Whisk(e)y Wednesday - 2023-09-27 (I'm back!)

Hello! Well, it's time to start getting back in 'whiskey' shape for the upcoming 24 Days of Whisk(e)y... tonight, I'm drinking Maker's Mark No. 46 - Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky (no e?). This one was finished with ten virgin French oak staves, coming in at 55.05% ABV, batch 23-02.

Time to give this a try. On the nose - there is a lot going on, there is some citrus, along with a candy cherry note. I get some milk chocolate and/or toffee, and some peppery spice. It's quite nice and isn't overpowering. 

On the taste - the peppery spice comes through first for me, along with the chocolate cherry and a bit of grass in there too. The finish is similar with the candy cherry / chocolate up front, peppery spice in the back. The finish lingers for quite some time and you do get some wood bite eventually. 

With a dash of water, the nose is more sweet and herbal, while the taste is a bit more sweet and with more chocolate - the finish gets a bit more wood... it might be better with a dash of water to be honest. Overall this is quite good - what you would expect from a large distillery releasing a cask strength bottle around $65 or so. I give this a 3.75/5.0 ... the bottle disappeared a lot quicker than expected. Cheers!!!

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

Day 24... end of the road. And today... Ardbeg!!! We're having the 2022 Ardbeg special release - Ardcore. This is an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky coming in at 46% ABV. The last two Ardbeg special releases were not very special in my opinion, let's see how this one is.

The nose on this is amazing. Sweet BBQ Meat, peat, smoke, some brine, some black petter. I sat with this for at least 10 minutes just smelling it. Fantastic. The taste is a bit of a let down, but really - it would have been hard to match the nose. I get pepper, sweet and meaty, some smoke and earthy peat. The taste is a bit thin compared to the nose... I get a hint of vanilla too. The finish is effervescence along with some heat that lingers a long time. It's a bit weak at first, but I do get some earthy peat, a little bit of pepper and some brine.

With water, it's sweeter on the nose, some mint in the back too. The taste is similar while the finish is more spicy - this is good with or without water. The nose on this fantastic - but the taste and finish is a step back. Overall it's very good. Rated 4.25/5.0 - cheers!!!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 23

Day 23 ... almost there (: Tonight, we're drinking West Cork Limited Release, blended Irish, Barrel Proof - NAS (but stated as at least 3 years old). 62% ABV! Not many Irish Whiskeys are high proof ... so I'm interested on how this will turn out. 

On the nose, I get vanilla, bread/cookie, malt, apple juice and honey. The taste, I get sweet, malty, some herb, apple and vanilla... with a heat that builds from the proof. The finish is some good heat from the proof, fruity, malty... lingers for a long time. 

With water, the nose is a little more subtile, more apple, more malty. On the tast, it's still hot, but it is tamed down a bit. The finish is still malty and vanilla. Overall... I like this quite a bit. Boozy, malty... quite tasty. I give it a 3.75/5.0... cheers!

2022 24 Days of Whisk(e)y - Day 22

Thursday! And I'm off until Wednesday ... so, Whiskey Time! Day 22... nearing the end. Tonight I'm trying out the Remus Repeal Reserve Series VI, 2022 Release at 50% ABV. This is an annual release of several Ross & Squibb (formally MGP) sourced bourbons, a blend of 8 - 14 Year bourbon. I've had a few of the past releases and they've always been very good. How will this one be?

On the nose, this one is pretty mild. I do get some floral notes, some mint, and occasionally sweet brown sugar, and maybe some vanilla. The taste... initially I found it oddly sour. Maybe it's wood, but I'm not actually certain. Not a strong sour, just a bit off sour? Can't quite place it. Going back I do get some sweetness, and a bit of rye like spice. The finish, I get the wood, some heat, but some of the sour carries through. Still not sure how to exactly describe it.

With water, I seem to get more rye like spice on the nose, taste and finish. Some vanilla on the taste, and a sweeter finish. Seems to be a bit better with water for me, but still not something I like too much. This bottle runs about $100, and it can be hard to find, at least around here. Considering how good I liked past releases (Series II I rated 3.5, Series IV I rated 3.75, and I'm pretty sure if I had rated Series V I would have placed it at 4.0 as it was really good) I admit I'm disappointed. I split this bottle with a friend, so there isn't much left, but enough to go back to it on another night to see if I enjoy it more. Rated 3.0/5.0

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.