Glenmorangie – Nectar D’or – 93/100 Finally a Scotch that I love!

Price – Discovery Set – $41.99 – (Costco)

Method – 50 ml in a Glencairn – two fingers in a rocks glass

Rating – 93-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review –

I’ll start by saying that this is my second 50ml bottle of this scotch.  So far, it is my favorite scotch that I have tried, so when I saw the discovery set, I figured I’d give their range a shot.  I probably shouldn’t review them starting at the most expensive and working backward, but I just really wanted to drink this particular whisky again.  So lets get this train a rollin’ eh?

Willett – Pot Still Reserve – 85/100

Price – 750 ml – $47.99 – (Heights Beer and Wine Emporium)

Method – 50 ml in a Glencairn – two fingers in a rocks glass

Rating – 85-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review –

So I think like a lot of people, its the bottle that really makes this whiskey jump off the shelf.  Once I got it home the biggest quandary became where to put it on my shelf.  The wide base of this bad bourbon is quite a foot print of prime real estate, so I had to jostle around the collection a bit to get it to make sense.  I have been hearing a lot of buzz about this particular bourbon, so I thought I’d give it a go during “WWTWW2k12” (Whiskey World Tour Whiskey Week 2012).  

Greenore – Single Grain – 8 years old – Single Grain – 90/100

Price – 750 ml – $43.99 – (www.shoppersvineyard.com)

Method – 50 ml in a Glencairn

Rating – 90-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review –

Before we get into the review of this really great whiskey, I’d like to take a small side route.  As of yesterday, when I posted the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked review, I realized that I am 1 week from the 6-month milestone for WWT, so I figured I’d celebrate it with Whiskey Week.  One whiskey per day, for 7 days.  Sounds like fun, so lets get down to brass tacks here.

This is one of the whiskeys that I bought for St. Paddy’s day, and never got around to reviewing, and I’ll also say that the 15 year version of this whiskey was the choice of G-Lo from the Booze Dancing crew, so this ones for you G-Lo!  It also ended up being one of my favorite Irish bottles in my burgeoning collection in the end.

Woodford Reserve – Double Oaked – 94/100

Price – 750 ml – $44.99 – (www.shoppersvineyard.com)

Method – 50 ml in a Glencairn

Rating – 94-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review –

I’m going to start my review by saying… DAMN!  It’s been nearly 3 months since my last actual review, but the semester from hell -in which much whiskey was consumed, much writing was done, but none of it actually made it to the blog- is finally over.  So I’m going to kick off my reinvigorated efforts with a whiskey that completely knocked my socks off.  Woodford Reserve (the original) was a beautiful whiskey, but the one drawback for me was that I got a horrible metallic finish at the very end.  I was hoping to get all the good of Woodford  Reserve original without that terrible finish, what I got was so far beyond that.  But, as I’m fond of saying, “less talk more rock”.

Knob Creek – 9 Year – 86-100

Price – 750 ml – $33.99 – (www.shoppersvineyard.com)

Method – 2 ice cubes – two fingers of alcohol in 8 oz. rocks glass

Rating – 86-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review – 

Knob Creek was one of the Bourbons that was recommended to me by almost everyone when I was asking for my first suggestions.  It was also my first 100+ proof whiskey, so the difference of a stronger glass of whiskey was something that struck me immediately.  At this point I’ve had my bottle for about 9 months and it’s nearly gone, so I have a bit of experience with this specific dram.

Knob Creek is one of the Small Batch Bourbons put out by Jim Beam and sons, and the only one I currently own.  I’ll try to get a few others and add it to the list fairly soon.

Maker’s 46 – 95/100

Price – 750 ml – $42.99 – (www.shoppersvineyard.com)

Method – nose – glencairn glass 15ml  palate – 3 fingers – 2 ice cubes 8oz rocks tumbler

Rating – 95-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review – 

I’m now realizing that this is the whiskey that started my whole descent into whatever you might call this path that led me to start writing for Whiskey World Tour. The traditional Maker’s Mark was the third bottle of whiskey I ever purchased, following JD and Jameson, and the first one I really thought was very different. So when I started reading about it, and why it was so different from the others I had tried before, and read about the new form, 46, I was intrigued. Paired with the fact that I could find it no where amongst the every day liquor stores of New Jersey, the hunt for the rare became the fun of it all. And it all started with a red headed bottle named Maker’s 46.

The bottle is beautiful without being flashy. Smooth curves and no paper label suit this bottle well. The red wax topper that is usual for the Makers brand, sits proudly atop a cork, not a cap, and is matched by a rex wax seal that sits on the breast of the bottle like a gem. Overall, probably my second favorite bottle design of all the whiskeys I own (the first being Angel’s Envy by a nose).

Midleton – Very Rare Irish Whiskey 2011 – 98/100

Price – 750 ml – $135.99 reg $113.99 Sale – (www.shoppersvineyard.com)

Method – 2 ice cubes – 3 fingers of alcohol in 8 oz. rocks glass

Rating – 98-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review –

 

First off let me say that I owe this bottle of glory to my lovely girlfriend who bought it for me as a Christmas present.  It was a great present and not just because it was expensive.Also, this was the winner in my poll to see what the readers (however few you may be 😉 ) wanted to get a review of next.I’ll start as I usually do with the packaging.  The blond, wood-grain box that the bottle comes in is well made and is a great match to the fresh color and taste of this whiskey.  It comes with a personal registration card that you can send back to the distillery to let them know who purchased each numbered bottle.   It’s a corked bottle that has the same color cork stopper as the wood of the box and a beautiful gold and parchment label that really dresses up this traditional Irish whiskey bottle rather nicely.On the nose, you get something that not a lot of Irish whiskeys will give you, honey.  But its not the cloying honey that plagues some bourbons, its the fresh-light honey scent that really brightens up both the nose and the taste.  The spice that you would expect from a Midleton whiskey is there, reminiscent of the Redbreast (click to read my review of Redbreast 12), but it is much more mellow and has a very clean feel on the nose.

So what’s next?

I have far too many choices at this point and I have no idea what to review next, and thats just in the bottles I own.  So I figured I’d see what you wanted an opinion on.  Maybe I have something you haven’t tried and would like a heads up on or about.  Anyway vote in the poll and I’ll review something this saturday night.

So enjoy, and I’d love to read the feedback so please vote if you have an opinion.

Sláinte,

Chuck

My first 1000

 

Milestones are all about reminding yourself about the journey it’s taken to get to a certain point.  My first 1000 views have been a blast, getting to know new people, learning new things, and drinking new whiskeys all along the way.  Here’s to my next 1000, and for those of you who read and comment, thank you for acknowledging me, even if it is only by spending the time to look at the words I string together on the page.

Sláinte,

Chuck

Parker’s Heritage Collection – Wheated Mashbill Aged 10 Years – Cask Strength – 90-100

Price – 750 ml – $62.99 – (King Wines and Liquor

Method – 3 ice cubes – Three fingers in 8 oz. rocks glass

Rating – 90-100 – standard rating scale for wine and spirits

Review – 

This bourbon wasn’t even on my list of whiskey’s to try/buy but  the local store from which I buy my hooch had it at a pretty good deal so I picked it up.  I did note that it was a wheated whiskey, and being a lover of another wheated whiskey (Maker’s Mark and Maker’s Mark 46) I thought this might be a good selection.  Also this is a cask strength whiskey which was another thing I hadn’t delved into yet.  So those things combined, it seemed like a good exploratory purchase.  At 63.9% abv, this is by far the most potent whiskey in my collection, and it definitely lived up to that on the first dram, but I’ll get to that in a bit.