Tag Archives: Cinnamon

Autumn, Cold Winter, Glenfarclas, Need To Bundle Up, Takin' It Easy

Glenfarclas 15yr – Spicy, fruity…damn good dram!

Highlands – 46%ABV – 70cl – Not available through US stores – Master of Malt has it for £36 | €42

One thing that really bugs me is UK only or, better yet, non-USA bottlings of whisky.  My anger is not directed toward the UK in anyway, it’s directed at US law.  Specifically when it comes to the US *NOT* accepting foreign bottles which are 700ml (or, 70cl). They have to be 750ml.  Why?  It seriously does not make sense to me.  If you can clue me in, please, do!  Email me – I have to know what the dumb-arse reason is.

People in the US are missing out on so many good whiskies (or paying too much in shipping from the UK/EU to get them) due to US law regarding 70cl bottles.  One of the many drams us yanks are missing out on is the Glenfarclas 15yr.

The Glenfarclas 15yr is one of the better sherry finished drams out there – it benefits from all of the good things about sherry (rich fruits & spice) without being too winey, though, there is wine there for sure.  Many folks in the UK/EU refer to this as the ultimate Christmas Cake dram.  Jason over at WHISKYhost gives an excellent description of what Christmas Cake is actually like (if you’re a Jew like me, who has never had Xmas cake, you’ll benefit from this post).

Initial whiff – Wine soaked raisins, cinnamon (lots of it, almost like the smell of Big Red Chewing Gum), white pepper, extremely fragrant & masculine (in a very feminine, perfumey kind of way…)

On the mouth – Rich & decadent, oily, coating & spicy, very spicy.  Chewy, like chewing on taffy, malty sweet

Finish – Like the energizer bunny, it keeps going! A bit tannic, wine from the nose returns, the sides of my tongue have been tingling for some time now.

In sum – This is the first and ONLY Glenfarclas I’ve had.  Here in the US we have the 12yr, 17yr, 21yr and (I think) the 25yr.  And there are, of course, many others in the ‘farclas line but of all the Glenfarlas’ out there, this is the one I’ve read about the most so I went for the dram toughest to get in the US and I did not regret it one bit!  I prefer to enjoy this on a colder night.  Perfect for Christmas or, maybe good for the eighth night of Chanukah 😉  Nice cold weather stuff.

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Need To Bundle Up, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Takin' It Easy

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Batch 29

Denver, Colorado, USA– 47%ABV – 750ml bottle – $45 | £64 | €78

I first had the pleasure of tasting Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey at WhiskyFest in NYC.  To see my review of that event, please pop over to Whisky Israel (then pop back here to read this grand review!).

At WhiskyFest last year I was hopping around from table to table; so little to do, so much time… scratch that, reverse it.  Carrying on — I had a boatload of tables to visit during the event!  I’ll be quite honest in stating that, while I had interest in visiting the Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey booth, if I missed them, I missed them.  This was not because I didn’t have the interest, I was simply more focused on Scotch whisky rather than American whiskey.

So there we were, going from this table to that, from that aisle to this aisle… our heads were spinning – it was quite an experience!  We were on our way to the Old Pultney/Balblair booth when my buddy Jeff stopped me and said “Josh, you’ve got to try this $hit!!”.  I saw that he was at the Stranahan’s booth and I said to myself that I could at least scratch these guys off my list (and then get to Balblair already!!).

The nice man at the booth poured me a wee bit and I sniffed… Wow… This is not like any other American Whiskey I’ve ever nosed before!  I continued with the next step (umm, the tasting of course) and wham-o!! My friend Jeff said exactly what I was thinking: “Dude, it’s like liquid banana chips!”  And it was.  Absolutely delicious, these guys nailed it and made something so very unique from all the other American whiskies I’ve every had.

This being said, by hook or by crook, I had to get a bottle.  And that I did.

Now, before I go on I will tell you that I do not know what batch number(s) were being served at WhiskyFest NYC but I can tell you that what I bought was very different from what I had at the fest.  Not in a bad way — at all (though I do wish I could find the banana chip batch.  I’ve got an email into them already so once I find out, you will find out).

Initial whiff – Berries, off the bat.  Some cinnamon, a little banana peel, spices (for my Jews out there, reminded me of Havdalah spices).

On the mouth – Quite spicy but wildly smooth.  Mouth coating, banana (whole banana, not chips), vanilla, lots of vanilla and a little oak which surprised me as this stuff only stayed in barrels for two years.

