My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff
The name of this 40% expression comes from heavily charred oak barrels used in the process. The nose is fruity and sweet, with toasted pineapple and vanilla. The mouth feel is very smooth and sweet with notes of butterscotch, floral honey, vanilla custard and toasted nut notes. The finish has some chilli peppers and bitter lemon peel and dries out. With some water it thins out and mouthfeel gets a little less creamy. Lots of classic bourbon and oak notes which is what they were going for.
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Location: Del Frisco's Grille, The Woodlands, Texas
Date: November 2020
Price: $15.00
Recipe: Bulleit Bourbon, Luxardo Cherry Sangue Morlacco, Maple Syrup, Spiced Cherry Bitters
Garnish: Peel and cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Soem unique ingredients and overall pretty good, enjoyed the sweetness
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
The name of this 40% expression comes from heavily charred oak barrels used in the process. The nose is fruity and sweet, with toasted pineapple and vanilla. The mouth feel is very smooth and sweet with notes of butterscotch, floral honey, vanilla custard and toasted nut notes. The finish has some chilli peppers and bitter lemon peel and dries out. With some water it thins out and mouthfeel gets a little less creamy. Lots of classic bourbon and oak notes which is what they were going for.
This Glenmornagie 40% abv expression is finished in Hungarian wine casks and certainly lives up to name. The nose has lots of fresh baked goods, matly, nutty with some vanilla. A french bakery with a freshly polished floor. The taste is sweet and a little tart, custard creme cookies, lemon squares and citrus oils. The finish gets woody, peppers and spices and some more citrus oil. With a little water it gets a little sharper and less sweet.
Location: Islamorada, Florida, USA
Date: November 2020
Price: $6.00
Recipe: Rye Whiskey, Sherry, Bitters
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Manhattan in a can.... made with Sherry? Seemed to work however and a good price.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Bravo! Bra - Fucking - Vo!
Finally someone North of Hadrian's Wall has decided to "grow a pair" and just be honest and transparent about selling a young whisky. Usual marketing tactic is to put no age statement, create a weak back story and slap on an unpronounceable Gaelic name for the younger stuff. I am extra delighted that it is a distillery I happen like a lot. In fact I am a little reluctant to post the review because it is not my favorite Ardbeg... and I really don't want to say anything negative. The nose is smoky bbq with orange peel and even floral notes. The taste is creamy at first with barley sugar, black tea and more bitter, slightly burnt, orange peel. The finish is peppery, smoky with more strong tea tannins and yes there are some grainy (ie young) spirit notes. Not super complex but balanced, flavorful and pretty punchy. Lives up to the name.
Location: Katz's, Houston, Texas
Date: September 2020
Price: $12.00
Recipe: Rye Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth and Angostura Bitters
Garnish: Luxardo maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: On the larger side which as it was served "up" in a tumbler warmed a little too quickly
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
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.