Weller Full Proof Binny's Single Barrel Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon - Batch #5

VITALS:
- $60

- 114 Proof

- NAS

- Batch #5

- Kentucky

I'm not sure if the hype or love for these bottles still remains.  I'm guessing it does, I just can't claim to have my finger on that pulse any more. That said, I know that I'm still grabbing these up whenever they are made available to me. In fact, this and Antique store picks are about all that I really grab any more from the Weller lineup.

These Full Proofs have yet to let me down, whether as the standard release or as a single barrel pick.  This one is a bit odd, though.  The sticker is a bit misleading. It identifies it as a "Single Barrel Select" but then also includes a "batch" number rather than a barrel number.  I suppose a single barrel can also constitute a batch, but that seems a bit counterintuitive.  So, I guess I don't know if this is a small batch or if it is actually a single barrel.  

On the nose I got those traditional bourbon notes I've come to expect from these Weller Full Proofs. It's certainly on the sweeter side, with a distinct toffee note. There are notes of chocolate and even a little bit of cinnamon as well. But it definitely leaned sweet on the nose.  I went into my first sip anticipating a dessert whiskey.

But, the flavor was never too sweet. It had those caramel and chocolate notes. I even got a pretty decent amount of sweet vanilla bean. Certainly all of these notes together gave off confectionary vibes.  But, it never seemed to cross that line into being overly sweet or anything I'd consider a "dessert whiskey."

I think the sweetness was tempered a bit by a fairly health oak note. I don't typically find oak in these bottlings, so that was actually kind of a pleasant surprise. It added a touch of bitterness as well as a bit of earthiness, both of which were certainly welcome and helped balance the bourbon out. I also got a bit of a cherry note, kind of a candied cherry, that added just a touch of tang and fruitiness to the flavor.

The finish is where the cinnamon note really came through. It ended up being much spicier than I expected as a result, as that cinnamon note, along with the chocolate and toffee notes, hung around for quite some time. It actually made this bourbon fun, for lack of a more creative word.

The price of these bottles remains approachable, and I'm just going to keep buying them when the opportunity presents itself. Always delicious pours, and this barrel/batch, whatever it is, was no different.

Grade: B+

Longrow Red 11 Year Tawny Port Cask Matured Peated Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch

VITALS:

- $170

- 115 Proof

- 11 Years

- 2023

- Campbeltown

When it comes to Scotch, I certainly do love those peated whiskies matured in wine casks. I love that peat and sweet!  And of those, I particularly love the Longrow Red collection.  Every single one of these releases has been absolutely outstanding! And of those, I've particularly loved the port finishes!

So, it was a foregone conclusion that I'd be grabbing the 11 year Tawny Port cask when it was released in 2023.  While I have bemoaned the pricing on these bottles, at least going in I knew I was going to love this bottling, and, quite frankly, it did not disappoint.

When I popped the cork, I got more peat than I expected. Usually these Longrow releases are a bit more muted, but this one filled my nostrils with a sweet smokey aroma. That was immediately followed, though, by a rich and sweet jammy note, like raspberry and currant.  Bright and fruity, and yet dark and rich all at once. 

And what I loved most is that it had a flavor to match. Again, the peat smoke was present immediately on the tip of my tongue.  It was no Laphroaig or Ardbeg, but the peat notes were certainly there. There was also a certain salinity to it, kind of like a campfire on the beach.

But what made this release a superstar was that Tawny Port cask! This was the kind of pour that you'd want after a heavy Thanksgiving meal (even if that's not a thing in Scotland!).  It was like a smokey fruit pie, full of fig and raspberry and stewed cherries. It was unquestionably sweet, but yet almost subtly so. The dark fruits provided all of the sweetness, never giving way to being too sweet and always playfully working with the peat smoke.

I did get some graham cracker notes, and even at times a bit of honey and wheat. That really just kind of balanced out the whole pie comparison.  Every now and then I'd even get surprised by warm baking spices, like cinnamon and even nutmeg.

