Review - Michter's US-1 Limited Release Barrel Strength Straight Rye Whiskey 2019

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Rating 4.5 Glasses

Distillery: Michter’s Distillery
Years Aged: NAS
Proof: 108.4
Local Price (USD): $79.15
Availability: Rare

Tasting Notes

Color & Consistency: Caramel with rich long legs.
Nose: Pepper and rubbing alcohol leaning into butterscotch and cherries.
Taste: Rye spiciness and buttery smooth charred vanilla with a warming heat that rises slowly.
Finish: Oak and rye spice that lasts well into overtime.
Conclusion: Luckily we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to snag a bottle of this limited 2019 release. Barreled at a lower 103 proof allows the higher water content distillate to take on more of the flavors of the barrel and makes for a fuller-bodied whiskey. Bottled at 108.4, this particular selection from barrel No. 18F829 is truly a wonder to behold. Familiar but with a depth of flavor and ABV punch that you won’t get from Michter’s std US-1 Rye. It’s hot and spicy like a good rye whiskey should be and we can only hope to come across another in the future. For the money if you happen to see this one on the shelf at your local liquor outlet, grab it and don’t look back, you won’t be disappointed.

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Review - Elmer T Lee Bourbon

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Rating 4.5 Glasses

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Years Aged: NAS
Proof: 90
Local Price (USD): $37.95
Availability: Rare

Tasting Notes

Color & Consistency: Caramel covered Goldylocks, clings to the glass
Nose: Apple, clove, caramel & sour patch kids with a slight burn
Taste: Green apple, lemon, light oak, smooth & light spice. Nice to have enough heat to cut the sweetness.
Finish: Nice and long while retaining the warmth.
Conclusion:
From Buffalo Trace - “Named after Master Distiller Emeritus Elmer T. Lee, this whiskey is hand selected and bottled to the taste and standards of Elmer T. Lee himself.  Perfectly balanced and rich, as declared by the man who knows how great bourbon should taste.”

You can’t beat Elmer T. Lee for the flavor and value. This particular barrel that we sampled gave us quite a different profile than what would be considered “standard” but still was exquisite. ETL is pretty darn rare so grab it when it’s available as you won’t find a better or more consistent single barrel bourbon for the price. Earned all of its 4.5 glasses and we will definitely be picking up every bottle we come across.

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Review - Ardbeg Grooves Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

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Rating 4 Glasses

• Distillery: Ardbeg Distillery
  • Years Aged: NAS
  • Proof: 92
    • Local Price (USD): $99.99
      • Availability: Rare

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Rich lusciously dark caramel and although the color may portray a beautifully aged specimen they haven't fooled us a bit. Slower thin legs.
• Nose: Rich pipe tobacco, like smoking a pipe during a cool misty morning sitting on a bench overlooking the sea with the subtle sound of bagpipes playing in the distance.
• Taste: Tastes like an an Ardbeg should and that's not a bad thing. Smoke, lighter on the peat than other Ardbegs, definitely meaty and not as briny but she's still sea worthy. Slight caramel & toffee notes.
• Finish: Shorter than its brothers. Mild oiliness with smoke and a little bit of peatiness.
• Conclusion: Grooves is groovy but definitely a lighter Ardbeg release that is more approachable for the casual Islay fan. We would compare it to a blend between AN OA and Ardbeg 10 . It's really good overall and better than Kelpie with less in your face brininess and a little bit o' peat & little bit o' smoke. Great committee release for 2018. Jeff said that he would buy anything Ardbeg after enjoying this dram. Even thought we ranked it highly it feels slightly overpriced leaving us to knock it a little bit on glass rating.

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Review - Michter’s 10 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Rating 4 Glasses

• Distillery: Michter's Distillery, LLC - Louisville Kentucky
  • Years Aged: 10
  • Proof: 94.4
    • Local Price (USD): $120.00
      • Availability: Rare

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Golden honey with slowly developing skinny legs. Random comment of the night "Like little caterpillar legs" - Jeff
• Nose: Relatively light. Subtle amounts of alcohol, cherry & vanilla
• Taste: Not very sweet like most traditional bourbons. Oak is "IN YO' FACE!" & the tannins are more present than Elijah Craig 18 even though it's 8 years younger.
• Finish: Peppery and very long lasting.
• Conclusion: Batch 16 / Barrel No. 195
• This is the first special release from Michter's new master distiller Pam Heilmann. She is the first female master distiller at a Kentucky Distillers Association distillery since prohibition. It contains every characteristic it is supposed to as a well put together and aged spirit and just does those Bourbon-y things so darned well. Not really bold in any one direction (except maybe a little extra oak) but extremely well balanced and just really good. Yearly release and definitely would buy again if we can find it.

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Review - Elijah Craig 18 Year Single Barrel Bourbon

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Rating 4 Glasses

• Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery
  • Years Aged: 18
  • Proof: 90
    • Local Price (USD): $112.00
      • Availability: Rare

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Rich maple syrup tapped straight from the tree. No log cabin crap here. Crooked legs but we're not sure what that means.
• Nose: A dusty oak cabinet with cherry cough medicine spilled inside that just fell off the wall and was pieced back together with heavy construction adhesive.
• Taste: Cherries and vanilla up front then caramel and blood orange. Oak on the nose doesn't translate into the flavor.
• Finish: Vanilla. This thing lingers longer than your eccentric uncle Randall after a hearty holiday dinner.
• Conclusion: Delicious. A good step up from Elijah Craig 12 and truly one of the best bourbons we have had to date. We would call it almost an endangered species so if you can find, buy it.

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