Todd and I decided we needed to get together, drink some whiskies and add to our living cask. We poured in a whole bottle of Glenlivet Founder's Reserve and some bourbon from the Kenwood Inn tasting. With what I added a few weeks ago as well, that  little 5 gallon barrel is the fullest it has ever been. We'll let you know the next time we pull some to taste.  
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     Todd shared one of his samples from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society with me. It was a Bruichladdich 25yr aged by Hunter Laing & Co Ltd in Glasgow. Thanks Todd!

​*Bruichladdich 25yr 1990 – Old & Rare Platinum 48.7% ABV
     (Aged by Hunter Laing & Co Ltd)
     -smelled licorice, lemony
     -tasted very light oak w/tinge of smoke
     -w/water smelled light fruit/cherry
     -tasted bitter oak w/slight cherry

*Glenglassaugh Blushes 50% ABV (6 months in wine casks)
     -smelled butter cookie/corn
     -tasted slight wine w/citrusy cherry
     -w/water smelled fruit pastry
     -tasted more wine w/almost lemon pastry
     -trailed very quickly fruity wine, no bitter

     Todd wasn't sure where he'd gotten this or when it had been opened. We enjoyed it nonetheless. In fact, even though it had a wine taste, I liked it.  

​*Sinister  47.5% ABV Aged 24 Months
   Distilled from Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout mashbill
     -smelled licorice w/citrus, oak
     -tasted sweet w/tinge of sourdough bread
     -w/water smelled rubbery w/caramel
     -tasted cinnamon, vanilla w/caramel, bourbon and sweet oak
     Water really opened this up! Truly a distilled beer. 

     Foundry Distilling of Des Moines, Iowa, collaborated with Left Hand Brewing of Longmont, CO, to produce this whiskey using the mashbill from the beer process. Since all whiskies are essentially distilled beer, this Brewer-Distiller Alliance expression is truly a distilled Left Hand Milk Stout, which is a tasty beer in itself. 
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Glacier Distilling Company   Coram, MT
     I happened to come into possession of these two bottles and a Todd visit was the occasion to open them. Since it is not anywhere near local, I know little about their expressions. Also I am sure there are breathtaking natural views surrounding this place. Apparently local law in Montana only allows serving spirits until 7:30 PM. So plan a late dinner for this stop. 
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​*Fireweed Bourbon Whiskey w/Cherry Brandy Liqueur 40% ABV
     -smelled very cherry/apples/cinnamon w/bourbon barrel oak tinge
     -tasted cherry peppery with no oak
     -slight cherry aftertaste
     -w/water smelled very sweet cherry dessert
     -tasted oaky cherry w/lemon citrus
     Water stripped some of the sweetness from this whiskey. It’s really meant to be used in cocktails. The website shared recipes for different drinks to make with this one. 

*North Fork Rye Whiskey  46% ABV
     -smelled light rye grassy w/slight bitter
     -tasted rye pepper w/some corn
     -w/water smelled light corn w/pine
     -tasted sweet cherry rye and corn with oak
     -trailed sweet oak

     The website also lists cocktail recipes for this. It is a nice rye whiskey by itself. I will be revisiting this in the coming months for post ride refreshment and night caps. 
     

​                Donna and Todd hosted once again for a tasting down in St. Augustine at the Kenwood Inn for their wedding anniversary. Having just won a charity auction at the Florida Theatre, Todd graciously shared some of the bounty. There were some Scotch whiskies and American bourbons with a Canadian Whiskey (produced by Hood River Distillers of Hood River, Oregon – wait. Canadian?) Interesting history is wrapped up in these whisk(e)y expressions and I tried to touch on points of each one as Todd did when introducing them.
                Terms Defined
                American Bourbon Whiskey: distilled in U.S. to maximum 80% ABV, minimum 51% corn in mashbill, aged in new, charred white American oak barrels at maximum 62.5% ABV, bottled at minimum 40% ABV. There is no specific duration for aging of bourbon.
                Straight Bourbon Whiskey: all of the above and aged a minimum of two years. [Any Straight Whiskey aged under 4 years must be labeled with the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.]
                Bottled-in Bond Bourbon: sub-category of Straight Bourbon, aged a minimum of 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse
                American Rye Whiskey: like American Bourbon but with 51% Rye in the mashbill
                Straight Rye Whiskey: like Straight Bourbon but 51% Rye in the mashbill
                Sour Mash Whiskey: process common in bourbon production where spent mash (already fermented grain mixture) is saved and added to the next mash for fermentation. It insures pH level and flavor consistency.  Often used in production without mention in name or label of product.
             Lincoln County Process: filtering distillate through sugar maple charcoal before going into barrels for aging.

