Three more new Chieftain's single malts: Braeval, Glen Grant, and Fettercairn

On Monday I reviewed the first three of the six Chieftain's bottlings poured at a recent Southern California Whiskey Club event.  To quote that post: "The Whiskey Jug and Bozzy were also in attendance, see the Jug's post here, and Bozzy's posts here and here.  As I am wont to do, I took my pours in sample bottles back home with me so that I could process these whiskies in my hermetically sealed whisky laboratory."  Today the three oldest (and most expensive) of the half dozen.  Let's get to it.

My pic this time! As I mentioned on Monday, I paid for these samples via the event.

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Braeval 19 year old 1996-2015 Chieftain's

finished in a former red wine cask, bottled at 46%abv

Nose -- It starts off very nutty, think hazelnuts and cashews.  Underneath those nuts, a layer of milk chocolate and fresh cherries.  After 15 minutes or so, those notes dissolve into vanilla fudge.  With more time some notes of grass and clay arise.  With water, it gets a little grainier, dustier, and grassier.  The wine has been washed away aside from some berry candy.  A mild vanilla note develops as well.

Palate -- I know this sounds like nonsense, but there's a note that exists in the curious intersection of cotton candy and umami.  A slight plastic note.  Strawberry and peach candies.  Grows increasingly floral with time.  With water, it gets perfumy, tannic, and drying.  Notes of vanilla, plastic, sugar, and tart citrus arrive.

Finish -- Milk chocolate and dried berry notes make this feel like it was finished in an ex-sherry cask.  Secondary notes of honey and peaches show as well.  With water, there's floral perfume, cherries, and sugar.

Comments:

The sherry-like finishing blankets over most of the great Braeval fruits that are often found in ex-bourbon cask versions.  While water makes the nose less winey, it moves the palate from floral blossoms to floral perfume.  Aside from that I found it to be a decent average Speysider.  ($110-$125)

Rating -- 82

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Glen Grant 20 year old 1995-2015

first-fill bourbon cask finish (refill cask for its first maturation)

bottled at 55.1%abv

Nose -- Honey, limes, vanilla, and salted caramels arrive first.  Then silly putty, rose petals, and a hint of mint.  It gets more candied with time, and even picks up a big note of nougat.  With water, it picks up a big Cow Tales candy note which is balanced by a moderate earthy note.  Vanilla bean and a hint of roses.  A little bit of tropical fruit eeks out.

Palate -- Big.  Rich oak, lots of vanillins.  Lots of malt too.  Rich caramel, pepper, acidic citrus, and out of season peaches.  With water, now the citrus moves to the fore.  It's tart and peppery, lightly sweet.  Small notes of vanilla and caramel.

Finish -- Subtler than the palate.  Slight coffee bitterness.  Tart lemons, oak spice, caramel chews.  Pretty tannic.  With water, it's pretty drying.  A simple mix of pepper, vanilla, and sugar.

Comments:

I wonder if this would have been better if it had been bottled at 46% (which is what I lowered it to when I added water).  The nose is the best part, then the palate.  The finish gets a bit difficult with its woody tannic assault.  I kept looking for the good Glen Grant fruits (as I did with the Braeval) but rarely found them.  So it's another good middle of the road Speyside, but it's quite expensive. ($145-$160)

Rating -- 84

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Fettercairn 19 year old 1996-2015

ex-Oloroso sherry butt

bottled at 57.4%abv

Nose -- Insane.  Coming across as if it's almost peated, the nose also shows hints of floral soap, peppery sulphur, red Starburst candies, toffee pudding, caramel chews, and Loch Lomond-style industrial funk.  With water, there's a rumble of peat and sulphur.  Then dark chocolate, toffee, newspaper ink, and cheap cigars.  It smells old and musty.  The dirtiest sherry imaginable.
Important: Kristen's notes on the nose!  Smoke, marshmallows, and dried apricots.

Palate -- "Wow," says my notes.  Big chocolatey sherriness meets a bitter herbal liqueur.  Almond torte, stewed prunes, and hot pepper sauce.  A bit of an industrial edge makes the whole thing feel like Glendronach-meets-Springbank.  With water, it gets nuttier and more peppery, with no sweetness to be found.  Maybe some hints of dried cherries and prunes.  It's earthy and herbal as hell.

