1000 Posts and 5 Years of Whisky Reviews

Going to the well for this pic one last time.

I knew I was approaching post #1000, but I'd forgotten that the fifth anniversary of my first whisky review had zipped by almost three weeks ago.  My palate has changed considerably during that time period, which is inevitable when one's sampled well over a thousand different whiskies.  The results of that experience aren't always good, in fact I miss the simple joy of just digging into and savoring ONE bottle of whisky for about a month.  I miss the prices from 5 years ago and the innocence of not fully understanding the depths of the crapulence of the major whisky producers.

At a couple of points over the years, I've written that the ratings I gave to my early reviews weren't bloated and that instead I was just finding more middling-quality whiskies then I used to.  Well, I'm here to tell you of my suspicion of that statement being partially crap.  As experience is gained things change, a palate recalibrates, and better whiskies are tried, sometimes completely resetting how one sees other whiskies.  For the whiskies I believe were scored too high, I'm attempting to obtain samples so that I may do a re-review, as I did with Tomintoul 16yo.

I've updated the About Me page, lightly, so that it is 7% less crappy.  But more importantly, I've done a complete overhaul of my Declaration of Principles.  That was way overdue as the old one had become irrelevant.

There were a few blog projects in the works that were severely delayed due to my cross-country move.  Once my office (and hopefully a wet bar!) are finished, then I will pick up where I left off with them.  This week I'll do a couple of fun single malt reports to celebrate and then get back on schedule with my regular semi-or-not-at-all-relevant reviews.  There is a good chance I may start writing about non-whisky spirits, as many other whisky bloggers have done recently, but that may not start until next year.  Gotta build up my experience a little more first.

I'll depart with just one list here.  In the process of pulling together my Top Twenty-One Most Visited Posts, I noticed most of them had been around for three or more years, gradually piling up the clicks.  So to make the list a little more relevant, I instead listed them by their average viewing per day.  Many of the same posts show up, but some more recent gems(?) make the list.  It makes me happy to see a few of my longer form posts being read!

Top Twenty-One Most Visited Posts (weighted by view per day)
1. What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 1: Value vs. Volume
2. Taste Off!!! Chivas Regal 12yr versus Johnnie Walker Black Label
3. Single Malt Report: Glenlivet 12 versus Glenfiddich 12
4. Taste-Off: Dewar's White Label vs. Johnnie Walker Red Label
5. What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 2: Single Malt Prices in the US between 2007 and 2015
6. Single Malt Report: Grangestone Double Cask
7. NOT Single Malt Report: Black & White Blended Scotch Whisky
8. A Friendly Reminder to Kill Your Whisky Gods (figuratively)
9. Scotch Ain't Dead Yet, Part 1: Export Volume and Value
10. Single Malt Report: The Macallan 18 year old Sherry Oak (w/guest reporter!)
11. WTF Is This? Shieldaig Highland Peaty Single Malt
12. NOT Single Malt Report: Famous Grouse Blended Whisky
13. Something Weird: Suntory Royal SR Japanese blended whisky (early '80s)
14. NOT Single Malt Report: Jameson Select Reserve & Jameson Select Reserve
15. NOT Single Malt Report: Lauder's Blended Scotch Whisky
16. What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 3: Plateau and Decline
17. Single Malt Report: Ardbeg Uigeadail versus Ardbeg Uigeadail
18. High West Rye Taste Off! Rendezvous Rye versus Double Rye
19. NOT Single Malt Report: Taste Off! Maker's Mark vs. Four Roses Single Barrel
20. Single Malt Report Taste Off! - GlenDronach 18 year "Allardice"
21. Whisky Observations from Japan (or Where the Hell is the Japanese Whisky?)

Thank you to all my great readers!  I'll check back with you after the next thousand posts.

