2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 21

Day 21... Hump DAY!!! Whiskey Wednesday!!! Tonight we have 1792 Full Proof, a Westmoreland Single Barrel Store Pick. This one is about 8 Years old, and 62.5% ABV, distilled and bottled in Kentucky. So far I've had a few different 1792 products, and I haven't really enjoyed them - we'll see if this one can change my mind.

On the nose, I get some brown sugar, a Hi-C juice box like fruity sweetness, Smarties candy, a slight hint of fruit. It's interesting, and somewhat surprising considering the ABV, not that hot on the nose. Later in the evening, it did seem more brown sugar after I had let it sit a while. The taste is cinnamon red hot initially... maybe from the proof as the heat didn't build. I get a brown sugar/syrup taste as well. The finish starts hot, then has some nut, and finally some oak. It hangs around for some time and is quite nice. 

With water, the nose is similar though a bit more muted, more nutty on the taste and finish too... more wood on the finish as well. It's good either way, and it's worth exploring with different amounts of water as well. At $50, this is a pretty good deal. For me, this is the best bourbon of the 24 days so far, I like it a bit better than the Trail's End, I'll rate it 3.75/5.0.

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 20

Tuesday, Day 20. Tonight... McCarthy's 6 Year Oregon Single Malt Whiskey, Distilled and Bottled by Clear Creek Distillery, Widmer Wash. This uses peated malt from Scotland... so it's more or less a peaty Scotch that is distilled in Oregon. I liked the Cask Strength Single Barrel McCarthy's on Day 8 - let's see what I think of this one.

On the nose, this one has the peat, sweet bbq meat, a touch of medicinal and some brine. It's a really nice nose, well balanced... and just want to keep smelling it. The taste I get the peat, a spicy pepper, and the sweet bbq meat. It's not quite as good as the nose, but still pretty good. The finish, I get spicy heat tingle initially, earthy, and the sweet bbq again. The earthy dirt like finish lingers - if it was more 'dirt' I might not like it, but here it's quite nice.

With water, I got more alcohol initially on the nose, but that faded pretty quickly - and then it was more or less the same as before. The taste - I get some citrus and it doesn't seem as hot spicy as before. The finish is less spicy too, but also a couple notches flatter - better without water. I poured a bit of the McCarthy's Cask Strength to compare it to. The nose on this is better, the taste on the Cask Strength is probably more interesting. I paid $90 for this, while the Cask Strength is $60 - so since I think they are similar, I know what I'll be buying another bottle of (: Rated 4.25/5.0 - good stuff!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 19

Monday! I actually had to work today due to coworkers on vacation ... but that means I just need to work 8 more hours the rest of the week... woo! Day 19... tonight, we're drinking Yellowstone Select Bourbon, Aged 4 Years, and High Rye Mashbill, 46.5% ABV. This one is a store pick from Westomoreland, Kentucky sourced and bottled. Two lower ABV Bourbons in a row, let's see how this one is.

On the nose, this one is a bit hard to get into... have to dig a bit, but that can be expected at lower proofs. I get some cinnamon, but more like baking cinnamon or a cinnamon broom, some rye spice, along with a sweet brown sugar. The taste, I get some lemon, some candy red hot cinnamon, the brown sugar and creamy sweetness. The finish - more hot cinnamon on the front, nice length, along with some barrel char and a touch of nut on the backend. 

With water, I notice the citrus on the nose along with everything else from before, more citrus on the taste, and cinnamon on the finish, but a bit more mellow. Pretty good either way. This is good, but not great. Nothing about it says 'WOW' but on the other hand, there are no faults. This one was $46 - I've seen the non-store pick for $37. If it's comparable, that's a better price for this. In the Eagle Rare territory in my opinion. Rated 3.25/5.0.

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 18

Sunday evening... time to try this one out. Tonight we're drinking Tin Cup Bourbon Whiskey, aged 10 years, MGP sourced from Indiana, bottled in Colorado at 42% ABV, costing about $55 in Oregon. That's a pretty low ABV, lets see if tastes that way.

