KCM Spirit Reviews Podcast # 1

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Check out the first KCM podcast.

Review 179: Rittenhouse Rye

Review 179

9/21/13

Rittenhouse Rye: 50% abv

Background: Rittenhouse is a rye whiskey distilled by Heaven Hill distillery. This rye whiskey is made in the traditional Pennsylvania style of rye whiskey. We are still in the process of understanding what that means, but now you know it is in that style. Rye whiskies are made from a mash of 51% rye grain, and the other 49% can be a mixture of other grain types. Although Rittenhouse doesn’t have a great amount of information regarding it, it is known to be quite an eccentric rye, and it is bottled at bond at 50% abv. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to dig deeper into the details, but I will review it for you!

Straight

Nose: This rye whiskey starts off with a heavy nose, with nice grainy overtones and some immediate ginger coming through. This very unique nose displays aromas of cocoa and dark chocolate brownies, some cedar and oak coming through. There is a hint of wood polish in the nose, with rich corn and rye aromas. Vanilla, oolong tea, and honey come at the top of the glass, with cloves, cinnamon and molasses in the backdrop. There is a slight dry apple smell in the top of the glass as well.

Arrival: The arrival is intense and bold. It is certainly not holding any punches. There is a spicy character up front, with hot cinnamon and allspice coming up strong. There is vanilla, barley, oak, and saltiness noticed right up front. Some milk chocolate is present here as well. There is some mint late in the arrival. There is a taste that very much resembles the smell of wood polish in the arrival as well, which is hard to articulate, but I just tried.

Body: Along with the mint carrying over from the arrival, there is a subtle chocolate character that goes along with it. The body is equally spicy and salty, with a subtle grape-like fruitiness. The body is substantially woody, with no shortage of rye character. The body is probably the spiciest event in the whisky. 

           

Finish: The finish is intensely salty, with a hot character. There is some oak that comes through in the finish, with vanilla, coffee beans, and chocolate. It is hot and spicy all the way through, which helps add to the intensity of the rye character. There is a taste that resembles artificial sweetness, sort of like a jolly rancher (I know it’s obscure). It is also oddly malty in the end as well.

With Water

Nose: After adding quite a bit of water (to settle down this beast), the nose becomes more grain forward. There is more soft oak up front, with banana coming through as well. There is a bit of spice still, but it isn’t nearly as intense as it was before. There is a bigger presence of wheat now, which attributes to a softer, creamier nose. Also, an unfamiliar straw-like character is involved here.

Arrival: With vanilla, cream, and slightly soft grain character in the arrival, there is much less intensity up front. The arrival has an interesting fruity sweetness to it as well. This is much different than before. It almost reminds us of melons and berries.

Body: The body retains the sweetness, the fruitiness, and the soft grain flavors as well. The body is still spicy, but keeps the vanilla and creamy notes strong. There is subtle citrus and even some molasses that comes out more, now that the alcohol has died down more.

           

Finish: The finish is still the most intense, but has shortened up a bit. The artificial sweetness is much more dominant here, with some molasses and a lot of grain coming through. The balance is a little different, with a little more coffee coming through as well. There is a complex blend of new fruit notes that is more dominant here. There is even some black pepper becomes noticeable after water.

Final Comments: Rittenhouse is a pretty eventful whiskey. We hear that the 25 Year Old is quite a brute itself. This is not what I would call a casual sipper. Rye whiskies tend to be a little bit more overbearing than your bourbons, but this was definitely turned up to 11. The flavor is intense and relentless, and I would not recommend this to a novice. Rittenhouse is a whiskey I love to drink one night and hate to drink another. Without a shadow of a doubt, it is worth trying more than once. It is complex, and more than anything, a unique whiskey to try. If you can find it at a bar, try it there first.

 

Why you’d buy it: You are the adventurous type.

Why you wouldn’t: You are stuck with Jim Beam.

Score: 8.75/10

Review 174: Death's Door White Whiskey Aging Experiment #1 - Red Maple aging

Review 174

8/29/13

Death’s Door White Whiskey Aging Experiment #1: 40% abv

Background: So now and again, the mundane nature of doing the same old review format every week gets to be too ritualistic, and we like to do something different. How about aging whiskey? This is an idea inspired by a brilliant man Ralfy, who does whisky reviews on Youtube. You might scratch your head and wonder how one might go about aging whiskey. Well, a few years back I bought a despicable bottle of white whiskey (unaged whiskey) called “Death’s Door” (I know, I need to look at context clues more), and it turned out to be pretty deathly after all. Since then, I haven’t been able to give the stuff away. So did I dump it down the drain? Not a chance. I poured two glasses of Death’s Door and put some small pieces of wood in it. The wood used to age this whiskey was red maple wood, freshly cut and pulled from the tree. As the first experiment, the aging was highly dependent on the preparation of the wood. The first glass got a piece of wood about ½ an inch thick and an inch long, cured for half an hour in the oven at 350° F, whereas the second glass got three cuts of wood that were about ¼ an inch thick and an inch long, cured for an hour and a half in the oven at the same heat. They were both covered in Marsala wine for a short period of time and then charred with a propane torch before exposing them to the whiskey. Both sat in the whiskey for a little over a week, and here’s what we found:

Unaged Death’s Door: Regular Death’s Door is not something I’m a huge fan of, for plenty of reasons. The nose emits sugary smells of buttery popcorn, marshmellows, some graininess and confectionary notes and even some of the smell you get from balloons. It is rather odd, to say the least, but it isn’t very appealing. The taste contains bits of corn and grain that come through, and translate into a pretty popcorn-like flavor, along with some other odds and ends. The natural spirit isn’t horribly great to begin with. So let’s see how it holds up with a little wood influence.

½ Hour Cure Red Maple Death’s Door: Interesting, the color of this whisky got to be a rosy red color, much like you’d see out of an 8 year bourbon or wine-aged whiskey. Remember that bit for later. The nose is significantly different, with some vegetal notes, more fruitiness, some cotton, vanilla, and earthiness. Unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t reflect all of this complexity. Although there were some slight maple notes, the raw sappiness of the wood came through, but only clashed with the original whiskey flavors. So despite the dark color, there was not dark, rich flavor to go along with it. This is just another lesson that color doesn’t mean much in the world of spirits. Either way, this glass was not much more drinkable than the first.

1 & ½ Hour Cure Red Maple Death’s Door: So the first one is a miss, but what about the one with the longer cure and smaller sticks? Well, first of all, this one is actually lighter in color, despite the additional exposure of wood. This is probably directly attributed to the extra curing of the wood. The nose on this one is not much at all similar to either of the other two whiskeys. This one contributes some spice, earthiness, oil, and slight smoke to the equation. The taste is, surprisingly much better, very drinkable, with some woody notes, a short finish, and some slight maple on the arrival.

Final Comments:  So what does it all mean? What’s next? Well, this experiment had to do with the preparation of wood used for aging whisky. There is a lot to learn from this, and the first thing that can be obviously deduced is that aging whiskey is not as simple as you might have assumed. After doing additional research, KCM has determined it will run the next experiment at a 3 hour cure. Right now, three pieces of wood (Oak, Catalpa, and Applewood) are air drying for two weeks before being prepped and placed in three containers of Death’s Door. The next time we do this, it will focus on the difference of woods, so we will be keeping the preparation of the woods the same for each container. If you have any questions regarding the experiment, please feel free to email us at kcmspiritreviews@gmail.com.

Review 166: Jim Beam Rye

Review 166

6/18/13

Jim Beam Rye Whiskey: 40% abv

Background: Jim Beam is obviously a big player in the world of bourbon, and if you are taking Jack Daniels out of the equation, they are the biggest. Rye Whiskey, as we may or may not have stated in the past, is in the stages of resurgence after its staggering loss of popularity post prohibition. Bourbon gained more traction because of its sweeter, more pleasant flavor, whereas the intense, spicy nature of rye quickly fell out of favor from the general public. It looks like the public has grown a pair again, and since the big guys have caught wind of it, they are jumping on the bandwagon. It isn’t as if Jim Beam Rye has been put on the shelves yesterday, so it probably seems like it has always been there, but on the cosmological scale of whiskey, this is a coming back in the Rye world. The question becomes, does Jim Beam do this well, or should we keep walking past the now-iconic bottle to something less recognizable.

Straight

Nose:  Right off the bat, you get a burning intensity from rye whiskey that could arguably be much less pleasant than bourbon, but don’t let that deter you on. Smell on. Once you get past the initial intensity, you will find a little more rye grain coming through to add. You will get some vanilla and anise coming into the nose after the whiskey starts to open up. There is a modest hint of caramel that layers over the aromas. There is an interesting sense of creamy, fruity notes coming through, akin to bananas and light yellow apples and other tropical notes. There is a sense of spiciness coming through, but it is pretty ambiguous and light.

Arrival: The arrival to this Rye whiskey, is surprisingly creamy, with some banana from the nose coming into the arrival. This is complimented by a sweet corn smoothness. There is some rye and malt grain coming through, with big vanilla flavor. There is also a slight oakiness. The flavor is surprisingly mild in the arrival, and does not to elude to a very dynamic body or finish.

