Review #16: Evan Williams Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey 43%

I picked this little gem up in Walmart when we got to "the big island" on our trip to Hawaii last year. 9$ is what this whiskey cost me.... Yes I picked up this bottle of whiskey for 9$!!!! Yes 9$!!!! and would you believe it, it's actually quite good! Very drinkable, lovely tasty whiskey. Well worth the 9$ gamble on an unknown quantity! 

Price: 9$ for 43% straight bourbon the cheapest best value whiskey I'm ever likely to find. Nothing more to say. 6/6

Appearance: Golden brown. Legs present but I'm beginning to think I wont ever find a whiskey that wont have nice looking legs. Apparently at international whiskey competitions the appearance of a whiskey when being judged as a rule gets scored 0 points. So I'll only deduct points in future if something looks really wrong with a whiskey which is not likely to happen as I probably wouldn't drink it in that case. Still though nice to look at and describe what I'm drinking. 6/6

Availability: I can pick this up in a bottle shop albeit for significantly more than I paid for it in the states ($45 aus). I think I've seen it in a few pubs but generally not behind the bar in most pubs also I've never noticed this in duty free: 4/6

Marketing: check out the website link below, they provide some tasting notes and cocktail recipes, not bad but nothing special: 4/6

http://evanwilliams.com/bourbons.php?page=black-label

Packaging: No age statement. Straight bourbon so its at least 4 years old with no additives, either flavorings or colorants. There is a silly story which might be stretching the truth about the man for whom the whiskey is named and some other waffle which doesn't really tell us much about what's in the bottle.  4/6

Nose: Not too much going on. Slight solvent smell and maraschino cherries. Oakwood, sweet caramel, crystalised ginger and you can smell the mash or wort in the background too. 14/20

Taste: sweet cherries, oak, pepper: 15/20

Finish: medium to short finish some licorice: 14/20

Mouthfeel: Has a nice body to it, nice and smooth, not amazing but not bad: 6/10

Total score for this most budget of budget whiskies: 73/100

I was really chuffed with myself for having taken a punt on this while on holidays and I remember tucking into a dram of it on several nights while in Hawaii, happy days!

cheers,
Kev

Review#15: The Glenrothes Select Reserve

I picked this one up recently as part of a gift or sample pack while on holiday in northern NSW. It came with the 1995 and 1998 vintage bottling's and also three mini Glencairn nosing glasses which was really cool. I'll review the vintage bottling's at some point in the future but I was really quite happy to pick these up as they seem to be hard to come by and thanks to my wife who spotted it behind the counter and suggested I pick it up - Nice one lovey!

The Select Reserve is the house style of the Glenrothes, an entry level NAS whisky which I for one am very impressed with. Apparently whisky from this distillery is aged in bourbon and sherry barrels - nothing unusual there. This malt is apparently used in well known blends including "The Famous Grouse" and "Cutty Sark". The Glenrothes single malt is owned by Berri Brothers and Rudd but the distillery is owned by the Edrington Group - an unusual situation.

Price: I'm really happy with the package I picked up given that it had 3 different whiskies within containing 100ml each, 2 of which being vintages are likely to be rare and hard to come across. 6/6

Availability: This is an available whisky, I can walk to my local bottle shop and pick it up, I can get it in good whiskey bars but not all bars: 5/6

Marketing: check out the link to the website for some good videos that give a virtual distillery tour and tasting notes!: 6/6

http://www.theglenrothes.com/ 

Packaging and Label: Nice and distinctive cardboard box very recyclable. Three bonus glasses included - very good! The bottle is also nice and distinct - quite round. The label is not offensive and states 43% ABV, Brief tasting notes are provided, NAS (No Age Statement) whiskey, No statement on chill filtering or addition of colorant either: 4/6 

Appearance: Legs are present on the glass when rolled gently and look nice and thick, the whisky looks a pale straw yellow I couldn't imagine any colorant was added to this, full marks: 6/6

Nose is sweet malty, a little spicey, as in its tickling my nose, some oak and walnut in there too, something buttery and fudgey and a little something fruity  - quite nice, as I'm drinking it I'm starting to pick up a little marzipan, hay and more malt - very nice and interesting, a hint of coconut, a little citrus and fresh grass. This has a really lovely nose I have spent quite a bit of time just enjoying putting my nose to the glass: 20/20

Taste on entry: Light sweet lemony citrus like sweet lemon drop lollies, A little spice which develops on the finish: 18/20

Mouthfeel: Quite good actually nice and buttery: 9/10

Finish: Citrus giving way to spice - medium length. Lovely sweet lemon zesty spiciness. Something a little hotter then ginger although possibly close to how I experienced ginger as a child maybe something a little more peppery though I'm thinking mace or nut meg quite a dry finish to the whiskey: 18/20

Wow! I'm very impressed with this one. I had no expectations of it when I opened the bottle and I'm really quite pleased. This is a lovely Speyside whiskey, light fruity malty with an intriguing nose and lovely to drink, very nice for a summer dram. Very happy - will buy a full bottle and would recommend.

