Category Archives: Tuthilltown

Tuthilltown Spirits – the tale of two Maple Cask Rye Whiskey releases

 

Region – Upstate New York – $40-50 for a 375ml bottle

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyThis here post was something I started just over a year ago.  I often find myself traveling throughout Upstate New York and when I do, I like to stop in to the Tuthilltown Distillery. I do this in part to see the non-stop updates to the distillery (it never ends there!). I also like to say hello to Ralph and Gable Erenzo.  Two super cool and humble guys that really want to just make and sell good hooch.

On one of my visits last year they happen to have a new release: Maple Cask Rye Whiskey. “Well, hello there!” I thought.  I had to have a bottle.  Actually, I had to have two bottles so I bought two bottles.  I figured I’d have one to drink and one to keep.  I meant to review my drinking bottle shortly after the purchase but hey, they’re only 375ml in size and I drank/shared it all before I could review it. Dang it!

Wouldn’t you know it but a year passed and Tuthilltown decided to do a 2nd release of the Maple Cask Rye Whiskey.  I heard about this in advance of its release this time and drove out there expecting to get a couple of bottles.  I totally jumped the gun. I got to the distillery the day they were bottling rather than the day they were selling the bottles. Oy.

Gable, being the gent he is, let me have a taste of the whiskey from their holding tank and it was exactly what I had hoped it would be: delicious.  Gable, again being the gent that he is, also sent me a sample bottle for review (thanks again, Gable!).

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyBeing that I had this 2014 bottle for review I figured I should crack open the bottle I bought in 2013 to do a side by side.  That brings us here now.

Here are my reviews of the 2013 & 2014 Maple Cask Rye Whiskey from Tuthilltown Spirits:

 

2013 Version:

On the nose – Thick and warm Weetabix covered in sweetened cinnamon and nutmeg.

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeySugar daddy pop gives birth to a box of sugar babies (would that make it a sugar mama?).  If you mixed slightly effervescent vanilla cream soda and RC cola, that’d be a perfect note. Let’s just, for the sake of argument, say that that combo exists.

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyOn the mouth – Red hots meets high-milk chocolate meets maple sugar candies meets cola syrup meets honey sticks meets bit o’honey meets Mary Janes (the candy, not the stuff you smoke).

All of this wrapped up in a solid and oily mouthfeel – all of this starts to dry your palate a bit as we get to the finish..

Finish – Red hots and rye spice continue on for a nice long finish.

2014 Version:

073-002Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyOn the nose – Not as heavy as the 2013 version.  Lightly sugared celery root (another odd combo my brain is creating here).  Muesli, heavy on the oats (powder and all) and golden raisins instead of the regular dark raisins.

Mead!!  Lots of honey wine on this nose.  Very different from the 2013 version so far.  After about 10 minutes in the glass I smell Douglas Fur wreaths.

On the mouth – Not as complex as the 2013 version.  Wait a sec. I spoke too soon!  Salted beef jerky along the sides of the tongue followed by browning apples.

Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Maple Cask Rye WhiskeyMaple cooked sausages (where the heat from the pan starts to make the maple syrup burn & solidify a bit).  Some of those honey sticks I got on the 2013 version, albeit maple honey sticks!  Decent mouthfeel. Not overly dry but not overly oily, smack dab in the middle.

Finish – Lasts with some honey and cracked black pepper and a touch of nuttiness.

In sum — Those other *flavored* whiskeys on the market are really for mixing and for the non-whiskey drinker.

These are the real deal as they are not flavored whiskeys but whiskeys matured in casks that previously held maple syrup.

These are Maple whiskeys for people that actually like and know whiskey.  Well done, Tuthilltown folks!  You know how to construct good whiskeys.  Nay, great whiskeys.

Thanks again for the 2014 sample, Gable!

Jewish Whisky Company’s Whisky Jewbilee 2012 event in NYC — it’s coming Thursday, October 25th!

Hosted by the Jewish Whisky Company and Single Cask Nation, the first annual charitable Whisky Jewbilee is fast approaching!!

For those unable to attend WhiskyFest NYC this year (due to it landing on Shabbat), this is your chance to taste some of Scotland, Ireland, and America’s finest whiskies.

Kosher catering by Ari White of Gemstone Catering, food under Star-K.

Click this link for more information and to buy tickets

This charitable whisky event engagement is limited to 250 attendees and is your chance to taste some fantastic whiskies (as shown below):

Distilleries and brands at the event, while not limited to, are listed below:

  • Arran
  • Balcones
  • BenRiach
  • Benromach
  • Catoctin Creek
  • Chieftain’s Range
  • Corsair
  • FEW Spirits
  • GlenDronach
  • Glenrothes
  • Gordon MacPhail
  • Highland Park
  • High West
  • Hirsch Selection
  • Hudson Real American Whiskeys
  • Kilchoman
  • Koval
  • Old Potrero
  • Single Cask Nation
  • Slieve Foy
  • Smokehead
  • Smooth Ambler
  • …plus more to be announced!!

