Tasting: Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDW

Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDW

Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDWDram data:
Distillery: Westland
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: Summer 2016
Age: NAS
Limitation: 232 bottles
Casks: #397
Alcohol: 54,4%
unchillfiltered / uncoloured
Whiskybase link

It’s the 4th of July – Independence day in the US. Why not taste something different then? Like a single cask American single malt? Sounds good? Let’s go!

Tasting notes:
Colour:
 light maple syrup
The nose is quite different from your usual American whiskey – no wonder, it’s all malted barley. Quite a whiff of alcohol (with menthol) at the beginning. When it does fade a bit (it never goes away completely), the nose is met with loads of oak cask goodness – caramel, liquorice and maple syrup. A sneaky chunk of toffee has also found its way into the glass. There’s more lurking in the background behind the bold, big flavours. A whiff of cask smoke, fresh ginger and herbal cough syrup. Very oak-forward and only the freshness and alcoholic kick remain from the distillate, but every bit as enjoyable (if not more) as a high-quality bourbon of a similar, young age. With water, an additional component emerges – fresh, sweet flower petals! Interesting!   Continue reading “Tasting: Westland single malt cask 397 for LMDW”

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Tasting: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 13-0919

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select 13-0919Dram data:
Distillery: Jack Daniel’s
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2013 (13-0919)
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: fresh barrel
Alcohol: 45%
filtered and uncoloured

Tasting notes:
Colour:
amber
With single malt prices going up, up, up, it’s well worth looking at malternatives. I consider this a malternative. Whether it’s an alternative remains to be seen – so let’s stick our nose in! Oh, hello there, acetone! It’s not officially considered an off-note, but I don’t like it – at least it’s only light and vanishes after about 15 minutes in the glass. Phew. A high-corn mashbill meets a fresh cask – strong vanilla flavours with sweet corn, caramel, molasses, burnt sugar and rye spices. Continue reading “Tasting: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 13-0919”

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24 drams till Christmas (blind) tasting #6: Knob Creek Straight Rye

Knob Creek Straight Rye

Knob Creek Straight RyeDram data:
Distillery: Jim Beam
Bottler: Original Bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2014
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: fresh barrels
Alcohol: 50%
unchillfiltered; natural colour (per law)
Whiskybase link

Blind tasting notes:
Colour:
honey
The nose, err… huh! Not a malt! There might be a malt component, but there are other grains (maize and quite possibly rye) in the mix. That’s most likely a bourbon*, though on can’t be too sure with so many countries making whiskies these days. So, what do we get? No acetone – that’s good! Just a spearmint type tingling in the nose. Sweet corn distillate, loads of vanilla – sweet vanilla, custard-ey. Chewy toffee with cream.

Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas (blind) tasting #6: Knob Creek Straight Rye”

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