Total score: 92/100

Cheers,
Kev.

Review #14: Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 10 yr old. 45.8% ABV

Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye located in the village of Talisker which interestingly for those of us are fans of the Highlander Films and TV series was formerly owned Clan McCleod!

This particular bottle had been in the office for a while, one of the boys brought it in shortly after joining us fully embracing Friday dram tradition that we have going on. It has been open for about a year so in all probability it has lost some of it's potency and peatiness, however I have drank this before and on occasion over the last year from this bottle and have also tried it again recently from a fresher bottle. This is a dram that I do quite enjoy however my wife hates me drinking smokey whisky so for diplomatic reasons I tend to go easy on them and maybe buy 1 in 10 bottles or just partake on a boys night out. 

Peated whiskeys aren't everyone's cup of tea however having grown up with turf as a fuel and having spent a bit of time on bogs, even having worked for Bord na Mona in Ireland which actually translates from the Gaelic to Board of Bogs/Peat! I have many fond memories of the smell of burning peat/ turf. I often find when drinking peated whiskies that my mind drifts back to past life experiences, like sitting in front of the fire as a kid or the fire in my best friends house when i was 13 and how his dad was an interesting character to say the least - odd stuff, walking home from town in the rain on a cold autumn night and occasionally getting the pleasant distinct waft of a turf fire.

Price: quite reasonable - 60$ on sale in the local shops, I picked it up for 50$ in duty free once: 6/6

Appearance: looks a little orange might have the caramel added??? label tells me nothing. Nice legs in the glass: 5/6

Availability: widely available, duty free, supermarkets this whiskey is fairly common might even make an appearance in non whiskey specialist pubs: 6/6

Marketing: Talisker is part of Diageos' "classic malts" series and there's a bit of flavor profiling on their "Malts" website and also the opportunity to sign up for a free distillery tour pass to about ten of their distilleries which is really cool. on the Talisker page there's a virtual distillery tour via google maps which is pretty good - check out the link below. there's a nice historic timeline with some lovely photos of the distillery and surrounds. Interestingly Talisker used to triple distill! I wonder what that would taste like? I cant fault the marketing really, it's nicely done: 6/6

https://www.malts.com/en-gb/distilleries/talisker/  

Packaging And Label: Clear glass, nicely shaped bottle, pretty label that tells me the latitude and longitude of the isle of Skye but not too much about the whiskey, says it's made by the sea, could be up for a class action lawsuit there! I'm pretty sure this whiskey was made by a bunch of blokes in the distillery on Skye using stills and such!! This comes in at just under 46% could be non chill filtered but doesn't say it:  4/6

Nose: peated smokey, not as strong as a laphroaig, as I mentioned above this whiskey takes me places, theres also a lovely sweetness there too and zesty lemon citrus: 17/20

Taste: smokey heavier sort of smoke still peaty but not light peat, closer to coal and oil - not in a bad way, the sweetness and citrus are there too: 17/20

Mouthfeel: ok, nothing amazing but not bad either, maybe a little thin: 7/10

Finish: There's a big hit of pepper spice which comes and goes fairly quickly and there's something medicinal in there too, some sweetness and citrus in the finish too: 16/20

This is a really good interesting whiskey which I will definitely be coming back to as I've been drinking lots of peated whiskey as of late and I want to have another dram of this to see howe it compares with several Islay whiskies, a peated Arran and a Highland Park from Orkney that I've enjoyed lately.

Total score: 84/100

Review #13: Aberlour, Double Cask Matured, 12 years old

I picked this one up a few months back to celebrate the completion of a particularly onerous project in work which took over two years to complete. Thank god that's done! It was a big learning experience and I'm better for it and even better still I now have a great reason to relax and enjoy a dram! This is a Speyside single malt scotch even though the label says that it is Highland single malt scotch whisky. I believe that this is because Speyside is a small region within the Highlands geographically speaking and that the river Spey has a large cluster of distilleries around it and as such is considered a distinct whisky region separate from the rest of the Highlands which makes up the majority of Scotland's landmass. Aberlour have a reputation for producing sherry monsters and I've heard great thing about the 10 year old expression which is not available here at the moment outside of whiskey bars - to the best of my knowledge. they also produce a cask strength expression "a'bunadh" of which I have a bottle - lucky me!

