2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 3

Friday! Day 3, woot woot! Today we have Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Vosges (French) Oak Barrels, 46% ABV, NAS - but at least 4 years and reportedly between 7 and 8 years. How is it? Let's find out...

On the nose, I get vanilla, fruit, floral, clove, mint and after sitting awhile some toffee. The tast I get vanilla, wood, pepper, with toffee in the back. The finish I get cloves, wood, mint and pepper. With water, the nose is more floral, with a woody and peppery taste, I will probably prefer this 

neat, overall it's more interesting and has more depth. 

Really good overall. Hard to compare this to other ryes though. This comes in around $75 a bottle, and in the same ball park Willett Family Estate 4 Year has more licorice and tea on the taste and is more interesting overall, while Crown Royal 16 Year has similar notes, but is more smooth overall. It's worth trying, not sure if it's worth buying. Rated 3.5 / 5.0

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 2

Day 2 - today we are trying out Heaven's Door Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45% ABV, aged a minimum of 6 years. Does Bob Dylan know bourbon? Or does he at least know someone that knows bourbon? (:

I picked up a 3 pack of 200ml bottles of Heaven's Door offerings and will be trying them all over the next few days. 200ml is enough to get a good feel for a whisk(e)y before buying a full bottle - I wish more distilleries would do 200ml bottles.

On the nose, I get sweet caramel, bread, dried fruit and corn. The taste I find cinnamon up front and strong, baking spice, oak in the back with some vanilla. The finish is warm cinnamon that lingers. With water it's more floral on the nose, and on the taste it brings out more oak, I prefer this one neat.

Overall, this is pretty good. It reminds me of Wild Turkey 101, but with more cinnamon and a longer finish. Bottles go for $45 or so - I could see picking up a bottle of this but do want to try the other two first. Rated 3.25 / 5.0

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 1

Back for another round! No better way to send out 2021 than to drink some good whiskies. Tonight, we're starting with Deanston Virgin Oak - NAS (said to be between 6 and 8 years), Highland Single Malt, 46.3% ABV. These days most of my Scotch drinking is peaty Islay, but it's nice to mix it up every once in a while. How will this one fare?

On the nose I get floral/herbal ... almost like potpourri, along with a hint of fruit and some spice - quite pleasant. The taste has oak, smooth honey notes, some spice. The finish I get some sweetness that drifts off clean and some spice tingle and the very end. Water seems to dull things overall, I prefer this one neat. 

All right overall - solid, and at about $37 a bottle, not a bad deal. Reminds me of Compass Box Artist Blend - which about the same price, though I think I prefer the Compass Box a little more overall as it's a little more interesting. I give this a 3.0 / 5.0. Cheers!

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2021-09-22 ... RYE ! ! !

Another Whisk(e)y Wednesday - today... RYE! Trying two higher proof young-ish ryes today. We have Willett Family Estate Small Batch Rye aged 4 years, coming in at 111.8 proof - 55.9% AVB along with Knob Creek Single Barrel (Westmoreland Liquor Store Pick) 115 proof - 57.5% AVB aged 6.25 years or so.

First up, the Knob Creek. On the nose, I find expected rye spice, a touch of dill, some cinnamon and licorice. The taste I get the licorice coming through along with the cinnamon heat. The finish is cinnamon and spice.

With water I get a bit more dill on the nose, more baking spice on the taste, and more wood on the finish. To me this was nothing outstanding, a touch above Old Forester Rye but about twice the price too. Rated 3.25 / 5.0

Next we have the Willett. No batch statement or such on this one. The nose I get brown sugar, a touch of dill, cinnamon and some floral notes. On the taste I get molasses, toasted marshmallow, baking spice, some fruit, and some bitter tea. The finish has spice, some spicy/minty numbing, and a touch of wood.

Water brings out more floral notes on the nose, and brings the bitter tea to the front on the taste for me, along with more molasses - which makes for an interesting combination. Overall this one is interesting, and if you are going to have to hunt down a bottle - you want it to be at least interesting. A step above the Knob Creek - I'd rate it 3.50 / 5.0

I also tried my old standby budget rye - Old Forester 100 proof - and compared to these two, it's a bit flat, but at half the price, probably a better value. I also had a sample of a different Knob Creek Single Barrel Store Pick (same 115 proof) that had more of the typical Knob Creek notes of being nutty and I probably prefer the Westmoreland store pick over that one - but only slightly.

Cheers!

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2021-09-15

Here we go ... Hump Day aka Whisk(e)y Wednesday! Today we're trying a budget Kentucky Straight Bourbon - Early Times Bottled in Bond - which means 50% ABV and aged at least 4 years. How does this one compare to others?

On the nose, I get some cinnamon spice, honey, citrus and a hint of nut in the background. The taste I get caramel, spice, citrus and vanilla. The finish is peppery, sweet and a hint of nuttiness.

Water seems to bring out some dill on the nose for me, more spice on the taste. Wood bite on the finish, I like this one more neat. Overall, I like this one better than some other budget bourbons such as Buffalo Trace or such. While I didn't do a head to head, I'm guessing I would prefer Wild Turkey 101 over this. Rated 3.25/5.0 - which is what I give all decent budget bourbons it seems (:

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2021-09-01

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - two weeks in a row... maybe I'm back in the swing of things! Tonight I'm drinking Roknar Minnesota Rye Whiskey, from Far North Spirits. This comes in at 47% ABV, aged for 16 months and finished in Cognac casks. Let's find out how it is...

On the nose I get spearmint, vanilla, brown sugar, and fruit flavoring (not exactly fruit). The taste I get (real) fruit - like apricot or similar, wood, pepper, ginger, brown sugar with some vanilla creaminess. The finish is vanilla, sweet and honey. 

Adding a dash of water - the nose and taste are very similar, a touch more ginger on the nose, and less spicy on the taste. With the water, I do get the Cognac on the finish. Overall this is interesting - it's certainly better than the Basil Hayden Dark Rye, which is about the only other rye I would compare this to. Not a typical rye, would need to be in the mood for it - but it's interesting and overall pretty good. Rated 3.25 / 5.0

 

Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2021-08-25

All right - it's been a while since I did this. Time to get back in the swing of things. Tonight - we're trying Wild Turkey 101 Rye. The Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon won in a head to head blind taste test between Eagle Rare and Evan Williams Single Barrel - will I be a fan of the Rye as well?

On the nose, I get caramel, citrus zest, spices, vanilla and fresh apple. The taste I get rye spice, some cinnamon, citrus, ripe fruit, a hint of vanilla and toffee. Something else is there that I can't quite place. The finish I get wood that lingers, with some mint-like freshness giving it some tingle. 

Water seems to bring out the spice on the nose, and it gives the taste more vanilla. The finish seems to have more spice coming through. Overall I would say it seems a little different than Old Forester - not better, not worse. I think I probably like the budget-ish Woodford Reserve Rye a touch better, as well as the High West Double Rye - which again is a bit more expense. This bottle is nearly empty, I don't see a need to buy another one at this time. Rated 3.25/5.0 - Cheers!