Review - Glenmorangie 18 Year Old Extremely Rare Single Malt Scotch Whisky

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Rating 3 Glasses

Distillery: Glenmorangie Distillery
Years Aged: 18
Proof: 86
Local Price (USD): $115.95
Availability: Widespread

Tasting Notes

Color & Consistency: Golden honey with medium, thin and slightly runny legs.
Nose: Light hints of vanilla, hand sanitizer, and very floral. Kind of like walking into a hospital gift shop.
Taste: Mellow and balanced but hard to pick out individual flavors. Lightly charred oak & dried fruits.
Finish: Light, warm & dry with just a touch of smoke at the very end.
Conclusion: This is a very subtle and subdued whisky with flavors that are pleasant but nothing that stands out as spectacular. If you enjoy Johnnie Walker then you will definitely enjoy Glenmorangie 18. It is well blended but we just wish there was a little more ponch to it. Probably wouldn't seek it out at the price point as you are better off putting your money towards a good bottle of Highland Park or Aberlour. To analogize it… we really wanted Chris Hemsworth but got Tom Hiddleston.

Chris Hemsworth

Tom Hiddleston

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Review - Ardbeg Kelpie Single Malt Scotch

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Rating 3.5 Glasses

• Distillery: Ardbeg Distillery
  • Years Aged: NAS
  • Proof: 92
    • Local Price (USD): $109.00
      • Availability: Uncommon

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Light hay. Long, thin & inconsistent legs. 
• Nose: Smoke, peat & salty sea air. The Black Sea and caviar
• Taste: Oilier than Ardbeg 10, smoked salmon, peat. Old butterscotch candies from last thanksgiving that ended up in grandma Betsy's ashtray instead of the candy bowl.
• Finish: Straight and to the point, doesn't linger long. Smokey bitterness with a hint of roasted seaweed.
• Conclusion: Tastes like a burning fishing vessel. Smooth with a taste of the sea and all of the peatiness we have come to know and love from Ardbeg. Very tasty but save your rupees and by 2 or more bottles of Ardbeg 10. It's just a little too expensive for what you get and one of the reasons we knocked it down a glass on the rating. If you are an Ardbeg fan like we are, then definitely grab a bottle.

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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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Review - Orphan Barrel Rhetoric 22 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Rating 3 Glasses

• Distillery: Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co.
  • Years Aged: 22
  • Proof: 90.4
    • Local Price (USD): $110.00
      • Availability: Rare

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: The color of Bourbon. Legs like the facets of a Hibiki bottle.
• Nose: Oooooooaaaaaaaaak & brown sugar coated cherries.
• Taste: Heavy on the tannins like a very dry red wine & the oak coming all the way through overshadows everything else.
• Finish: Muted but still sweet. For the proof and the age we thought the finish would last a bit longer. Couldn't pick it out at first but then BANG! Banana at the end.
• Conclusion: Mash bill: 86% Corn, 8% Barley, 6% Rye. Even being aged 22 years it doesn't hold a candle to the Elijah Craig 18 YR that we sampled on the same evening. Bottle looks cool and its definitely a rare throwback style bourbon but the amount of oak kinda killed it for us. If we can find it we are looking forward to reviewing the next release (23 Year) in the Rhetoric line from Orphan Barrel. This one we gotta say is good for a collector or to experience once but for the price we will pass on a chance to buy again.

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