Finish -- Massive.  Some of the nose's dusty sulphur meets up with bitter dark chocolate, prunes, and toasted oak.  It's almost smoky.  With water, it gets a little drying and bitter.  Some dried fruits and dirt.  Gorgeous dirt.

Comments:

Fettercairn!  Often this distillery's stuff leans close to a Loch Lomond-type mess, but sometimes, sometimes, it totally works.  But only if you're into the style.  In this case it's three parts sherried Springbank, two parts sherried Glendronach, and one part Loch Lomond.  It feels much smokier than it should be; I don't know if that's due to the spirit's sulphur or the cask's sulphur or some actual peat sneaking in somewhere, but it works very well.  It's the only one of the six whiskies that had The Wow Factor, so it gets the highest score.  Price-wise, yes $120 is expensive.  But consider that single cask 19yo sherried Springbank and sherried Glendronach are $200+, and one suddenly gets a different perspective. ($120-$135)

Rating -- 89  (Please read the tasting notes rather than just relying on the number. This whisky won't appeal to all palates.)

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Of these six whiskies, my favorites come from the sexy sexy distilleries of Glenburgie and Fettercairn.  The Glenburgie highlights barley and fruit, keeping the oak tinkering to a minimum.  Meanwhile, the Fettercairn is big and rough and crazy, bringing in some brawny dirty sherry to a funky spirit.  There were no duds amongst the six as they all sit in the B- to B+ range.  And even though these were mostly Speysides, there's a good variety of experiences amongst the bunch.

OC Scotch Club Tasting on 3/24 at Chapter One

Hello, I am the author of this blog and I will return you to the regularly scheduled whisky reviews tomorrow, specifically the second half of the Chieftain's tasting (see part 1 here).  In addition to closing my eyes while tapping on random keys to create my posts, I do other whisky things, some of which I document on Facebook and (much more on) Twitter (and someday soon there will be an Instagram page aside from my personal one).

One of my favorite whisky things to do is lead whisky tastings for groups of happy whisky people.  When presenting I go light-to-medium on history and production trivia, depending on the audience, but I do not tell the crowd what they're supposed to smell and taste in each whisky because that knocks the humanity part right out of the situation.  If one smells bubblegum while I smell burnt shrinkwrap, that's cool.  That's the experience.  That subjectivity is why we're drinking this stuff in the first place.

Once a month, I lead tastings for the OC Scotch Club.  Andy Smith (aka Mr. LA Scotch Club) and I confer a few weeks before the event and select bottles.  Then we book a location.  Then we invite people to show up and drink whisky while I drone on at the center of the party.  Because we like weird stuff and familiar good stuff, we tend to pick some of both.

For instance, we're having Dinner and Whisky at Chapter One in Santa Ana on the 24th.  For food there's burgers & Mac 'n Cheese & Fish 'n Chips & Caprese to choose from.  All awesome things.  But then there's the whisky, even awesomer.

Auchentoshan 13 year old 2000 Exclusive Casks.  Everyone I know who tried it thinks it one of the best indie Auchies ever.  So I tracked down the last bottle available.

Ben Nevis 18 year old 1995 Montgomerie's Select.  It's Ben Nevis, so that's enough for me.  For you, just know that Ben Nevis is an old-school, often lovely, sometimes unusual, always entertaining single malt.  Plus this one is actually available at all or most Total Wines around here, so in case you like it at the tasting you can easily track it down for a relatively reasonable price.

Fukano Japanese Whisky (the K&L cask).  Wait, that's not scotch.  Of course not.  It's a malty bourbony whisky that's actually made from rice in Japan, which Andy scooped a bottle of it before it vanished.  I might even pour this one first because it's delicate.  If you want to know what all the hype was about, here's a chance to taste it.

Inchgower 20 year old 1995 Hepburn's Choice (K&L excl).  It's a 20 year old sherry bomb from a distillery that doesn't get enough love, probably because there are so few indies (and offishys?) of it.  Plus it's a double decade sherried whisky that doesn't cost $200+.  This is the one I'm looking forward to the most.