Body:  There is a buttery, vanilla, and oak flavor coming through in the body. It is actually rather sweet, and non-obtrusive. The rye character is pretty light, and doesn’t really present the full intensity of what a rye whiskey can be. Surprisingly, there is more of a corn-flavor dominance coming through in the body, than the rye character.

           

Finish: The finish is probably the most intense part of the whiskey, imparting a peppery, rye, character to the whiskey, with a light brininess counterbalancing the peppery nature. There is a corn flavor that comes through. There is a minty character that works into the end as well. The finish is still not very dynamic, and although the whiskey has flavor that is enjoyable, it is pretty non-complex. There is some sweet fruitiness coming through later in the finish, but it fades down rather quickly.  Fruit flavors might include berries and golden apples, but it was hard to pick out. The finish isn’t terribly long, nor is it terribly short.

With Water

Nose: Well, as per last time, the grainy intensity comes to the forefront. The nose is pretty similar after adding water. The creaminess is still there, if not amplified from before. With that being said, there is no major transformation to the aromas coming out of here.

Arrival: Well, the arrival is certainly a mellow experience here, with almost nothing happening without swishing the rye around in your mouth. A blanket taste of vanilla starts off, but as you let the whiskey sit, an intense spiciness creeps into the picture. This lives through the body and finish as well.

Body: The body translates some of that spiciness into gingerbread and cinnamon flavors, but carries over the general feel from before. Some of that banana and cream type flavor that was seen before is now just as lively as before water was added.

           

Finish: The finish, disappointing, becomes much duller after some water is added to the equation. Unfortunately, due to the fact that this whiskey sits at 40% abv, there isn’t a whole lot of room for growth. That does detract, and it should come as no surprise that the results of adding water can be a little bit deterrent from the already meek flavor.

Final Comments:  This is, in fact, a whiskey worth buying. Now, that does not mean it is terribly complex, nor does it mean it bears semblance to the classic rye whiskey. This takes on a contemporary approach to the rye flavor, with a little modesty. This sits comfortably close to the Jim Beam bourbon, probably by design. I think we would see this rye come to life if only they didn’t cut it down nearly as much. At 46%, this would be a great buy, albeit the rye content is probably awfully close to 51%. We would venture a guess that much sweeter grains were used in this mash, and it takes away some of the influence of the whiskey. We’d also conjecture that this would do better with another two years in the barrel. At the end of the day, you won’t go home crying if you buy this whiskey, but you might consider some others before pulling the trigger. Hopefully, we will be helping with that in the future.

Why you’d buy it: You want a soft introduction into rye whiskeys on a budget.

Why you wouldn’t: You really already know about the world of rye out there, and know there are better gems to be found.

Score: 7.25/10

KCM Onsite Report #2: Journeyman Distillery Tasting

KCM Onsite Report #2

4/19/13

Tiffany’s Wine and Spirit Shoppe/Journeyman Distillery

Overview: You might say that KCM hasn’t done a great job of talking about the Michigan distillation scene, and you’d be right. We are rectifying that, starting today, with some onsite reports of distilleries, tasting, and shops and stores where you can find good stuff. Over the summer, we hope to build on these and visit some different places. Today though, we’re going to do a hybrid and talk about Journeyman distillery AND about a place called Tiffany’s. Let’s start with the distillery.

Journeyman: Journeyman Distillery is a new business, not more than two years old, coming out of Three Oaks, MI. Three Oaks is so south-western, it may as well be Indiana. Journeyman, as we’ve said, is a pretty young distillery and they’re still learning some very valuable childhood lessons, but that hasn’t stopped them from jumping into the market with tenacity and vision. They currently have two column stills, one of which is a brand new addition to a second facility, and are aging their spirits in a variety of barrels, including some bigger barrels that they are looking to hold onto for a couple of decades. They have acquired some popularity in the surrounding area, and we hope to help them on their journey (no pun intended there) to success. One thing Journeyman is doing right is experimenting, with ideas like oak-aged gin and cabernet barrel-aged whiskey. So we attended a tasting at Tiffany’s and we’re going to report our finding on a number of their spirits, albeit it will be a general summary, not the detail we generally produce.

Ravenwood Rye: 45% abv

We started with the rye whiskey they produced, naturally being produced in column stills. The rye content in the mash is 60% and the other 40% is all wheat content, which will typically offset the harshness of rye whiskey. There was no mistaking this whiskey’s intentions, because one could easily taste the confused sweetness and underwhelming rye character in the flavor. There was a prominent honey, candied sugar, and vanilla content to this particular whiskey. There was ironically not much rye content to this whiskey, which made us a little disappointed. This is an easy drinking spirit, but it unfortunately didn’t taste like a rye whiskey should, and that’s why we buy rye whiskey.

