Single Malt — Island, Scotland
Tasted December 28, 2021Enjoyable enough, but I remember liking the first release a little more. I still get the lemon drop candy, but this one seems smokier with more ash on the finish. If you can still find the first release, I'd buy it over this one. I thought it was better, and a few bucks cheaper. -
I happened to know someone driving through Waco the day after this released and he was able to pick up a bottle to smuggle into Oklahoma. Somehow both sweeter and smokier than the regular Peated Single Malt, but also less brash and in your face. The regular Peated sees three years in virgin oak before two more years in ex-bourbon barrels. This one has two years in ex-bourbon barrels before three years in Sauternes casks. I thought 3 years in the Texas heat in Sauternes casks would make this cloyingly sweet, but there is a remarkable balance between the dessert wine sweetness and the smoky peat. I'm not saying this is better than the regular Peated - it's different enough that it's own experience, but it is incredible whiskey and at least on the level as the already exceptional annually released Peated Single Malt.105.0 USD per Bottle
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Private barrel, 9 years old, 67.3% ABV. Compared to batch A121 (which is the only Barrel Proof batch I've tried), this obviously has a lot of similarity, but is slightly less smooth, less balanced. Despite being younger than the 12 year Barrel Proof, the wood seems more aggressive. I think the blenders of the Barrel Proof batches probably know what they're doing. That being said, it's more similar than different, and still very good. I imagine that there are some of these private barrels that absolutely knock it out of the park. Definitely thumbs up, but this barrel at least doesn't give me anything more than the regular Barrel Proof batches (other than a few more proof points over the most recent batches).
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High West American Prairie Barrel Select
Blended American Whiskey — Utah , USA
Tasted December 18, 202151% ABV, secondary aging in Brandy barrels. I've had the regular American Prairie, which I thought was an average to slightly above average bourbon. This was 34$, so I thought worth a flier. There was also a Double Rye Barrel Select with secondary aging in Grenache barrels, which I passed on. I had a pour of this next to the MWND and the MW is definitely the superior whiskey - the balance of deep dark fruit with the herbal rye is really nice, but this is a satisfying pour on it's own, and especially so at about 40% of the cost of the MW. There is some Brandy coming through on the nose along with pear, with underlying bourbon vanilla/caramel, but the palate opens up with juicy pear before transitioning to some rye-spiced bourbony finish. The finish concludes with a little bitter note as a reminder that the underlying bourbon is fairly average, but overall I'm pretty pleased with this, and especially so at the price.34.0 USD per Bottle -
Single cask store pick, 4 years 7 months, 59.7% ABV. First rum review. I'm pretty inexperienced with this spirit. I have a bottle of Mount Gay XO, and this is much better. The Mount Gay has an off note that I can't quite identify, but it's present all the way through from the nose to finish. The nose on this is pretty vanilla, both in the sense of kind of boring, but also sugary vanilla. The palate though surprises with much more depth than you expect given the nose. Could almost pass for a bourbon, maybe a rum-barrelled bourbon. Almost. Vanilla, caramel, pineapple, cherry. Upside-down pineapple cake. A little oak is present. This is quite good, although also quite sweet, which is also surprising since there are no additives - no added sugar, which I understand is common with many rums. I'm planning to sneak this into a blind whiskey tasting with friends to see how it comes across to others who don't know they're tasting a rum.
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Bottled at 62+% ABV. I believe this comes from Barton, bottled in Memphis. On the nose I get vanilla and green apple. Surprising to me, not a lot of ethanol on the nose for what I believe is only 3-4 year old bourbon. The palate is buttery caramel and the apple shows there as well. A little warmth going down, but drinks lower than its proof. Young and not particularly complex, but definitely a winner at only 42$. Between this and the Riverset Rye barrel pick, I prefer the Rye.42.0 USD per Bottle
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Really exceptional bourbon. The nose is toffee, vanilla, oak. The palate follows suit, but the finish surprises with dark chocolate-covered strawberry and spice that lingers. Despite there being some quite old bourbons in this blend, the oak isn't as prominent as Russell's 13 from earlier this year. Deep and complex - I think there's a lot to pick out here if you take some time with it, but it's also straight-forwardly good and super easy to drink. Could stand to have a bit higher proof maybe.
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