Lagavulin 12 year old Cask Strength, 2014 edition.  Finally, I drop the sledgehammer at the end.  It'll leave everyone's face feeling warm and peated.

So, there it is.  Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islay, and the most eastern Scottish isle, Japan.  If you're in the Orange Country area on March 24th, I recommend you click on over to the site and buy yourself a very-inexpensive-for-California food-and-whisky ticket.  I mean, friggin' Lagavulin 12yo CS and bacon-loaded Mac n' Cheese?  Hope to see you there!

Three new Chieftain's single malts: Glenburgie, Linkwood, and Mortlach

A couple weeks ago I attended a Southern California Whiskey Club event featuring six new Chieftain's (independently bottled) single malts.  The Whiskey Jug and Bozzy were also in attendance, see the Jug's post here, and Bozzy's posts here and here.  As I am wont to do, I took my pours in sample bottles back home with me so that I could process these whiskies in my hermetically sealed whisky laboratory.

I split these whiskies up into two tastings and thus two posts.  There are many words to follow, so I'm just going to get right to it.

(Note: I paid for this event out of my own yoooge wallet.)

Pic lifted directly from the SCWC site and then graffitied by me.
I took at least a dozen bottle photos at the event but cannot find them
on my phone, thus the delay on this post as I tried to dig 'em up.
Is this a long enough photo caption?

Glenburgie 16 year old 1998-2015 Chieftain's
aged in a hogshead, bottled at 46%abv

Nose -- A bit of fruit (white and citrus) arrives right up front, meeting nicely with butterscotch.  Then some healthy notes of honey and toasted oak spice.  Small cask notes of fresh banana and maple syrup.  After some time in the glass, the barley leaps into the forefront.  With water, it gets younger.  More grain, more cinnamon, and apple skins.  A hint of caramel sauce.

Palate -- Both very malty and full of fresh apricots and peaches.  Smaller notes of butterscotch, Heath Bar, Juicy Fruit gum, and vanilla bean.  Some cayenne pepper hits the back of the throat.  Even with a lot of air, the fruits stay strong.  With water, it remains fragrantly fruity, but creamier.  Malty as heck.

Finish -- A little dry, but still softly stone fruity.  Delicate, malty.  Picks up a little vanilla with time.  With water, it becomes all lemon, vanilla, and apricot.

Comments:
This sorta-silent-still (the distillery was demolished and rebuilt in 2003/2004) whisky was easily my favorite of the three, possibly because there's no alternate cask finishing or maybe because I just enjoy its fruit and grain.  It feels young for a 16yo, but in a good way because the oak limits itself to cameos that enhance the experience.  I suppose they could have released this at cask strength, but it feels like they hit its honey spot at 46%abv.  ($90-$100)
Rating -- 88

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Linkwood 17 year old 1997-2015 Chieftain's
finished in an ex-Oloroso sherry cask, bottled at 46%abv

Nose -- Starts off with an eggy sulphur then eases into gunpowder.  Some dry cheese, then toffee and vanilla.  It needs some air......now there's grape drink and raisins.  It remains leathery and earthy.  With water, tennis balls and blue rubber racquetballs.  Smoky raisins and the earthy note.

Palate -- Big sticky sherry.  Very grapey, sometimes almost like grape soda.  The cask is much cleaner here than in the nose, comparable to Macallan at times.  There's some nice spice cake action as the whisky gets sweeter with time.  Baked apple too.  With water there's not much change. Clean sherry, sweet stuff, maybe some citrus forming.

Finish -- Long, sweet, spicy, and grapey.  A raspberry jam note too.  With water, it loses the berries, focusing on grapes and sugar. A hint of cheddar.

Comments:
Linkwoods can be difficult to find in the US, so this was a rare chance to try a single malt version of one of Diageo's main blend malts.  But there's a dichotomy in this whisky: a dirty nose and clean mouth.  In both cases it's due to a very loud sherry cask finishing.  It improves considerably with air and water, but it never really does anything that other cheaper sherried whiskies don't.  ($90-$110)
Rating -- 81

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Mortlach 18 year old 1997-2015 Chieftain's
finished in an ex-Pedro Ximenez cask, bottled at 46%abv

Nose -- Not sulphuric, unlike the Linkwood.  The PX is also rather reserved.  Tropical and stone fruits, dried and fresh.  Think dried pineapple and dried apricots.  Picks up a big raisin note with time.  With water, the sherry gets a little bigger and dirtier.  The fruits fade.  Roasted nuts, especially walnuts.

