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-