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SMWS 71.80 “Powershake”
Our next review is going back to the world of independent bottlers with another Scotch Malt Whisky Society release. This one is 71.80 “Powershake” which, according to the internet, comes from the Glenburgie distillery, owned by Pernod Ricard and predominantly used for blending. Let’s see if this release belongs in a blend or if it can stand up on its own as a Single Malt expression….
Mossburn Vintage Casks No. 21 Benrinnes 10 Year (Distilled in 2008)
Hitting up another independent bottler for a Speyside single malt scotch review — Mossburn Single Malt Vintage Casks No. 21, a Benrinnes 10 year old distilled in 2008 and bottled at cask strength. I have never had a scotch from Benrinnes before, so let’s see how it tastes….
Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye (Bottled in 2009)
Continuing to clean out some old bottles that need reviewed. Today is one that I’ve had for a bit, the Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye Bottled in 2009. This was a “limited release” a while back and I finally cracked it open to give it a sip….
Chairman’s Reserve Rum Master’s Selection
We are going to mix it up today and do a review on a rum that I bought a while back. Chairman’s Reserve Rum Master’s Selection which is a store pick of a 13 year old rum aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Summer and rum go well together so why not?
GlenAllachie 10 Year Cask Strength (Batch 5)
Next we have The GlenAllachie 10 Year old to make back-to-back 10 year old Speyside scotches this week. The only other GlenAllachie I have tasted was the SMWS Oven-Ready Moomin that I reviewed a bit ago so I am interested to see how the core lineup compares to the single casks as this is also a cask strength (like SMWS)…..
SMWS G9.5 “Cargo Floating By A Varnished Boat”
Next up we will revisit another bottle from Scotch Malt Whisky Society, an independent bottler who I have done a few reviews on in the past. From all of my purchases, this one was a ginormous leap of faith on my part given the price point and the fact that it is a Single Grain Scotch Whisky, not a Single Malt. Let’s see how it went….
New Riff Straight Rye Bottled in Bond
Today’s review is on New Riff Rye Bottled in Bond. I previously did a review on another one of New Riff’s releases, the Single Barrel Bourbon, which I really liked. It was a nice little sipper with some traditional bourbon notes, but gave it a 3x 🥃 due to value, at $10 cheaper, it would have been a 4x 🥃. The Rye, however, is a little more interesting…..
Westland American Single Malt Cask No. 2548
Our next review is on a store pick, the Westland American Single Malt Whiskey Cask No. 2548 which I purchased from Gordon’s Wine in the Greater Boston area. I try to limit my store picks to liquor stores who I know have good taste as I have been burned a few times on others, but Gordon’s tends to pick some good ones. I’ve had this bottle for a bit and finally decided to crack it open for a tasting.
Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength
The last Bottle Kill Week review is Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength. This was my first Glenfarclas and it was recommended to me by someone whose whiskey tastes I highly respect. I had been eyeing a few of their bottles for quite some time so I was easily persuaded to check out this release.
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…..
Barrell Rye 13 Year Canadian Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength
Barrell Craft Spirits is a new(er) whiskey maker. If you recall, one of my early reviews was for the company’s other label, Stellum, which focuses on younger and a more affordable price point. Barrell Bourbon and Barrell Ryes, however, tend to be more Batch focused with higher age statements, as well as a few staple labels that are ongoing releases (I’ll review more of those at a later date).
This particular release is a store pick from Gordon’s Wine. Barrel # L941 (Bottle No. 127) which is a 13 year old Canadian Rye which was aged both in Canada and in Kentucky…..
Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength
The final St. Patty’s Week Irish Whiskey review is for Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength. I have had both the Redbreast 12 and the Redbreast Lustau before, but not the Cask Strength. The standard 12 Year Old is great, but my only qualm is the 40% ABV it’s bottled at. The Lustau, for those that do not know, is a NAS whiskey (rumored to be made from 9-12 year old juice), that is then finished in Oloroso sherry casks. I really liked the Lustau as well (bottled at 46%) and will have to pick up another bottle down the road for reviewing purposes. I am excited for the Cask Strength version to see what the Redbreast tastes like in its raw form without being watered down to 40%. Let’s see how it goes.
Willett Family Estate Straight Rye Aged 3 Years
The Willett Distillery has a very long history and can be a post in its own right, but the story of this bottle, the Willett Family Estate Straight Rye Whiskey, is much shorter. After sourcing whiskey for a number of years the Willett Distillery started distilling in earnest again in 2012. I happened to visit the distillery in 2017 with a friend and picked up this bottle, which I swear I had opened at some point over the past ~5 years, but upon opening the tube last night, apparently I had not! So I have a fresh review for a 3 year old Rye that I bought 5 years ago which had to have been made within Willett’s first 2 years of distilling. Confused? Me too.
Stagg Jr. Bourbon (Batch 17)
Stagg Jr. Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the younger sibling of George T. Stagg Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Unfortunately, older brother George took a sabbatical in 2021. Luckily, Stagg Jr., which is rumored to be aged 8-9 years, had 2 releases (as usual) in 2021. The one I will be reviewing is Batch 17, which was the last release in 2021 and is said to be the last that will carry the “Jr.” in the label.
Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength
The Maker’s Mark No. 46 Cask Strength is a Limited Release which, in my opinion, benefits from both the No. 46 stave profile as well as the higher-octane proof point. Don’t get me wrong, I like the traditional Maker’s as well, but I have found myself gravitating towards the No. 46’s more often.
SMWS 68.59 “Crunch or Crackle”
The next review will take a look at another Scotch Malt Whisky Society release, No.68.59 “Crunch or Crackle” which is a 12 year old single malt distilled in Aug. 2008. For those that do not recall from my previous SMWS post, the first number in the “code” represents the distillery, which while they do not market the name of the distillery, it is widely available to find on the internet. This particular bottle comes from Blair Athol, a Highland distillery.
Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Rye Whiskey - Barrel Proof
Our next review is Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Settlers Select Rye Barrel Proof Whiskey. Wilderness Trail is a “newer” distillery located in Danville, KY. I say “newer” because it has been around for 10 years, launching in 2012, however, instead of rushing out to market they seemed to have focused on building up aged stock. I live in the Northeast of the U.S. and we didn’t get Wilderness Trail distributed up here until mid-late 2021.
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.
The Balvenie “The Sweet Toast of American Oak” Aged 12 Years
Full disclosure, I am a big The Balvenie fan with the first nice single malt I ever purchased being the old Single Barrel 15 Year (the one aged in traditional casks, not the current sherried version). For this review, we will be tasting The Sweet Toast of American Oak Aged 12 Years, which was the first release in the new Balvenie Stories Collection. This expression takes Balvenie juice aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then puts it in Kentucky virgin oak barrels that were deeply toasted at Balvenie’s cooperage. Given the profile, I expected this to be somewhat similar to the 12 year old Single Barrel First Fill staple that is part of the core Balvenie line.