September 2012 Tasting- Give us your Bourbon...

[AdamMY]

Alright the focus this month is on whisky that has something to do with bourbon. While obviously Bourbons definitely fit into this category, but it does not stop there. We are also accepting any whisky aged completely in ex bourbon casks.

Why bourbon?

Well its getting close to fall in the Northern Hemisphere and nothing is better than sipping a big glass of bourbon with a cool breeze in the air, looking out at all the wonderful fall colors in the leaves of the trees.

[AdamMY]

Four Roses Bourbon ( The basic yellow label).

N: Lots of corn and spices, also a good bit of florals and honey. Decently sweet.

T: Almost like a maple candy, slightly floral still, surprisingly not much spice on the taste.

F: This is where the spice kicks in, but only after the sweetness fades away. Typical bourbon spices, but also a good bit of black pepper to round things out. Sadly its not that long, leaving just a faint hint of a maple syrup finish.

[Ganga]

Colonel Lee Kent Straight Bourbon
40%

N: some light right notes, vanilla, caramel, and just a hint of bubblegum
P: some rough grain notes, milkweed, caramel
F: long, rye and caramel

This is an ok bourbon, especially when you consider the price.

[Ganga]

Old Forester 43%

N: chocolate mints, vanilla syrup, almond shells
P: straw, mint, walnut shells, maple shavings
F: moderate, mints and nuts

This is pretty good bourbon

[Willie JJ]

We are also accepting any whisky aged completely in ex bourbon casks.

That covers a lot of ground

Cadenhead's Heaven Hill 12yo 61.2%

Nose: Highly polished shoes, cherries, cedar and old wood furniture.
Palate: Huge intensity dominated by treacle toffee.
Finish: Astringent and leathery.
Comment: The note doesn't really do this justice. It is wonderful bourbon.

[pkt77242]

Kirkland Signature Bourbon 51.5%

N: Peanuts, peanut shells, some rye, and some corn husk. A little corn sweetness with some caramel and vanilla.
P: Corn sweetness, with caramel, vanilla, peanuts and some rye. A little toffee and almonds.
F: Rather spicy rye notes, with peanuts, caramel and toffee. The peanut shells are back with some corn.

A good value for $20 per liter

[Willie JJ]

Cadenhead's Ardmore 14yo 1997 58%, bourbon hogshead

Nose: A lovely clean gently peated dram with gentle carbolic and lint, Werther's Originals and vanilla. Some youthful notes, but there's nothing about this I don't like. Water releases the malt so that it smells like a tank full of new make.
Taste: A bit simpler here with more of those youthful notes suggesting a well used cask. Still very enjoyable with dilute barley sugar and a touch of coal smoke. Becomes very sugary with water.
Finish: Gentle, lingering sugary fizz. Water just makes it sweeter.
Comments: So many good moments here. It isn't complex and seems to have come from a well used cask, but it's fun.

[Willie JJ]

Cadenhead's Cooley 13yo 56.7%, bourbon barrel

Nose: The subtlest of noses. Caramel pear tart with cream and custard (at a distance). Light spirit. Perry like. Very nice.
Taste: Wonderful vanilla sweetness with pear drops covered in coconut.
Finish: Effervescent sweet perry.
Comments: You have to like sweetness because this is a dessert in a glass.

[pkt77242]

Willie good to see you posting. I should have a bourbon or two to post tomorrow. Nice notes Willie.

[Willie JJ]

Willett's Pot Still Reserve, 47% cask #6402

Nose: Smoky orange toffee. Doesn't seem heavy on the rye, maybe well wheated. Faint polish, toothpaste and puff candy.
Taste: Almost a winey, grapey taste. Quite surprising. Then a mouthful of Black Forest Gateaux with chocolate and cherries.
Finish: Toffee and space dust. Nice.
Comments: Not the best bourbon I've ever had, but they are always nice.

[Willie JJ]

Cadenhead's Glenallachie 13yo 1989 60.8%, bourbon hogshead

Nose: Heavily toasted malt, tangerines, tinned peaches, fabric softener, and custard.
Palate: Mighty malt, more fabric softener, burnt sugar, all dusted with caster sugar.
Finish: Sugar, spice and all things nice.
Comment: Not perfect, but there's great moments with this one.

[Willie JJ]

Longrow 9yo 2002 59.1%, fresh bourbon barrel

This was bottled for the 2012 Springbank open day

Nose: Farmyard and wet haystack, kippers and lemon juice, seaweed, dried shellfish and burnt sticks. Great.
Taste: Explodes in the mouth, sweetness, vanilla and smoke, sherbet lemoncoal dust and sugar. Yum, yum.
Finish: Fizzing, popping, lemon citrus fun.
Comments: I first tried this at one of the Jolly Toper's tastings and there was a guy at the table that didn't like it. He was insane though.

