High West Rendezvous Rye Barrel Select for T5C, barrel 4469

And then there was the Rendezvous. Bottled for the militant mavens of T5C, this barrel selection has one of the highest ABVs of all Rendezvous releases. No quirky finishes to it, just full-powered Rye. It needs no further introduction.

Product: Rendezvous Rye
Producer: High West
Distilleries: Barton and MGP

Type: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
Region: Indiana (MGP) and Kentucky (Barton)

Mashbills: Barton - 80% rye 10% corn 10% malted barley
MGP - 95% rye 5% malted barley
Maturation: American white oak

Barrel #: 4469
Bottle #: 124

Alcohol by Volume: 63.5%
(Thank you to Secret Agent Man)

Remarkably, the nose needs no water. There's lots of chocolate and cookie—actually, it's Twix. I'm smelling Twix bars. Then toasted oak, saline, lemons and blossoms. Roasted almonds and berry candy. With 30+ minutes in the glass, it gains coffee and malt notes. The palate is big but not hot. Lots of oranges, peach cobbler and honey. RYE. Very little vanilla. It has a fresh herbal side, think mint, basil and thyme leaves. Tart lemons and a whiff of smoke. It sticks the landing with unending waves of rye, rye, rye, rye. Mint, saline, rye bread, sweet lemon and wood smoke. Enormous.

As handsome as the boys of T5C (*voice cracks* Hi guys!) are, this is the dark lord of Rendezvous Rye. Thunderous in style, but remarkably easy drinking for the abv, this barrel has more complexity than anything else I've had from High West and a finish that adheres to the senses for a very long time. There's not a single weakness to be found in this, one of my favorite ryes.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 90

High West Double Rye Barrel Select for Cask Strength Society, barrel 7588

Let us transition from A Midwinter Night's Dram to a single barrel of Double Rye finished for 13 months in a former Midwinter Night's Dram barrel. High West's Barrel Select whiskies are fun on an intellectual level: Take a familiar High West product, finish it in a Wine, Scotch or former cask from the same distillery, then release it at a higher strength. And keep price the price close to that of the original whiskey. In this instance, High West tones down the potential fortified wine influence while also introducing a young rye to an older rye's barrel.

Product: Rendezvous Rye
Producer: High West
Distilleries: Barton and MGP (probably)

Type: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
Region: Indiana (MGP) and Kentucky (Barton)

Mashbills: 16 years, 53% rye 37% corn 10% malted barley (Barton) + 2 years, 95% rye 5% malted barley (MGP)
Maturation, part 1: Barton & MGP ryes in separate new white oak barrels
Maturation, part 2: 13-month marriage together in a Midwinter Night's Dram barrel

Barrel #: 7588
Exclusively for: Cask Strength Society

Alcohol by Volume: 49.9%
(Thanks again, Jack!)

There's a mild interplay between the spirit and the barrel, in the nose. On the Double Rye side there's pickle brine, ground mustard seed, anise, a vegetal note and rye white dog (rye dog?, while the MWND barrel brings in berry lollipops. At the intersection of the two is a glazed bacon note and a curious whiff of hot canola oil. The Double Rye rumble wins out in the palate, as it is mostly sharp zippy MGP stuff with a peep of blackberry jam. Mint, peppercorns, rock candy, heat and a hint of wood smoke. It finishes simply with lime candy, mint, wood smoke, black pepper and golden raisins.

The wisely subtle secondary maturation in a former MWND barrel does result in a small improvement over the old Double Rye recipe, which usually seemed younger than its younger ingredients and bereft of its older ryes. This barrel select is less sweet than MWND and doesn't hide its rye heart. It will appeal to those for whom wine cask whiskies are heresy. And it's better than any Double Rye batch I've had. Yet, like the Double Ryes I've had, it's sorely missing something older to bump up into Rendezvous territory.

Speaking of Rendezvous...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84

High West A Midwinter Night's Dram, Act 6 Scene 2

After my Rendezvous Rye and Elijah Craig posts, some readers assumed that I still drink American whiskey -- which is technically true since summer has arrived early -- and provided me with three samples of High West ryes. Since I'm about to flood everyone with more single malt scotch reviews, now would be a good time to pause and post some rye stuff.