Score: 7.25/10

Road’s End Rum: 45% abv

We decided to jump to the clear spirits. In particular, silver rum was next in line. We should mention that unaged rums generally don’t contain a large amount of complexity and are purely influenced by the molasses or sugarcane extract used in distillation. The spokesperson for Journeyman told me the rum was distilled with blackstrap molasses, and distilled by a Jamaican technique. The rum itself is pretty fresh and pure, with a mixture of sweet notes and slight bitterness, with a thick mouthfeel, and a very subtle spiciness in compliment. In all honesty, we were happy with this as a new make spirit, so we are excited what the benefits of aging does to this rum.

Score: 8.25/10

Bilberry Black Hearts Gin: 45% abv

You may notice that KCM hasn’t reviewed gin in our year of existence. Well that is partially because none of the panel is all that particular to gin, and partially because most of our stock lies in Scotch. Gin tends to be overpowered by the botanicals that are used for distillation; the primary ingredient of gin is typically juniper berries, which have very bitter and piny tasting characteristics to it. This gin is unique in that way, because, as the name implies, the star of the show is actually bilberry. Some of the ingredients include anise, coriander, lemon and cinnamon. This is not your typical gin then, with a complex list of balanced notes, not over-dominated by the typical pine qualities that gin has. This gin isn’t super dry, but it isn’t overtly sweet. It is a perfect start for what gin should be.

Score: 9.0/10

Barrel-Aged Bilberry Black Hearts Gin: 45% abv

Well now, here is where things get good. Something that has not been touched by a lot of distilleries is aged gin, and here we have some. And it really takes the best of both worlds, without a doubt. This helps the already well balanced gin get some complexity from the oak barrels, and really adds some dimension. It is my deepest hope that we see more things like this. I’d love to see more age to this gin and how it can change the spirit. This is not a mature spirit, and the addition of oak-induced flavors does not completely cover that, but it shows great potential for Journeyman to stand out for something incredible. You will find some vanilla notes, some spiciness, and a hint of herbal notes coming out in the gin. Highly recommended.

Score: 9.25/10

Buggy Whip Wheat: 45% abv

On the other end of the spectrum, this particular bottling represents a good experiment gone dull. We love the thought of new types of whiskey being bottled, and you do not see a lot of 100% wheat whiskies on the market, but maybe there is a good reason for that. This whiskey, although smooth and sweet, lacks complexity and is truly boring. You might, if you are a mixer or a rocks drinker, love that. We do not love that, and it is disappointing. This isn’t poorly made spirit, but it isn’t well made whiskey.

Score: 6.75

Featherbone Bourbon: 45% abv

We are going back and forth, I know, but honesty is our first priority. This bourbon produced some funny reactions at the tasting, where people exclaimed that the plastic cups were adding flavor to the bourbon and that it was spoiled. Folks, bourbon doesn’t really spoil like a glass of milk. In fact, the plastic tasting glasses were not off-setting the flavor. This is just a unique bourbon, and boy did we like it. At KCM, we have tried a number of bourbons, and few of them jump out as being truly away from the back. This particular one, with immense leathery notes, some nuttiness, big wood, and some tasting notes you would attribute with more mature whiskies, did more than just pose as a good entry into the American whiskey market. This whiskey showed that Journeyman can produce something different, although their range of whiskies might be a little under-developed in some areas.

Score: 9.0/10

Silver Cross Whiskey

Alright. Last one of the night. Well it is as I’m typing, and it was as I was drinking. This is an underlying message that hopefully Journeyman Distillery grabs onto. I don’t remember much about this whiskey, and I don’t care much about it. I remember it not being very distinctive, and although it had some small complexities to it, it was rather boring. We were not in the mind to rate this one.

Score: ?/10

Conclusion

At the beginning of this short novel, we told you Journeyman is a new distillery in the micro-distillery scene. This presents some challenges and makes it difficult to produce cheap quality spirits without going bankrupt. A new start up is akin to starting up a car company: lots of capital investment and not much return for years and years. Journeyman seems to be over this initial turbulence and charging ahead boldly with quality spirit production. For this reason, it is understandable for Journeyman to have their feelers out, trying to understand where they fit in the market. What we don’t want is for them to become a jack of all trades, master of none. It will be interesting to see how they evolve, but we as consumers should try to be patrons of businesses like these, who are working hard to make a name for themselves. KCM believes Journeyman Distillery is a worth investment and we should support the products that stand out.