The pouring list is still being developed, however, here is a preliminary list of whiskies:

Arran
10 years old
14 years old

Balcones
Balcones True Blue Whisky
Balcones Single Malt
Balcones Brimstone Smoked Whisky

The BenRiach
10 years old
12 years old
16 years old
20 years old
Dark Rum Cask
PX Cask
**Alistair Walker is scheduled to be at the Whisky Jewbilee!

Catoctin Creek
Roundstone Rye
Mosby’s Spirit
Watershed Gin

Chieftain’s Range
Craigellachie 21 years old
Glen Keith 17 years old

Corsair
Corsair Wry Moon Unaged Rye Whiskey
Corsair Triple Smoke

FEW Spirits
FEW Rye Whiskey
FEW Bourbon Whiskey
“Special cask selections”

GlenDronach
12 years old
15 years old
18 years old
33 years old
**Alistair Walker is scheduled to be at the Whisky Jewbilee!

The Glenrothes
Select Reserve
Alba Reserve
1995 Vintage
1988 Vintage
Editors Cask
…maybe others
**Ronnie Cox is scheduled to be at the Whisky Jewbilee!

Gordon and MacPhail
Benromach 10 years old
Benromach 30 years old
Highland Park 24 years old
Old Pulteney 21 years old
Scapa 11 years old
Tormore 15 years old

Highland Park
Highland Park 12 years old
Highland Park 15 years old
Highland Park 18 years old
Highland Park 30 years old

High West
Double Rye
Rendezvous Rye
Son of Bourye
Campfire Whiskey
Silver Whiskey – Western Oat
American Prairie Reserve Bourbon
“Something special”

Hirsch and Slieve Foy
Hirsch Small Batch Reserve
Slieve Foy Irish 8 years old Single Malt

Hudson Real American Whiskeys
New York Corn Whiskey
Baby Bourbon
Four Grain Bourbon
Hudson Single Malt
Manhattan Rye Whiskey
Half Moon Orchard Gin

Jewish Whisky Company’s Single Cask Nation™
Arran 12 years old
Kilchoman 4 years old
BenRiach Heavily Peated 17 years old

Kilchoman
Machir Bay
100% Islay (2nd Edition)

Koval
Koval Raksi Millet
Koval Midwest Wheat
Koval Rye Chicago
Lion’s Pride Rye
Lion’s Pride Dark Rye
Lion’s Pride Dark Millet
Lion’s Pride 47th Ward
Koval Rose Hip liqueur
Koval Chrysanthemum Honey liqueur
Koval Ginger liqueur
Koval Coffee liqueur
Koval Jasmin liqueur

Old Potrero
Old Potrero 18th Cetury Rye
Old Potrero Straight Rye

Smokehead

Smooth Ambler
Smooth Ambler Yearling
Smooth Ambler Bourbon
Smooth Ambler Rye
This is a charitable event with a portion of the evening’s proceeds being donated to charity.

The Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society’s favorite whiskies of 2010

This is quite possibly one of the toughest posts I’ll do this year.  Being that in 2010 alone I reviewed over 200 whiskies; I’d say the choosing of the 11 whiskies below was uber-hard.  Thankfully it’s the first post of the year so it’s nice to get the hard schtuff out of the way 😉

The following list is not meant to be a shopping guide for you though I highly suggest that you seek out the whiskies on this list – they really are the best of the best of all the whiskies I reviewed in 2010.  Just in case you do wish to use this list as a shopping guide, I’ve included links (where applicable) to online shops so you can purchase a bottle if you wish.

Being that I don’t currently use a rating system, you might wonder how I chose the whiskies below.  Good question.  I basically read through all of my reviews and scoured my memory banks to try and remember the experience.  Once I made my choices, if I still had some of the whisky left, I tasted it again just to make sure I’ve chosen well.

And just so you know, this is not a list of best whiskies released in 2010.  Rather, it’s a list of best whiskies I tasted in 2010.

So, what are the categories?  They are as follows:

  • Best Bourbon
  • Best Rye
  • Best American Single Malt
  • Best Scotch sherrybomb
  • Best Scotch peated whisky
  • Best Scotch Non, or lightly peated whisky
  • Best Scotch blend
  • Best Japanese blend
  • Best Japanese single malt
  • Best every (or any) day drinker
  • Best whisky of 2010 (taking ALL whisk(e)ys reviewed into consideration)


Best Bourbon – Angel’s Envy

Noses quite different than your standard bourbon.

This bourbon was extra matured in ex-port barrels.

While yet to be released, we should see this on the shelves in 2011 – expect to pay around $45 per bottle.