On the nose, there seems to be a lot going on, but nothing is overpowering. It's a bit soft and you have to go hunting a bit - which thanks to the lower ABV, you can get in deep. I get vanilla, honey sweetness, rich fruit, some oak. On the taste, the honey comes through, along with a bright orange, brown sugar, some creamy sweetness, brown sugar, a bit of oak. A cinnamon heat builds over time. The finish is the cinnamon at the front, with the oak in the back that hangs around a long time.

When I tried this with water, I found that it just softens and dulls the nose. The taste is hotter, and the finish is flat, much better without the water. Overall, this is really quite good, and a nice change from some of the higher proof. This is probably a touch better than the Eagle Rare, on par with the Old Forester 1910 probably - which is where it's priced. Rated 3.5/5.0 - cheers!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 17

Saturday! Got some work done around the house... day 17 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - tonight, Heaven's Door Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon, a Westmoreland store pick. This one is 60.75% ABV, distilled and bottled in Tennessee. It's pretty high proof, let's see how it is.

On the nose, I really have to hunt for anything interesting. I do get a little bit of citrus, but more like citrus cleaner than real citrus, a touch of sweetness too. The taste - hot! Cinnamon Red Hot... and not much else initially. There is a bit of sweetness, and I do get a little wood too. The finish is hot and spicy as well, then in the back I do get the wood too.

With water, the nose is sweeter, but the taste and finish is even hotter. I don't think the heat is coming from the proof directly, but it probably isn't helping matters. This is OK overall - there are no faults, but there also isn't much about it that I like too much. Rated 3.25/5.0, cheers!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 16

Day 16... Friday!!!! Tonight, we're drinking Deer, Bear & Moose 2011, Caol Ila Aged 10 Year, Double Cask, distilled 2011, bottled 2021, 56% AVB, Flaviar Exclusive. This one was a bit of a hope and a prayer - no idea how good it was going to be, they wanted $95.00 for the bottle... I signed up and hoped for the best.

The nose... smokey, meaty, ashy, brine, touch of medicinal/band-aid/iodine. This is everything a peaty loving Scotch drinker is looking for. The first sip - the proof comes through, hard. the second sip... ok, now we're talking! Peaty, peppery, some malty sweetness, some heat (pepper?), quite tasty. The finish follows through and lingers with the smoke, the chard meat, some brine, pepper, and ash. 

Adding water, on the nose I get more pepper and iodine.. more medicinal. This has flipped from a Lagavulin-ish Scotch to a Laphroaig-ish Scotch. Quite a transformation. The taste and finish is similar, where it's a lot more Laphroaig-ish ... in a good way. 

This one is really good. I went ahead and poured a sample of the CS McCarthy's to see how it compares. The McCarthy's does have better flavor overall, but The Deer, Bear & Moose is better balanced and overall is a better "Scotch" to drink. If you have this and have not tired it with water - do so... it is better for me. I'm going to rate this one 4.5/5.0 ... it deserves it. Cheers!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 15

Thursday! My Whiskey Tasting got delayed tonight due to being the rollout monitor for work... and the rollout taking about 2.5 hours instead of the 30 minutes it usually takes. Boooooo! But... it was successful, so now it is time to celebrate. I will admit, I poured the Whiskey before the rollout was done, just to nose it ... so it sat for over 2 hours with a cap on it until my work was complete (: Tonight... Sagamore Spirit Rye Barrel Select, a Westmoreland Store Pick, aged 7 years, location Floor 11, Rick 3, Barrel 63, MGP, Indiana Sourced.... 55% ABV.

On the nose, I find spearmint, brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, some herbs and way in the back a touch of dill if I'm hunting for it. The taste... initially it was *hot* ... but then on the second drink it settled down somewhat. I get herbal, rye spice, a touch of sweetness, hot spice (cinnamon?), and some wood. On the finish, I get a spice that lingers and a tongue that tingles, along with some wood bite that does hang around for some time.

With water, the nose is sweeter but a bit dull, the taste is similar but a touch less "hot"... finish is similar as well. I could drink this either way. Overall, this is pretty good. I'd say it's better than the Old Pepper Distillery Rye from the other night, but I'll rate it the same, 3.75/5.0 as I don't think it's good enough to warrant a 4.0. Cheers!