~K

Review 151: Bushmills Blended Irish Whiskey

Review 151

3/26/13

Bushmill’s Blended Whiskey: 40% abv

Background: Bushmills is a distillery you probably know, being the counterpoint to Jameson. Bushmills real claim to fame is being founded in 1608, over 400 years ago. Not many distillers can say that. Sir Thomas Phillipps got the license to distill in that year, making Bushmills the “undisputed” oldest distillery in the world. This being said, the company wasn’t established fully until 1784, so the numbers might be a bit misleading. Production capacities at Bushmills don’t hold a candle to Midleton’s, but that might account for the difference in quality…Bushmills has a mixture of slightly peated and unpeated barleys that they use, as well as a unique crystalized barley (moist barley that is heated at high temperatures so it dries and converts starches to sugar, caramelizing the barley). The grain whiskey used in Bushmills blends actually comes from Midleton distillery. Diageo, the owner of Bushmills has been pushing to increase sales more than double in the next few years, and that is a scary thought. Onto the tasting notes.

Straight

Nose: The nose in here is distinctly dominated by an under-ripened pear rind, with vegetal notes of wet grass and fresh greens. There is an earthy fruit note associated with the pear, with mild apple sweetness in accompaniment. There are slight vanilla and honey notes, as well as a floral note (maybe violet?) with a subtle backdrop of saltiness.

Arrival: The arrival is not the most eventful part of the whiskey, with a very smooth entry. It has an alcohol-like initial mouth-feel, with some mild vanilla and ginger/nutmeg spiciness coming through very timidly. It is followed by an unconvincing bitterness that follows into the body.

Body: The body is spicier than the arrival, with some hot notes and bitter black pepper to dry it out. It contrasts this with some sweet honey and pear notes, although it is still quite like the arrival. It doesn’t leave a lasting impact.

           

Finish: This follows the body with a much larger sweetness, pulling lemon, apple, and pear sweetness out. There are some minor complexities to the finish as well though, including a tiny peat smokiness, some ginger aftertaste, and a very impactful vegetal aftertaste, giving you the impression of green barley.

With Water

Nose: The nose in this one changes substantially after just a bit of water. The pear peel is still a strong note, but it initially appears to be slightly more vegetal, even a bit oily and nutty as well. These subtleties will diminish with time though.

Arrival: The arrival after the addition of water is initially mellow and promotes vanilla, with some serious sweetness, very close to what you’d experience from rock candy.

Body: The rock candy sweetness keeps going in the body of the whiskey after the arrival melds into your mouth. The body doesn’t promote an extreme difference, but you can tell the sweetness is amplified.

           

Finish: You might go so far as to say there is a tequila-like agave presence in the finish after adding some water, although close to honey. Even some bourbon-like maple notes come through.  The fruity/sugary finish is bold, almost over dominant now, commandeering any attention from the complex notes you might have caught before. There is still a small “zestiness” to the finish which could raise a few eyebrows.

Final Comments: Unfortunately, there is no option but to compare this to Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey. They are at the same price point, marketed to the same people, and drank exactly the same. I would like to suggest that this is wrong, but in some way, it is the only thing promoting some sense of quality between these two distilleries. Which one do we think is better? In my mind, Bushmill’s is undoubtedly the winner of this fight, with much more complexity, a more refined taste, and some interesting perks to it. That being said, I also believe it doesn’t compete with Kilbeggan, and that’s a theme we keep going back to. To go even further, KCM believes that Black Bush is the better alternative to both of these choices, and you aren’t paying that much more. For the drinker looking for an easy sipper, I think you’d be surprised with how this sips neat with a controlled portion of water.

Why you’d buy it: You’re going to buy Bushmills or Jameson, and Black Bush is “too expensive”

Why you wouldn’t: You’ve tried Black Bush and realize it’s worth the extra ___ dollars.

Score: 8.25/10

Review 150: Redbreast 12 Yr

Review 150

3/12/13

Redbreast 12 Year Pot Still: 40% abv

Background: Redbreast is another whiskey out of Ireland, but the whiskey comes from the Midleton pot stills in Cork. Now recall that in Scotch whiskey, all single malt scotch is aged in pot stills, whereas Irish whiskey can be produced in column stills which are a faster and cleaner process. This isn’t considered a great think to some, because grain whiskey (produced in column stills) tends to lack certain flavor that they strive for in Scottish distilleries. So when you see an Irish whiskey that is pot stilled, you can assume it to have a much different character than your traditional blended whiskeys you buy for $20 or so. The second thing we’d like to emphasize is that Irish whiskey uses malted and unmalted barley in production. Malted barley is taxed differently in Ireland, so the Irish found out that they could get favorable results out of a mixture of barleys by triple distilling their whiskey, instead of double distilling like is done in Scotland. This saved money and also produced a smooth, unique spirit that stood out from Scotch. Redbreast, triple distilled in pot stills, represents one of these whiskeys that checks all the boxes, although we are still frustrated with the abv being at 40%. Maybe a more craft presentation will come forth with time. 

