The Whisky Exchange A Toast To Christmas 19 Year Blended Malt Scotch

VITALS:

- $120

- 88.6 Proof

- 19 years

- Scotland

This is certainly my favorite gifted whiskey ever. This past Christmas, my family gave this bottle to me. It's a Christmas exclusive release from the Whisky Exchange, complete with personalized, dated label informing me, "Congratulations, you made the nice list!"  If I knew this was the reward for making the nice list, I would have been trying a whole lot harder this whole time!

This bottle is a 19 year blended malt matured in a sherry butt.  There is no indication as to the source of the whisky, with the only indication on the bottle being that it was "Obtained from a Private Collection."  Not really sure what that means. In fact, it doesn't even identify the region(s).  It does, however, indicate that this bottling was limited to only 520 bottles.  So, a review of this particular bottle might be pointless. But, I finished the bottle, so now I'm reviewing it.

As would be expected from a whiskey matured for 19 years in a sherry butt, the nose was very fruit forward. It was full of bright and fresh berries, including raspberry and strawberry. There was also some dark cherry mixed in as well. That was all accompanied by a sweet honey note, along with some light cereal notes, and even a hint of vanilla. This was, however, very fruit forward.

The flavor followed suit for the most part. Those berries all came through, with the raspberry note being the most notable. What I loved, though, is that these fruit-forward notes were always bright and fresh, rather than being rich and dark and heavy, as is so often the case from sherry cask whiskies. 

There was a layer of vanilla, as well as a very welcome and rich butterscotch note that seemed to underscore everything. The honey sweetness I got on the nose was also there.  I also got some darker fruit notes, like raisin or fig.

On the finish that raisin note seemed to actually linger a bit longer than the bright berry notes.  The vanilla also seemed to stick around as well. It was also on the finish that a black pepper spice creeped in, adding a bit of an unexpected but welcome surprise to it all.  

I don't know where this whisky came from, but I enjoyed every drop of it. Hopefully this becomes some sort of family tradition!!

Grade: B+

Caol Ila Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 13 Year Single Malt Scotch

VITALS:

- $100

- 90 Proof

- 13 Years

- Batch 18/002

- Islay

I really do love all things peat and sweet. I have yet to find a wine barrel matured or finished single malt that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. There's something about that fruity and smoky combination that just hits right. So when this bottle popped up on Binny's shelves, it wasn't much of a decision to be made. I knew I'd have to give it a try.

This particular bottle was initially matured in first fill bourbon and refill American casks. After that, it was finished in Hermitage casks for an additional 3 years. I had to look it up, but Hermitage is a French red wine made from Syrah grapes, which notably tend to be a bit more earthy and tannic. I could only hope that would mingle well with delicious Caol Ila peat.

On the nose I immediately got char notes mixed with spicy dark fruit, like blackberry and pepper.  Of course I got a health amount of smoke from the peat, as well as a sweet brown sugar note. This all really reminded me of a sweet and spicy barbecue, the kind that makes your mouth water just smelling it.

The flavor was absolutely bursting with the dark fruit notes from the wine finish. I was immediately hit with a ton of dark cherry, blackberry, fig and even raisin. It was vibrant and rich, and even managed to overtake the peat. This was one of the "juicier" whiskies I can recall ever having.

Those dark fruits were accompanied by the same brown sugar and black pepper that I got on the nose, offering a nice sweet and spicy background to go with those fruit forward notes. Of course the peaty notes made their way in eventually (they can't really be denied), and it again leaned towards a delicious barbecue flavor.

On the finish the pepper spice really stuck around, including at the back of my throat. There as also this soft vanilla note that came through, which seemed to balance out a lingering cherry note that had coated my mouth. 

This was a fantastic bottle, and two friends and I killed half the bottle just the first night opening it. I wanted to slow myself down, but I couldn't help but go back, and that bottle was killed within a couple weeks, which is always a mark of a great whisky!

Grade: A