This was easily my favorite bourbon this year – kudos goes out to the Louisville Distilling Company for taking chances in making the first release an experimental one.

You can read the full review here.

Best Rye – Rittenhouse Rye 100 Proof

I’m not sure what’s best about this rye…

Is it great because it’s always released at full proof (50% ABV)?

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that it’s less than $20 per bottle?

Could it be that, flavor-wise, it’s damned robust and lip-smacking?

At $20 a bottle (or £25 in the UK), go find out for yourself.

You can read my full review here.

Best American Single Malt – Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey

If you thought America was unable to produce a kick-ass single malt, think again.

While Hudson has a solid 2nd runner up, the Stranahan’s Single Malt Colorado Whiskey is, well, amazingly balanced and damned delicious!

You can read my full review here.

You can get a bottle for $57 in the USA here or a bottle for £64 in the UK here.

Best Scotch sherrybomb – Bruichladdich, 1986, “Blacker Still”

I never formally reviewed this whisky on the blog so I’m going to do that here and now (sans pictures – to save space).

On the nose Massive amounts of chocolate, prunes and dirty, dirty smoke.  Some soapiness and sea breeze.  Balsamic vinaigrette.  Pine wreathes (welcome to the Christmas aisle at your local department store).  Think pine embers from a recently dead fire.  Wet dog.  Fresh towels.

On the mouth This dram does not believe that size doesn’t matter.  Luizianne coffee.  Bitter cherries.  Generous amounts of rich sherry.  Raisins and more cherries (the dry type).  All of the pure licorice chews from the All Sorts bag (oh, I want some All Sorts now!).  Rubber fishing boots with sea salt on them.  Toffee, more coffee, more… simply more of everything I mentioned.  Like I said, this is massive!  Did I mention the mouth feel is oily and num-num-nummy?

FinishChocolate sauce and lasting notes of prunes and pines.

In sum Man, this whisky shines like a black star! Balanced – all the flavors are perfectly integrated.  If you’re not a sherry head, this would not be up your alley.  If you are into the sherried whiskies and have the cash for a bottle, welcome to yumsville!  For holidays and all things celebratory.  Good luck finding some of this whisky though… It’s been sold out for a good long while.  You may be able to find a bottle here on occasion.

Special thanks to Rick C for the sample (yes, THE Rick from the Blind Tasting series I did earlier this year)!!

Best Scotch peated whisky – Port Ellen 1978, 24yo, 2nd release

Sadly, most people will not have a chance to taste this whisky.  In fact, this release of Port Ellen is no longer available.  You may be able to find a bottle here on occasion but be prepared to spend a few hundred Euros.

Port Ellen is a distillery located on Islay that has been moth-balled (closed & not in operation) for decades now so any whisky you find from them is going to be old & expensive.

A big thanks to Keith of Whisky Emporium for the sample!

This whisky was a pure treat to taste – You can read my full review here.

Best Scotch Single Malt  – Non or lightly peated – Glenmorangie Quarter Century

Glenmorangie Quarter Century can easily be an over looked and understated whisky.  I think the biggest issue is, because it costs so damn much($559 – $799 in the US or £190 in the UK), people will save this whisky until the end of an evening or served as the last whisky in a tasting.  That’s a BIG no-no.  The Quarter Century is way too delicate for that.  I would lead off with this whisky in a tasting or have it before dinner.  It’s a total power house in a settings such as those.

Liquid gold.

You can read my full review here.

Best Scotch blend – Compass Box Hedonism

Sadly, I did not taste or review enough blends this year.  Luckily for me, I got the chance to taste & review a few Compass Box whiskies.

Hedonism is a blend of premium grain whiskies – no malted barley whatsoever.

Complex as all heck – a joy to nose.  Buttery smooth mouth feel with notes of gingerbread and an interesting nuttiness to it.  A wonderful whisky that would also go brilliantly in a mint julep.  But, unless you’ve got money to burn, you’d be dumb to do so.  Expect to pay $89 in the US or £47 in the UK.

You can read my full review here.

Best Japanese blend – Suntory Hibiki 21yo

I was, to put it lightly, blown away by this Japanese blend.

You can read my full review here but I’ll tell you right here and now – this is an expertly crafted whisky.

A whisky that’s VERY hard to come by, the Suntory Hibiki 21 has won three gold metals, three years in a row and has just won the title of “World’s Best Blended Whisky” in 2010 by the WWA.

This is not available in the US, expect to pay £103.40 | ¥13,700 for a bottle.

Big thanks, again, goes out to Yoshi at Suntory for the sample!

Best Japanese single malt – Nikka Yoichi, 20yo, 1988 vintage

A massive, big, huge, immense THANK YOU goes out to Christopher Jew of  The Whisky Wall for a sample of this nectar.

