As The Spirit Moves Me

Tuesday night as my wife was getting ready to leave for Mexico, I decided a dram was called for. Let's get on down to Campbeltown! Thanks to troyk890 for providing the taxi driver in the form of this sweet sample! Nose : Smoke. Metallic funk and freshly extinguished matches. Musty Wildflowers. Caramel and butterscotch. Palate : Smoke. Sour pears. Black pepper, ginger, tart cherries, sweet cereal grain. Underripe strawberries. Oil. Dry oak tannins. Finish : Short - smoked nectarines, cinnamon fire, followed by sweet spice and earthy leather. Then a longer sweet honey oiliness. Verdict: Nice bold flavors, but it lacked something to bring it all together. Definitely a great representation of Campbeltown, having had a few more from the few distilleries there. I enjoy this, but I enjoyed the Kilkerran more. I just wish the Kilkerran were Cask Strength. Would I buy this: Maybe. Depends on the price. It would definitely make the list of possibilities, though. Would I order...

First a big thank you to Randimosity for this sample! A Sunday morning dram. It looks to be a cold and slightly snowy day, and I promised to fire up the smoker for dinner, so I chose something that should be big and bold to start me off. The color is surprising, it looks like a Rosé. Nose : Red berries, earth and smoke, sweet vinegar, something slightly metallic. Palate : Sweet smoked fruit, liked BBQ strawberries. Black pepper and savory umami. Salt spray and earth, a bit oily. Finish : Medium-short. Smoked salt and sweet fruit linger as the hot pepper fades, then drops off pleasantly to leave your tongue a-tingle. Verdict: Well this was quite the palate wakener. Fantastic dram. It's amazing how the different flavors in the whiskey itself are highlighted when a cask is red wine finished as opposed to sherry finished. I like this a lot. Would I buy this: Resounding yes. Sadly I see it's an exclusive, so I have to add in shipping, and they don't ship directly t...

This review is actually from World Whiskey Day. It's been a busy week, and I happened to receive this sample from WildOscar66 that very day (thanks man!) I decided to crack this open and see how it did! OESK would be the "standard" Four Roses lower rye mashbill, and K is the slight spice, slight caramel, full body yeast. Nose : Brown sugar, vanilla, cherry, caramel, and a bit of nutmeg. Palate : Oak forward, followed by caramel and brown sugar. It then moves straight to fruit country, cherry and orange predominantly. Mouthfeel is light, but not at all thin. Easy drinkng stuff. Finish : Medium short, Oak, caramel, spicy cinnamon, and flamed orange peel. Verdict: Very nice! Surprisingly fruity, good balance. I would absolutely have snagged a bottle of this. It really hits all the bourbon notes and brings it all together. Would I buy this: Yes, I would have picked up a bottle of this. I've liked all of the handful of Four Roses store picks I've had so f...

Another Saturday, another morning dram. Today's dram of choice is Bunna 18. I like Bunna in general as you can see from my past reviews, but my one issue is the label. That damned captain always makes me want to smoke some Captain Earle's blends , which I can rarely do while also enjoying scotch. What a quandary! Oh well, one vice at a time, I guess. :-D Nose : Toffee, oakum, brine, chestnuts, ripe plums, nutmeg. Palate : Deep sherry notes in layers. Caramel sweetness with chestnuts, salt, and baking spices. Finish : Nice and long. Spicy like allspice, then sweet and warm with hints of salt and sherry nuttiness at the end. Verdict: Always a fantastic dram. I know some say this is a favorite, but for me it's just too sedate in some ways. It's not lacking complexity, but the complexities are all so related. It's a warm snooze in a comfy chair by the fire on a Sunday afternoon. I love it around Christmas time for exactly that reason. Rating : ★★★...

Special thanks to IamNorris for this sample! I have plenty of calories left to me after a busy day, and it seems I'm pre-approved to start the home buying process. Sounds like a day worth a drink to me! I haven't actually had Weller Antique before, but we're kicking off with a store pick of it. It's the first day of Spring! Happy Ostara, people! Nose : Spicy heat from the alcohol, but not overpoweringly so. Caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, nutmeg and cinnamon. Letting it breathe a while brings the oak out strongly with some faint orange peel citrus. Palate : Tongue coating and full flavored. Warm nutmeg and a floral cinnamon backed by caramel, vanilla, and enough oak to balance it out. Finish : Sweet caramel, vanilla and oak, with just a touch of orange peel. Nice balance. If it were a little longer it would be magnificent. Verdict: Doesn't drink like it's 107 proof for damned sure. Very delicious. I'm hoping the regular bottle is as tasty. A l...

BrianRampage included a mystery whiskey sample along with the Old Forester 1920 sample I had and reviewed this morning. I've been good all day with calories to burn, even after getting called by work. Let's see if I can figure out what this is! Nose : Big vanilla and a blast of alcohol. This has got to be north of 110 proof and bourbon, or my senses have failed me. Corn, roasted peanuts, cinnamon. Palate : Vanilla, toffee, peanuts, pepper. The burnt toffee peanut flavor that was echoed on the nose makes me think Beam product based on my limited Bourbon experience. This is over 120 proof, maybe even at 130. There are hints of dark chocolate, and the cinnamon spiciness makes it taste like Mexican chocolate for a moment in the middle. This is racy hot. I'm going to add some water to this after a few more sips. Finish : Medium-long and dry. Oak and vanilla with a touch of spicy cinnamon predominate. With water (5mL added to around 1.75 ounces for a 1:10 ratio): N...

This is all t8ke's fault. (Thanks for taking the blame, t8ke!) I haven't had Dewar's White Label in an age, and the only times I could remember involved an airplane, and being in a dry aluminum tube 30k feet in the sky makes it so you can't taste anything right. He sent me the below 1960's era White Label, so I needed a comparison and bought the 375ml. The color is certainly different, but how do they measure up to each other beyond that? Let's find out. 2010's era Dewar's White Label Bottling: 40% Nose: This smells of almost nothing. Backing off brings light heather, honey, unripe pear, and tiny hints of acetone. There's not much there, though. Seriously, even for a blend, that's thin. Palate: Sweet and thin. Honey, something flowery, then minerals. Finish: Short alcohol burn balanced by a moment of sweetness. Verdict: This is the most nothing whiskey I've ever had, which was what I remember of it. It's not bad, but...