Nose: Oaky, honey, barley, wheat, acidic white wine, graham crackers, cinnamon, floral rose notes, slight hints of rough alcohol (nail polish)

            A/W: creamy, oaky, slight solvent notes, lemon candy, grape

Arrival: Soft, grainy, vanilla, slight spice

            A/W: No significant change

Body: Vanilla, oak, spice, hot cinnamon, ginger

            A/W: Tart, citrus, sugar, rock candy, more creamy, balanced

Finish: Lemon candy, charred oak (ashy, slight roasted nuts), berry, ginger, heather honey, cinnamon, caramel

A/W: Citrus, more herbal, vegetal

Final Comments: Redbreast jumps ahead of the other Irish whiskies in the game, simply because it is a more complex alternative to the blends. It is characteristically Irish because it is a clean, fresh tasting whiskey, with that traditional Irish taste to it. You can certainly suggest that Irish whiskey is easy to spot out of a crowd, and this isn’t an exception. We struggle to see why we are paying $50-$60 for a spirit at 40% abv, but that doesn’t take a lot from the whiskey. This isn’t the most complex whiskey, and compared to a lot of Single Malt Scotches, it frankly doesn’t hold a candle to them. Still, it could be worth your consideration this holiday season.

Why you’d buy it: You want an upgrade from the basic Irish whiskey choices

Why you wouldn’t: You want something that will shake your foundation.

Score: 8.75/10

Review 135: Buffalo Trace Bourbon

Review 135

1/21/13

Buffalo Trace Bourbon: 45% abv

Background: Buffalo Trace is the standard offering presented by the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. This distillery has been known by several different names, most notably the George T. Stagg distillery, which is another bourbon to look out for. The distillery will tell you it was located at an ancient buffalo crossing, which is cool…I guess. Buffalo Trace distillery makes quite a number of spirits, not limited to bourbon or even rye, but including vodka. These include Ancient Age, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, Thomas H. Handy, Weller, Sazerac, and Rain vodka. Today, we focus on Buffalo Trace bourbon though. This particular bourbon, their namesake, uses their mash bill #1. It is one of two mash bills, and it can be considered their more “bourbon-esque” bill. With how many different whiskies they make, it may seem impossible for them to ONLY have two bills for all of them, but don’t forget how many dimensions there are to making a whiskey. The yeast can be a huge part of the flavor content. Let’s actually take a look at the taste profile now.

Nose: Oak, honey, sweet fruits, fudge, caramel, molasses, vanilla, cocoa powder, slightly floral, cabernet, sugar, brandy

            A/W: Harsher nose, harsh hot grain notes, a little more spice

Arrival: Honey, molasses, starts cool, dry spice, wheat, vanilla, caramel

            A/W: Maple, spicy

Body: Medium mouthfeel, wheat, custard, rum-like, molasses, dry

            A/W: Maple, cinnamon, ginger

Finish: Coca, touch of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cream, custard, vanilla, wheat, yeast, dry, medium long

A/W: Ginger, cinnamon, mint, more balanced, much more enjoyable

Final Comments: You might call this a dessert bourbon, with its sweet smooth character. It is 45% and we love how the complexity just keeps on coming after a little bit of water. Initially, its mellow nature made it seem like water was an unnecessary addition, but just a little bit can help bring out even more. The docile nature of this bourbon doesn’t take away from the uniqueness, or complexity, and we appreciate that. This isn’t the most spicy bourbon you’ll have come across, but that isn’t a bad thing. This is a good one by any standards, and when you find out how much it costs, it might make you drool.

Why you’d buy it: You want a nice, sweet bourbon with good complexity and a gentle presence.

Why you wouldn’t: You want your bourbon to put hair on your chest.

Score: 9.5/10

Review 118: Kilchoman Machir Bay

Review 118

12/14/12

Kilchoman Machir Bay: 46% abv

First of all, the “c” in Kilchoman is silent, so you can wipe the sweat off of your brow, Choman. Stupid jokes. Secondly, here’s a little bit about Kilchoman: This is our second Islay Scotch review, and it is a particularly interesting one. You’ll be amazed to know that Kilchoman as a distillery started producing whisky in 2005. If that doesn’t make you more interested, then let me put this in perspective. Laphroaig Distillery, the Islay Scotch maker we reviewed last, was founded in 1815. Kilchoman is hardly even a toddler in the world of Scotch. So you’re probably asking yourself, what could that possibly mean for how old the Scotch is? This particular statement is a mixture of three, four, and five year old whisky, with the four year old whisky being aged in Oloroso Sherry butts. That makes this the youngest Scotch we’ve reviewed on KCM by 7 years. 

