Background
I'll start by saying that, to date, I have really enjoyed everything I’ve tasted from Frank August. BUT… in the current market I've been trying so hard to not pay the premiums associated with NDP whiskey. There are too many heritage brands releasing double-digit age statement, flagship offerings to want to spend the premium per bottle price on this middle market. And look, none of those linked options are positioned as cheap off the shelf bottles, but I personally tend to be in a camp where I’d rather spend around $200 on a 15 or 17 year Jacob’s Well bottle than ~$130 on 8 year sourced MGP (and no shots at Seelbach’s, I love what they do).
All that said, this tasting was an opportunity to hear about the brand directly from founder Johnathan Crocker. And I was floored by how considered Jonathan was throughout. Every decision he makes with the brand seems to be incredibly thorough. He strikes me as someone who wakes up at the ass crack of dawn every day with a meticulous schedule. Also, he's from upstate NY and so am I... so I'm biased. Here are some key takeaways from the tasting, before we get into the reviews:
Background
I’ll keep this quick because I know I’m a pretty notorious (unsolicited!) Jack Rose shill… but huge credit to them for the wild number of offerings they’ve rolled out for Bourbon Heritage month. They’ve done deep dive distillery tastings on Buffalo Trace, Old Forester, and now Wild Turkey alongside “classes” on maturation and corn’s importance. Here we are with Wild Turkey, and a lineup headlined by Russell’s Reserve 15 and Master’s Keep Triumph, two whiskeys I’ve yet to review but am excited to do so. First up, though, is a trio of single barrels. Onto the reviews!
Background
A sign of the times perhaps, but allegedly these barrel finished Heaven Hill Select Stocks have been (unsure if current or past tense) available at the gift shop for some time! So much so that Bill Thomas, owner of Jack Rose, apparently was allowed to buy a veritable horde of them. Hence, this tasting, covering five different offerings:
14th Edition: Small Batch Bourbon made from mingling 7- and 12-year-old barrels together; finished in a used Brandy barrel for more than four years.
15th Edition: Small Batch Bourbon made from mingling 7- and 12-year-old barrels together; finished in a used Armagnac barrel for more than four years.
16th Edition: Small Batch Bourbon made from mingling 7- and 12-year-old barrels together; finished in a used Sherry barrel for more than four years.
17th* Edition: Wheated Bourbon aged for 6 years then finished in Good Folks Coffee Company barrels for an additional 12 months.
18th* Edition: 5 barrels of Malt Whiskey aged for 8 years, finished in used Mezcal barrels for 6 months.
*I’m not positive these editions aren’t reversed. Heaven Hill’s website only lists up to the 16th edition, but it seems reasonable to assume these are the next two in one order or another.
Background
Laphroaig certainly doesn’t need any fancy introduction, so I’ll instead give a quick but hearty toast to Jack Rose for reopening their basement cellar bar to tastings (and now the bottle shop) again. This speakeasy-esque space has laid dormant since the world shut down. At the start of covid, Jack Rose pulled nearly every bottle (which is a considerable number!) off of their shelf and sold them off to stay afloat and take care of employees. While they’ve since rebuilt their considerable collection, this reopening felt like the last ghost of covid finally exiting the building. It was a relaxed, joyous tasting.
Quick point of order before we get into the reviews, I’ve already review Cairdeas 2023 and Jack Rose’s “Welcome to Islay” pick, which I’ve linked below along with all of my other Laphroaig posts.
Background
Welcome to part two of my review of the recent Jack Rose tasting! For those interested, part one is here. This particular tasting was put on by Westland and Bruichladdich, both of which are owned by Rémy Cointreau, and hosted by National Brand Ambassador Jason Cousins. This part will cover the Bruichladdich offerings, of which there were three plus a MYSTERY POUR. An important disclaimer before we start: I can’t tell you how many times I Googled the correct spelling of “Bruichladdich” while writing this. That “i” before the “c” can go to hell. These scores were unaffected by my annoyance with Scottish spelling.
Background
Another SMWS outturn tasting review! As always, this tasting was held at the illustrious Jack Rose in DC. And, as with any outturn tasting, a fair number of whiskies (6) at the event. Just like the last few outturn tastings, this review was compiled completely blind, where we had to guess the age, distillery, cask(s) used in aging, and SMWS flavor profile. As such, you'll note a few of my overviews are a bit… guess-y. Sometimes you taste something and get ideas in your head that end up being right (rarely) or wrong (often). A full list of everything covered in this outturn:
19.97 “Enigma Variation” (Glen Garioch)
48.155 “That’s Real Swell” (Balmenach)
68.105 “Musty Mulchy” (Blair Athol)
85.82 “Bringing Abundance” (Glen Elgin)
66.249 “Happily Ever After” (Ardmore)
53.468 “Step Forward, Inhabitant” (Caol Ila)