After a long string of bourbon reviews it felt like it was time to branch out into scotch as well. Speyside scotches are what kicked off my whiskey journey initially and my bottle of Lasanta was getting low so it seemed like a great place to start reviewing scotch.

Review

Age: 12

Abv: 86 proof (43% ABV)

Color: A light to medium gold

Price: $42.99

Neat

Nose: Sweet, almost cloying, notes that are very sherry forward with oak and a bit spice

Taste: Has an interesting overipe fruit note as well a strong sherry note, oak and more warm spice. The mouth feel is surprisingly nice given the proof

Finish: Medium length finish with some caramel notes coming in. Finishes a bit more like a bourbon.

On a rock

Nose: The ice helps tame the sweetness to a more accessible level while retaining the sherry and oak notes

Taste: Also improved by the ice as the warm spice note is strengthened and the caramel note from the neat finish is present as well. The pleasant mouth feel remains

Finish: The spice and fruit note are more present in this warm, medium long finish

Conclusion

Overall this one has some ups and downs for me. It’s a bit too aggressively sweet especially when neat but there are some more interesting notes in there as well. Overall a solid whiskey but there are definitely similarly priced whiskies I prefer, such as Glenfarclas 12, and going vertical the Quinta Ruban is a big step up and I’d pretty much always suggest spending the extra few bucks.

0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this

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Tejas Liquor had their south Austin grand opening and released some rare stock to commemorate the event and since my wife is on a business trip(if you read this please get some 291 Rye!) it seemed like a good day to hang around at a liquor store. I managed to snag a few things and we’ll be kicking off those reviews with Elmer T Lee. This is a single barrel release from Buffalo Trace honoring a former Master Distiller of the same name. In my experience this juice is pretty hyped so let’s see if it lives up!

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 90 proof (45% ABV)

Color: A medium gold

Price: $39.99

Neat

Nose: Very strong with notes of vanilla and a bitterness almost like hops to it. A little astringent as well.

Taste: Very sweet with honey and dark fruit notes. A little thin on the mouth.

Finish: A nice combo of spice and vanilla for a surprisingly long finish

On a rock

Nose: Significantly muted by the ice though the vanilla still carries through

Taste: The ice improves the mouth feel and largely leaves the notes intact. The honey is the most prominent note on the rocks.

Finish: Shortened a bit but still vanilla and spice

Conclusion

It’s a good whiskey, no doubt about it but maybe it was just a little overhyped for me. As far as Buffalo Trace’s single barrel offerings go I think I’ll stick with EHT SiB and Blanton’s especially given how hard this is to come by. That said if you get the chance to order a pour or pick up a bottle for near retail I’d definitely recommend it.

7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar

A review of something a step up: Old Weller Antique

A review of something not quite at this level: Evan Williams Single Barrel

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Boone County 1833 is a sourced straight bourbon carrying a 12 year age statement which was intriguing. According to the bottle it is also small batch because why not? It’s definitely distilled in Indiana though I am not 100% sure which distillery DSP-IN-1 is though I believe this is MGP. It is bottled in Kentucky and the marketing materials really focus on that and their Kentucky ‘heritage’ though I definitely respect that the bottle makes it clear that it is sourced. Anyways we aren’t here to debate labeling so let’s get into the tasting.

Review

Age: 12 years

Abv: 90.8 proof (45.4% ABV)

Color: A deep amber

Neat

Nose: Warm and sweet with brown sugar, vanilla and oak notes

Taste: Very smooth but a little thin. The oak notes come to the forefront with a hint of vanilla in the background

Finish: Dry almost like a red wine with a bit of lingering sweetness

On a rock

Nose: Brighter and the vanilla rises to the top of the nose

Taste: The ice really opens this one up bringing out a very nice tobacco note though it does further thin the mouthfeel.

Finish: The dryness is gone and a sweet medium length finish with a hint of spice remains

Conclusion

I enjoyed the flavor profile on this one but the mouthfeel was a little thin and the notes weren’t as strong as I would have liked. I’d love to get a chance to try the cask strength single barrel version of this.

6 - a good whiskey I’m still happy to drink

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After the r/bourbon community review of Evan Williams Black Label I realized I hadn’t tried much of Heaven Hill’s bourbon so rectify that I went out and picked up the Heaven Hill Distillery American Whiskey Tasting Experience. It’s a little box set with 5 100mL bottles of different whiskies, 3 bourbons, a rye and a wheat whiskey. Tonight I’m reviewing the 3 bourbons; I don’t think I can do 5 tastings in one sitting haha. The bourbons are Larceny, Evan Williams Single Barrel and Elijah Craig Small Batch.

Larceny

Age: NAS

Abv: 92 proof (46% ABV)

Color: A medium amber, very similar to Evan Williams Black Label and the other two in this set

Neat

Nose: Heavy notes of butterscotch, almost cloying but just on the right side of too sweet.

Taste: Smooth and butterscotchy sweet, still pretty one note though

Finish: Middling length and still smooth and sweet

On a rock

Nose: Lighter notes of butterscotch

Taste: The ice greatly improves the mouthfeel and while the notes remain sweet it doesn’t just taste like butterscotch anymore but I couldn’t quite place the second sweet note.

