Whisk(e)y ... Monday? - 2020-11-30

So tomorrow I'll be kicking off 24 Days of Whisk(e)y, and to warm up I figured I'd have this. A friend gave me a sample of Willett Family Estates Small Batch Rye, Aged 4 Years and coming in at 55% ABV.

On the nose, initially I'm mostly getting the rye spice and some alcohol. I also get some mint like fragrance in the background. There is a lot going on with the taste. Cinnamon, rye, hint of sweetness. Getting some mint on the finish, possibly a spicy licorice similar to Ouzo. I keep going back to the nose as it's really inviting. Adding some water seems to highlight the finish, I probably like it better straight. This might be my favorite rye that I've tried. Rated 4.0 / 5.0

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2020-11-25

Hump Day! And I had the day off ... and the next 4 days off too, woo... Time to celebrate! Today I'm doing a head to head comparison between Maker's Mark Private Select, coming in at 54.5% ABV and Remus Repeal Reserve Series IV Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 50% ABV, aged 12 years.

First up, Maker's Mark. On the nose, I get oak and some brown sugar, along with some cinnamon, clove and other spices. Nothing too surprising on the taste, certainly Maker's Mark, with brown sugar, cinnamon. and spice. Water seems to bring out the sweetness and brown sugar, while rounding off the edges - I probably prefer it with some water. I'll rate it 3.5 / 5.0.

Onto Remus Repeal Reserve. I reviewed Series II and liked it, so I split a bottle of Series IV with a friend. Very nice on the nose, with caramel and toffee and a hint of wood. The taste has a nice rye like spice along with some caramel. Quite good. For me, water brings out more of the wood. I prefer this one neat. I think I like this one over the Maker's Mark, I'll rate it 3.75 / 5.0 (which is the same rating I gave Series II). Cheers, and Happy Thanksgiving (:

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2020-11-18

Here we are again, tonight I'm giving Wild Turkey Longbranch a try. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, coming in at 43% ABV. I was looking for a budget-ish bourbon to keep around - this was well reviewed for the price, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Vanilla on the nose and I get something that reminds me of peppermint extract, but just a hint. Caramel with some spice on the taste. I do get quite a bit of oak too. Overall it's ... all right. I think I prefer several other bourbons at this price point over this one. Rated 2.75 / 5.0

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2020-11-11

Another Hump Day. I'm off work this week, so I've been trying to relax. Not really anywhere to go currently anyway, but who knows, maybe by next year (: Today we have...

an old friend... well, not exactly - but kinda. Around 2000 or so I made the move away from beer to drinking Crown Royal - at first Crown and Cokes. I found the hangovers were much less of a problem if I over consumed. I drank a few other things, but mostly Crown. I eventually drifted away towards Rye, Irish Whiskey, Scotch and some Bourbon and such. I don't think I've had regular Crown for many years, but I've had Crown Royal Rye a few times and found it all right - so I thought I'd do a review.

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, coming in at 45% ABV. They say it's 90% Rye, but it still has that Crown friendly drinkability, and it can usually be found for under $30 a 750, so fairly reasonable too. On the nose we have apple with some honey, some grain and alcohol in the background. The taste I find pepper and vanilla, with some hints of sweetness, somewhat candy. The finish I find some wood, spice and the expected crown smoothness. While this isn't a top shelf Rye, it's not bad, and I would choose to drink it before having some other things in the price range. If I recall correctly it mixes well with Ginger Ale too. The similarly priced Old Forester Rye is probably a little more interesting, but not as friendly - but I'd say in the same ballpark. Rated 2.75 / 5.0 ... but I'm probably biased a bit for sentimental reasons.

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2020-11-04

 Hey look, it's Wednesday again... anything happening this week? Anyway, today we have...

Tonight we're running through some high proof Bourbons to see if any of them stand out among the rest.

We're going to try these side by side, with a reset of Booker's 7 Year that I enjoy to center myself between each one. First up, Stagg Jr - I think Batch 14 from Spring 2020, coming in at 65.1% ABV. On the nose, you can really tell this is high proof, and it's hard to find anything beyond that. Cherry and honey on the taste, with some oak finish. I also get a "tingle" on the finish - possibly from the proof. Adding water, I get a hint of Cinnamon on the nose, and I get it in the taste more too - that was the earlier "tingle". I get more oak as well. Very nice overall - worth finding, but don't pay more than retail price for this one in my opinion. I'd probably add water to this one to bring down the proof a little. Rated 3.75 / 5.0

2nd up is Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon 57.5% ABV. Fruit on the nose with a hint of caramel. Some spice and caramel on the taste. With water the spice comes out a bit more, along with caramel and maple. I probably prefer it straight - nice overall, 3.75 / 5.0

Onto Elijah Craig Barrel Strength, 63.6% ABV. On the nose we have fruit, caramel and some oak. Taste we find vanilla, caramel, spice and oak. I get some fruit in the finish as well. With adding some water I find some cinnamon on the nose, and more oak on the taste. I probably prefer this one straight. Quite tasty overall. 3.75 / 5.0

Finally, we have Russel Reserve Single Barrel coming in at 55% ABV. On the nose we find cinnamon and oak, with a hint of vanilla. Taste I find vanilla, cinnamon and oak. Water doesn't really change things and I would prefer this one straight. Worth buying if you find it at a good price. Rated 3.75 / 5.0

Yes - I rated all 4 of these 3.75. They're different, but none of them stood out. I would say the Stagg Jr is #1 out of the bunch, followed by the Russell's Reserve, then the Elijah Craig and lastly the Old Forrester 1920 - but I would drink the Old Forester any day of the week - so coming in last on this list is nothing to be sad about. The Baker's I was comparing everything to, which I rated at 3.75 as well, I'd say would fit in as between the Russell's Reserve and the Elijah Craig. Cheers!