August 26, 2015

Another little tour of America

Let’s have more bourbon and other American whiskies! It’s true that I’m much behind…

Hillrock Estate ‘Single Malt Whiskey’ (48.2%, OB, New York grown barley, barrel #2, +/-2014)

Truly craft whisky from Hudson Valley, New York, everything being done locally, from growing the barley to aging it through, of course, distilling it. Colour: deep gold. Nose: apple and banana jam matured in oak? Cinnamon cake for sure, a lot of grain and a lot of bread and pastries, and then a growing rather sugary side, but I’m not using that word in a pejorative way. A kugelhopf straight from the oven. We’re very far from anything Scottish, this is mellower and rounder. Mouth: sure the oak feels, as it does in all very young American (truly) craft whiskies, but I’m a sucker for these notes of sweet bread, aniseed biscuits, pepper, overripe apples and overripe mangos (watch your shirt). It’s just getting a wee notch too spicy for me after a while. Big pepper and cloves. Finish: very long, very spicy. Some cloves and juniper berries. The signature is rather fruitier again. Zwetschke cake covered with cinnamon powder? Comments: unless you’re firmly against anything rather spicy/oaky, you should try to try this new cat. I find it impressive. SGP:571 - 83 points.

While we’re at it…

Hillrock Estate ‘Solera Aged Bourbon’ (46.3%, OB, finished in oloroso sherry cask, barrel #7, +/-2014)

This sounds a little more unlikely. Sherry and solera may not go too well with bourbon (not sure the concept of solera goes well with any spirit…) Colour: deep gold. Nose: there are similarities and there are differences. This time you rather feel the rye, not too much of the sherry, and a sweet, pretty brioche-y side yet again. In truth this is less bready and spicy than the malt, and even better rounded, but I find it’s got a little less character. Mouth: exactly, rather less character despite the rye and it’s violetty tones. Violet sweets, juniper, blood oranges, a touch of caraway, then more marmalade. Globally sweet and, I have to say, rather less oaky/spicy than the single malt. Just as excellent, but easier. Some notes of artisan mead. Finish: rather long, rounded, fruity and jammy. Raisins may have taken over, while the rye got a little quieter. Comments: it’s totally impossible for me to tell you which one I liked best. SGP:651 - 83 points.

Maybe we could try a very well known all-American whiskey and check the differences…

Jack Daniel's 'Master Distiller Series No.12' (43%, OB, Tennessee whiskey, +/-2014)

This one is a tribute to a certain Jess Motlow, who used to be JD’s master distiller just after Jack Daniel himself. I had found #1 very easy and pretty good (WF 80). Colour: gold. Nose: it is, should I add of course, much gentler, much easier, and much more consensual after the two Hillrocks. Undemanding, smoooth, with much more apricot, then ripe peaches and plums. Some caramel, some grass, some fudge, some maple syrup. Maybe not Jack Daniel’s aimed at rock and rollers?... Keef R., waddaya say? Mouth: light, a tad oaky/cardboardy, with maple syrup again, cake, loads of vanilla, and various fruit juices. Guavas, perhaps. Silky texture, this one won’t harm anyone. Finish: that’s where it loses points, there’s a feeling of sawdust I’m not exactly fond of. On the other hand, there are also more guavas. Perhaps cranberries. Vanilla cream and liquid caramel for sure. Comments: the definition of smoothness and easiness in whisky. SGP:530 - 78 points.

Old Pepper (43%, OB, Kentucky straight bourbon, +/-2015)

Another old brand or that’s been revived, apparently. So not a distillery, I imagine. Not too sure. It’s rather cheap, so we haven’t got any expectations. Oh and apparently, not everything’s going smoothly between James E. Pepper and Old Pepper, but it’s so complicated and we have so little time that we’ll leave this door open. Onto the juice!... Colour: gold. gold. Nose: light, easy, with a good rye content, some vanilla, some American oak, some ginger, and some cinnamon. Does the job, I’d say. Mouth: the juices of overripe apples and pears, touches of tinned pineapples, perhaps kiwis, and these echoes of rye that I enjoy more and more. I rather enjoy these lightness and freshness, especially the pineapples. Finish: a little short, perhaps, but very fruity, with some coconut topping the whole. Cinnamon in the aftertaste, as almost always with bourbons (in my miserable experience). Comments: very, and I mean very all right! Probably young, but the freshness and the lack of straight caramel/vanilla both are assets. SGP:620 - 79 points.