Does that mean it will be harsh, horrible whisky? Well we’re here to tell you more about how Machir Bay tastes. Here’s some tasting notes for you. On the nose, there is a large number of flavors to taste. Included in those flavors is a bready grain smell, with wheat, rye, and even a yeast scent. There is salt and fresh peat smell, earthy notes, seaweed, and green, vegetal notes including grass. One can catch black pepper, smoke, and tobacco on the nose. 

In the arrival, there is big flavors of tobacco and peat right off the bat, but also the additions of salt, dry rye and wheat, and even some slight honey. In the body, one can find ginger spice, nutmeg, bread notes, tobacco, yeast, wheat, salt, rye, and a little barley. The finish is what will overload your senses. It starts with that big peat you know, some tobacco, salt, dry grain notes of rye and wheat, big black pepper notes, ginger, earthy and vegetal notes, big salt, more tobacco, a mild red pepper flavor, ashy wood, slight berry fruitiness, and some bitterness carried on by the black pepper flavor. 

After adding water to the whisky, it generally takes down the intensity and calms the bitterness just slightly, but the tobacco flavor in this malt is still a big player in the flavor. So to give you an idea of the difference between this and Laphroaig on a general level, it’s pretty easy to outline. Laphroaig has a much more woody, ashy flavor with some prominent fruit notes, adding some sweetness to it. Kilchoman takes on that big tobacco flavor with dry grain notes, and has a fresh, peaty taste which outlines less woodiness or campfire type flavors, but rather a subtler, more refined smoke. It is complex and pleasant, and you probably wouldn’t guess it was less than 12 years old. Either way, it is, and if you can find it, it’s worth a buy. We can’t wait for older statements from Kilchoman.

Score: 9.0/10

Review 97: Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

Review 97

9/3/12

Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select: 45.2% abv

Woodford Reserve is quite a distillery. This is our first WR review, so let’s talk about them for a second. Located in Kentucky, Woodford comes with one buzz word that has been quite extra buzzy lately. Lincoln Henderson is the man responsible for many things in the world of bourbon. Mr. Henderson, being in the Bourbon Hall of Fame, which apparently exists (I guess), is in the news today because he, at the age of 72, helped his son found a new Bourbon, called Angle’s Envy, from Louisville Distilling Company. But before all this buzz, he helped build up Woodford Reserve, one of the most successful distilleries in Kentucky. 

So what cool facts do we know about Woodford? None, but Wikipedia probably knows one or two. Hold on...okay. So Woodford Reserve is the oldest of the 9 bourbon distilleries in operation in Kentucky. That’s sort of interesting, right? Okay. We have more WR reviews coming up, so I will hold our other riveting facts for later. About this one? It’s good. Sorry, I blew it. I knew you were looking forward to the anticipation. How about why it’s good? 

Well, starting on the nose, we get some good sweet flavors that we love in our bourbons, and much sweeter and friendly than Jim Beam. Molasses, caramel, sugarcane, and honey all keep the sweetness going, but we won’t keep it boring! Interestingly, we get some creamy notes, butter, oak and nut, although we weren’t sure what kind. Also, an interesting thing we noted was peach. Dunno where that comes from. In any case, we enjoyed the smell and it left curiosity and excitement to the taste. On the arrival when you first taste this bourbon, you will be greeted by sweetness and saltiness, slight orange and vanilla, some raspberry and vanilla. The arrival is wonderfully full and complex, something we generally don’t experience. 

The body of the flavor contains intense oak, mild but pleasant salt, butter, molasses and caramel, with graininess to boot. The graininess includes wheat and corn, with some yeast. The whole package is finished off with some honey and cream. After water, the saltiness backs off a bit, which says if you don’t like the salt, add water. It doesn’t kill the flavor with it’s higher alcohol content. The finish is very similar to the taste, with saltiness, molasses, vanilla, wheat and cinnamon. The fruitiness in the smell comes back in the finish, with some orange cherry, and a unique note of mint and rye. And of course, in the notes, we see notes that make no sense. 

Sorry. In general, this is a fantastic statement of bourbon, and for the sweeter and saltier statements of bourbon, this will do you well, but be warned it is a powerful flavor. Highly recommended and worth the price. 