But, rest assured, from front to back, it was that jammy blackberry, currant, stewed cherries, fig impression from the Tawny Port that was the absolute star here, making for one of the best pours I've had in a long time.  Damn those stupid prices--I'm stuck just grabbing these Longrow Reds as I find them!

Grade: A+

Glenmorangie A Tale of the Forest Highland Single Malt Scotch

VITALS:

- $100

- 92 Proof

- NAS

- 2023

- Highlands

I am always a fan of free whisky! I know some whiskey collectors would prefer not to get whiskey as a gift, because it might end up being something they'd never buy or it might be something that they already have. I, however, welcome any and all whiskey gifts. It's always a good present, even if it's something I've had a thousand times before. Free whisky is great whisky!

In this case, I got this bottle as a gift from my wife, who thought it came in a pretty box.  I'm fairly certain that's about all the aforethought that went into this particular gift. But, in this case, I was thrilled to receive it.  I'm a fan of Glenmorangie to start with, and a limited release with some experimentation (kilning barley with botanicals) is just the kind of thing that I want to grab when I see it, but often pass due to the risk of the unknown (and usually somewhat hefty price tag).

It could be that the packaging, and the name, and the description of the process, all got in my head making me predisposed to certain flavors and aromas. But, the first things that I noticed were all almost herbal, with notes of sage and oregano hitting me right away. There was also a decent amount of pine on the nose, along with a bit of an earthy note. I even got notes of coriander and fennel, and at times it reminded me of a good deep dish pizza, as weird as that sounds.

As to flavor, it was definitely herbal, regardless of any predisposition.  I got the sage and oregano. There was also a certain fennel note, which, while I'm not a huge fan of fennel, did offer an interesting note and seemed to blend well with everything else.

I didn't really get any pine or mossy notes, as the write-up on the box suggested.  In fact, I got a decent amount of sweetness to go with the herbal notes, including notes of honey and even richer notes of caramel.  These sweeter notes actually worked really well with the herbal notes, giving a bit of a sweet and savory balance.

The finish provided a bit of a black pepper spice to further balance out any sweetness. It also had a cracker note, kind of like a wheat cracker with a bit of an earthy note to it.  Unfortunately, here the caramel and herbal notes seemed to fade away fairly quickly, leaving me with mostly a bread note in my mouth.

All in all, this was a fun single malt.  There were things that I absolutely loved about it (the herbal honey notes) and things that I wish were better (the disappointing finish). But, I'm so glad I got to try it, and I did not find myself hesitating to grab this bottle when the mood for an unpeated Scotch hit me.

Grade: B

Mortlach Signatory Vintage Binny's Private Select 10 Year Oloroso Sherry Matured Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

VITALS:

- $100

- 118.2 Proof

- 10 Years

- Cask No. 7

- 2023

- Speyside

There are two primary reasons I picked up this bottle.  First, it came highly recommended from a Binny's manager who, while we don't necessarily share the same palate when it comes to bourbon, has certainly served me well with his Scotch recommendations. Given that it's a private pick bottled at cask strength, his recommendation was really all that was necessary to convince me to grab a bottle.

However, this bottle certainly stood out on the shelf for one particular reason -- its color!!  I'm not one typically swayed by color. I've had some incredibly flavorful whiskeys that were just a shade above clear. But, this particular whiskey was so incredibly dark, I just knew that the force of the 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt was going to be strong with this one! It looked like a completely different type of liquor next to all the other bottles on the shelf.

One thing that was consistent on both the nose and the palate is that to call this "jammy" is an understatement.  As soon as I popped the cork, the room was filled with black raspberry and black currants. There was also a sort of toast note, making it seem a bit breakfast-ish. While it was hard to get past those rich, dark fruit notes, I also got something a bit herbal, kind of like a sage or an oregano note.

