July 3, 2015

Young Americans four by four, part four

Let’s go on if you please. Today we’ll have one craft, and then we might try to find some more ‘commercial’ bottlings. Nothing wrong with commerce, mind you…

St. George 'Lot 14' (43%, OB, USA, California, Single Malt Whiskey, 2014)

We had Lot 13 last year and really enjoyed it, even if that one did not quite have the ‘immediacy’ of other powerful crafty Americans (WF 81). Colour: straw. Nose: starts with funny whiffs of geranium (flowers, not stems!) and a wee cologne-y side, before blood oranges and cereals get in the game, as well as some ginger cookies, perhaps. And once again, I find a muscaty side and notes of marc de gewurz. Also fleur de bière (distilled hoppy beer). A little eau-de-vie-ish. Mouth: very sweet and fruity. It is distilled beer, after all. A feeling of Californian IPA, Lagunitas and colleagues. Tinned litchis, grappa... I really like the fact that they haven’t tried to bury all that in full-blown vanilla-ed oak. Finish: moderately long, all on ales and sweet beers. Slightly bitter hops in the aftertaste – but not sure there is any. Comments: I really like the honesty in this. It’s fresh and close to the raw materials. Score unchanged. SGP:631 - 81 points.

Blanton's Original 'Single Barrel' (46.5%, OB, USA, bourbon, barrel #325, +/-2014)

Sour mash bourbon by Buffalo Trace, made with corn, rye and malted barley. The price is fair. Colour: gold. Nose: the oak’s rather loud, and I even find it a little planky, but what’s behind it is to my liking, with some maple syrup, yellow flowers, triple-sec and the faintest touch of coconut. No excessive varnish either. Mouth: creamy and spicy, with a hint of lavender, then rather stewed fruits (cranberries, rhubarb, apples) and quite a lot of cloves and cinnamon. Perhaps strawberry drops – and some custard, ‘of course’. Finish: rather long, with Provence herbs (thyme, rosemary) and more cloves again in the aftertaste. Comments: it’s a spicy bourbon, without any excessive sweetness. Should be easily mixable. SGP:561 - 82 points.

Evan Williams 'White Label' (50%, OB, USA, bourbon, +/-2015)

Heaven Hill’s ‘budget’ high-strength bottling. 100 proof US, baby, and fully corn-driven (around 80%). Colour: full gold. Nose: totally vanilla-ed, in a pleasant way. Corn syrup aplenty, cakes and cookies, butterscotch, and even more vanilla, with hints of pear and pineapple sweets. Does the job. With water: vanilla cake, a little dust. More vanilla cake. Even more vanilla cake. Mouth (neat): Jell-O, Haribo bears and all marshmallows of the creation, plus a little sawdust (well, quite some sawdust) and vanilla. It’s a little rough, perhaps? With water: gets very sweet, even more vanilla-ed, with a good fruitiness, and always this sawdust in the background. Cinnamon cake, tea. Finish: relatively long, oaky. Toasted cake. The aftertaste is a little drying (sawdust!) Comments: honourable! And the price is low. SGP:630 - 78 points.

Wild Turkey 'Rare Breed' (56.4%, USA, bourbon, +/-2015)

This by Austin Nichols. It’s said to be 8 years old on average, and ‘small batch’, which may mean nothing. Colour: deep gold. Nose: very ‘bourbon’, that is to say rather smooth, rounded, caramelly and fudge-y, with plenty of cakes, vanilla, raisins, toffee and brioche. Very easy despite the high strength. With water: some rather lovely tea-ish, earthy oak. Swims extremely well. Mouth (neat): creamy and honeyed, oaky and spicy, and again, extremely ‘bourbon’. Honey, maple syrup, Cointreau, cinnamon mints, pipe tobacco and a touch of aniseed (pastis). Sort of French, in a way, but let’s remember that Wild Turkey used to belong to Pernod Ricard until around three years ago. They sold it to Campari for around US$ 600.000 – not sure that was a smart move, was it? With water: fruity, softly oaky, smooth, honeyed… Many tinned fruits, especially pineapples and pears. And it’s quite complex. Finish: good length, soft as silk, honeyed, fruity… Comments: very ‘average’, in the very best sense of that word. My favourite today, no doubt. SGP:630 - 85 points.

We’ll try to go ‘craft’ again next time…

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