Finish: A little shorter and a sort of nutty or toffee note comes in.

Evan Williams Single Barrel

Age: 7-8 years according to the packaging

Abv: 86.6 proof (43.3% ABV)

Color: Also a medium amber

Neat

Nose: Sweet with primarily vanilla and oak notes and just a touch of alcohol

Taste: Underwhelming with mostly just an oak note and a very thin mouthfeel

Finish: A long finish where the oak fades and a mild caramel lingers

On a rock

Nose: The ice quenches anything other than the oak note.

Taste: Significantly improved by the ice. Sweet honey notes come forward to compliment the oak but remains a little thin

Finish: A nice spice note lingers with the sweetness from the neat finish. Definitely better.

Elijah Craig Small Batch

Age: 8-12 years according to the packaging

Abv: 94 proof (47% ABV)

Color: Also a medium amber

Neat

Nose: Sweet vanillia, oak and baking spice in that order, very nice

Taste: The vanilla is no where to be found as the oak dominates the taste and the spice notes compliment it. The mouthfeel is nice but not outstanding.

Finish: Middling length finish where the oak and spice give way to the vanilla from the nose

On a rock

Nose: The ice had very little impact on the nose, if anything the oak stands out a bit more and the vanilla relaxes a bit.

Taste: All oak notes but the mouth feel is improved by the ice

Finish: I was pleasantly surprised that the ice didn’t noticeably shorten the finish and the oak and spice notes blended better with the vanilla throughout the finish.

Conclusion

This tasting flight was definitely an adventure. To start with I was disappointed with the Larceny, it wasn’t bad but I’d prefer any of the Weller lineup for a wheater. I honestly surprised by how good the Evan Williams Single Barrel was. I’d love to try a barrel proof version of this. The Elijah Craig Small Batch was exactly what I expected, having had it before haha, it’s always enjoyable though once you’ve had the barrel proof the small batch is a little underwhelming.

Larceny - 0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this

Evan Williams Single Barrel - 1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies

Elijah Craig Small Batch - 1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies

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We hit the Roosevelt Room tonight after dinner and saw George T Stagg on the menu and knew what I had to do(also they were out of ER17 and Saz 18 which made it easy). After quickly Googling the proof this appears to be the 2017. George T Stagg is the big brother so to speak of Stagg Jr, a personal favorite, and part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 129.2 proof (64.6% ABV)

Color: A vibrant gold and red

Neat

Nose: Baking spice, brown sugar and oak, sort of like the Great British Bake Off gone off the rails but with enough alcohol to know it’s going to be good

Taste: Hot! But good. Delightful notes of vanilla caramel and oak with hints of spice and dark fruit, maybe cherries?

Finish: Shorter than I expected as the sweet and oak fade to a medium baking spice and just a bit of heat

On a rock

Nose: Amazing all the notes from the neat nose are still present even if slightly mellowed

Taste: The ice smooths out any lingering heat and while the oak backs off a bit the spice more than steps up to take it’s place

Finish: About the same as neat, sweet fades spice lingers and just a bit of heat to lead you into the next sip

Conclusion

This whiskey was extremely good. Sure it was a little hot especially neat but the depth of the flavor more than makes up from it. This makes 3 down and 2 to go, I’m still on the hunt for ER17 and Saz 18 to round of the BTAC, but the journey has been amazing so far. I’d definitely love to pick up a bottle at some point but I doubt I’ll have the chance.

9 - a favorite I’d like to keep on my shelf

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Hakushu 12 was the whisky that got me into Japanese whisky even though it has fallen a bit behind Nikka as I’ve continued to explore the wonderful offerings from Japan. Even so given how hard this is too find these days combined with the sentimental value I am trying tot ration it but today was my one year anniversary of moving back to Texas so it felt appropriate. This is also my first Japanese whisky review. I’ve been hitting bourbon and rye hard but have been meaning to branch out into Japanese and scotch. So here we go.

Review

Age: 12 years

Abv: 86 proof (43% ABV)

Color: A bright gold

Neat

Nose: Sweet and fruity almost like peaches with floral notes

Taste: Smooth and sweet like wildflower honey with light citrus notes and hints of oak

Finish: Light and sweet with more citrus notes

On a rock

Nose: Even lighter but still sweet and fruity

Taste: The ice really opens it up. The peaches are back and the oak comes through a bit more

Finish: Unfortunately short but still sweet

2 Stars - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

Conclusion

This whisky is still delightful but it does seem a little simple nowadays. I see why I liked it so much earlier in my whisky journey but it’s not really in my top tier anymore. All that said I’d still highly recommend it to folks who prefer lower proof, smooth and sweet whiskies and anyone wanting and easy but delightful intro in Japanese. I’ll continue to savor my remaining stock and enjoy the taste alongside the nostalgia.

