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

Friday! Day 24 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... and it happens to be my birthday too (: Had a good time tasting all the Whisk(e)y, and will start hunting down new and interesting bottles for next year. I'm finishing out this year with Bruichladdich Octomore 11.1, "Super-Heavily Peated" Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Aged 5 Years, 59.4% ABV, 139.6 PPM (a peat measurement). I had heard many good things about Octomore, so when I saw this on the shelf, I went ahead and picked it up. 

On the nose, this is smokey, ash, sweet butterscotch, honey and a touch of citrus. The taste, I get a spicy heat, butterscotch, smoke, and ash - this is quite different than an earthy Ardbeg. The finish is smoke, bbq meat sweetness, spicy pepper heat that lingers, drifts off into ash.

With water, I get a touch of brine on the nose along with sweet bbq. Maybe sweeter on the taste too, and the finish has more of a spicy tingle, but less everything else. It is good both ways, but I probably prefer it neat. 

Overall, this is amazingly good. My brain could be playing tricks on me a bit, and I'd like to sometime try this without knowing what I was trying to see if I still thought it was still in the 'amazing' territory. Best of the year, and I'll be on the hunt for 12.1 or other releases. Rated 4.75 / 5.0 - cheers all!

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 23

Thursday evening - Day 23 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - tonight I'm drinking the Committee Release version of Ardbeg Scorch Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 51.7% ABV. I tried the non-Committee Release version on Day 19, which is 46% ABV. Let's see how this version is and if it's much different.

On the nose, I get campfire, ash, brine, cut grass and a floral perfume like note. The taste is sweet up front, followed by charred fruit, charred wood, some mint, an unspecific spicy hot pepper in the back. The heat carries to the finish, brine, charred oak, and a fresh mint tingle in the way back that lingers for some time.

With water, I get more floral on the nose, and a bbq sweetness. The taste is sweet turning quickly to heat along with the mint freshness, and the finish is char and that mint zing and it lingers a long time.

This is better than the non-Committee release, the finish is longer and it seems better balanced. Overall it's quite good - but I do probably like the Uigeadail and Corryvreckan better. Rated 4.0 / 5.0 - cheers!

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 22

Hump Day!!! Start of 4 Day Weekend Day!!!! Day 22 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y. Tonight, I'm having The BenRiach, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Peated Cask Strength Batch 2, 60% ABV (!!!). This one checks a lot of my boxes ... let's see how it is.

On the nose, I get campfire, bbq, earthy peat, with some fruit and in the back some faint vanilla. The nose is really quite good. The taste is smoke, peat, toffee sweetness, chocolate and some citrus. The finish is smoke, cocoa, fruit and some wood. This does not drink anywhere near the proof that it is - I would guess this was low 50s. This is no age statement - but it doesn't drink young. 

With water, the nose is similar, still very nice, maybe a bit more sweet vanilla. The taste - I'm now finding a touch of cinnamon, and the cinnamon carries over to the finish, along with everything else. This might be a bit better with some water - but it's not needed.

This is really good - well balanced, nice taste, nice proof... really no faults. I will certainly keep my eye out for Batch 3, and I might have to track down some other releases from The BenRiach. Rated 4.5 / 5.0 - best of the year for me.

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 21

Tuesday! Day 21 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y ... tonight I'm drinking Game of Thrones Six Kingdoms, Mortlach 15 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 46% ABV. This is the final release from Diageo for their Game of Thrones Collection - only the 2nd age statement, and the oldest.

On the nose, I get apple, some grain, along with orange zest and floral notes. The taste, I get toffee, apple, orange, fig, there is some zip to this too - not sure if it's just alcohol burn, or something else - and some strong sherry notes as well. The finish is warming and sweet, and lingers for quite a bit. 

With water, on the nose I get a hint of bread with everything else, the taste is more sherry and sweet - easier to drink for sure. The finish is similar, but does seem a bit more hot with a little more tingle at the end, good either way, maybe a touch better with a splash of water.

This is well balanced, and if I had a guest over that liked Scotch, but didn't like peat or cask strength - this would be in their wheelhouse. It's not really for me - as I do like peat and I do like cask strength ... still, very enjoyable. Rated 3.5 / 5.0 - cheers!

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 20

Made it through another Monday ... Day 20 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y. Tonight I'm having Jefferson's Ocean Aged At Sea Voyage 22 Single Barrel Special Wheated Mashbill Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 45% ABV. They take this bourbon and toss it on a ship and go around at sea for a while so it sloshes around the barrel - does it make any difference or is it just a gimmick? 

On the nose, I get caramel, cherry, salt and some mint. The taste is brown sugar, caramel and cherry. The finish in caramel and mint - it lingers for some time. With water, the nose gets some hay/grass along with the other things, pretty similar. The taste brings some salt for me, while the finish is almost the same but I am getting a bit more wood now. I could drink this either way.

Overall, this is pretty good, I haven't had the standard Jefferson's bourbon to compare it to, and I don't know if this wheated mash bill is much different than other Ocean Aged At Sea releases. It does run around $80 - and at that price range there are many things that are superior, so I can't see buying this again. Better than the budget bourbons - not as good as the cask strength bourbons I enjoy - will rate it 3.5 / 5.0

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 19

Sunday! (Sunday!) (sunday) ... Day 19 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y. Tonight, I'm trying Ardbeg Scorch, Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, "Limited Edition Fiercely Charred Casks", 46% ABV. This was the standard yearly release for Ardbeg Day. They can be hard to track down, but as a fan of Ardbeg, I've been on the hunt for these the last few years with limited success. Let's see how this one is.

On the nose, I get campfire smoke, ash, some brine and a touch of orange. The taste is charred wood, charred fruit, minty freshness, and a touch of sweet. The finish, some smoke and charred wood, with some brine that lingers. 

Adding water, the orange on the nose turns floral and takes over, the taste is mint and floral up front, then char and some heat in the back. More heat on the finish as well - I probably prefer this neat, but it's probably worth trying both ways as it does seem to be significantly different. 

While this is pretty good overall, it's not as good as any of the standard Ardbeg releases, including the 5 Year Wee Beastie which is less than 1/2 the price and can be found fairly easily. Ardbeg Scorch does have more char - which seems like the intention. Rated 3.5 / 5.0

2021 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 18

Saturday - woot! Day 18 of 24 Days of Whisk(e)y! Trying Son of a Peat Batch 3 "The Redeemer" Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Cask Strength (53.8% ABV) from Flaviar. My preferences for Scotch leans towards peaty, smokey varieties, so when I saw this on Flaviar, I figured I'd give it a try.

On the nose, this has a meaty smoke, peat, and is slightly medicinal. The taste I get smoke, peat, touch of spice, some almonds maybe, a bit of oak, and some sherry notes as well. The finish I get smoke and ash, peat, chocolate, spice tingle, dry wood. The finish lingers for some time and has nice warmth. 

Adding water, the nose seems more campfireish and more BBQ, the medicinal note seems to have vanished or is buried. The taste has more spice and the finish more tingle, seems hotter. I prefer this on neat. 

This one is really quite good. I tried another blended peaty Scotch, Compass Box Peat Monster, against this and the Son of Peat was much better. It probably is in Ardbeg Uigeadail or Corryvreckan territory - sometime I'll have to have it blind vs one of those and possibly some others. Rated 4.25 / 5.0