Welcome to Nice Sipper
Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel
Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel is a limited release which puts the base Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon into a second barrel for additional aging, except this one is a toasted barrel instead of the Level 3 char used for the Small Batch. A lot of distilleries have a Toasted Oak release these days, but are they worth the extra money?
Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm
We are heading back to Islay for the next review to sip a bottle that was sitting on my shelf unopened for a while now, Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm. This is an interesting whisky from Islay, which is known for its peated Scotch, as this is an unpeated release…..
Putnam Rye & Putnam Rye Red Wine Barrel Finish
In honor of Father’s Day, the next review is for Putnam Rye made by Boston Harbor Distillery. I first had this bottle when my wife took me to the distillery for a tasting on my first Father’s Day after my oldest was born…On the 6 year(ish) Father's Day anniversary of my first visit, I thought it appropriate to do a double tasting of the rye and rye finished in red wine barrels….
Old Overholt Straight Rye
Today’s review, in celebration of “World Whiskey Day”, is Old Overholt Rye. Yes, that dusty bottle on the bottom of your local store’s shelf……
Wilderness Trail Small Batch Bourbon Bottled in Bond
The next review for Bottle Kill Week will be for Wilderness Trail Small Batch Straight Bourbon Bottled in Bond. I wrote quite a bit about the distillery last time on my website, so I will spare you with the extensive preamble, but this particular bottle came from Batch 16D01. As a BiB release, it is 100 proof (50% ABV).
SMWS 107.24 “Oven-Ready Moomin”
I’ve decided that in the spirit of Spring Cleaning, I’m going to make this Bottle Kill Week where I focus on the random assortment of bottles that I have saved just a wee bit of whisk(e)y to eventually do a review.
Since my last review was on, what I would essentially refer to as, an independent bottler for Bourbons and Ryes, I will continue this trend and do another SMWS review (that and I have two newer ones that I want to open!). This is bottle 107.24 called “Oven-Ready Moomin”, a nice little Speyside 8 year old Single Malt…..
Glenmorangie “A Tale of Cake”
Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake is the second “A Tale of…” Limited Edition series release that I will review, but the first that was released chronologically……Let them have cake?
West Cork Single Malt Aged 12 Years Rum Cask Finished
We will be tasting Glendalough 13 Year Mizunara Finished Single Malt for our fourth Irish Whiskey of the week.
Initially, my good friend mentioned this bottle to me as something he had heard from his local liquor store guy. I remembered reading about this bottle in Whisky Advocate so I bought one the next time I saw one in my own local store. I figured I would crack it when my friend visited next….but things kept coming up and then COVID happened and well, this is my long winded way of saying that this bottle has collected dust, unopened on my shelf for 3+ years now. What better time to crack it open than for my debut St. Patty’s Day Week of Tastings?
Glendalough 13 Year Mizunara Finished Single Malt
We will be tasting Glendalough 13 Year Mizunara Finished Single Malt for our fourth Irish Whiskey of the week.
Initially, my good friend mentioned this bottle to me as something he had heard from his local liquor store guy. I remembered reading about this bottle in Whisky Advocate so I bought one the next time I saw one in my own local store. I figured I would crack it when my friend visited next….but things kept coming up and then COVID happened and well, this is my long winded way of saying that this bottle has collected dust, unopened on my shelf for 3+ years now. What better time to crack it open than for my debut St. Patty’s Day Week of Tastings?
Loch Lomond 12 Year Old
Previously, I did some reviews on affordable whiskies but I wanted to do another single malt that I have on my shelf that was at the same price point as the Glen Moray Elgin Classic Port Finish (SPOILER: I didn’t like the $30 Glen Moray). This is the Loch Lomond 12 year old. My previous attempt at this price point failed, but it was also a NAS. I’m not sure if a cheap “well aged” one will be better or worse, but let’s find out.
Bib & Tucker Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey Aged 6 Years
Since in the last review we did a “newer” big-distilery bourbon release, today we will do a newer small-distillery bourbon release. I had read some good things on Bib & Tucker’s 6 year old small batch bourbon so I figured I would pick up a bottle and give it a go. I don’t know much about Bib & Tucker but they seem to want to be a “brand” as opposed to a distillery. With a lot of the smaller start-up distilleries, they source product while they build up their own stocks….
