2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 12

From 2018-12-24

Day 12 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y... this is the end. Saved something special for today as it is the last day for this experiment, and my birthday as well. Lagavulin Distillers Edition from 2014, 16 Year Single Malt Scotch. The distillers edition is an annual release of the 16 Year that they finish in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks that give the scotch a little different flavor, without changing things too much. 86 proof/43%, which I believe is the same as the standard Lagavulin 16 year.

The peat is less present in the aroma, but you still get some of the smokiness, along with some zest and maybe some caramel. The flavor is spot on, with some sweetness in the front that turns to dryness that lingers. Some smoke, but not overbearing. I'd have no trouble serving this to people that do not like smokey/peaty scotches as it's more in the background on this one. This is a fine scotch that I will break out for special occasions, 4.5/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 11

From 2018-12-23

Day 11 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. Today we have The Balvenie Peat Week, Single Malt Peated Whisky aged 14 years. Some smoke and peat aroma, with some spice as well. Comes in at 48.3%/96.6 Proof. Certainly has more character than The Balvenie Double Wood 12 year.

Taste wise, this is pretty good. You do get the spice, smoke, and peat. Not as earthy as usual peaty Scotches, but it's there. A splash of water doesn't change things much, probably not needed for this one. Overall enjoyable. 3.75/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 10

From 2018-12-22

Day 10 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. Today ... courage. We have the 2016-02 "Annis Answer" release of Booker's Uncut Bourbon, aged 6 years, 2 months and 1 day, clocking in at a *hearty* 63.35%/126.7 proof.

Nice rich color: aroma has some hints of vanilla and caramel, but you do get the alcohol too. Taste ... strong with quite a punch. There is some spice and some nuttiness, and the taste lingers for quite some time. Adding a splash of water brings out a bit of wood flavor, along with taming down the alcohol burn. I do not get any typical bourbon sweetness.

This is good - reminds me more of an Irish Whiskey or a Rye due to the lack of sweetness. I don't see the need to buy another bottle of this to be honest - but when someone wants a bourbon with some punch, I'll offer them this (: 3.5/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 9

From 2018-12-21

Day 9 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. This day ... is a great day... a Lagavulin Day (: Oh, and it's Friday of a 4 day weekend too. Today we have the 2018 Limited Release Lagavulin 12 Year Single Malt Cask Strength (57.8% 115.6 Proof). I've been looking forward to this one - and it delivers.

Nice smoke aroma on this one. Taste is very nice, with the Lagavulin expected peat and smoke, with some subtle fruit/sweetness ... just a lot of full flavor that lingers and lingers. A splash of water brings down the strength a bit, but still is very bold. Best one of the bunch so far, 4.5/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 8

From 2018-12-20

Day 8 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. For today, we have The Ileach Islay Single Malt Cask Strength Scotch Whisky (58%, 116 Proof). Nice smoke and peat aroma, with some expected alcohol too as this is 116 proof. I purchased this blind/no knowledge from the UK when I was buying some other things and it looked interesting.

Smoke, peat and spice in the flavor, nice warmth too. A splash of water tames things down and brings out some sweetness as well, toffee/caramel perhaps. This is quite good, but not something I would drink often due to the high proof. 4.0/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 7

From 2018-12-19

Day 7 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y ... today we have the 12 Year Redbreast: Cask Strength Edition (57.2%, 114.4 Proof). The standard Redbreast 12 is probably my favorite Irish Whiskey. Reasonably priced, not too hard to find, easy drinking, and has good flavor. I was first introduced to Redbreast by my gaming friend Ryan in St Louis, who recommended it when I shared some Templeton Rye with him but mentioned how hard it was to find (at the time) in St Louis. (Cheers to Ryan!!!)

The Cask Strength Edition is more interesting - good flavor, and you can choose just how strong you want it to be by adding water/ice as needed. Straight you want to take small sips to be sure - but there is some nice spice, sweet, body, and richness. There is the cask strength burn though. Adding a splash of water does mellow things out a bit but does also bring out the spice to the front. Overall very good - I would want this as a permanent fixture on the liquor shelf. 4.0/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 6

From 2018-12-18

Day 6 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y: Lagavulin 8 Year (48%, 96 Proof). While the 8 Year isn't as smooth as the 16 Year Lagavulin, in some ways I prefer it over the 16 - seems to have a bit more character.