[dramtastic]

The Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel (no age statement). 48 per cent alcohol.
Nose: Juicy. Tropical fruit salad infused crisp oak. Vanilla, passion fruit, lychee, pineapple, pear, strawberry, blueberry bagels. Some hay, bran, cane sugar, currants.
Palate: Lovely. Big sweet-spice hit balanced with a little salt. The spicyness gives a bigger mouth feel than The Hakushu Bourbon Barrel. More of the tropical fruit salad with some added butteriness. Pecans and sweet pear.
Finish: Medium on tropical fruits, blueberry bagels, pecan pie, hint of menthol and well integrated oak. Moreish!

[Willie JJ]

Càrn Mòr Glentauchers 3yo 2006 46%, bourbon barrel

Nose: Summer fruit pie and custard, gooseberries, pot ale and bran. Very youthful but clearly very well made spirit.
Taste: Custard tart and cream, tinned peaches, icing sugar. Sweet and quite delicious.
Finish: Long, creamy and sweet with the custard theme continuing.
Comments: An astonishing 3 year old. A really good example of the quality of this obscure distillery.

[Willie JJ]

Scott's Selection Girvan (grain) 47yo 1964 48.8%

No question that this is a bourbon cask

Nose: An intense blast of toasted coconut and vanilla, custard creams, coconut mushrooms, vanilla fudge and maybe just a hint of something citrus. It has a depth and intensity that makes you want to sniff it for ages. All the grainy harshness has long gone and yet there isn't a hint of mustiness about it. Amazing.
Taste: Butterscotch and vanilla essence. Like drinking lightly diluted golden syrup.
Finish: Now there's a burst of spirit that gives life and sweet spices to the sugared sweetness.
Comments: Super sweet and super sophisticated. The narrow range of flavours in no way diminishes the drinking experience of this astonishing grain.

[Willie JJ]

MWBH North of Scotland (grain) 37yo 38.3%

bourbon casked again:

Nose: Bazooka Joe, fresh toast, coconut ice cream. Slightly musty, but not in a bad way.
Taste: It's clear that the strength is low, but still lots to like. It has a winey texture and some white wine notes on the flavour, but plenty of bubblegum here nad it dominates the palate. No shortage of sugar either.
Finish: The finish is shortish, dry and sweet with wine gums lingering on.
Comments: They did well to bottle this stuff given that it's under-strength. It is still very enjoyable.

[Willie JJ]

Robbie Douglas North British (grain) 21yo 1991 56.8%

1st fill bourbon cask

Nose: Cream soda, butter tablet and lashings of vanilla and coconut. Very clean, rich spirit. North British seems to make better grain than many due to the use of corn.
Taste: Rich fat vanilla and corn. Heaps of sugary sweetness sprinkled over mounds of coconut.
Finish: Long, sweet and mouth-watering.
Comments: Evidence that grain doesn't need to be in its thirties to be delicious.

[Willie JJ]

Bladnoch Forum Cambus 24yo 1986 52.7%, bourbon hogshead

Nose: Lightly spirity, lemon, fresh and clean, but maybe just a hint of bung cloth.
Taste: Creamy vanilla fudge, toffees, lemon and a little white pepper.
Finish: More peppery and spicy here. It fairly zings on the tongue.
Comments: The nose is a bit non-descript, but as soon as it hits the palate this whisky comes to life. It's a beautiful balance between sweetness and spice.

[AdamMY]

Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon


N: Incredible nose tonight. Maple syrup, fresh baked apple pie, caramel apples, and toffee. With a touch more air, lots of cinnamon, and almost like the inside of a carpenters while he is working on a huge project.

T: Loads of apples, touch of spices, but a heck of a lot of candies and maple syrup.

F: Uprfront assault of spices, fading into a nice toasted bread and caramelized sugar note.

[AdamMY]

The Whisky Whose name I keep paraphrasing differently. Its such a long name.

Old Weller Antique Original 107 Brand

53.5% ABV

N: First thing that really strikes me is the light cherry aroma and burn, I associate with mixed grain whisky. Digging a bit deeper, lots of spices, and almost like inhaling saw dust. I think I am failing at painting a word picture, but its quite rough on the edges, but somewhat alluring.

T: A lot smoother, almost velvety mouth feel, a bunch of spices, some orange cider, a decent bit of wheat flavors, and cinnamon flavored bubble gum. Some more fruits but mostly oranges and cherries, perhaps a touch of peach to go with that too.

