My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff
The third expression in this series is, like the other two, bottled at 40% ABV. The nose has lots of dried fruits, prunes, raisins, digestive biscuits and a slight farmyuard, vegatal funkiness. The taste is more dried fruit, prunes, bitter dark chocolate and citrus peel. The mouthfeel is quite creamy, chewy and even oily. The finish is spicy with fresh cut jalepenos and black pepper. Not massively complex... consider if Macallan had an off day. However Macallan's bad days are still better than many distilleries good days.
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The third expression in this series is, like the other two, bottled at 40% ABV. The nose has lots of dried fruits, prunes, raisins, digestive biscuits and a slight farmyuard, vegatal funkiness. The taste is more dried fruit, prunes, bitter dark chocolate and citrus peel. The mouthfeel is quite creamy, chewy and even oily. The finish is spicy with fresh cut jalepenos and black pepper. Not massively complex... consider if Macallan had an off day. However Macallan's bad days are still better than many distilleries good days.
This is the second whisky in this range I have tried. Like the others it is a 40% ABV, NAS, private label bottling for Total Wines with little clue to it's origin other than Scotland.... there is no Grangestone distillery (although the rate at which distilleries open now it is not impossible that I could be wrong about that). Vanilla hits you immediately in the nose, along with sweet caramel and ripe bananas. The taste has more banana, butterscotch and some pepper. The finish get slightly bitter and oaky. Not spectacular, but a solid "bourbon" cask expression.
Location: Ristorante del Lago, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs
Date: July 2020
Price: $14.00
Recipe: Padua Manhattan which according to menu is ... Michters Rye, Green Chartreuse, Aperol, Orange Bitters
Garnish: Lemon Peel
Served: Up
Comments: Good cocktail, but not a Manhattan
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
This Japanese plum flavored whiskey is bottled at 30% ABV. There is sweet, and then there is "have the number of a good dentist handy" sweet. This one falls into the second category. The nose is sweet but also delicately floral. There are some plum notes are in the taste, more sugarplums than The Nutcracker aand some prunes and jelly babies. Imagine a whiskey flavored Jelly Bean. The finish is a thick coating of sugar on the teeth combined with some mint from the toothpaste you will have to keep nearby.
Location: Fogo de Chao, Denver, CO
Date: July 2020
Price: $13.50
Recipe: Buffalo Trace, Carpano Antica, Blood Orange, Angusturo Bitters
Garnish: Orange peel
Served: Rocks
Comments: A little Orange peel or Triple sec or Orange bitters is good, but this was overpowered by Orange juice. It was fine, but not a Manhattan.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Tavern, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs
Date: July 2020
Price: $14.00
Recipe: Spencer's Manhattan which according to menu is ... Rye Whiskey, Drambuie, Bitters
Garnish: 3 cherries
Served: Up
Comments: Drambuie in a Manhattan? No Vermouth? That was a first. The color strongly suggests that vermouth was in the recipe.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
This is a 45% ABV Colorado produced straight rye I was able to try on recent family trip to Denver. The nose is sweet and fruity, candy and fresh cut grass and after some time some grainy notes (suggesting it is probably quite young). The taste starts spicy and sweet; Hot Tamales, cinnamon and cola. With time some sweet dried fruits like prunes develop as well. The finish has peppermint which fades to leave a signature herbal note. Overall a classic young rye, fresh, fruity, peppery and sweet all at the same time.
Location: Total Wine and More, Houston, TX
Date: June 2020
Price: $24.99
Recipe: According to packet... whiskey, vermouth, caramel color
Garnish: I added 2 Luxardo Maraschino cherries
Served: Rocks
Comments:Way over priced even for 100 ml.... but it was much better than I expected for a recipe that included "caramel color"
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
I always find myself so drawn to rum influenced whisky that there is a part of me that thinks maybe I should just drink rum? Anyway this no age statement variation on the theme is bottled at 40% ABV and pretty good value at under $40 in bottle (in Texas anyway). The nose is sweet and fruity with perhaps the tell-tale Glenlivet pineapple notes lurking in the background. The taste starts sweet as well with toffee and brown sugars and I found quite oily. I don’t get fresh fruits but more candy fruit flavors, like Starburst or boiled sweets. The finish balances out the sweetness with bitter citrus oil and peel, essential oils and woody tannins. A little water turns the oily mouthfeel into something more creamy and brings out some banana notes. Really good value.
This 48.5% ABV bottling comes from batch No. 1 (of 1260 bottles) and is labelled as bourbon, sherry and port cask matured. This was my first Kilchoman purchase in a long time but I am a bit of a sucker for Port influenced whiskies and I am really glad I found this one. The nose is classic Islay with salt, seaweed and smoke in abundance. Maritime whisky notes dominate with some iodine and seaweed at low tide. The taste starts sweet with dried fruits, marzipan, barley sugar and then some salty notes add balance. A Christmas cake left on the beach. The finish manages to be both spicy and sweet and even minty and dries out leaving smoke. With water gets a little creamier and sweeter and some black pepper appears in the finish. There is a lot going on here and the three casks all show their influence on the finished product.