Palate -- The sherry is gentle, but it's there, almost floral.  Green grapes and apples, sea salt, limeade, and mixed nuts.  With water, it picks up a little tartness, a nice bitterness, and a peppery bite.  Dried berry/grape notes arrive and sharpen.

Finish -- The sherry and its dried fruit edge their way up front, but there's still the salt, green grapes, and some orange zest.  With water, there's not much change.  Maybe less citrus and more pepper.

Comments:
This whisky's good bourbon cask side isn't entirely smothered by the PX, which is appreciated because bourbon cask Mortlach can be great.  I like it better than the Linkwood due to its fruit and complexity.  Water narrows it, pushing the sherry forward, so I recommend it neat.  ($90-$100)
Rating -- 84

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The Glenburgie won the day, though none of these really flopped.  The Linkwood may appeal to palates other than mine and the Mortlach fits somewhere in between the other two.  My preferences and tasting notes hew much closer to The Jug's than Bozzy's.  Let's see what happens with the next three...

When Heaven Hill Goes Malt: Parker's Heritage Collection 9th Edition, 8 year old Straight Malt Whiskey

Released annually by Heaven Hill, the Parker's Heritage whiskies are a tribute to Master Distiller Parker Beam.  Since Mr. Beam was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a portion ($5) of each bottle sold gets donated to the ALS Promise Fund.  Meanwhile, the whiskies themselves have become big time collectors' items, fetching big money on the secondary market.  It would be nice if the flippers who sell their bottles for 3x the MSRP would also donate at least $5 to the ALS Promise Fund for each bottle they sell, but since they don't, fuck 'em.

Most of the previous editions were experimental bourbons, some super old, some super strong, some wheated, and some were mashbill mixes.  (The eighth edition was a wheat whiskey. Thank you, Richard for catching that.)  This ninth edition is a Straight Malt Whiskey.  Like a Straight Rye whiskey, a Straight Malt Whiskey (something rarely seen) must have 51% of its mashbill be its listed grain, thus malted barley in this case.  The mashbill used by Heaven Hill here was 65% malted barley and 35% corn.  It was distilled by Craig Beam, Parker's son, in late 2006.

I'd like to thank Mr. WSKY-CVLT (aka Dirty Uncle Mike) -- the rare man who actually opens his bottles and drinks them --for this sample.

Distiller: Heaven Hill
Brand: Parker's Heritage
Region: Louisville, Kentucky
Type: Straight Malt Whiskey
Age: 8 years old, distilled in 2006
Maturation: New American oak
Mashbill: 65% malted barley, 35% corn

Alcohol by Volume: 54%

NEAT
Color -- Glendronach

Nose -- It starts with pinesap, lemon-scented Mr. Clean, freshly sliced ginger, and eucalyptus.  But at the same time it does the candy shop note more successfully than Glenmorangie Milsean.  Minor notes include caramel, new tar, and melon rind.

Palate -- MINT.  Mint leaves, mint toothpaste, and crème de menthe.  Some white fruits and chocolate thrown in for good measure.  Simultaneously it shows off an alternate personality: oaky bourbon.  Vanilla, caramel, and cherry candy.

Finish -- Cocoa melts into milk chocolate.  Add in the mint and we get Andes candies.  It grows sweeter with time, and has an occasional bitter nudge that matches up with tart limes.

WITH WATER (~46%abv)
Nose -- It gets a little malty and salty.  A little bit of the pine and caramel remain.  And here comes the mint.

Palate -- At turns malty and bourbon-y.  The mint tones down.  Cherry candy and wood pulp get louder.  An growing bitterness appears.

Finish -- Good length.  Less sweet.  A coffee bitterness and just a whisper of mint.  A new sourness.

WITH WATER (~40%abv)
Nose -- Spearmint candy canes with a little chocolate in the background.  Clean malt underneath.

Palate -- Mint extract.  A weird bitterness arrives, towing behind it a slight soapiness.

Finish -- Minty metallic soap.