Cream of Kentucky Estate Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Cream of Kentucky is an old brand that was purchased by Jim Rutledge’s new distillery, J.W. Rutledge Distillery. For those who aren’t familiar with the name “Jim Rutledge”, he was the Master Distiller at Four Roses, working there for almost 50 years (from when it was still Seagrams) and reviving the brand here in the U.S….
Green Spot Irish Whiskey Finished in Zinfandel Wine Casks
The Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey is a nice little Irish Whiskey with a long history. My first bottle(s) of it were purchased 6-7 years ago and I burned through them pretty quickly. This particular expression was finished for 12 months in Zinfandel wine casks from Chateau Montelena, a Calistoga, Napa Valley, vineyard. The Green Spot is a NAS whiskey blended from 7-10 year old ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. According to Vivino, Montelena’s Zinfandel is bold with lots of oak, vanilla, and both black and red fruits. I no longer have the regular Green Spot to use as a baseline, but let’s see how this one goes….
Blanton’s The Original Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey
Blanton’s is one of the most recognizable bourbon brands in the market. It used to be very accessible, but in recent years as premium bourbon has become more coveted, it is harder to find and far pricier than even 6-7 years ago.
Aberfeldy 18 Year Red Wine Cask Finished
The Aberfeldy 18 Year Finished in French Red Wine casks from Pauillac, Bordeaux was named Whisky Advocate’s #10 (of Top 20) in 2020. I purchased it a while back but it has been sitting on my shelf waiting for a good time to open. Why not now?
SMWS 12.53 “Going Crazy in a Bakery”
I plan on sprinkling in some Scotch Malt Whisky Society reviews over the next few weeks as I have more on the way and I need to make some room on my shelf! For those that aren’t familiar, SMWS is a club (annual fee) that buys casks from distilleries and always bottles them at cask strength. They come up with colorful names and label them under a distillery & cask code so you don’t know who the distillery is, but it’s the worst kept secret in the whisky world and there are plenty of websites that tell you which each one is. Distillery #12, which is BenRiach, is in Speyside and was distilled on Sept. 29, 2009 and put into 1st fill ex-bourbon barrels.
New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon
New Riff is a newer distiller/brand out in the market and one of my first forays back into craft distilling since taking a break from it for the past 6-7 years. Why take a break? Well earlier in the craft movement a lot of brands were putting out really young whiskey, which I get, because you need to convert inventory to cash in order to continue to operate. Unfortunately, a lot of it was at a premium price ($50 7-10 years ago was a premium!) and it wasn’t very good. New Riff seems to have had the wherewithal to be patient, keeping their products aging until they are a minimum 4 years of age. Their whole schtick is that they are a new riff on the old sour mash tradition so let's see how they did.
WhistlePig 12 Year Old World Cask Finished “Bespoke Blend”
Whistlepig 12 year Rye Old World Cask Finished “Bespoke Blend” is a mouthful of a name, but how does a sip of it fare?
Talisker The Distillers Edition
Talisker’s The Distillers Edition finished in Amoroso casks from the Isle of Skye is another great entry-level peated scotch (relax peatheads, we will get to some heavier peated scotch as we go). People new to the peat category tend to think that peated scotch is all the same, however, even within the land of peatiness there are a number of different flavors such as medicinal, mossy, smoky, sulphuric, briny, etc. Talisker falls within the briny peat category and this particular release has the benefit of being finished in Amoroso sherry casks, adding another dimension to the picture.
Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Old label vs. New label Showdown
For this review, I'll be comparing two versions of Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style bourbon. Old Forester recently rebranded a lot of its bottles and it was rumored that the juice inside the bottle changed as well. To give credit where credit is due, I came across this "rumor" on a video review by @bourbonjunkies who have a great YouTube channel. If you're interested in some video reviews/content, I highly recommend it. I won't tell you their verdict, you'll have to watch for yourself.