2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 13

Friday! Today was my last day of work at my current workplace, and I am not planning on getting another job, so... retirement! It will take a bit of time for things to feel real as I've been super busy outside of work, but I am planning on enjoying more free time.

Tonight... rye! I was pretty sure right away on this one, it wasn't really hiding anything. The nose was floral, spices and a light sweetness. Generally speaking, the nose was pretty soft. The taste I did find some molasses and simple syrup, along with spice, pepper, hot cinnamon. A little bit of heat too. The finish I did get a touch of licorice, along with the spice and the molasses in the back. 

Water didn't change things all too much. The nose and taste had more spice, while the finish still had the licorice as the main thing I was finding. We were drinking...

Few Spirits Straight Rye Whiskey, ABV 50%, Bottled In Bond, aged at least 4 years. This cost me $56, so not a budget rye. Good thing it's better than a budget rye (: While I enjoyed the Jefferson's Rye from Day 9 more than this one, this is more like a typical rye. Rated 3.5/5.0 - pretty solid overall. Cheers!

2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 12

Thursday! Day 12 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y... cue Bon Jovi! Tonight... peaty Whisky. Is it Scotch? Is it American Single Malt? Who knows.

On the nose, this one is not fooling around. It reminds me of the random one off Ardbegs that get released. They are different than the usual Ardbegs - but not necessarily better. I'm getting peaty sweet meaty bbq, smoke, char, some cinnamon, and a touch of tire rubber. I'm wondering if this is Laphroaig, but I'm not getting any medicinal band-aid or iodine. It doesn't feel too low of proof, but not too high either. 

On the taste, I get a sweet mint, more of the bbq, jammy berries. The finish is minty and fruity up front, but then peppery in the back. This is really enjoyable and has a lot of things going on. Adding water, the nose is softer and minty, the taste is more minty, mint finish as well. Water really buries all the peat. It's different but not necessarily better with water. 

I was a bit surprised by what this was... 

I've had a Talisker Distiller Edition long ago, the 2015 version, and it wasn't anywhere near as rich as this one. I still have a sample of that one, and tried it side by side with this, and my memory was correct. The 2015 was good, this release from 2023 is outstanding. My only complaint might be that it is too sweet and too easy to drink - this would be better at 50% ABV or so, but that is reaching for something to complain about. Price was $80, I give this one a 4.25/5.0 - best of the bunch so far, cheers!

2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 11

Hey! Hump ... DAY ! ! ! Day 11 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... what are we drinking tonight? As usual, I've been going into this 'blind' - I know what 24 bottles I bought, but the order was random except for the final day, and at this point there are fewer and fewer left. So you would think I'd have a good chance of knowing what I'm drinking, right?

On the nose, this one is malty and orange, a bit sharp from the alcohol, and a get a light chocolate frosting. Not a good rich chocolate frosting, one that you're disappointed that it doesn't have more chocolate. I also get some butterscotch too.

The taste is certainly sugary sweet, some wood, some spice, chocolate, buttery, with some malt. The finish is spicy and lingers, it has a warmth that builds. This is really nice overall. But....

for whatever reason it didn't strike me as Irish, and it didn't strike me as this one - which is something I've had many times in the past, including this batch.

After I knew what it was - of course it was easy to see. High proof, malty, fruity, chocolaty, butterscotch... yeah, Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength. With water it's still a bit sharp on the nose, but there is more wood there. Less spice on the taste and finish, really good overall. This one is batch B1/22, 58.1% ABV, currently it costs about $110. It used to be one of my favorites, but these days it's getting hard to pull the trigger at that price. I was curious how it would fare drinking it blind. It's good, and likely the best Irish Whiskey of the bunch... but there are so many other things that can be bought for less, it's hard to justify. Still, without regards to the price, I rate it 4.0/5.0. 

2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 10

Tuesday! Day 10 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... tonight ... Scotch! Finally! (: Random is random, but we've somehow avoided having any unpeated Scotch until tonight. Even though this was blind, I was pretty pretty sure this was a Scotch on the first nose. I thought it was likely a blend... was I correct? Uh... nope (:

We are drinking anCnoc (the middle C is silent) 12 Year Highland Single Malt, 43% ABV. It doesn't state that it's not chilled filtered, so at this ABV it likely is. This one was discontinued in Oregon, and I picked this up for $52. There is a reason I tend to enjoy Scotch over Bourbons and Ryes - and that is they are usually more interesting. This one is a good example of that.