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday: Knob Creek 2001 Limited Edition, Batch 1

This past Spring, Suntory Beam elected to drop a few ultra-luxury whiskies into the active marketplace.  The one that drew the most (not entirely positive) attention, was the $300-$400 Booker's Rye.  Allegedly a once-in-a-lifetime release, the rye was very good and something I'd recommend for 1/4th of its price.  Along with the rye, Beam also released three batches of 14+ year old 2001 Knob Creek bourbon.  Note, that these were batches and not single casks, nor were they released at full strength.  The batches were labelled "Limited Edition" but Beam did not offer information about the batch sizes, though I have seen bottles online with numbers over #9000.  The pricing of these "Limited Editions" started at $130, or 4x the price of the regular 9 year old small batch**, and 3x the price of the 9 year old 120 proof single barrels.

With all this taken into consideration, I ignored the press releases and reviews of these Knobs.  But then thanks to a fortuitous sample swap with Mr. The Whiskey Jug, I received a sample of Batch 1.  Of course from the moment I received the sample, I've been looking forward to drinking it.  If it's half as good as Booker's Rye, I'll be impressed.

Owner: Beam Suntory
Brand: Knob Creek
Distillery: Jim Beam Distillery
Location: Clermont, Kentucky
Mash Bill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Age: 14 years (2001-2016)
Barrels or Bottles in Batch: ???
ABV: 50% ABV
(Thanks to Josh P. for the sample!)

NEAT
Lots of oak on the nose, which is to be expected from a 14yo American whiskey.  Enjoyable combination of fruit, candy, and earthy things.  Hazelnuts, grilled pears, black cherry syrup, vanilla frosting, gumballs, dried apricots, clay, and a hint of pine.  The palate has a bit more heat to it than expected.  It has the dark cherry thing going on, a bit of rye spice, and a big peppery bite.  It's slightly leathery with a sea salt note.  This all sits on a nice spread of Nutella.  Its finish of a good length, full of rye spice, fragrant oak, and salt. A pleasing lack of sweetness.

WITH WATER (~45%abv)
Now the nose has loads of milk chocolate.  I'm thinking Twix Bar and all its parts.  Then raisins and vanilla bean.  Candy shop.  The chocolate grows darker with time.  Some subtle changes in the palate.  More (tart) cherries, less heat.  A little earthy and tannic, but not mouth-drying.  Never gets too sweet.  The finish keeps its length, growing slightly sweeter though also picking up a touch of bitterness to balance it out.

MORE WORDS:
Because of the product's price and hype, I wanted to hate this bourbon.  But I liked it, a lot.  There's a very good complexity to it at 100 proof.  At 90 proof it's a rounder better drinker.  The quality is comparable to the better barrels of Blanton's, has a similar rye content, and should appeal to Blanton's fans.  I like it much more than the regular 9 year old small batch (of which I have more experience than the single barrel) Knob Creek, and it doesn't have the oak and heat problems I often find in Booker's Small Batches.  I would absolutely buy a bottle of Knob Creek 2001 Limited Edition Small Batch #1 if it were half its MSRP.  $65-$70, yep.  $130+, nope.  If any bottles of this batch remain anywhere, I recommend doing a bottle split with your bourbon buddies, that way no one's pitching in more than $40 for a few drinks.  Or... *he squints to find a silver lining* ...it's probably a bargain compared to Booker's Rye.

Availability - ???
Pricing - $120-$200
Rating - 87

**And just like that...it's gone.  Knob Creek Small Batch has now dropped its age statement.  So the KCSB goes the scotch route: NAS for the masses, age statements for the wealthy.

I'm going to Indy's Whisky & Fine Spirits Expo, are you?

I'm serious.  Are you going?