COMMENTS:
What a strange whiskey.  The nose works really well, with or without water.   But the neat palate tastes like some odd bourbon cocktail.  It straightens out with a little bit of water, but then falls apart as more water is added.  The finish works best when neat, but (like the palate) it crumbles at 40%abv.  Yesterday, Josh from Sipology mentioned that the mint character can be found in other Heaven Hill products (see the tweets here) so that helped me understand those curious notes.

I'm thankful to have had an opportunity to try this since the stuff is neither fish nor fowl.  It was a unique experience and the whiskey deserves points for that.  Because of its quirks, I thought it best to list some other opinions of the whiskey:

--For a variety of takes here are those by the LAWS guys.  'Fuji' is one of the few folks who found the mint note too.
--For a mixed review see Red, White, and Bourbon.
--For a positive review, see The Whisky Jug's post.
--Axis of Whisky found a bit of mint in it too, but liked it more than I.
--And Whisky Advocate gave it an 84, which I think translates into D- in their system.

Apparently I'm the only one who got bugged out about the minty intensity.  So take that fact as you'd like.  It's very cool that Heaven Hill released an experimental American malt with some age on it.  I hope other producers try it (maybe with some rye in the mashbill!) and find a more balanced result.

Availability - Here and there, mostly in the secondary market
Pricing - Primary market only: $100 to $300 (yup)
Rating - 78

When Heaven Hill Bourbon Goes Wrong: Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond (2015)

Speaking of anal leakage: Evan Williams, everybody!

I'm just kidding.  :(  Evan Williams Black Label is probably the lone non-soul-corroding whisk(e)y under $10.  It's a solid C grade bourbon, and of better quality than a number of whiskies priced much higher.  In the family line there's also Evan Williams Green Label (even cheaper!), Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond (with a white label), Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch (not distilled in 1783), Evan Williams Single Barrel (complete with vintage attached, getting younger each year), and a 23 year old (hella expensive).

Today I'm reviewing EW's Bottled-in-Bond (aka BIB).  And not just any old EW BIB, but my bottle of EW BIB.  I purchased it a month ago at a reputable retailer (in fact, the same one from whom I purchased my Elijah Craig 12), stored on a shelf away from light and heat.  I specify this because upon opening the bottle I found the whiskey to be F***ING AWFUL.  Like Scary Bad.  Possibly the worst bourbon I've ever had Bad.

Needless to say, I was disappointed.  I had a 95% full bottle of something that I'd expected to be at least okay.  Rather than crying into my bourbon (I save that for Mondays) I decided to leave the screw top off of the bottle to let the stuff air out for four hours and, with subsequent pours on other days, left the top screw top off for 15 minutes at a time.  I was hoping that would open up the bourbon to some degree.  Eventually I just took a big sample from the middle of the bottle and dumped the last third down the sink.  So this review is of the hopefully oxidized mid-bottle.

Distiller: Heaven Hill
Brand: Evan Williams
Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bottle Code: see below
Age: minimum 4 years
Region: Louisville, Kentucky
Maturation: New American oak
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley (I think)

Alcohol by Volume: 50%

Regarding the bottle code, I found F190 50640 on the bottle shoulder, but I don't think that references the bottling date.  Elijah Craig bottles have a second code printed on the bottom of the bottle with a 13-digit code that most likely tells its date.  This bottle of EW BIB had no such thing.  I searched but found nothing, which is kinda weird.  Like the whiskey itself.

Neat --
Varnish, dill, and sawdust in the nose.  That's followed by hazelnuts and paint VOC fumes.  Then cherry candy and pencils.  After 20+ minutes airing it out, the nose delivered a peat-like phenolic blast, a slight egg note, and a wall of clay.  It triggered a "What IS that?" response for almost an hour. (Sorry for the change in verb tense.  We shall now return to our regularly utilized indicative present.)

The very sweet palate grows woodier as it goes.  There's a distinct vegetal edge that never leaves (leaves ↔ vegetal, get it? Ha!).  There's the cherry candy, hazelnuts, sawdust, and clay from the nose.  But there's also a distinct metallic note crashing right into a sharp sourness, underneath which floats twigs and burnt grass.