Price: I picked this one up for about 65$AU which is reasonably affordable. It's a nice dram, quite enjoyable, not as cheap as some but a lot more so than others for what it is: 5/6

Appearance: Sort of orange-gold probably has colorant added, nice legs are left on the glass on the glass when swirled - apparently this is a good indication of the body of the whisky:  5/6

Available: This is fairly available stuff  here in Melbourne but not in every bottle shop or bar. 4/6

Marketing: The website (link is below) has a little 1 minute video on the whisky with some text and tasting notes, there's some text about the whole process and all the stages involved but no pictures or videos of this and the text is very general and does not really give any interesting detail that might set it apart so not bad but not great. One detail I picked up on is that the sherry butts used for this whisky are seasoned sherry butts as opposed to fresh sherry butts which means that they have likely already been used to age whisky and have been refilled with sherry to re-season the casks to get more life out of the wood. I wonder how that process of re-seasoning works?? Hmmmm! They have a contact us section so I've asked them a few questions about the cask-seasoning, the chill filtration and colorant - watch this space! 4/6

http://www.aberlour.com/range/aberlour-12/

Packaging and Label: The bottle as you can see is clear glass and is squat and has a lovely big cork on it which means I'll be reusing it to soak fruit in booze for some baking in the future. The label tells me that this whisky has been matured in both sherry barrels and traditional (ex bourbon) barrels for a minimum of 12 years and then subsequently been blended together and watered down to 40%. No mention of colorant added or chill filtration so probably this whiskey has been subjected to both: 4/6

Nose: The sherry is very much in evidence for me, lovely sweet rich fruity nose on this one, sultanas, raisins dried fruits, smells like my mothers plum pudding (which curiously does not contain any plums!) 16/20

Taste on entry: Sweet with sherry fruitiness and a little spice and possibly a little citrus nothing too sharp: 15/20

Mouth feel: The legs on the glass tell it true! This whisky has a lovely mouth feel/ body to it which would make me question whether or not it has been subjected to much chill filtration (and I have posed the question): 10/10

Finish: Medium length with sweetness and a little mild spice: 15/20

This whisky is quite good but not amazing, would make for a decent daily dram.

Total score: 78/100

Cheers,
Kev.

Review #12 : Buffalo Trace, Kentuckey Straight Bourbon Whiskey 45% ABV

Here's one of the goodies that I brought back from Hawaii. This bottle when opened was hit hard because it is very drinkable whiskey and I was in a generous sharing sort of mood at the time. I've really enjoyed this bottle and would recommend it as being great value for money.

Price: I paid about $32 US for this in Hawaii and here in Melbourne I can pick up a bottle for $52.90. This is pretty good value until I notice that my bottle from the US is a tasty 45 % ABV but the bottle in Melbourne is only 40% ABV so it might be less flavorsome. That's odd! Maybe this has something to do with Americans opinions of Aussies not being able to handle their drink? Or are they just watering down the product for a different market to stretch the product. Or maybe what I picked up was a more premium version of the product. For what I paid and for how delicious this whiskey is i'm giving it 6/6

Appearance: Dark amber gold, looks great! Natural color by law given that it sold as a straight bourbon in the states (I believe) 6/6

Available: It is available, I can get it in my local bottle shop, online, in whiskey bars but not in every pub. 5/6

Marketing: These guys have possibly the oldest distillery in the US and have the records to back it up. The link for the website is below and at the time of writing there is a virtual distillery tour with videos and a map of the distillery with photographs and 360 degree views which is pretty good. 6/6

http://www.buffalotrace.com/our-bourbon.html

Packaging and Label: The bottle is pleasantly shaped and clear and the label is distinctive. It's straight bourbon so there are legal requirements for what has to be in the bottle and how it has to be made. There's a little of the history and legend of the distillery on the back of the bottle which also talks about the ruggedness of the wilderness or something like that. What I do like is that they have a phone number beneath the line "let us hear your thunder" that's great! - I'm not going to try it to see if it works but nice touch! 6/6

Nose: there's a very pungent spirit forward nose that you definitely don't have to go searching for. molasses, oak, some spice and something musty and after a few minutes t eases off a little and sweetness comes through with caramel and fudge. 15/20

Taste on entry: honey and caramel sweetness, peppery spice, oak wood, leather and some spiciness beyond the pepper, not world beating but not bad by any means either.  15/20

Mouth feel: really good, top marks! This is a really full bodied dram which is just lovely and velvety and delicious. 10/10

Finish: peppery, spice, and some citrus peel bitterness, quite a nice long finish. 17/20

This is a really good value for money dram with big flavors, Really easy to drink and complex enough that you notice differences as you go through the glass.

Total score: 86/100

cheers,
Kev.