Back to craft…

Rock Town 'Single Barrel Bourbon' (56.8%, OB, USA, Arkansas, barrel #241, +/-2015)

We’ve already tasted several great whiskeys by Rock Town. Colour: deep gold. Nose: perfect. This may well be very young – and frankly, they should tell – but everything’s just perfect. Mead and honeydew, cinnamon cake, our beloved sweet pumpernickel bread, fudge, this great dried unfiltered cane sugar that they call galabé in French rhum regions, vanilla cake, raisins… It’s not a spicy bourbon at all, it’s all smoothness despite the high strength… With water: superb spicy/earthy development. Hints of tar, wet concrete, new scuba diving suit (whatever). Mouth (neat): more pumpernickel for the masses! Superb bready/spicy arrival, with molasses and figs coming to the rescue. There’s an earthiness as well – earth in bourbon? Hurray! With water: all things bready and honeyed. Its great that water awakened the grains. Finish: quite long, creamy, sweet, with moderate spiciness, around cinnamon and cloves. Comments: great job, if I may… SGP:551 - 85 points.

Jefferson's Ocean 'Aged at Sea' (45%, OB, Kentucky straight bourbon, +/-2015)

So, somebody did it again, sending out a few barrels across the oceans for a few months. An old idea (we had tried a 1899 Glenlivet that was aged just like that), cognac did it, wine did it, Scotch did it, and of course Bordeaux with Cos d’Estournel, and in my views, the results have always been a little unremarkable. I’m not saying they weren’t any good, I’m just saying one couldn’t notice any obvious differences. Ha! Colour: gold. Nose: shy. Chestnuts, perhaps, caramel-covered pastries, Mars bar, vanilla, a small cinnamon cake. The nose is rather shy, let’s check the palate. Mouth: good. Candy sugar, sweet bread, marmalade, vanilla, touches of cloves, ginger, nutmeg, sawdust… So it’s good, no doubt at all. Finish: fairly long, with vanilla, oak, and brown sugar. Comments: sourced bourbon finished for a few months (not aged) at sea. How cool is that? Perfectly drinkable. SGP:541 - 79 points.

More crazy stuff? Be my guest…

Willett 24 yo 1982 'Family Estate' (50%, OB, straight Kentucky bourbon, barrel #2007/31, 2007)

A really very rare Willett, I think for Japan. Colour: amber. Nose: or when oak’s not a problem. Because some oak there is, you’d even think you’re entering a carpenter’s workshop, but on the other hand, the stunning jammy fruitiness and all the soft spicy cakes just keep it kind of un-oaked. Strange behaviour, but when that happens that’s just plain bliss. And it’s even fresh! With water: ah, a wee small soapiness that would just never disappear, but that may be the rye speaking out. Other than that, leaves and leather, with a malty side. Mouth (neat): firm, big, oaky indeed, a tad biting, but it’s biting like fresh Bordeaux can be biting, you just know you couldn’t avoid that or you’d have cheap commercial juice in your glass instead. In a way, it’ll remind you of the biggest Demerara rums. Port Mourant anyone? With water: back to cereals and grains, plus apple juices and tinned pineapple. Finish: quite long, oaky but never too oaky. Comments: characterful and restless oaked old bourbon. SGP:461 - 87 points.

What goes best after a Willett is another Willett, wouldn’t you agree?