​*Cragganmore 12yr 40% ABV Single Malt Scotch Whisky
     -smelled sweet caramel dessert
     -tasted sweet w/tinge vanilla/oak, very little alcohol burn
     -w/water smelled less sweet
     -tasted oak with a tinge of bourbon
     This is a note from a 2012 tasting most likely at Todd’s house. 

​*Pendleton Whiskey 40% ABV
     -smelled slight pepper w/sweet lemon
     -tasted citrusy vanilla wafer/Necco wafer
     -w/water smelled orange sherbert ice cream
     -tasted very light orange wafer

​*Jim Beam Double Oak 43% ABV
 (Aged 4 years in charred White American Oak, then “aged to taste” in new, charred Am. Oak)
 [Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey]
     -smelled sour vanilla oak
     -tasted sweet oak/vanilla
     -w/water smelled floral, vanilla oak
     -tasted light vanilla and trailed slight peppery oak
     This was sweeter than I thought it would be. I am not sure what maturing in a second barrel added since I have not tasted Beam aged normally. 

​*Winchester Double Oak 45% ABV
 (Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished “With Sherry Cask Staves”)
     -smelled vanilla, oaky, lemon
     -tasted sour oak with pepper
     -w/water smelled sweet citrus dish soap
     -tasted cookie but not overly sweet
     -no bitter or pepper or oak
     Did not taste any sherry at all.

​*Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey 7 yr 46.5% ABV
 (Named for Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first African-American distiller on record who perfected the Lincoln County Process. Green knew and taught Jack Daniels the Process, named for the county where they lived, and served as master distiller at Jack Daniels Distillery.)
     -smelled caramel/vanilla/oak w/tinge of sour
     -tasted sweet, light oak w/floral, grassy
     -w/water smelled lemon cookie/raisin
     -tasted light, sweet citrus w/pepper
     -trailed peppery
     The find of the evening! I was very surprised with the sweetness and grassiness. If I remember correctly, Jack Daniels has some similar flavors but does something to give it a sour note that I do not like. 

​*Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 50% ABV
     -smelled cherry, bourbon sweet
     -tasted vanilla oak
     -w/water smelled light oak
     -tasted peppery oak and trailed quickly!
     Not much to this after the last one. The Knob Creek website describes this as having a “high corn mashbill” which is typically the counter grain to rye’s spiciness. This definitely was not a bitter rye whiskey. Even Todd drank some, I think. 

​*Bushmills Blended Irish Whiskey NAS 40% ABV
     -smelled light rubber, grassy
     -tasted peppery citrus
     -w/water smelled light citrus
     -tasted light, bitter oak
     A very light blended Irish. 

*Talisker Storm NAS 45.8% ABV  Peated Scottish Single Malt
 (Labelled as the only distillery on the Isle of Skye, which was true until recently. Torabhaig joined the club in 2017. There is also a distillery in Portree called Isle of Skye Distillers. A neighboring island, Raasay, has a distillery operating as well.)
     -smelled lemony, peat, grassy
     -tasted peaty w/pepper
     -w/water smelled citrusy
     -tasted peppery peat w/light oak
     -trailed quickly!
     This is one of the few peated whiskies that my wife likes. It’s not a sharp peat bite. 

     Located in the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, Gate Eleven Distillery can almost be missed. The door is on the back side of the lobby, just to the right of an indoor cycling gym. The tasting room opens at 11AM which is right when we got there. Their expressions ranged from whiskey to rum and vodka. There was even an absinthe to try. 
     I didn't get any pics of the bottles for this one either. That must have been my tasting theme for this trip. I found some pics to post anyway. 

*Vodka
     -Smells sweet corn
     -Tastes sweet corn
     -Smooth aftertaste with slight pepper
     -Very un-vodka vodka in a good way!
     Vodka with flavor!

​

*Rum
     -Smells came sugary, citrus
     -Tastes peppery w/touch peppermint candy
     -Goes quickly! Into slight pepper and extremely short aftertaste
     -Does not linger on the palette.

*Rum in Mamajuana
     -Smells caramel and licorice with mint
     -Tastes peppermint, oily lemon and back to pastry
     -Trails lemony

​

     This is what the rum is infused with. 