Review #11: Glendalough Single Malt Irish Whiskey Aged 7 Years

I've really enjoyed this bottle over the last eight or nine months. It was a gift from my Mom when she visited earlier this year - the first of two visits and the first of two lovely bottles of Irish whiskey that she brought me over - thanks Mom. This was the one that partially prompted me to start me writing these blogs. There was very little information available online and only one review I could find at the time so I thought maybe I should put up my own review. I believe from the research online that I found out that this was a Cooley malt and Glendalough are acting as an independent bottler of whiskey while they wait for their own stuff to mature.

Price: This was a gift but I think I have a fair idea that it was reasonably priced at around Aussie $50 or $60 max although you'd probably pay more for it in Australia if it were available here in the shops: 5/6

Appearance: Looks natural to me, a yellow golden color with a greenish tinge: 6/6

Availability: Sadly this is not available here where I am. If you are reading this may I suggest you go out and buy a bottle if you can. This is not likely to be in the duty free outside of Ireland. I have seen some of their other products available over here but at very highly marked up prices in my opinion: 3/6

Marketing: there is a lovely story about saint Kevin - how could I not like that. There's a video up too which shows a little historic fiction and tells of the legend of St Kevin and nicely weaves in their product list. See the link to the Glendalough website below. They give some tasting notes on the whiskey too and a little detail which is on the label anyway: 6/6
http://www.glendaloughdistillery.com/

Packaging and Label: the bottle is nicely shaped, clear glass with a lovely green label or three on it. The label tells me that the whiskey is 7 year old Irish single malt that is non chill filtered and bottled at 46% - very good. It gives me some tasting notes and a little of the legend of St Kevin himself and some other nonsense about the local water and weather: 5/6

Nose: vanilla, banana, fruits of the forest, maybe some rhubarb, something very dry that I can't quite put my finger on, it's spicey - cinnamon maybe or a little mixed spice it really reminds me of rhubarb crumble also there's a little malty cereal note in the background too. This is a lovely complex nose typical of Cooley Malts in my limited experience. 18/20

Taste on entry: It's not blowing me away! It's mild enough some citrus and a little spice and sweetness - vanilla and maybe a little sherbet (Dibbadab): 15/20

Mouthfeel/ Body: I like it, there's a little heat but I feel this suites the nose, it coats the mouth nicely - velvety. No chill filtering apparently helps make a whiskey feel better in the mouth which makes sense considering chill filtration removes natural oils and fats: 8/10

Finish: I like how this whiskey finishes. There's a fair whack of spice (peppery) and it's nice and long and leaves my mouth watering in expectation of more. I'm getting something vegetal and bitter with the sweetness and some rhubarb crumble in there too or possibly stewed rhubarb: 16/20


Total Score: 82/100


I really liked this one, very tasty stuff. I'm looking forward to trying some of their own stuff in the next few years although I might pick up a bottle of their aged Poitin at some point in the not too distant future.

Cheers,
Kev.

Review#10 Vat 69 blended scotch whiskey

Here's a review of a CHEAP bottom shelf blended scotch whisky that I picked up a while ago because I had finished my bottle of Jameson and I wanted something with which to make hot whiskeys or to pour over ice. A little online research indicated that as cheap scotch blends go this one is or was fairly well received and got some positive reviews.

Price: good and cheap! not much hurt in the pocket with this one! 5/6

Availability: Very! I literally walked to the shop to get this, I don't think I've ever seen it in a pub though 5/6

Label/ Packaging: disappointing! What happened to the famous iconic green bottle! The label doesn't tell me too much and it looks a lot less attractive in a clear bottle. It does have a link to a safe drinking campaign though which is good. However when I went to the shop having done my research it took me a while to find it because of the bottle change - clear glass must be less expensive then green: 2/6

Marketing lovely B.S. story about some rich fellow throwing a party to get the perfect blend hmmm, This whiskey makes an appearance in band of brothers too! here's a link for the clip:

https://youtu.be/r8stuEzpgFE

that stuck with me, love the sound of the rain... 4/6

Appearance, kind of orange gold - more yellow in the glass, likely has colorant added but maybe not too much: 3/6

Nose, cheap! Not the nicest nose but I wouldn't go so far as to say its unpleasant, Caramel or butter scotch, a hint of something citrus, dried fruits and or fruitcake, ethanol - grain spirit: 13/20

Taste on entry

Sweet, slight minty flavor, nothing fantastic: 11/20

Mouthfeel not bad, not too thin, 7/10

Development: some pepper, a little smoke, something a little off not sure what it is - maybe it's cheap whisky!

13/20

Sometimes you get what you pay for and realistically this whisky has met my expectations and has served me nicely for throwing in with ice for a little tasty refreshment from time to time. I have tasted several better cheap scotch blends and I don't think I'll be buying this one again.

Total score 63/100

Cheers,
Kev