The very very sweet finish is a combo of brown sugar, celery, peppercorns, and burnt plant matter.  It always turns acrid at the end.  In fact, screw the rest of this tasting sample.

As a Highball -- Ugly.  I recommend adding as much bitters as you can take.
As an Old Fashioned -- Actually, not terrible.  It's the best way to drink it.  Its strangeness translates into a vivid cocktail.  Almost sherry-ish.

Comments:
Those were the notes for the heavily oxidized version of this whiskey.  The bottle's first pour smelled of metal, dirt, and pencil lead.  It tasted of metal, burnt bark, vinegar, and sugar.  The finish was worse.

I have no doubt that other batches of EW BIB don't taste or smell this way, but my bottle did.  Some of the problem might have been due to a corruption in transport or even within the batch itself.  But that doesn't account for all of the issues.  For instance, the only items in the nose that seemed to signal spoilage are the phenolics and the egg.  The rest are things that can appear in a bottom shelf young bourbon.  The metal and the acridity are the only concerning notes in the palate/finish.  Remove those notes and, honestly, we're left with something that still doesn't really beat Evan Williams Black Label, in my estimation.

Thus this bottle's (or batch's) ceiling was never going to be particularly high, even if it had been reached.  The potential and actual quality difference between my bottles of EC12 and EWBIB was striking considering I paid only $9 more for the former.  I know which one I'll be buying next time.

Availability - Much of the Southeastern and Western USA. Unavailable in many states.
Pricing - $12 to $19
Rating - 65  (up from the low-40s at the start of the bottle)

When Heaven Hill Bourbon Goes Right: Elijah Craig 12 year old Small Batch (2015)

Let's get whiskey politics out of the way first.  Since its creation, Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig 12 year old Straight Bourbon had its age statement listed on the front of bottle.  Then last year the age statement was replaced on the front label by a barrel, and the "12 years" reference was moved to the small font on the back label.  The reaction to this from the online bourbon geek community was a combination of despair and irritation.  They'd seen this happen before with other bourbons: the age statement gets moved from its prominent perch and hidden, only to be removed altogether shortly thereafter.  These concerns were publicly addressed by Heaven Hill's ambassador Bernie Lubbers in a sarcastic patronizing manner, denying any "devious" and "misleading" conspiratorial intent and insisting that the whiskey would remain 12 years old.  Seven months later, the age statement was removed altogether.  Bourbon fans' anger grew, not just because of the age drop, but because of the denial and its tone.  For a wider recap and some links, see Sku's post on this subject matter.

I'm not shocked by Heaven Hill's decision since I've witnessed scotch single malt producers stoop to desperate measures to convince their customers that age does not matter a whit.  The tone of Heaven Hill's ambassador's denial was ill chosen and I understand why folks would be pissed at him.  And I understand why Heaven Hill will now be seen as less trustworthy.  But like it or not, Elijah Craig (NAS) Small Batch has arrived.  And people will buy it.  You can elect not to buy it.  I'm in no hurry to get a bottle myself.

The 12 year old version of Eljiah Craig, where it still can be found at its suggested retail price, is a tremendous deal.  Out where I live, it's going for $25.  $25 for a 12 year old whiskey.  $25 for a 12 year old whiskey that's bottled at 47%abv.  $25 for a 12 year old whiskey that's bottled at 47%abv and tastes very good.

Distiller: Heaven Hill
Brand: Elijah Craig
Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bottled: 2015 (code 42 21 132 15 19:10)
Age: minimum 12 years
Region: Louisville, Kentucky
Maturation: New American oak
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley (I think)

Alcohol by Volume: 47%

I'm reviewing a large sample plucked from the midpoint of my own bottle, a bottle whose contents were consumed rapidly.  We didn't really have a winter here, thus very little Scotch Weather.  And on 75-90ºF days, my tummy says bourbon drinks better than its Scottish cousin.  That's my excuse.

NEAT --
The nose leads with brown sugar and old furniture.  Caramel sauce and Sugar Daddy candies.  Vanilla extract and doughnut glaze.  Sometimes it smells like a mint julep tastes.  It gets prettier with time, growing almost floral (blooms not perfumes).