Score: 9.0/10

Review 93: Jim Beam Black Label Double Aged

Review 93
8/24/12
Jim Beam Black Label Double Aged: 43% abv

Well, since I’m the main “editor” of KCM’s reviews and I’ve pretty much been failing at my job due to having real jobs, I haven’t been too invested in writing up reviews. Fret not, because KCM has been doing reviews! We just haven’t gotten around to posting them. So here is one. Jim Beam Black Label is the upper class of the Jim Beam line, before you get into the Small Batch products, like Booker’s (We’ve reviewed Booker’s, so check it out!) What a good showing by Jim Beam, this one. Just off of presentation, they do a good job with this one. It starts off telling you its age, at 8 years. Young compared to our Scottish whiskies, but still a decent age. We don’t make a big deal out of price, but if you’re bargain shopping for whiskies, (I’m not talking to you college blonde drinking Mohawk vodka) this is the way to go. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that Black runs you in Michigan around $25 a bottle. For that, you get a 43% bourbon with good flavor, simple presentation, and good quality. Is that a spoiler alert? Yes. Yes it is. “M” quickly cited at the beginning of the review that he noticed a note of bourbon in the bourbon...there’s always got to be something that doesn’t help anybody.

On the nose though, you get a light nose, which opens up over time. This nose will make you work to get the scents you might be looking for, but be patient with it. It is a rewarding experience when you get around to it. Let’s see what we dug down for. Bourbon always has some sweetness in the nose, even though there is often harsh spiciness to be found as well. Indeed there is sweetness, and many layers of sweetness. Caramel, honey, vanilla, confectioner’s sugar, and malt all greet the nose, but it’s at different times that you’ll start to realize it. Interestingly, there are some other notes which we found to be compelling. There is a small hint of mint that you’ll catch if you pay attention, with gingerbread, wheat and unripened banana also nestled in the aroma. There isn’t a ton of complexity to the smell, but it certainly has some compelling aspects to it. There was enough to it that we were excited to try it. When we tried this bourbon, we were pleasantly surprised.

On the arrival, you can find molasses, caramel ginger, and cinnamon. There is a nice, healthy spiciness to this bourbon, but it doesn’t overpower you. Once again, Jim Beam wants to throw some curveballs at you, so what have we found that you don’t expect to hear in a bourbon review: Blackberry, malted barley, and sugarcane. There is some slight rye to it as well. But hey, not too shabby for a cheap bourbon. We don’t have a lot to report on the finish, but it doesn’t disappoint either. It is a medium length finish, lingering slightly. There is wheat, barley, molasses, a large amount of oakiness, ginger, and vanilla involved in the finish. It isn’t complex, but it certainly is enjoyable. And on that bombshell, here’s what we roll this up to be. A less than powerful, but still wonderful expression of Beam, which wouldn’t be too bruised by going up to 46% abv. It is good, and we enjoy a healthy dram of it. We think you will too. 
Score: 8.0/10

Review 79: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

Review 79
7/1/12
Kilbeggan Irish Whisky: 40% abv

You might look at the picture of that bottle and think we had one too many drinks to be doing a review on it, but that’s really not the case. This bottle been around for quite some time. It even survived St. Patties Day. A purple heart veteran if you will. Anyway, this is a special review because it is our first Irish whisky review. You might find this disturbing, but don’t worry. We’ve had a bit of experience with this stuff in the past. It is also one of the first times you will have heard us saying “peat” in a review. We are not referring to your uncle, no. Peat is a earthy moss that can be found in regions of Scotland and Ireland. It has been used a lot in the past for its slow burning properties and block-like physical form. Back when different forms of fuel were scarce, distillers would use anything they could to dry their grains in the germination process. This is the process of malting, peat became a big proponent of it. Irish whiskies have been known to have it, but in fact, Islay Scotches are much more well known for their peaty character. 

Naturally, you can catch that dark campfire-like peat smell on the nose, but it isn’t super prominent to the untrained nose. There is also notes of honey, lemon, salt, and pear. To be honest, we kind of butchered this review, because there were some mystery scents we just couldn’t identify. There was a floral character, as well as herbal and unknown spicy notes as well. The nose is complex, but as I’ve mentioned, some of the notes were hard to place for us. 

The taste is spicy as well, with some light peat to it, but also smokiness. Smokiness, we generally take as being slightly different then peat, although they are very similar. Among the spicy notes we could identify some pepper, salt, cinnamon, and even a slight saltiness. There is some fruitiness as well, namely pear with some lemon and lime to tag along. Finally, we get that sweet maltiness that we love so very much to keep the taste engaging. The finish is medium-short in length and gives the least amount of complexity, revealing the cinnamon hotness and peppery spiciness, with residual grain and smokiness. There is even a little bit of lemon left at the end. 

Overall, this is a good, spicy, intense Irish Whisky, and it packs some huge flavor to it. It is a contrast from the Jameson and Bushmills classics, but even though Cooley Distillery is the third and least famous of the three remaining distilleries in Ireland, this whisky puts up its dukes and compares. And lets be honest, this bottle has been around for too long, so it could have lost some flavor along the way. All the same, an admirable start at a good price point. 

Score: 8.0/10