F: Cinnamon sugar grahm crackers, and a touch of peaches seasoned with some nice spices (cinnamon and nutmeg).

[AdamMY]

99-10 Gordon and MacPhail Clynelish cask 312936

I had a bit of a debate about its cask provenence when the bottle was new, expecting it to be some sort of Wine cask. But the people at Binny's assured me that this was ex bourbon, though had previously held some Islay whisky.

N: Seaweed, and candy, lots of candy, salt water taffy, caramel, and an odd touch of tobacco smoke. Nice hint of apples in there too, and a light tropical fruit that I can not identify right now.

T: Again sweet, a sour lemon note, vanilla and coconut, with a bit of salt. Also a touch of peat. I can't really identify much else in there, but it feels like a heck of a lot going on, possibly the contrast of the sour, the sweet, the salt, and the vanilla all in one.

F: Seaweed and salt water, with a good bit of peat, but not much smoke. Oddly sweet, with just a hint of vanilla.

[AdamMY]

99-09 GM Dufftown Cask 8787 Binnys Select

Ex bourbon all the way.

N: Apples, Pears, Mango, Peaches, Pineapple, Vanilla, and a mid sized tropical islands yearly production of Coconut. If you aren't sure imagine you are smelling a spiked tropical fruit punch.

T: Sweet, and wonderfully fruity. Again tropical fruit punch, with a bit of kick in a pineapple and lemon sort of way. Very good, and very refreshing.

F: Lingering pineapple, with just a hint of oak, and vanilla.

[Ganga]

Kirkland Small Batch bourbon, 7 yo, batch B-5183, 51.5

Glencairn

Nose: crushed nuts, vanilla, rye, maple shavings
Palate: light mintiness, some fermented rye, carmel, wood shavings
Finish: long, hot, with rye and wood notes

[Ganga]

Ten High bourbon 40%

glencairn

Nose: Hubba Bubba, liquid vanilla
Palate: vanilla, carmel, bubble gum
Finish: shortish, vanilla

As I keep drinking this, the palate and finish develop a creamy butteriness.

[Ganga]

Old Crow Reserve, 43%

glencairn

Nose: August harvest, vanilla, anthracite
Palate: burning coal, roasted grains, cooking vanilla
Finish: long, coal, grains and vanilla

[Ganga]

Old Crow 40%

brandy snifter

Nose: butterscotch, vanilla cream, rye bread, meadowy
Palate: rye dough, vanilla beans
Finish: long and grainy

[AdamMY]

01-09 GM Tomatin Cask 3143 46% 1st fill bourbon barrel.


Nose: Mildly spirity, but good bit of coconut, and malt, with a touch of vanilla, and some nice apple. Not that thrilling, but perhaps a nice touch of some nutmeg to round things out.

Taste: Sweet, soo sweet, with a lot of coconut. Touch of pear also, but so incredibly creamy, with black pepper and some strawberry to create an almost confectionary whisky.

Finish: Lingering strawberries and cream, but the strawberries are the super ripe, and locally grown very sweet red and juicy ones.


I am going to try and make this whisky last awhile, but I swear its like drinking a good dessert.

[AdamMY]

99-12 Gordon and MacPhail Reserve Glenallachie cask 501049 61.6% Hand selected by Binnys Ex Bourbon Barrel

Did everyone get that....? I am not sure I want to type all that up again any time soon.

Nose: Light, lots of vanilla, a touch of pineapple, I think this is the alcohol I am smelling to give an almost pine like aroma to it, not the usual aroma I associate with alcohol.

Taste: Ooh, wow, hold on I am going to need a few more sips to try and adequately describe this. Initial impression is sea salt and caramel, giving into cooked and spiced apples, but oddly on the tail end the sea salt comes back in full force with some peaty vegetable flavors.

Finish: Iodine, peat, and a good massive dose of seasalt caramels.


Notes: I like the flavor of salt, but I am half way through my glass and I am almost feeling like this is a whisky version of a salt lick. It's incredibly delicious but the more I drink the more I feel like I just ate a teaspoon of rock salt. Also that pine alcohol smell might be an odd note coming from what seems to be some sort of peat influence.

[pkt77242]

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit

N: Nougat, caramel, vanilla, tobacco, and some wood shavings. Toffee and slightly bitter oak.
P: Nougat, caramel and vanilla. Some orange and wood shavings. Toffee is present along with some oak.
F: Big time oak and tobacco. Some vanilla, caramel and nougat.

I really enjoy this whisky. For $40 it is a good whisky.