24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 24

End of the line - and since today is my birthday, I made sure to make it something I like (:

I've reviewed this one before, and it's very nice - especially at the price point of around $60 - $65 for the store pick cask strength version. This came from Westmoreland, and was bottled on 2021-10-20, so it's been around for a while. Hopefully when they run out of these they will do another single barrel store pick (:

On the nose, I get malt and the bbq sweet meat. Some camp fire and a simple syrup sweetness. It reminds me of Ardbeg 10 Year or the 5 Year Wee Beastie - which is a complement. The taste is a bit of a let down compared to the nose, but that's not too surprising. Some is some minty freshness, some meaty sweet, a little honey and marshmallow - with a nice campfire smoke there too. The finish has a lot of the mint tingle that lingers, along with the campfire.

With water I do find more mint on the nose, the taste is more sweet, and the finish is a bit more flat. Some time I need to compare this to other McCarthy's cask strength bottles I have, and maybe against a few Ardbegs too. Last time I rated this 4.25/5.0 - but tonight I think I'll give it a flat 4.0/5.0. Very good, one of the best of the year - but not quite as good as I remembered...

Until next year!

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 23

Next to last one of the 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... I know how many of the various types of whisk(e)y I bought, so as long as I didn't mess anything up, tonight should be a Scotch (:

On the nose... it sure seems like Scotch. Malty, floral, honey, a hint of smoke. There is alcohol present on the nose, but it doesn't seem overly strong, maybe around 45% ABV or so. The taste is honey, pepper and a little smoke and ash. The finish is black pepper with ash at the end that lingers. 

Water initially brings more alcohol to the nose, but then highlights the honey. The taste seems a bit warmer as well, and the black pepper on the finish seems more like a hot pepper, and there seems to be less ash on the finish too. Overall, this is nice - could sit and sip on this one all evening. I'll rate it 3.75/5.0.

Tonight's bottle was Ardnamurchan, Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 46.8% ABV, no age statement, from Glenbeg, Ardnamurchan Scotland. This one cost a bit under $70. I don't recall why I bought this bottle - I might have seen a review of it, or maybe it was just a random purchase to round things out. Either way, I give it a thumbs up. 

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 22

Day 22... Happy Monday! We'll see what tonight has in store for us...

On the nose, this is herbal, molasses, black tea, minty... it's a bit proofy, but nothing like last night. Looks like it might be a rye again. The taste, I get the black tea, herbal, sweet molasses - overall this is pretty nice. 

The finish, I get a little pickle juice, a tartness I can't quite place. It lingers for a while. Adding water, the nose, taste, and finish are all sweeter. This is pretty solid, and the best rye I've had in a while... well, if it's a rye (: I'll rate it 3.75/5.0, guessing over 50% ABV but lower than 60%.

Willett Family Estate Bottled Small Batch Rye, Bottled at Cask Strength, Willett Distillery, Bardstown, KY, Aged in hand selected white oak barrels for 4 Years, 54.3% ABV. I've had different bottles of these over the years, and some are better than others. This one I'd say is a better one. They usually run around $70, so the price is getting up there a bit, and they are sometimes hard to find. Pretty good overall though, and I'd say usually worth getting.

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 21

Day 21 ... here we go. Tonight's bottle is proofy for sure, the nose is hot. After getting acclimated a bit, I do get spice, brown sugar, mint and maybe some orange. The taste is very proofy - I honestly couldn't get past the proof on my sips to come up with anything else. Going back to the nose after a few sips I think I get a touch of dill too - so I'm guessing this is a rye and it has to be 60% ABV or more.

The finish I get some brown sugar in the front, drifting to pepper and then a numbness - likely from the proof. I did a few rounds of adding water to where I could get some notes on the taste, likely proofing it down to 50% or so. The nose got more floral and brown sugar, and more minty as well. The taste finally got to where I got some nice rye spice, which carried over to the finish as well. On a different night, this might hit me better, and it's good overall, but tonight I'll rate it a 3.5/5.0. The bottle tonight...