*Gin
     -Smells very sweet juniper berry, lemon, sweet dandelion
     -Tastes juniper, black peppery, citrus y, mint
     -Trails juniper berry

*Rye Whiskey
     -Smells rye and oak!
     -Tastes rye w/wood, touch of sweet in the middle
     -W/water smells sweet oak w/tinge rye (10 drops)
     -Tastes bitter oak!
     -Water is not good for this.

​

Closing out with absinthe. 
*Absinthe
     -Smells peppermint, citrus, herbs (sage/thyme), licorice
     -Tastes licorice, lemon, peppery- strong licorice aftertaste!

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     John came by with two Glendalough expressions. One was a 13yr aged in first-fill bourbon casks. Instead of the originally planned 12 years, this whiskey was aged an extra year to honor one of the company shareholders who is an ex-rugby player and wore the number 13 in his playing days. The other expression is finished in Mizunara casks, a Japanese, northern island oak. It is also a 13 year. 

* Glendalough 13yr 46% ABV  First-fill bourbon casks
     -smelled lime candy, sweet caramel, shortbread cookie
     -tasted light cherry cookie dough
     -trailed quickly! w/almost no oak
     -w/water smelled very floral w/caramel cookie dough
     -tasted lighter cookie dough and slight bitter oak
     Water was not good for this. 

*Glendalough 13yr Mizunara Finished 46% ABV
     -smelled lime minit candy w/vanilla and shortbread
     -tasted slight cookie dough and trailed slight oak
     -w/water smelled very lemony
     -tasted citrusy w/oak
     I think the other 13yr was sweeter. 

     It had been about 10 years since my last visit to Chattanooga. There were new breweries and distilleries. The county changed the laws to allow a distillery to operate. I'd tried Chattanooga Whiskey during my first trip so I was eager to try their own make, since the first releases were produced by another distillery. The Chattanooga Whiskey website names Lawrenceburg Distillers of Indiana as the original producer of their expressions. I believe that is another name for MGP, which churns out some great whiskies for other companies. 
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     This tasting was -how shall I say it? - very sterile. Unlike small group tastings or even microdistillery tastings/tours, this one was held offsite. The distillery is located on the other side of town so there were no faint hints of grain and fermentation in the air. We waited at the front of the retail store while they poured my drams. Then they led us back to the tasting room bar. Our "host" asked a few questions and then promptly left. I was not even able to ask him for a small glass for the water. I had to drip it from my finger. The bottles were everywhere on display in the room but not close enough for me to get any pics. I was not able to ask any questions. The obvious lack of interest left my wife and I disappointed and realizing that not everyone shared in our passions. The young people who worked there were doing simply that, working their jobs. 

The selection for my tasting.

     Chattanooga Whiskey expressions are bourbons, straight bourbons and experimental  and single barrel varieties. To be called bourbon, by law in the US, the mash bill must be minimum 51% corn, be distilled at 80% ABV or less, and put into new, charred oak barrels at 125 proof or lower. To be called a Straight Bourbon Whiskey it must then be aged in said barrels for 2 years minimum. 
           To clear up any confusion, I will also define a Straight Whiskey, which is slightly different. This is a distillate from a mash bill not requiring 51% corn, max 95% ABV from the still and bottled to a minimum 40% ABV. It still must meet the above barrel requirements for at least two years. 
      

*Chatt Whiskey Silver 50% ABV
     -Smells corn! And caramel
     -Tastes very peppery
     -W/water smells citrusy
     -Tastes very peppery w/oak
     
This Whiskey is a New Make meaning it is  not aged for long at all. Putting it in barrels for a short time insures the Whiskey in the name is allowed. 
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     I found this pic and for some reason I kept thinking this was not the whiskey I tried. Then I remembered not seeing the bottle at all during or after the tasting. 

*Chatt Whiskey 111 55.5% ABV
     -Smells cherry, bourbon oak
     -Tastes pepper w/ touch cookie dough
     -Goes quickly to bitter oak!
     -W/water smells bourbon oak
     -Tastes peppery oak
     Disappointing

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*Tawny Port Cask 47.5% ABV
  Straight Bourbon Finished in Port Casks
     -Smells caramel cherry and slight oak
     -Tastes light wood, cookie dough
     -Trails very strong oak
     -W/water smells light grape/wine (tinge sour grape), sweet cherry candy
     Tastes cherry scone into oak w/ very little pepper and short aftertaste of port.