The first sample, donated by Jack (thank you!), is a recent batch of Midwinter Night's Dram. As you see from the post's title, High West has now flown beyond Shakespeare's usual five-act structure into the undiscovered country of a sixth act. Who knows what will happen with their new ownership, other than the nuking of their ryes, so let's enjoy the MWNDs while they're still here.

If you're new to the game, A Midwinter Night's Dram is Rendezvous Rye finished in Port casks. I've heard that recent batches have been winier than the early ones, and there seems to be combination of the old recipe and new recipe involved (see below) now. In any case, here's 2018's Act 6, Scene 2.

Producer/Blender: High West
Ownership: Constellation Brands
Type: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
Region: Indiana (MGP), Kentucky (Barton), Utah (High West)

Mashbill: 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP; 
80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West Distillery; 
53% rye, 37% corn, 10% barley malt from Barton Distillery; 
80% rye, 10% corn, 10% barley malt from Barton Distillery

Primary Maturation: charred white oak barrels
Secondary Maturation: "port and french oak barrels"

Alcohol by Volume: 49.3%

Berry-loaded tawny port arrives first in the nose, with hints of mesquite and tar in the background. Then cherries, plum wine and roasted corn. Hints of ume, rye bread, fennel seeds and celery appear occasionally. With time, there's more rye and milk chocolate. Lots of sweet citrus, plum wine, caramel apples and cayenne pepper in the palate. It reads more like bourbon than rye. Well, it reads more like fortified wine than either of those. It gets sweeter and jammier with time, while also picking up some good tartness. The finish is sweet, plummy and minty. Sawdust, raspberry jam, black pepper and tart citrus.

While it's indeed winey or porty, this batch of Midwinter Night's Dram works as a dessert whisky. I mean, I shouldn't like as much as I do. There's no balance between the port, oak and whiskey (unlike the other two batches I've reviewed); and it's as sweet as a liqueur. But it's yummy. And the yummy factor is difficult to discount. So there it is. You may take the below rating with a spoonful of sugar.

Also, My Gourd, the price?!

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - recent batches are going for $90-$180, some comedians are charging $300
Rating - 84

Ballechin 11 year old 2007 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 166

The oldest (by ~2 months) of this week's three Ballechin (plural!) and the only sherry cask, today's peated Edradour whisky doesn't have to try too hard to pass the other two. Yes, I write this intro already knowing the outcome, since I tasted this whisky along with Wednesday's Ballechin and Port Charlotte 10 year old.

As mentioned on Wednesday, I haven't been impressed with single bourbon cask Ballechins and will likely never blindly buy a bottle of it again. How about this single sherry cask?

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.
Bottler: van Wees (The Ultimate series)

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 11 years (2007-2018)

Maturation: 2nd fill sherry butt
Cask #: 166
Outturn: 700

Alcohol by Volume: 59.6%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
Mesquite smoke hangs over every note in the big, hot nose. There are flowers, dried cherries, dried apricots and yeast. Beef and caramel sauce. But mostly mesquite. The palate is very nutty: cashews, almond butter and roasted peanuts. Cherry compote with fresh ginger (is that a thing?). What starts out as a moderate level of peat smoke increases with time. Cherries, almonds, salty cashews and peat smoke in the finish.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Now it's a peat bomb. Peat peat peat on the nose. Yeast, fudge, cinnamon and cloves. It's almost a peated rye. Compared to the nose, the peat is more vegetal and less smoky in the palate. Some of the nutty note remains, mostly as marzipan. Some dried oregano and a sooty moment. The finish feels like the dingiest part, all soot and smoked nuts.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This week's winner! It's also, possibly, the best single cask (out of six) of Ballechin I've tried. The active cask doesn't choke out the spirit, though the spirit sings louder when the whisky is diluted. Normally nutty whiskies aren't my thing, but the smoke and fruit make it work. And dilution also gives it a bit of the dirty edge I've been looking for in this week's trio.

Though the Port Charlotte 10 came out on top in the overall tasting, I still prefer this Ballechin over the official sherried/winey things Bowmore and Laphroaig are squeezing out. I'm not as sold on Ballechin as I'd hoped to be, but there's still hope for this stuff.

Availability - May still be available at some continental European retailers
Pricing - around €70 w/VAT
Rating - 86

Ballechin 10 year old 2005, cask 221 for K&L Wine Merchants

After the disappointing experience with Monday's Ballechin (of course that's the bottle I bought blindly), I decided to add some perspective to the next tastings, while also testing to make sure my palate was okay. I lined up the other two Ballechin single casks and set them against the current Port Charlotte 10yo. Happily my palate is awake, but does that mean happy times for Ballechin?