Smoke and Peat that you would expect in the aroma, but a bit of spice too. I usually drink this neat, but a splash of water seems to bring out the spice and some salt as well. For me, this one is hard to beat for the price. 4.0/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 5

From 2018-12-17

Day 5 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. Oh yeah... now we're talking. Ardbeg An Oa (46.6%, 93.2 Proof), I've been looking forward to this one. Aroma that makes you want to crawl in the bottle and take a nap, nice and peaty. Taste has the peat, but also some smoke and spice. Not as earthy as the Ardbeg 10 year, but it does have some good flavor going on.

A splash of water seems to highlight the spice aroma, while mellowing the taste a little. Happy to drink this on a chilly winter evening, 3.75/5.0 (I couldn't decide between 3.5 and 4.0 …)

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 4

From 2018-12-16

Day 4 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. Here is something I strongly doubt anyone I know has had. Trail Distilling First City Whiskey. Trail Distilling is located 3.2 miles from my house. "First City" is in reference to the fact that Oregon City was the first white settlement west of the Rockies. This states to be aged 5 years (minimum) and comes in at 45% (90 Proof).

Strong alcohol aroma from this and not much else. Taste is a bit spicy with some sweetness that lingers, but this is more like an Irish Whiskey or a Rye than your typical Bourbon. A little harsh straight, but with a splash of water things mellow out. Would likely be good over ice as well. This was reasonably priced, but not that great overall. 2.5/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 3

From 2018-12-15

Onto Day 3 of The 12 Days of Whisk(e)y. Today we have Caol Ila 12 Year, Islay Single Malt (86 proof). Nice floral with a touch of peat aroma, but not overpowering. This is quite good, a bit of peat, some spice and some herbal as well. Smooth without any water. A dash of water does seem to bring out the spice a bit more. It also seems to enhance the floral aroma. Would buy this one again. 3.5/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 2

From 2018-12-14

Day 2 of 12 Days of Whisk(e)y: Today we have Kilchoman 100% Islay (100 proof) non-chilled filtered single malt, 6th Edition (Bottled in 2016, 6 Year). A sample of Kilchoman was in both of the advent calendars I had in years past, and when I was placing an order from England for a few bottles hard to find in the USA, this one caught my eye so I ordered it.

Nice light smoke aroma. Fairly smooth taste, with some peat, vanilla, and a bit of spice. Adding a dash of water seems to bring out the sweetness a bit. Enjoying this one - 3.5/5.0

2018 12 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 1

From 2018-12-13

For the last couple years, I've done the Scotch Whisky Advent calendar from Drinks By The Dram where it's a 24 day Advent calendar with different 1 oz bottles of scotch. Some were so-so, some were good, some were very good, but it was fun to open up a door each day and see what little bottle was waiting for me.

Unfortunately, the main distributor in England, Masters of Malt - was recently purchased by InBev, and due to some legal reasons, they can no longer ship to the USA. While there were some other options on where to purchase, none were ideal, either not having the Advent Calendar I wanted, or they seemed to be marking it up a lot more than Masters of Malt was.

Anyway - I decided to do something different this year. During the year, I purchased a few bottles of various whisk(e)y - and I'm going to be doing a "12 Days of Whisk(e)y", starting today and ending on the 24th. I'll be sampling and reviewing 12 different rye/bourbon/Irish/Scotch - some I've had before, some new to me. While I did spend more to buy the 12 bottles over the Advent Calendar, I have about 12x the booze and I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy all of these.

We're starting things off with Templeton Rye 6 year. At my friend James' wedding a while back, I was introduced to Templeton Rye (at the time they only sold the 4 year) and fell in love. Before then I was drinking mostly Crown Royal - which is very sweet, and I found Templeton Rye much more enjoyable. One problem - I was living in St. Louis, and Templeton Rye was not sold in Missouri at the time. I had to snag bottles while in Iowa or order it online. Even while it was hard to find, I seemed to have gone through a lot of the "good stuff" (: Eventually it started being sold in MO (and most everywhere), and for the most part I've moved onto other things.

The 6 year tastes very much like the 4 year. Can't say it's any more smooth, but it is a bit stronger too (91.5 proof compared to 80 proof). Straight it has a nice rye flavor, a touch of sweetness, and some spice. A touch of water doesn't really change the flavor profile much. It's enjoyable, not sure if it's worth the extra cost over the 4 year though. Giving this a 3.0/5.0.