I just moved to Westerville, Ohio, the birthplace of the Anti-Saloon League and currently under a draconian state control liquor system, thus I will be doing my whisk(e)y buying in other states (or countries) for the foreseeable future.  One neighboring state I have purchased in is Indiana.  (Yes, I drove from Kasich's state to Pence's state, such is the Midwest right now.)  And in The Hoosier State my preferred retailer is Vine & Table.  I've had the opportunity to chat with V&T's Manager & Spirits Buyer, Denis Lynch (an Irishman selling Scotch!), in person and via email.  Unlike certain retailers, his blog and public emails come across modest, straightforward, and low on the carnival barker meter.  One thing Denis does well each year is to rally the troops for his pet project, the annual Indy's Whisky & Fine Spirits Expo.  So far there are over 120 brands attending, a couple master classes, and a lot of catering.

This is my ride.

Yes, an event like this means a lot of ambassadors and reps, also with a few craft whiskey non-distilling distillers.  This sort of company makes some geeks' skin crawl due to very bad experiences with these pitchmen (and pitchwomen).  While I fully understand those feelings -- because I've had plenty of those run-ins myself -- I met a number of brand reps on the West Coast who did know what they were actually hawking and were happy to dish the dirt on or off the record, and I recognize they are often just trying to close a sale.  Having worked in the entertainment industry for half my life, I'm used to being surrounded by salespeople, specifically a breed filled with much sweatier desperation, fueled by too many uppers and not enough downers.  So to me, every rep at a whisky event is innocent until proven guilty (unless the brand itself has proven to be historically consistently guilty).

And here's the thing.  While drinking alone and bloviating about the results online provides me with great joy, writing 100 whisky reviews is nowhere near as fulfilling as meeting one Matt Wunderle or one Eric Burke or any one of you.  I had my crew and I knew the reps in Southern California.  But I'm new to this part of the country.  Meeting humans and sorting out how whisk(e)y works around here is my priority, and an event like this is perfect for that sort of thing.  Plus I might just end up with a new whiskey or two about which I can report back to you.

So if you're local-ish, let me know.  And if you're going to the Expo, please drop me a line.  No, I won't be working a table.  I'll be drinking and geeking.  I'll be the bespectacled dude with the homeless guy beard, dropping countless F-bombs when he's sober and declaring he's THE booth babe when he isn't.  I may share the occasional opinion as well and I'll try not spit when pronouncing it.

Whisky Fail! Dailuaine 10 year old 1999 Prime Malt

Uh, oh......

Distillery: Dailuaine

Ownership: Diageo
Independent Bottler: Gordon Bonding
Range: Prime Malt

Region: Speyside (Central)

Age: minimum 10 years
Distillation year: 1999

Maturation: ex-bourbon casks

Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? ???
Caramel Colored? Probably not

It appears to be nearly opaque.  It smells and tastes like bitter asparagus piss.  It neither smelled nor tasted like bitter asparagus piss when I enjoyed it three years ago.  But this Dailuaine fell to the same fate, alas more violently, as the Teaninich sample that was (partially) filled on the same day.  Three years in a less than half full sample bottle can completely oxygenate, oxidize, exterminize, eradicize, and annihilize a whisky.  So treat your samples well, people!  Stop making me mutilize my whisky in order to save yours!

Availability - A few bottles remain on random shelves throughout the US
Pricing - Less than $40, usually
Rating - Sample fail!

Single Malt Report: Dailuaine 28 year old 1983 Archives, cask 865

Dailuaine distillery has undergone a number of changes during its 164-year life.  Twice there were extensive refurbishments due to fires, in 1917 and 1959.  It was given a facelift in 1884 to modernize its equipment and processes.  They ditched direct firing in 1970.  In 1959, the distillery's floor maltings were abandoned for a Saladin box.  In 1983 they gave up on on-site malting altogether, now utilizing malted barley from Burghead Maltings (also owned by Diageo) in Elgin.

Today's whisky is one that was distilled in February of 1983, so either it was the last of the on-site maltings or amongst the earliest of the off-site maltings.  The fact I have a sample that coincides with that moment of change for the distillery is happenstance.  I only bought the same because I like the Archives bottlings, and it was cheap for its age.