First up, a single ex-bourbon cask bottled by the distillery for K&L Wines in the US.

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 10 years (2005-2016)

Maturation: bourbon cask
Cask #: 221
Outturn: 231
Bottled for: K&L Wine Merchants
Alcohol by Volume: 55.8%

Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(Thank you to Florin for the sample!)

NEAT
Peated apple juice and paint VOCs in the nose. Burnt plastic, barley and heat. Quirky and more interesting notes pass briefly in the background: dirty hay, flowers, soap and watermelon candy. The palate is hotter than I expected, but it is fruitier than the nose (think pear and guava). A moderate level of peat smoke. A slight plasticky note gets heavier with time. The sweetness also increases with time, until it borders on cloying. The heat and wood smoke in the finish can't stand up to all the sugar.

DILTUED TO ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose is farmier and maltier, with some anise, vanilla and root beer. The palate's sweetness calms down, trending towards golden raisins. Pears and plastic. Less peat. The finish matches the palate, and adds a sprinkle of cinnamon.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
While this cask is an improvement over Monday's cask, especially when diluted, this 11yo feels very very young, perhaps half its age. The exception to this is the peat which, again, is lighter than I expected from a Ballechin. I found it all much too sweet when neat. Thankfully dilution makes some good corrections.

This is the fourth single bourbon cask Ballechin I've had, and they've all been kinda so-so. Thus I don't think Ballechin can compete with Ledaig and Port Charlotte in that category. Will Friday's sherry cask fare better?

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - $90
Rating - 82 (diluted only)

Ballechin 11 year old 2005 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 218

My Ballechin enthusiasm began with their "The Discovery Series", the world's introduction to Edradour's heavily-peated single malt. Recently I realized my Ballechin excitement peaked with that very good series as well. Though I've mentally grouped Ballechin with Ledaig and Port Charlotte, I've never been wowed by any successive bottlings of Pitlochry's peater. More age and higher ABV hasn't necessarily lifted the countless single casks above the original releases.

Let's see if there are any killers in this week's three 10-11 year old Ballechin single casks. The first is from a bottle of mine, 84% of which went to a Columbus Scotch Night event in early 2017.

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.
Bottler: van Wees (The Ultimate series)

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 11 years (2005-2016)

Maturation: bourbon barrel
Cask #: 218
Bottle: 19 of 220

Alcohol by Volume: 54.5%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No

NEAT
The nose starts off with eau de vie, yeast and sugar. Then kettle corn and cinnamon. It has a simple ocean-y peat and hints of flower blossoms. An apple pie note shows up after some time. Lots of heat in the palate. Then salt water taffy, almonds, salt and brown sugar. It gets sweeter and spicier with time, especially when a cinnamon note arises. The peat remains oddly calm throughout, including in the finish, where it barely appears. The finish is tart, salty, sweet and tingly, mostly showing that cinnamon candy note.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or > 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose opens up a little bit. There's vanilla and sugary milk chocolate bars. Caramel, flowers, mint chip ice cream and mild wood smoke. The palate, on the other hand, seems to close up. It's sweet and plain. Lightly smoky with some vanilla and pound cake. The generic finish is warm and mild, more toasty than smoky.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This was a particularly disappointing Ballechin. After I added water, I almost dumped some of my pour due to boredom. The rawness of the neat nose has its limited charms, as does the sudden oak attack of the diluted version. The absence of peat is noticeable and unfortunate because it reveals that not much is going on, especially on the palate. Hopefully the next one is better...

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - ~€60
Rating - 79

Diageo's Game of Thrones single malts, part 2

I've divided Diageo's eight Game of Thrones single malts into two groups, sexy distilleries and not-sexy distilleries.

Sexy distilleries 
Oban
Talisker
Clynelish
Lagavulin

Not-sexy distilleries
Glendullan
Cardhu
Dalwhinnie
Royal Lochnagar

The not-sexy distilleries' whiskies got their reviews on Tuesday, and it was a pathetic showing, seemingly a bunch of whisky Diageo couldn't sell in another form, with the only exception being the 12yo Royal Lochnagar. I hope the sexy distilleries' GoT single malts are better.

