I feel like I’m falling out of love with whisky appreciation. Not whisky – I still enjoy a good deal of whisky from all over the world. No, I’m talking about falling out of love with the pursuit of new bottles, new distilleries, new…
…they completed construction and opened their state-of-the-art Louisville distillery in 2018 and now produce all of their own whiskey. Boxergrail is a Kentucky straight rye whiskey made from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley (for enzymes). The mash is aged “over 3 years” in new charred American oak barrels and then bottled at a robust 47.5% ABV.
This 12 year-old expression from The Balvenie is aged in first- or second-fill bourbon casks, with up to a further year in first-fill oloroso sherry casks. It stands on its own as a beautiful example of what quality Speyside whisky and careful oak aging can do. It has also stood the test of time, and is just as good as it was when I reviewed it 12 years ago.
Three Ships: Bourbon Cask, is a blend of South African malt and grain whiskeys aged in ex-Bourbon casks for a minimum of three years. The whisky is bottled at 43% ABV. Of course “aged in ex-bourbon” is kind of like saying “written on paper” or “served on a plate”. In this case the distillery is drawing attention to the use of several different “ages” of…
I had lofty goals about writing a few blog posts to catch up from my recent bout of negligence. Especially since I have a long trip coming up, well, tomorrow. But then I woke up with a head cold and so there goes any hope of tasting whisky. Sorry? (Yes sorry) I hope to get …
Jefferson’s Reserve is a straight bourbon whiskey which is actually a blend of several (rumor is 4-5) bourbons and aged for an undisclosed period of time (again, rumor is around 8 years on average). Jefferson’s keeps their sourcing and production secrets pretty close to the vest, which leaves whiskey nerds like yours truly without much to chew on…
This particular release, which I snapped up in 2022 but is still on shelves well into 2023, was aged for a full 12 years in a combination of American and European oak sherry casks – assume that means refill casks – before finishing for an undisclosed period of time in Amontillado sherry casks. Amontillado is a dry type of sherry, so don’t expect…
Jack Daniel’s uses a mash bill of 80% corn, 12% malted barley, and 8% rye. I believe it’s uncommon for the enzyme catalyzer (barley) to have a higher percentage in the mash than the flavor grain (rye). The mash is fermented using a starter culture from the prior batch (called “sour mashing”) for 6 days and distilled in a copper column still and doubler. The resulting spirit is mellowed through 10 feet of compressed charcoal from sugar maples – this is the Lincoln County process necessary to call the product Tennessee Whiskey – and…
This limited edition malt was bottled in 2021 to celebrate the annual Campbeltown Malts Festival, but they clearly made enough of it to warrant Costco-scale distribution. The whisky was aged for 10 years in first-fill bourbon before enjoying a 5 month dip in first-fill Bordeaux red wine casks from the Medoc region of France. I really like seeing the finish length on a bottle label – too often distilleries…
This is a 12 year-old single-malt whiskey (similar to scotch) but made by malting wheat instead of barley, and aged in oak barrels made from oak trees growing on the slopes of the Caucasian mountains. The whiskey is then finished in Armenian brandy casks. Total age is 12 years in oak. All of this happens at the Eraskh Winery and Distillery in the Ararat Valley of Armenia. The whiskey is…