Finish – Here’s where it gets really interesting and a bit… “R” rated (but hey, we’re all over 21, right??). Directly after the swallow, the most interesting taste came up on the back sides of my tongue.  I asked the drummer of my band to corroborate… we both got the amazingly strange taste of Marijuana in our mouths!  As if we were with Bill Clinton, not inhaling, and taking a hit off of a pipe (or “bowl”, to use the parlance of our times…).  So odd!  It brought me back to the good ‘ol days…  The finish made my mouth felt like it was at a Whitesnake concert circa 1988

In sum – This is quite amazing stuff and I liked the fact that my batch was so very different than the batch at WhiskyFest.  It’s like trying single cask scotch whisky, every cask tastes very different.  That being said, for this batch, I think I would suggest to drink it in a relaxing type mood or when cuddling up with a book, a wife, a husband, etc…  Enjoy this year round but try it in the late fall time when the leaves are changing (if that happens in your neck of the woods).  L’chayim/Slainte/Cheers!

A World of Discovery, All You Need Is Love, Autumn, Cold Winter, High West, Need To Bundle Up, Refreshed, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

High West Rye – Rendezvous batch 17

Park City, Utah, USA– 45%ABV – 750ml bottle – $35

The first time I had a Rye Whiskey was about 3 years ago in Chicago (3yrs ago, before I even knew how to really taste whiskies).  It was Templeton Rye, the same stuff Al Capone drank – cool!  I remember it being very spicy but, inviting.

Earlier in the week I went to Binny’s in Schaumburg, IL just to see what they had — not really to buy anything but, they always have such a large selection, I just wanted to check it all out and drool a little bit.  And drool I did!  Man-o-Maneschewitz, they have a lot to look at (much of it is a bit overpriced though…).

Binny’s allows you to taste many of their whiskies before you buy (very cool value-added feature of their stores).  Walking through, I saw the Templeton Rye and they had a sample so I asked to try a some.  Quite nice stuff and at $26 a bottle, very buyable.  The salesman, however, suggested that before I buy a Rye, I should try the High West Rendezvous (I can not stand typing that word: “Rendezvous”, so unnatural!).  I did and… wow-wow-wee-wow-wow!! Awesome stuff, hence my buy, hence the review.

Here we go!

The High West Rendezvous is actually a blend of two ryes – a 16yr made from 80% rye and a 6yr made from a bill of 95% rye!  Both of those are well above the standard rye bill of about 51% (the minimum).  Even with the age of the 80% rye (16yrs), I was expecting something so insanely spicey that it’d be too much to handle. O-contrare-mon-frare!  The spice was there but not biting at all.

Initial whiff – Fennel seed (think candied fennel seeds one would get from a good Indian or Pakastani restaurant), cinnamon, maybe spiced pumpkin (or the spices that make up that smell)

On the mouth – Chewy. Chewy sugared gumdrops, the orange ones (I used to be addicted to these gum drops, sucking off all of the sugar until just the chewy goodness was there to masticate), quite a bit of vanilla, maybe some toasted coconut.  This one is all over the place, very nice.

Finish – The spice is mostly gone now, but my mouth is still all a’coat with warmth. Nice oily feel.

In sum – The folks who made this are artisans, plain and simple.  I could drink this any time of the year and in most moods.  This stuff is not available in Connecticut, check their website for availability in your area.  Seek this one out.

Aberlour, Angry, Autumn, Cold Winter

Aberlour A’bunadh Cask Strength Batch #21

Speyside – 59.5%ABV – cask strength – 750ml bottle – $52 | £60 | €70 (pricing shown in £ & € are for batch 19, I could not find a source for batch #21)

I’ve often wondered how the carnival side show people were able to do the things they could (E.G. bang a nail into their face, swallow a sword or eat fire). In the case of the A’Bunadh I would say that a fire eater would have no problems drinking this stuff.

Before I got forward, let me tell you, this is a positive review! The burn-i-ness is all part of the experience.

Initial whiff — Pure sherry wine, wow!  HUGE.  Some chocolate notes, bits of candied orange, maybe sharper than orange, lemons? Fresh tobacco.

On the mouth — OUCH!  This stuff is hotter than a $3 pistol.  I love the quote from  Dr. Whisky — “Not unlike drinking a brick”, the sherry is immense.  Cinnamon spice, big waxy mouth feel, very tongue coating stuff.  Some of the biggest sherry I’ve ever had.  A bit winey and now, the burning fire is back.  This is some strong stuff.

Finish — The burn goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on…  Wait, some bay leafy finish and now, some oak.

In sum — I’m not one usually one for an over sherried drop but this one, in the right mood is just top notch. Very sherry-grapey, dried fruits, waxy on the tongue, cinnamon, (maybe nutmeg) and napalm.