Oban Bay Reserve (The Night's Watch), NAS, 43%abv

The nose has a (welcome) musty edge to it. There are apples, barley, grasses, sharp cheddar and a yeasty fermented note. Like Ben Nevis Lite Lite. The palate is......where is the palate? It's inoffensive at first. Then it takes on a milky/cheesy note. Then it turns sour. Bits of peppercorns, sugar, vanilla and apple float around. The finish is sour, peppery vanilla alcohol.

The quirky nose was fun, but it all descended steeply from there. One is left wishing they'd matched the whisky with the packaging's dark, brooding graphic design. Instead the whisky is weak and flawed, trending towards middle-shelf blend territory. Yes, it's worse than than Little Bay. The nose is the only that keeps it afloat.

Rating - 76

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Talisker Select Reserve (House of Greyjoy), NAS, 45.8%abv
(Oh no, "Select" and "Reserve" in one name?)

Ah, the first nose with character. Wet sheep, heck, wet sheepdogs too. Salty sea air, cinnamon, sugar and mint extract. More peppery smoke and white fruits with time. The palate has bolder peat than OB Talisker usually flaunts. And less oak than the rest of the Talisker NASes. Lemons, ginger powder, green peppercorns and a hint o' mint follow. It gets sweeter with time. A good finish. Sooty, salty, with a squeeze of lemon. A little bit of sugar and ginger powder.

Now we're talking. I had to get to whisky #6 before I enjoyed an entire sample. If you were let down with the entire crop of recent Talisker NASes, as I was, this may provide a little hope. There's less, I don't know, fuckery going on here. It's just young Talisker with the volume turned up. But unlike some of the indie baby Taliskers, this won't ruin your palate and your night's sleep.

Rating - 85

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Clynelish Reserve (House of Tyrell), NAS, 51.2%abv
(They've run out of names. How about Clynelish Batch Strength? It's doublespeak, but it's not "Reserve".)

Complex nose alert! Soot, hay and coriander right up front, then lime zest and roses. Then there's a waltz of milk chocolate, dulce de leche and molasses in the midground. A little more heat in the palate. There's a lot of veg, apple peels and cocoa powder up front. Some vanilla and sugar in the background. Everything seems just fine until the whisky shifts into another gear with lime zest, cumin and minerals, lifting the entire malt. Those limey limes stay into the finish. Then honey, chiles, salt, stones and a hint of brown sugar.

A good surprise, finally. Several unpleasant young Clynelish have previously passed my lips. And I had thought this Reserve was just the cheapo version of the odd superluxe Select Reserve, and maybe it is, but it's good. Very good. It's not going to unseat the 14yo, but as another take on one of Diageo's gems, it's a success.

Rating - 87

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Lagavulin 9 year old (House of Lannister), 46%abv

The nose is similar to the Talisker's but heavier and peatier. The peat is almost cruciferous, with a side of pepper-laden barbecue pork. Dirty chimneys and rauchbier. It picks up good cinnamon notes after some time in the glass. Smoked almond butter and crisp young peat smoke in the palate. Hell, it's industrial pre-Paris-Agreement climate-murdering black smoke. Also ginger candy, bitter chocolate and black peppercorns. It finishes with soot, bitter chocolate, ginger powder, heat and ocean water.

It's the large emotionally-warped older sibling of Talisker Select Reserve. And it's one note. But what a note. You know if you like this style or not. For those of you who embrace this spiritual preference, know that this 9yo ain't no 12yo CS, nor 16yo. But it's a good competitor for the more prevalent 8yo.

Rating - 85

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There's a lot of mediocre whisky in this collection, and we're all shocked (shocked!) to find this going on. I sincerely hope none of you bought this collection at anything other than MSRP. There isn't a single whisky in the GoT bunch that isn't topped by the regular age-stated range. Some of these whiskies are crap, to be frank. Three are worth a look, at their original price. But that's it, unless you're in the US and must have a Royal Lochnagar in your collection. Anyway, if you want 'em ranked, there they are:

1. Clynelish Reserve
2. (tie) Lagavulin 9 year old
2. (tie) Talisker Select Reserve
4. Royal Lochnagar 12 year old
5. (tie) Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost
5. (tie) Oban Bay Reserve
7. Cardhu Gold Reserve
8. The Singleton of Glendullan Select

Now, Distell International, get on that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel set! I'll be first in line for the Susie Myerson Ledaig Select Reserve.