Distillery: Dailuaine
Ownership: Diageo
Independent Bottler: Archives
Range: First Release
Region: Speyside (Central)
Age: 28 years old (February 23, 1983 - January 4, 2012)
Maturation: Hogshead
Cask#: 865
Alcohol by Volume: 47.3%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
Sample purchased from Whiskybase Shop

Its color is light yellow gold, quite pale for its age.  The nose is floral (specifically roses) with saltines crackers and yeast.  All the notes that follow are far in the background: almond cookies, tablet, blackberry jam, tangerine, and bread pudding.  After 30 minutes, there are strong whiffs of feral cat must and sourdough bread.  Lots of vanilla, cassia cinnamon, and tangy limes in the palate.  A mild chili oil note.  Barley and clay.  It gets tangy with time, but also picks up a note of chalky indigestion chewables.  The chili oil note switches over to lots of cracked black pepper in the finish.  Dried apricots.  Tangy citrus.  Bitter chalk.

COMMENTARY:
This felt very VERY young throughout, which is kinda weird for a 28 year old whisky.  Luckily, I'm not the only one who found it 'raw' and 'spirity'.  Another reviewer found it "slightly strange stuff".  Usually I'm infatuated with strange whisky, but not this time.  The palate and finish are curious, but not what I'd call pleasant.  The quirky nose is quite a trip though and keeps this out of the 70s score range.  It's also anything but boring, so that works in its favor.  If you take MAO seriously, and you probably should, he liked it more than I.  But I'd recommend the 16yo Flora & Fauna over this whisky by some measure.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - €70 w/o VAT (Oh, those days.)
Rating - 80

Single Malt Report: Dailuaine 16 year old Flora and Fauna

Dailuaine is one of the older working distilleries in Scotland, having been built in 1852 by William Mackenzie.  It remained in the family for 63 years, by then picked up Talisker along the way, the company calling its Dailuaine-Talisker Company Ltd.  In 1916, it was bought by a trio of blenders: James Buchanan & Co., John Dewar & Sons, and Johnnie Walker & Sons (of whom you may have heard).  The next year a fire forced the distillery to close.  It reopened in 1920, and then was bought by DCL (proto-Diageo) in 1925.

Today, Dailuaine is one of Diageo's giant malt-for-blends (especially Johnnie Walker), with its only official releases coming via the Expensive Releases and the Flora and Fauna series.  It's a shame (as with most of Diageo's distilleries) that there isn't a regular release showcasing this distillery's good spirit.  Indie teenage Dailuaines haven't failed me yet, and there were some high quality ones released by Berry Bros. & Rudd in The States over the past few years.

Distillery: Dailuaine
Ownership: Diageo
Range: Flora and Fauna
Region: Speyside (Central)
Age: at least 16 years
Maturation: unknown, though there seems to be a sizable ex-sherry cask content
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Probably
Caramel Colorant? Probably
Thanks to Tetris for donating his MoM sample to Diving for Pearls!

Its color is a very dark gold, like a bourbon.  Very fruity sherry leads off the nose with black grapes, raisins, and grape jam.  Some orange oil, pound cake, and a bit of malt roll in next. After 20+ minutes in the glass, it develops an American cheese note and a whiff of sulphur.  The palate starts of VERY herbal, like almost hot oregano / marijuana.  Bold notes of dark chocolate, anise, and petit sirah push through and take the lead a few minutes later.  After 20 minutes, its peppercorns, burlap, and tart fruit candy.  It has a decent texture to it, considering the DiageoTreatment™ it has received.  The finish picks up some more sweetness.  It remains herbal and grassy (as in lawn-y, not weed-y) with a good bitterness.  Hints of grapefruits, roses, and peppercorns here and there.