This one is an interesting one: 291 Single Barrel Colorado Rye Whiskey. It’s extremely young with only 1 year of proper aging in charred new oak and then an undisclosed finish(but less than 1 year) in toasted aspen. They use malted rye instead of the more traditional rye and also apparently mix IPA stillage with the mash because why not, it’s Colorado? I’d heard a lot about this whiskey and very much wanted to try it and my wonderful wife managed to snag a bottle on a trip to Colorado.

Review

Age: NAS but < 2 years

Abv: 101.7 proof (50.8% ABV)

Mashbill: 61% Malted Rye, 39% Corn

Color: A surprisingly dark gold

Neat

Nose: Sweet and floral with citrus and aspen in the background

Taste: Sticky and sweet with floral honey and oak and a hint of rye and spice

Finish: Short and sweet which left me wanting more

On a rock

Nose: More muted with notes of oak and honey

Taste: The rye spice comes to the forefront with floral honey and oak supporting

Finish: The already short finish is almost gone

2 Stars - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

Conclusion

This lived up to the hype for me. I was shocked that a medium proof young whiskey could be so flavorful and still smooth. This whiskey has an incredibly unique nose to me that reminded me of being up in the aspens in Utah. I definitely think a a longer aged variant of this definitely score higher. I’ll be trying to hunt down the current barrel proof and I’m looking forward to future releases from these folks. All that said this is a bit pricey and a bit hard to find so probably don’t go too far out of your way to find one but if you happen to be in Colorado it’s definitely worth popping into a liquor store or two.

Next up in the 1792 series is their midrange bottle the Single Barrel. It sits between the Small batch and Full Proof in both price and proof but let’s see where it stands on taste.

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 98.6 proof (49.3% ABV)

Color: A deeper gold, very similar to the Full Proof

Neat

Nose: Heat followed by sweet caramel, oak and hints of spice

Taste: More caramel and more oak but the spice notes from the nose don’t come through

Finish: A short sweet linger and then a sort of weird heat on the very end

On a rock

Nose: The heat is gone but the spice went with it leaving a strong caramel note with hints of oak

Taste: Surprisingly about the same as it was neat

Finish: Much smoother with the ice and the caramel note seemed to linger longer

Conclusion

Overall this whiskey is fine but it’s sort of the odd man out of the 1792 family. The Full Proof is a little pricier but it’s higher proof and better which makes sense but then the Small Batch is somehow cheaper and better. They all have pretty similar notes My baseless theory is that they save the best barrels for full proof store picks so the basic Single Barrel doesn’t hold up.

0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this

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Old Forester 1920 was my first experience with a good high proof bourbon and definitely opened me up to that world. After reviewing a few of my favorite high proof picks it felt like a good time to come and see how the old boy held up.

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 115 proof (57.5% ABV)

Color: A dark amber

Neat

Nose: Lightly burnt caramel with just a touch of alcohol and smaller notes of oak and spice

Taste: Pretty hot with more caramel, oak and spice notes

Finish: Also hot with an emphasis on the sweeter notes from the taste

On a rock

Nose: The ice mellows the nose keeping caramel note front and center with the oak, spice and a new cherry note supporting

Taste: The heat is all gone leaving caramel and cherry goodness. On some sips I could pick out the oak but not others.

Finish: Medium length and sweet with more caramel and cherries

Conclusion

I don’t particularly care for this neat, it’s too hot for me, but adding an ice cube completely remedies that. The caramel and cherry notes are lovely with the chilled whiskey though I do wish more of the spice survived. Overall I am still a fan though this has given way to other high proof expressions like Stagg Jr and 1792 Full Proof as I’ve continued on my bourbon journey.

7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar

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Traditionally I haven’t been a fan of Dickel but after u/bananavanman having me try the Dickel sourced Barrell and my dad telling me he had a ‘fancy Dickel’ that was super good I decided to give it another go. So here we are reviewing George Dickel Barrel No 05A04 B 1-5-24 whatever that means. More importantly it is a 9 year single barrel select from the Twin Liquors near my go to HEB and I’m a sucker for well aged single barrel selects :)

Review

Age: 9 years

Abv: 103 proof (51.5% ABV)

Color: A dark reddish amber

Neat

Nose: Sweet and a little smoky with rich vanilla notes like toasting a fancy marshmallow or slightly overcooking some french toast

Taste: The marshmallow notes come on strong and are shortly joined by a surprising cherry note

Finish: The cherry and sweetness briefly linger before giving way to a very pleasant lingering baking spice

On a rock

Nose: The cherry notes creep into the nose to compliment the sweet vanilla and smokiness

Taste: This almost tastes like french toast with cherries on top. Sweet vanilla, bright cherries and some baking spice

Finish: The baking spice finish come sup faster than it did without ice but still lingers just as long.

Conclusion

I was very pleasantly surprised by this whiskey and really enjoyed the combination of sweet, cherry and spicy notes. I always enjoy a lingering spicy finish and this bottle delivered. Overall this has restored my interest in Dickel or at least their well aged single barrel offerings. I’d really like to try a variation of this that wasn’t chill filtered and/or was bottled at barrel proof. A version of this with a better mouth feel and the same notes but stronger would probably eek its way into the 8s for me.

7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar

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