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My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff

Most Recent Whisky

Most Recent Whisky Review

Woodford Reserve Distillers Select Straight Rye

This bottle was labelled #3031 from Batch 0887 and bottled at 45.2% ABV.  The nose was very nice, herbal tea with mint and sweet vanilla notes.  The mouthfeel is fresh, light and oily, bittersweet on palate with more vanilla, candy, black coffee and dark chocolate.  The finish has peppermint, wood and grassy rye notes.  With water it gets sweeter, even honeyed, while heat builds in the finish with chilli spiced dark chocolate.  Overall very delicious; a light and subtle of straight rye.

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  • Saturday, 22 December 2012 10:30

    Cheers! Merry Christmas! Etc! Etc!

    Written by

    Welcome to what will be my final blog entry of 2012, my first full year of www.somanywhiskies.com.  If you are reading this then the world did not end on December 21st 2012 and I now have to rush out and buy all my Christmas presents (in the event of world destruction I had hoped to save a few bucks, afterall every cloud has a silver lining).  So this entry, like a 25ml measure of Drambuie will be short and sweet.   I am writing this sitting in the excellent Great Scots Bar of the Cameron House Hotel (a bar that will help me cross off at least 3 more scotch whiskies off my list of 101 World Whiskies to Try later today) overlooking the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond.  The weather?  As the seasonal song goes... "the weather outside is frightful" but there is no snow, just a constant dreich of rain.    So with the scene set (the world did not end and it is raining in Scotland - no big surprises here) I wanted to do some end of year housekeeping and post the obligatory and cliched  "best drams of 2012" and with a shocking twist, I will also point out some of the less sucessful drams as well.   These are not necessarily my "favorite" drams  but those that really exceeded expectations and / or delivered really good value that I tried for the first time in 2012.  I apologise to those many fine products that I did not include in list below, all omissions and errors are entirely fault of author.   Cheers!

    My first Australian single malt... blew me away: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/449-sullivans-cove-port-barrel

    Number 2 is a rum... yes a rum. That's how good it is: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/405-brugal-1888-gran-reserva-familiar

    Close to whisky perfection: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/263-highland-park-40-year-old

    I thought I knew Red Breast... then I tried Cask Strength: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/353-red-breast-12-year-old-cask-strength

    Great people making a very good Texas whisky: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/364-ranger-creek-36-texas-bourbon

    One of my highlights on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/218-wild-turkey-rare-breed

    And now some memorable for all the wrong reasons...

    Please Mayan gods, even if world doesn't end, please at least end the white whisky fad: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/363-georgia-moon

    I bought in a gas station, say no more: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/408-heaven-hill-kentucky-blended-whisky

    Really Canada... I know you can do so much better: http://www.somanywhiskies.com/reviews/item/268-seagrams-seven-crown

     

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    Random Whisky

    Highland Park 40 year old

    The most expensive whisky in the book 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die at over $1200.  Thanks to www.masterofmalt.com I could buy a 3 ml sample of this (still cost over $60) and I did so for my birthday treat.  And it was a treat... utterly fantastic and dare I say it, worth every penny.  The nose is fruity and oily, like citrus fruit peel rather than the juice, some peat and also some lovely seaside, seaweed, salty, martime notes.  There was even a little pepper in the nose.   The taste was ridiculously smooth with a very soft mouthfeel. Rich with sweet toffee, dried fuits, oranges, cinnamon and cake.  Not at all woody for 40 years in a cask, the finish was lovely and smokey.  There is also some sherry influence which I always love with smokey whiskies (see Bowmore Darkest, Laphroaig Triple Wood).  With water there are some chocolate notes in the nose and the oak and spice in the finish are more evident.  It seemed like I got something different every sip and it seemed to evolve and open up with time as well.  However as it was just sample it was gone all too soon and definately left me wanting more.   Great stuff.