2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 6

Happy Tuesday ... Day 6 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y, tonight we are drinking Trail's End Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky sourced, aged 10 Years, finished n Oregon Oak Casks by Hood River Distilling, 52.5% ABV, costing around $60, so creeping up there a bit in price.

On the nose, I'm getting sweetness, baking spice like cinnamon or similar, molasses, and brown sugar. You do get some of the proof, and I needed to back off a bit. The taste is caramel and toffee along with the cinnamon. There is some either proof burn or possibly from the cinnamon, but not too strong. The finish has some heat that then turns into some wood dryness. 

With water, I did get more cinnamon on the nose and a touch of floral. The finish has a bit less heat with the water as well, more wood present. As the finish drifts off the heat/spice returns and lingers for some time. Overall, this is quite good, probably the best of the bourbons so far. Rated 3.5/5.0

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 5

Happy Monday! Since going to part time, and having Mondays off... they just seem a little better (: Day 5 - today we're drinking Old Forester 1910 Kentucky Bourbon, Double Aged, No Age Statement, distilled and bottled in Kentucky, coming in at 46.5% ABV. We had the Old Forester 1897 on Day 3 - let's see how this one compares.

On the nose, my first impression is toffee and caramel, sweet cream, and a touch of light fruit. The nose is pretty good in my opinion. The taste is hard to put my finger on - I like it, I taste many different things, but I can't quite find what it reminds me of. I get some mint freshness/tingle, and on one of my sips I did find some cinnamon. I get some sweetness, but only a touch. The finish I get some oak and some spice, maybe some sweet chocolate way in the back while it's drifting off.

Adding water, things didn't change much. The nose became more sweet, the taste is probably more sweet as well, with some spicy heat in the back. I get more of a wood finish with water - overall I prefer this one neat. This one costs about $55 ... I probably like this one better than the Old Forester 1897 or the Belle Meade we had on day 2. Or maybe I was just in the mood for this one tonight. Either way, I"m going to give this one a 3.5/5.0 - Cheers!!!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 4

Happy Sunday! Day 4 ... and today... Ardbeg Day! We're drinking Ardbeg Blaaack, the special limited release from 2020, coming in at 46% ABV, no age statement, finished in New Zealand Pinot Noir Wine Casks. I have sipped on this over the time I've had it, but never done a full taste test of it, so time to check it out in detail

On the nose, first off I get sweet bbq meats, along with some dark rich fruit, and then in the back some smoke. The nose is fantastic - I could just sit all night and sniff this and it would be a good night (: The taste sadly doesn't live up to the nose. It's not bad, but it's just not as amazing. I get ash, wood smoke and a peppery bacon. The finish is even more disappointing - it's spicy initially, but that fades quickly and is replaced with ash and dirt, and not really in a good way. Again, it's not terrible - it's just that the nose gave me high expectations that were not met on the taste or finish.

Adding water - the nose smooths out some, not necessarily better, but not worse either. The taste is sweeter, and the finish is probably better with some peppery heat and a nice tingle. Overall it's good, but compared to Ardbeg Uigeadail or Corryvreckan, it's just not as well balanced, and this was $120 retail when I bought it back in 2020 - which was nearly twice as much as Uigeadail at the time. I will pretty much always buy the Ardbeg special releases when I see them - regardless of if they end up being any good. This was was just not all much different to others in the standard lineup. Still - it's a pretty good Islay Scotch Single Malt - and I rate it a 3.75/5.0 - cheers!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 3

Day 3 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y... tonight, we are having Old Forester 1897, Bottle In Bond, 50% ABV, 'new' version, 4 Year Minimum, distilled and bottled in Kentucky. I have not had this one before, so I have been looking forward to trying this. It's around $55 a bottle, so not cheap, but not overly expensive, let's see how it is:

On the nose, I got sweet cherry, some caramel, and some floral notes. The taste was mostly cherry and a woody note. The finish started out with cherry, then finished with a wood bite that lingered. I didn't particularly like the finish.

With water, it was very similar, a bit sweeter on the nose, and more burn on the finish. Probably better neat. This one was interesting overall, probably not as good as the Belle Meade last night, but certainly better than the 1792 the first night. I'll give it a 'weak' 3.25/5.0, cheers!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 2

Friday! Day 2... tonight we're drinking Belle Meade Reserve Bourbon, coming in at 54.15% ABV - this is a No Age Statement, but reported to be a blend of 7 to 11 year whiskeys from MGP in Indiana, bottled in Kentucky. Let's see how this one is:

On the nose, I get some sweet cherry fruit, along with some alcohol burn, molasses, and a touch of mint. The taste is sweet cherry syrup, and a bit dry dusty wood. The finish carries the cherry syrup along with some wood - it's warm and lingers for some time, the finish is quite nice.

Water makes the finish more woody, and there is more sweetness on the nose and taste. It can be enjoyed either way. This one runs around $60 - the company that makes this, Nelson's Green Breir Distillery, is currently changing their lineup, so this is being discontinued. It's good enough I'd be willing to check out the replacement. Rated 3.50/5.0

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 1

And here we are, the start of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y. Hopped on voice chat with a couple of friends to drink one this together. Tonight we are drinking 1792 Bottle In Bond Bourbon, a Westmoreland Store Pick, Barreled 2014-03-20, Warehouse 33, Floor 6, Barrel 7419, distilled and bottled in Kentucky, coming in at 50% ABV. To be bottled in bond it needs to be at least 4 years old - and it looks like this one is coming in around 8 years.

On the nose, I'm getting a bit of spearmint bubble gum, kinda a bit like scented nail polish with an alcohol burn present. There is a touch of grass as well. The taste has some typical bourbon sweetness and a hit of cut grass, but pretty light and neutral. The finish is short and not much there, but I do get some wood dryness.

With some water, it does mellow things out, but mostly it just makes it more flat, probably better neat. Not a crowd pleaser to start with, hopefully things are better for tomorrow. I'll rate this a 2.50... not bad, but not notable either. At $41 a bottle, it's pretty reasonable.

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 0

Well hello! It's that time... time for 24 Days of Whisk(e)y. I'll be officially kicking things off tomorrow, but I thought I better get back into the swing of things, so I'm reviewing something that's been on my shelf for a bit, but will not be in the 24 Days lineup. Tonight I'm drinking Bull Run American Whiskey, Aged 14 Years and then finished in Oregon Pinot Noir Casks for 20 more months. Batch No APF45, Barrel Proof coming in at 63.28% ABV, Hand selected by Westmoreland Liquors, costing just over $40. As far as I can tell this is a sourced whiskey - where it's distilled is anyone's guess as the label doesn't give any clues.

On the nose, we got some cereal grain, cherry fruit, herbal mint, and a touch of sweet molasses. The proof is certainly there as well. The taste has some malty sweetness, a touch of cherry, some bitter black tea and licorice, and the proof carries through as well. The finish is warm and tingly - dry. Has a burnt sweetness in the back... nothing off-putting, but nothing great either, which is too bad because the finish does linger for quite some time. 

With water, everything is just somewhat subdued... nose is flat, the taste seems to have more dry bitter tea and that carries into the finish. For me while it's punchy neat, it's better overall. At $40 and 14 years this would be a bargain if it was a bit better - but as it is, it's just so so, rated 2.75/5.0