​

*Batch 18 Tequila Barrel 51% ABV
 Experimental Single Batch Series
 Finished in Extra Anejo Tequila Barrels
     -Smells sweet lemon bar w/touch of oak
     -Tastes light citrusy with bitter oak
     -W/water smells lemon dish soap
     -Tastes light oak, light pepper, something floral
     Trails bitter oak!

The pictured whiskey is probably not what I actually tasted. I would like to have been able to see the same label for my dram.

​

     The 91 and the 111 play into the 'more alcohol the better' mentality. Since most drink their whiskey over ice or in shots......
     I was impressed with both the nose and taste of the Port Cask and Tequila. The Silver was unremarkable. I'm glad to have tasted their recent expressions and helped, in small part, to support a new distillery in Tennessee. 

*Chattanooga Whiskey 1816 Reserve 45% ABV
     -smelled bourbon w/tinge of floral
     -tasted like watered down bourbon
     -w/water smelled sour going quickly to bourbon
     -trailed oaky w/touch of smoke
 
*Chattanooga Whiskey 1816 Cask 56.8% ABV
     -smelled sweeter than the Reserve
     -much stronger alcohol smell w/tinge of vinegar
     -tasted peppery on the tongue w/spicy alcohol
     -w/water smelled bourbon and oak, floral
     -slightly oaky

These are notes from a 2012 tasting. I preferred the Cask with a little water. 

     I invited the two Johns over for a tasting since they had me over for the previous samplings of whisk(e)y. If I remember correctly, I only took notes on the ones John senior brought. We had ourselves a fine time with the Water of Life that evening. It turned out to be Campbeltown, the once smallest distillery in Scotland and something from my cousins in Taiwan. (Not literally my cousins.)

​*Kavalan Oloroso Sherry Oak (NAS)46% ABV
     Taiwanese distillery with first release in December 2008.
     -smelled bourbon, rubbery
     -tasted smoky oak w/rubber
     -w/water smelled cinnamon w/oak
     -tasted smoke, oaky w/touch sweet sherry
     Trailed quickly to oak bitter!
 
*Edradour Caledonia 12yr 46% ABV
     Once the smallest distillery in Scotland
     -smelled cinnamon bun
     -tasted sweet dessert bun, pepper w/floral
     -trailed sweet oak
     -w/water smelled cookie dough
     -tasted oak w/sweet dessert
     -trailed light oak slowly

​*Springbank Hazelburn 14yr 49.3% ABV
     Finished in Oloroso cask
     -smelled bacon/cooked meat with cinnamon dessert
     -tasted cinnamon bun w/pepper
     -trailed quickly!
     -w/water smelled butterscotch, sweet cookie
     -tasted floral pepper
     -trailed sweet cookie quickly!
     From sweet to peppery oak to sweet again. This whisky was back and forth. Water definitely opened it up though. Unless, that is, you wanted to stay with the cooked meat flavor. 

​*Kilkerran Single Cask 15yr 51.5% ABV
     Oloroso cask finished
     -smelled sourdough cookie with slight oak
     -tasted smoke/oak
     -w/water smelled caramel
     -tasted caramel, sherry, grape
     -w/slight oak trailed quickly sweet
     Wow! Water brought out the sweetness in this one. It went from sourdough cookie sweet to caramel, sherry, grape.
     This is the sister distillery to Springbank. The actual name is the Glengyle distillery but their expressions are bottled under the Kilkerran brand to avoid confusion with the same named blended malt Highland whisky. Also Springbank resurrected Glengyle to bring the number of operating producers in Campbeltown to three – the minimum number required by the government to be considered a whisky region. Hence the distinction of Campbeltown being its own Whisky Region in Scotland. 

​*Laphroaig LORE (NAS) 48% ABV
     A mixture of stocks from 7-21 yrs and varying from quarter cask to bourbon and Oloroso butts
     -smelled peaty, boot leather
     -tasted peat, leathery smoke and trailed quickly
     -w/water smelled sweet grassy
     -tasted smoke, pepper, bitter oak
     -trailed quickly
     Whatever sweetness the water opened on the nose, it was lost in the peat. I like peat. It was just overpowering in this one for any other smells/tastes. Having tasted 4 before this, my taste buds may have been fried, especially considering Springbank and Kilkerran were the two previous ones. 

     I met up with John and his son down in St. Augustine one night for a little tasting of Irish and a Glenfiddich. We went to the Irish  pub for dinner afterwards. The fish and chips were very appropriate. 