On the nose, initially I get malt, followed by sweet vanilla, apricot, orange, a touch of lemonade, floral, perfume. It's shiny on the nose, which made me think it was a blend as that is something I commonly get on blended Scotch. There is even a bit of menthol cough drops. 

The taste isn't quite as interesting ... but to be honest, it would have been hard to follow the nose. I do get the malt and sweet vanilla, but I also find some black walnuts and a flat lemon-lime soft drink. 

The finish is nice too - I get malt for sure, but a bit of unspecific spice and warmth, with a touch of ash way in the back. With water, the nose has the malt tamed down a bit, which helps the other notes come out. The taste with water has the cinnamon wake up a bit. The finish is still sweet and I'm finding some honey as well. This is worth having both ways.

I am giving this one a 4.0/5.0. I bought this about a year ago when it was discontinued in Oregon, but checking online, there are still bottles to be had - so I might have to pick up another bottle of this... it's really good. Cheers!

2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 9

Happy Monday! Day 9 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... tonight we are trying Jefferson's Ocean Aged At Sea Double Barrel Rye, Voyage 26, 48% ABV, no age statement, costing $80. This starts with Canadian Rye that is then put in barrels that are then put on a ship that goes to various places while the barrel sloshes around and sees some changes in weather and whatnot. It's supposed to age the whiskey quicker ... no idea how much is gimmick, and how much actually helps - but that's their story.

On the nose I find a touch of floral, some citrus, maybe orange, herbal, vanilla, nutmeg or similar baking spice and cinnamon. The taste is sweet brown sugar syrup, hint of orange, maybe some chocolate, touch of spice and maybe a touch of oak. Going back and forth tasting and nosing I kept finding new things. 

The finish is sweet, lingers and I get some licorice. While this doesn't have much rye spice for me, the licorice had me guessing it was a rye when drinking this blind. With water the nose is more sweet along with the taste, finish is similar but shorter. For me this is better neat.

Overall this is pretty good. It's better than budget ryes for sure. It's better than the 10 Year Whistle Pig from the other night - which costs the same. It might be a smidge high, but I'll rate it 3.75/5.0 tonight. I plan on trying all these again next year and seeing if my ratings change any. Cheers!

2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 8

Sunday evening ... what are we drinking? For the 8th Day of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y we are drinking Powers Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, Jonh's Lane, Aged 12 Years, 46% ABV. This one cost $67 - which isn't too bad these days for a 12 Year Irish Whiskey... but only if it's worth drinking.

On the nose this one is pretty light. I get a nice maltiness, along with some orange citrus and vanilla. It's sweet, but I can't quite place my finger on what type of sweet. The taste is similar... lots of sweetness, orange crush, a touch of sweet candy licorice, and cream brûlée. The finish has some spice... enough that when I drank this blind my initial thought was it was Irish, but the finish led me to think it might be a rye. But once you know you're drinking an Irish - it's all you find really.

Water didn't chance much, just make things flatter. This one might be a little too easy to drink, and once you notice how sweet it is, it's hard to think about anything else. I enjoyed it, but I don't think it's something I would buy again, I prefer something a bit more interesting. Even so, I rate this one a 3.75/5.0 - cheers!

2024 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 7

Saturday... day 7 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y. Tonight... Stranahan's Original Colorado Single Malt Whiskey. This is 100% malted barley, double distilled in copper pot stills and aged in virgin American Oak casks. 47% ABV, no age statement.

On the nose, I get the maltiness, a touch of mint sneaks in briefly, and then I get cinnamon bread and a touch of apple. The taste is very similar, some sweetness comes in - brown sugar or maybe molasses, still getting what I think is apple or similar.

For the finish, I get brown sugar that lingers, apple in the back, and a nice building heat. Water didn't change things much if any, though I might have got a bit of malt funk with water that I didn't seem to get without. 

My initial thought drinking this blind was this was an Irish, but I thought it was higher proof too. Being that it 100% malted barley, and distilled in copper pot stills, it's not *that* big of a surprise that it tastes like an Irish. I've had this a few years ago and recalled enjoying it, so I figured I'd toss it into the 24 days and see what I thought about it blind. I like this, but it's not as complex as the Colkegan American Single Malt from the other night, and I'll rate this a 3.75/5.0.