Upon my first sip, though, I was absolutely in love with this whisky! My mouth was flooded with notes of currant, black cherry and fig. It was rich and very jammy, and the 10 years spent in the Oloroso cask really allowed those fortified wine notes to take hold.  It also had a sort of syrupy quality, with that rich sweetness to it.

It also had a bit of a pie crust note, perhaps the toast I got on the nose. It was bit crackery, but also light and almost buttery. There was also a bit of balance thanks to a fresh black pepper note to add a little spice and pull from the sweetness. 

The finish is what absolutely sold me, though. I mentioned "syrupy" above, and this had a viscosity that reminded me of syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries. It absolutely coated the mouth in wonderful flavors of rich, dark fruit notes, but also that black pepper spice. There was a bit of an umami note on the finish as well, and it all kind of came together like really well-done barbecue. 

This was a sherry bomb, for sure, but it was a really, really good sherry bomb!!  I absolutely loved this bottle, and as I'm sitting here typing this I'm wishing I just had more and more of it.

Grade: A+

Colonel E.H. Taylor Warehouse Liquors Single Barrel Select Bottled in Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:

- $80

- 100 Proof

- NAS

- Barrel #035; Wrhs. H

- Kentucky

I've had plenty of store picks before, including E.H. Taylor picks. This one is a first, for me, having nothing to do with the whiskey. I bought this Warehouse Liquors Single Barrel Select back in 2021, and it's just like any other pick. What was a bit odd, however, is that Buffalo shipped all of the bottles for this Single Barrel pick in "Small Batch" tubes.

Of course, Gene at Warehouse Liquors caught this, and, rather than ship new tubes, apparently Buffalo Trace sent additional stickers to be applied to the outside of the Small Batch tubes, giving that necessary reassurance that this was, in fact, a single barrel pick.  In the end, tubes don't matter and the bottle was clearly and properly labeled.  But, it certainly was a fun little quirk with this particular bottling.  I think that's why it sat on my shelf for as long as it did before I finally got around to opening it.  I just liked having that little oddity.

No surprise here, but this was a delicious bourbon!  The nose was full of those traditional, Buffalo Trace Mashbill #1 aromas, including toffee and chocolate. It had a little bit of vanilla and a good cinnamon spice trailing behind everything.  These are consistently in my wheelhouse, and this bottle was no different.

When I took my first sip, the cinnamon spice was the first thing that I noticed up front. It was kind of a mix of baked cinnamon like you get on cinnamon rolls and cinnamon candy like redhots. It was very delicious! Interestingly, right behind that I got a decent oak note, adding a bit of tannic bitterness.  

Luckily, though, that bitterness was fleeting, and it made way for rich dark chocolate notes, as well as rich toffee notes. It wanted to be a sweet bourbon, but the spice, the oak, and the richness of those sweet notes seemed to keep it from going too far. 

There was a dark cherry, kind of a Maraschino cherry lurking behind everything.  That seemed to work incredibly well with the chocolate, providing a sort of cherry cordial quality.  It also had a sort of graham cracker note to it as well, again offering just a touch of sweetness without going too far.

On the finish it seemed that graham cracker note stuck around the longest.  The dark cherry note was there, and a bit of the toffee note as well. But that graham cracker, and even the dark chocolate note, were what really seemed to linger.  The spice that I got up front seemed to fade away fairly quickly after each sip.

The quirky tube is gone now, and, quite frankly, the bourbon in side was gone very quickly once I finally got around to opening it. This one checked a lot of the boxes of what I love about bourbon.  I almost don't want to throw my empties away (but I will because I'm not a hoarder).

Grade: A-

Hazelburn 9 Year Barolo Cask Matured Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2016)

VITALS:

- $132

- 115.8 Proof

- 9 Years

- Campbeltown

I have and will always have a soft spot for Campbeltown Scotches.  I don't know what it is about them.  I do love a good, smoky Scotch, but it seems that Campbeltown, whatever it is they're doing there, seems to find a great balance of peat smoke and salinity.  That's not to mention their (at least Springbank's) use of ex-wine casks seemingly to perfection.