COMMENTARY:
Well, that was a nice surprise.  Usually the F&F series serves as only a bittersweet reminder of what could be, though doing so with whiskies that are only just above mediocre in quality.  But this Dailuaine is actually bitter and sweet and very good, which sort of makes its existence even more more bittersweet than usual.  Its sherry character brightens it up while still letting a slightly crazy spirit show through, ultimately landing a solid finish.  I believe that if they put this out as is (watered down, colored, and filtered of course), without a sexy perfume bottle, as another member of the Classic Malts, then this would be a big hit at $70 (the F&F's price w/o VAT).  But I'm assuming we'd get an NAS rejuvenated oak cask Dailuaine long before that.  Until then, sherried whisky fans have the Flora & Fauna 16yo.

Availability - Europe only
Pricing - $65-$80 (w/o VAT)
Rating - 86

Bourbon and Rye Day Friday! - Tom's Foolery Bonded Ohio Straight Bourbon

Every Friday will now be Bourbon and Rye Day Friday at Diving for Pearls.  U-S-A!  U-S-A!  We may be embarrassed by our current election, but we mustn't be ashamed about (some) of our liquor.  Since I've just moved to Ohio, I'm going to start with a bourbon distilled (really!) by an Ohioan.

Tom Herbruck and his distillery are located in Chagrin Falls, about a two hour drive north of here.  Tom and his foolery started out with apple brandy -- he still has a bonded applejack out here that I'd really like to try next -- but once he purchased (the original) Michter's pot still, he started distilling bourbon.  Recently the current iteration of Michter's paid him big bucks for that pot still, so he's now distilling from an alembic still.  My assumption is that means the resulting bourbon spirit will change.  In any case, today's bourbon was from that old pot still.

What sets Tom apart from many craft distillers, aside from the pot still and bonded warehouse, is that he uses full-sized 53 gallon (200 liter) barrels for his bourbon.  So no tiny barrel f**kery with this one.  Because his unheated warehouse is in northern Ohio, its climate is different than that of Kentucky, thus it will mature differently than most Kentucky bourbons.  I have no idea what sort of results that creates.  Time to find out.

Distillery: Tom's Foolery
Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Region: Chagrin Falls, OH
Age: 4 years (2012-2016)
Batch: 2
Mash Bill: Seeing some conflicting info on this, but it is 12-13% rye.  I'll update when I know more.
Limited release: 5 barrels, 1200+ bottles
Alcohol by volume: 50%
Thank you to The Whiskey Jug for the sample!

TASTING NOTES:

The nose doesn't have much oak, but is instead loaded with spirit.  Cassia cinnamon and mint at first.  It calms down after 10-15 minutes.  Curiously, it smells more of wheat and barley than corn.  Frosted flakes (current version), then fennel seed.  A slight funky mushroom-meets-honey note.  The palate comes across more adventurous than the average crafty.  Lots of cinnamon and mint, of course, but also horseradish and soil.  It's a little drying and salty, but has a nice bright bitter note.  Hints of cherries and fenugreek.  The finish has that fun herbal bite, along with the cinnamon buzz.  It's not sweet, but is minty fresh and a little salty.  Hints of caramel and horseradish.

IMPRESSIONS:

This one was a puzzler.  Aside from the cinnamon and mint, it didn't come across as what one would expect from a bourbon.  It's a little herbal, earthy, and bitter.  And it kinda grew on me.  My first sniff announced, "Uh. Uh oh."  By the last sip, I was all, "Yeah, that actually works."  It's not going to please everyone, but if "a little herbal, earthy, and bitter" sounds like your thing, then it just might do it for you.  At the very least, it sets itself apart from much of the rest of the craft bourbon market.  At its best, I find it better than McKenzie, Smooth Ambler Contradiction, Garrison Cowboy, and everything coming from Hudson.

As Sku noticed, the bourbon needs a little air before it really wakes up.  Whisky Jug liked it better than I, but Scotch Noob less so.  It's still available at some shops in the Midwest, though K&L has sold through in California.  The price is a bit steep, but the whiskey does have some age to it and is of an actual limited quantity.  Also every purchase supports an Ohio small business that creates quality products.  Now I'm just going to cash this check from the Chagrin Chamber of Commerce...

Availability - The United States of the Midwest
Pricing - $50-$55
Rating - 80