I’ve enjoyed Japanese whiskies for a while now but it was this particular whisky that sort of stopped me in my tracks and told me that Japan is capable of pure genius when it comes to the craft of whisky making (among other things).

While this 1988 vintage is no longer available, you can get the standard 20yo Nikka Yoichi for £185 here and the 1989 vintage for £180 here.

You can read my full review here.

 

Best every (or any) day drinker – Glenmorangie Original 10yo

You’d think choosing THE BEST every day whisky would be easy to do but no, it isn’t.

Lot’s of factors to consider – taste, complexity, ease of drinking, ease of getting your non-whisky drinkers to appreciate it (without adding a shit ton of ice or just knocking it back) and, of course, price.

For me, my favorite every day drinker is the Glenmorangie Original 10yo.

For just under $40 in the US or £25 in the UK you can’t go wrong.

There were a few runners up, however.  All of them could have fit the bill of “Best every (or any) day drinker” but, I had to choose only one.

The runners up are:

You can read the full Glenmorangie review here (though please know that this review is a combined review of me and a few members of my society)

Best whisky of 2010 (taking ALL whisk(e)ys reviewed into consideration) – Suntory Hibiki 21yo

A lot of hemming and hawing on my part but after much consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion that this whisky, the Suntory Hibiki 21yo, is the best whisky I tasted in 2010.

It truly is brilliance in a glass!  So well composed, perfectly balanced and perfectly delicious.

As mentioned above, you can read my full review here.

This is not available in the US, expect to pay £103.40 | ¥13,700 for a bottle.


Let your thoughts and prayers go out to Ralph Erenzo & Family!!

Ralph Erenzo, co-founder of Tuthilltown Distillery (makers of Hudson New York Whiskeys) was in a car accident on Dec 21st.  As of today, December 26th, he’s still in the hospital and remains in critical condition.

Please take a moment to send him and his family some words of support and healing at http://rjerenzo.wikispaces.com/. If you have a blog or Twitter account, please post this as well.

Ralph, hang in there!! Get well soon!!!

Below is the latest update (but be sure to keep checking http://rjerenzo.wikispaces.com/ for all updates!!

12:15 12/26

Status: Critical

Everything is pretty much the same as Gable’s last update. He is off the blood pressure meds, but back on the Ativan. He’s still very bloated but his color is good. Robert, the nurse who is on right now, has been super negative overall. He told me he is a pessimist by nature. But he seemed hopeful just now. He got him to open his eyes again. It was only for a second and I don’t think he’s conscious, but it was something. They seem confident that his brain is okay.

His heart rate is down to around 100, which is really good. Cathy and I stood and stroked his hand for a few minutes just now, and, during that time, we saw it momentarily dip into the nineties. We are great healers!

We’ve hung a photo of him and Tony next to his bed as well as a picture of the whole Tuthilltown staff.

At Tony’s request, I put on Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out album for him when we left the room.

My mom hasn’t left the hospital since Thursday morning. I’m trying to get her to use this moment of relative stability to go to the hotel and wash up, get some air, etc.

Thanks for all the messages that people are leaving here. We have been reading them to each other and will read them to Ralph as well.

More soon,

AJG

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9:30am 12/26

Status: Critical

Just out of a meeting with the doctor. Dad is now off of the blood pressure medication and is maintaining an acceptable NBP on his own. This is a first, so obviously a step in the right direction. Oxygen is down to 45%, which they tell us is status quo/stabilized for a patient with this type of chest injury. They took him off of the sedative (ativan) last night and today he was showing signs of response. I stood by as the nurse shouted at Dad “hey buddy, OPEN YOUR EYES!”. A slight eyelid movement was enough to make me laugh with excitement, amazing.

In spite of all the improvements, Dad is “septic” (sepsis). This is a result of the perforated esophagus and the stomach fluids released into the body, creating a systemic infection that is VERY dangerous, especially in his condition. Over the next 72 hours the sepsis is the biggest concern, barring any unexpected setbacks…which the doctor is perpetually preparing us for.

The Doctors are extremely guarded with their optimism, leaving us grasping for any sign of hope in their words. The chorus line repeats “he is still a very sick man, in VERY critical condition”, but today is a good day.

-Gable

To all us yanks out there…

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you enjoy the time with your friends, family and good whisk(e)y!

Being that this is an American holiday, I’m planning on enjoying some American whiskies.  Perhaps some Evan Williams 2000 and maybe some Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey or some Hudson Baby Bourbon.

Care to share what you’ll be sipping on?  Even if you’re not in the US, feel free to share your weekend drams (be they Scotch, Bourbon, Japanese, Irish, Swedish, etc… Whisky)!

Enjoy!

L’chayim/Sláinte/Cheers!

Joshua “Yossi” Hatton