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye, bottled 2024-02-23, distilled in Lynchburg, TN, No age statement, but most estimated put it about 8 years. This one came in at 66.05% ABV - Yes, 132.1 proof. I have had other bottles of this in the past, and enjoyed them more than this one tonight - so I'll have to give this another try another night and see what I think. 

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 20

Closing in on the end of another 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - always a good time (:

Tonight's pour has a really nice nose. It's malty, and I get honey, bread, orange furniture polish, and cereal. At first I didn't think there was peat or smoke, but it's there, just in the back quite a bit. The taste is peppery, honey, malty and a light ash. This seems under 50% ABV, I'd guess around 45%.

The finish is peppery, sweet, honey and then turns to ash and dirt (in a good way). With water, the nose seems the same, the taste is quite a bit sweeter and the finish is sweeter as well. Overall, this is really nice - I'm guessing it's a Scotch, and will rate it a 4.0/5.0

We were drinking Deer, Bear & Moose 2011, Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Distilled at Isle of Jura Distillery, Scotland, aged 11 Years ... Natural Cask Strength at 59.2% ABV. I did *not* get the proof on this one, it drinks surprisingly smooth for nearly 120 proof. These are Flaviar exclusives, and I believe I bought this one on sale for about $70 and it is certainly worth that. Cheers!

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 19

Friday! Hmm, what should I do this evening? Oh yeah, drink some Whisk(e)y (:

For this one, on the nose it's pretty mild, but interesting. I'm guessing it's below 50% ABV, I get some sweet tea, mint, herbal, maybe some malt as well. Nothing is overpowering, but there feels like there is a lot going on. On the taste I get peppery up front, then sweetness, juicyfruit gum, maybe some orange. It's nice - but now I'm thinking maybe under 45% ABV. If it is - it has a lot of flavor a low proof offering.

The finish is sugar, pepper, brown sugar along with a touch of bitter at the tail end. Overall this is enjoyable for sure. With water the nose seems to have more proof initially, but then that fades, and I still get the sweet tea, maybe a bit more of it and the malt is still there too. The taste seems to have more tea now... the finish is a little more dry and bitter. This is quite nice - it's not too complex, but it's interesting enough for sure. I'll rate it a 3.75/5.0 ... I'm not really sure what it is ... a rye from the sweet tea and pepper? An Irish with the malt? Or maybe an American Single Malt... 

So American Single Malt it is. Wanderback American Single Malt Whiskey, Batch No. 6, 42.4% ABV. This comes from Wanderback Distillery in Hood River, Oregon, but it's distilled by Balcones Distillery in Waco Texas, 100% malted barely, aged a minimum of 3 years. We tried the Batch No. 5 last year, but that one was 52% ABV, and it really screamed butterscotch. After knowing what this is - I do get more of the malt for sure... and I can maybe get some butterscotch too (: Overall quite enjoyable, and the low proof doesn't hold it back. I look forward to drinking this one again and I may have to try it against Batch No. 5 sometime, which I rated 3.75 as well.

24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 18

Day 18 ... getting near the end of things here. What will tonight bring? Let's find out...

On the nose, this seems rather mild. There is some alcohol on the nose, but not in a high proof kind of way. I do get malt, caramel, maybe some apple and a touch of minty freshness. The taste has some heat up front, spicy - not proofy, along with some brown sugar, malt, and a touch of bitterness - maybe some wood. I would guess this is around 50% ABV or so.

The nose has a peppery spice, brown sugar, and sweet that lingers, along with a touch of bitterness again. With water, the nose is minty and floral, the taste is more sweet and maybe some more oak, and the finish is more sweet. Overall, this isn't doing it for me tonight, and I'll rate it a 3.5/5.0. It might be a Scotch or an American Single Malt - which is the way I'm leaning due to the fact it feels a bit off from a typical Scotch. It could also be a rye, but it's really malty.

Westland American Single Malt Whiskey, made in Seattle, WA, 46% ABV, no age statement, other than saying a minimum of 40 months, using 100% malted barley. I'm wondering if it might be finished in something other than Oak to give it a bit of a different flavor, unsure. I'll have to try this again to see if I enjoy it more.