Willett 20 yo ‘Family Estate’ (54.3%, OB, straight Kentucky bourbon, cask #321, 137 bottles)

Colour: deep amber. Nose: I find this rather more ‘Pappy-like’, that is to say rather sweeter, fruitier, with more marmalade and mead, maple syrup… On the other hand, it’s rather less oaked or oaky, although I do find whiffs of mint leaves and perhaps eucalyptus. It’s funny that menthol almost always triggers eucalyptus for me – but you might find that not funny at all. With water: varnish comes out. That’s odd, varnish is usually the first thing that appears when you nose a new whisky. But there are also cigars and old marmalades, all for the better. Mouth (neat): similar to the 24, and this time, almost as oaky. No, oakier, rougher, more mentholy and liquoricy. Maybe is that the higher strength again, let’s see… With water: odd indeed. Fermenting vegetables, ‘serious’ umami, Maggi, black pipe tobacco, old husk. Not too sure, all this is very interesting, perhaps not totally and well balanced. Tannins playing their tricks, I imagine. Finish: very long, green, tannic, but oranges are back in the aftertaste, all for the better. Yay! Comments: a fighter – so you need to be in a fighting mood. There is some oak, and that’s an euphemism. SGP:471 - 84 points.

I agree, we need a 90+. Let’s try even harder…

Evan Williams 15 yo (50.5%, OB, for Japan, Kentucky straight bourbon, +/-1985?)

Evan Williams 15 yo (50.5%, OB, for Japan, Kentucky straight bourbon, +/-1982)

Nicknamed ‘red label’, this is an earlier bottling from before 1983 (since there's a 200th anniversary logo on the neck - thanks Stefan). It’s well 15 years old, not just 12 like contemporary bottlings. I’m so glad I can try this rarity… Although I’m sure patented bourbon freaks would get even madder! Colour: deep amber. Nose: you know, when you reach something that’s a whole, not just a sum of several, or even many parts. Amazing notes of orange cake mingled with Cuban cigars (I had thought there was an embargo) and wood polishes. Also pencil lead, fumes, a drop of pitch, and a little peanut butter. How very American. With water: it gets medicinal! Bandages! Tincture of iodine! Carbon paper! Eucalyptus! Tiger balm! Mouth (neat): exactly the same feeling of ‘a whole’, with a mineral side that’s so unusual in American whisky (in my humble experience). A feeling of old Highland Scotch. No, really! With water: I think this is exceptional bourbon. Probably dead cheap when it came out, but it gained so much complexity and mineral wideness… Unless that was there in the first place, we’ll never know. Finish: long, leafy, tea-ish, grassy, dry, phenolic… Yup, pretty un-bourbon. Comments: I’m not totally sure this was bottled in the 1980s, and I’m not sure it’s all down to perfect bottle ageing. But what a totally stunning old bourbon! May even beat my favourite old bourbon ever, Kentucky Crown 16 years old. I know I should check where Evan Williams was distilled at the time, deep-read Cowdery’s and Sku’s utterly stunning blogs, and all that. But please do it yourself, coz we’ve got more bourbon to taste… SGP:562 - 91 points.

Good, how many did we have? Nine? Let’s make it to ten and basta cosi… (we found our 90+ anyway…) But let’s make it rather totally monstrous!

Parker's 13 yo 'Heritage Collection' (63.4%, OB, straight wheat whiskey, 2014)

Straight wheat whiskies are pretty rare, aren’t they? Colour: orange amber. Nose: not quite, this all woodworks. Sawdust, polishes, warm oak, vanillin, cellulosic varnish, maize (yes), fudge, chocolate, pencil shavings… I know many adore this, but I’m just not buying it, babe. With water: pencil shavings all over the place. Or primary schools before the b****y iPad. Mouth (neat): it’s funny, it’s lively, it’s ridden with bubblegum and marshmallow flavours, but it’s basically grain whisky. That’s right, like they make in Scotland. Ethanol flavoured with oak, or something like that. With water: no. No depth, only alcohol and sweet oak. I suppose I just don’t understand this style. And I suppose I'm some sort of pity case. Finish: yes. Creamy, super-easy, I’m sure the Kardashians love this. Comments: this is simply not why I’m a little into aged spirits. It’s certainly brilliantly crafted, but I find this style a little dull and boring. Deep apologies to anyone I would have offended. To think that I had just loved Parker’s 10 yo Heritage Collection from 2011 (WF 87)… SGP:630 - 70 points.

(thanks a bunch, Carsten, Jonny, and Scott)

Check the index of all American whiskies I've tasted so far