​*Glendalough Single Malt Irish 7yr  46% ABV
     -smelled grassy, citrus
     -tasted slightly unmalted barley/rubber
     -peppery, oak – trailed quickly
     -w/water smelled very light citrus
     -tasted peppery oak
     -very little sweetness left
     Even at 46% ABV this needs no water.
 
*Powers Gold Label (NAS) 43% ABV Irish Pot Still
     -smelled sweet caramel w/berries
     -tasted slight pepper w/oak
     -w/water smelled citrusy light
     -tasted light oak w/slight citrus
     This is an easy drinking, triple distilled, light Irish. Once undervalued, this whiskey got great reviews a few years ago and went from around $20 a bottle to anywhere from $30-$38. That’s quite a hike. It’s still good and doesn’t break the bank.
 
*Glenfiddich Experimental Series - Fire and Cane (NAS) 43% ABV 
     [Peated single malt aged in ex-bourbon, finished for 3 months in rum casks]
     -smelled malted barley sweet, almost corn
     -tasted light oak, trailed quickly
     -w/water smelled floral, citrusy
     -tasted light peat, slight bitter sugar rum and oak
     Interesting flavor mixture. I was not overwhelmed with any one thing. 

*Auchentoshen 12 yr 40% ABV

     -Smells sweet, sherry w/toffee and vanilla
     -Tinge of chocolate
     -Tastes sweet oak, peppery charred, almost leather
     -W/water smells light pine, lemony floral
     -Tastes acidic citrus with peppery oak
     Trails quickly!

​

     Aly bought us a gift for Christmas 2019. Todd was purchasing a set and offered to get 2 if we wanted one. Of course! We waited a bit to taste some. We still haven't tasted them all. This is the first round:

​*Dalwhinnie Winter’s Frost  NAS 43% ABV
House of Stark
     -smelled citrus and floral
     -tasted citrus w/oak, some sugar cookie
     -w/water smelled sweet lemon
     -tasted lemon, went quickly to oak/pepper

​*Singleton Glendullan Select NAS 40% ABV
House of Tully
     -smelled salty, apple pie
     -tasted green apple w/touch pepper/oak
     -w/water smelled candy/apple/Jolly Rancher
     -tasted lighter apples and oily
     -went quickly to oak!
I could almost taste rubber through the apple. 

​*Royal Lochnagar 12yr 40% ABV
House of Baratheon
     -smelled floral, citrusy, apple w/chocolate
     -tasted pastry/dough w/ very little pepper/oal
     -w/water smelled citrus and prune Danish
     -tasted slight citrus w/pepper/oak
     Water really didn’t open this up.

​*Talisker Select Reserve NAS 45.8% ABV
House of Greyjoy
     -smelled bacon/cooked meat
     -tasted peaty, sweet almost bourbon w/cherry
     -w/water smelled lemony w/tinge bacon/peat
     -tasted peppery citrus
     -trailed peppery oak

                I was first introduced to Burlock and Barrel in 2014 when I went to a tasting they hosted called the Bad Ass Mens Whiskey Night. (11/7/14) This was before they had the distillery operating. It put them on my radar and I stayed aware of their progress. Pictures from that tasting are long since evaporated, probably at the bottom of the hot tub three phones ago. Yes I did that before I went swimming with the last phone. 
​     This tasting was truly a local for me. Burlock and Barrel is right here in Jacksonville. My wife and I stopped by one afternoon and tasted some whiskey.

 
*Reserve 45%  ABV  (corn, malted barley and rye aged in 15 gal American oak casks)
     -smelled corn vanilla/oak
     -tasted rye!  and corn
     -trailed oak with pepper
     -w/water smelled rye
     -tasted corn/rye
     -trailed rye w/slight sweet
     Water pulled out the rye flavor. This is their core expression, an American Whiskey. The corn seems to counter the spiciness of the oak and rye well. 

​*Whim Honey  35%  ABV (Orange blossom honey)
     -tasted peppery honey with corn
     The peppery undertone is probably from the oak. The honey and corn do a great job in smoothing out that bitterness. This is really a mixed drink in a bottle which is not my thing. Tasty though!

*Whim Jalapeno Honey  35%  ABV (Wildflower honey)
     -tasted tinge of jalapeno w/honey masking
     -trailed pepper/jalapeno quickly
     I like to taste the flavor of the pepper in spicy foods, not just feel the heat. This is a case of tasting the flavor of jalapeno with minimal burn. Also a tasty, premixed drink. It reminds me of an Umatilla Smash, a mixed drink I had at one of our meetings in 2012. It had a certain Florida whiskey in it and jalapeno as well.