Yet, even where peat is not involved, they still seem to nail it.  That's where the Hazelburn line comes in.  I honestly don't even know where I found this bottle.  If I had to guess, I'd say Warehouse Liquors in Chicago.  This was bottled in 2016, and I can assure you I hadn't been holding onto it that long.  I also can't say that I've had a whisky matured in Barolo wine casks before, so no matter what I knew this was going to be a treat.

The nose was full of a nice, malty backbone, kind of like a sweeter wheat bread. It had notes of salinity and even a little black pepper.  There were also some rich dark fruit notes. I got blackberry and even dark cherry at times.  I also got a bit of baked apple with cinnamon and nutmeg. It certainly smelled rich and lightly sweet.

On the first sip, I got that black pepper note right away on the tip of my tongue. I also got that bready note, as well as a bit of the rich dark fruit. However, it was more of a plum note, having that tangy bite that you get from plums.  There was also a fairly distinct tannic note to it, certainly coming from the wine casks.

As each sip lingered a bit more, some of the sweeter notes came through.  I did get a caramel apple note (kind of surprised by this one), adding some sweetness to the baked apple I was getting on the nose.  But it certainly never leaned too rich, rather relying on the rich, decadent notes from the Barolo casks to drive the bus. 

On the finish, there was a light pepperiness, but it was that baked apple and plum that really stuck around.  The taste that lingered was as though I had just finished a delicious pie, including some of the malt notes to provide a sort of pie crust flavor that stuck around, particularly on the tip of my tongue. It didn't come across as super viscous, but the finish was long and, quite frankly, my favorite part of the whole experience.

Grade: A-

Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:

- $180

- 100 Proof

- 16 Years

- Kentucky

Somehow news of this release escaped me.  I've always been a fan of Old Grand-Dad. I like the spicy, almost dusty quality that it always seems to have, and OGD 114 is one of my favorite semi-regularly available bottles on the shelf.  And yet, when news of a 16 year OGD hit, it somehow went below my radar.

So, when I saw some new, unrecognizable bottle on the shelf at Costco, and upon closer inspection realized just what it was, I pulled the trigger without questioning it.  Perhaps at its price-point I should have, but, in the end, buyer's remorse is just a part of this hobby.  It's inescapable.  Luckily, though, I managed to avoid it with this bottle, which was pretty much everything I would have wanted or expected from a well-aged OGD!

Upon popping the very fat (dare I say thicc) cork on this wide-mouthed bottle, I got the immediate and familiar note of peanuts that I associate with Jim Beam products. In fact, it was more present than usual with this one, as it really took over.  Behind that peanut note were notes of oak and caramel. It even had a little bit of anise to it, as well as a pretty strong cinnamon note to tickle my nose a bit. 

Not surprisingly, my first sip gave a significant peanut note right away. However, it was definitely on the sweeter side, almost like a peanut brittle, just not quite that sweet. But, other flavors, including fairly prominent notes of honey and caramel, provided a sweetness that I didn't expect and don't usually get out of Old Grand-Dad bottlings.  There were also notes of vanilla bean and nougat that lent to the sweetness and almost dessert-like quality.

There was also a light oakiness up front. At first I was surprised at how little oak came through. However, as the bottle had been open a bit, it certainly took on a more oaky quality, definitely noticeable in later pours.  There was also a cinnamon spice which, along with that oak note, kept this from getting overly sweet. Even a dark chocolate note kept through to try to temper the sweetness.

However, on the sweet-spice spectrum, I'd put this well on the sweet end.  While there was some spice, this was unquestionably a sweet bourbon, and it was that sweet peanut note, that note that reminded me of peanut brittle, that lingered forever on the finish. While it wasn't what I was expecting, it was absolutely delicious, leaving me wanting more and more!

Grade: A-