The palate is simple at first: all corn syrup, salt, and baking spices (a rye and oak tandem).  It gradually picks up a cayenne pepper-type bite, vanilla bean, a little bit of tannin, some tart citrus, and a soft Rittenhouse Rye-like note, all elements held in a creamy texture.

Those spices stick around for the finish.  Then there's vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, simple syrup, and clover honey.

In a Highball -- Acceptable.
In an Old Fashioned -- Very good.  The bourbon finds a good mate in the orange.

Comments:
Though the palate can't be accused of complexity, it is very very nice.  And SMOOTH(!)!)!()0º_)!1!  The nose shows more dimension and depth.  And the finish is delish.  That's why my bottle's contents vanished lickety-split.  Yes there's plenty of oak, it's a 12 year old bourbon.  But what you're getting are the vanillins and palatable compounds, not boring wood nor burnt stuff nor bruising bitterness.

If you haven't tried EC12, and you can actually find it for $30 or less, and you actually like bourbon, I recommend scooping up ONE bottle while you can.  One bottle.  Leave some on the shelf for others. If you buy a case instead, then karma shall break every cork, oxidize all your whiskies, your stomach shall become bloated, and your head plucked of all but three hairs.  Also anal leakage.

Availability - As of March 2016 it's still at most specialty liquor retailers
Pricing - $25 to $35 (USA), $40-$60 (Europe)
Rating - 87 (bumped it up a point at the last minute)

Single Malt Report: Amrut 4 year old 2009 single ex-port pipe #2712

I never thought I'd type this, but I'm enjoying port cask aged whisky to the point where I'm actively seeking it out.  I have been rescued from the crippling Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban Experience!  ANYWAY, I reviewed a 4yo 2009 ex-bourbon cask on Tuesday and a 4yo 2009 ex-PX cask on Thursday.  Today it's a single ex-port pipe Amrut, but this one is peated.  I adored the first batch of Portonova, now lemme see how this one fares.

Distillery: Amrut

Region: Bangalore, India

Age: 4 years (June 2009 to August 2013)

Cask #: 2712

Maturation: ex-port pipe
Bottle count: 357
Alcohol by Volume: 59%
Sample obtained via a swap with My Annoying Opinions.  Thanks, MAO!

NEAT
For those interested in color, this one is by far the darkest of the three single casks.

The nose is malty with a side of lemons and limes.  Mellow peat and hay meet milk chocolate, caramel, and buttery oak.  After 15 minutes of air, it opens up further.  Seaweed, band aids, and pencil shavings.  Geraniums, lemons, and honey.

The palate is hotter than the PX cask's.  At first the peat arrives as ash and cinders, alongside a light raspberry and strawberry jam note.  It grows port-ier with time, and really improves.  It's earthier and picks up some cigar tobacco.  But then the dark berry notes arrive alongside a little bit of hot fudge.  It feels dark, if that makes any sense.

The biggest notes in the finish are the cigar tobacco, ash, and dark berries.  Small notes of fudge and herbal bitterness float behind.

WITH WATER (~46%abv)
Now the nose starts off with maple syrup and a chunk of American oak.  More limes than lemons.  The peat has become farmier, and there's now a hint of bacon.  Lemon pepper and dried berries in the waaaaaay back.  Kind of Springbankish at times (vague!).

The palate gets earthier and leaner.  Maybe silkier in texture.  Mild sweetness, mild woodspice.  Molasses, malt, and a hint of red bell pepper.

The finish is spicy and peppery.  Mild malt, sweets, and earth.  Peat cinders linger.

THOUGHTS:
This one needs some air, but it's my favorite of the three single casks.  The palate and nose are true pleasures once they open up.  The port character doesn't ring out very loudly and there are a lot of US oak notes in the nose, so I wonder if (like yesterday's PX cask) this was also a finish.  The combination of the oak(s), wine, grain, and peat work very well together no matter what the story is.  I prefer it neat; it holds up with some water though it becomes a different whisky.

Again, of the three, this one would be the bottle I'd buy, but......it is the most expensive, despite being the same exact age as the others and having the highest bottle count.  I'll pass it up at this price, but had it gone for the same price as the ex-bourbon cask I'd have happily bitten.

Availability - Europe only, and it's getting tough to find
Pricing - 80-100 euros
Rating - 88