Balvenie PortWood 21 year-old

Happy Halloween! Halloween is my absolutely favorite holiday, if it can be considered a holiday. As excited as I am to pass out candy with my boyfriend this evening, I am also sleepy, tired and feeling exhausted. For all those that don’t know, I live in Boston and I am a Boston Red Sox fan. I didn’t go out partying last night in celebration of their World Series win, but since I live in the city, the screams of people and the cars honking out in the streets from people celebrating, kept me up pretty late.

I can sit here and complain about that, but moments like last night don’t happen very often, so to be honest, I didn’t quite mind. Bring on the coffee and exhaustion, I can certainly take it!

Maybe it was partly due to exhaustion but when thinking about what whisky to write about today, I was at a loss. There are so many great whiskies out there; it’s always pretty hard to choose. With that in mind I thought that a World Series win doesn’t happen often, so I decided that today’s post would be Balvenie PortWood 21. Mainly because what also doesn’t happen very often, are moments where I get a chance to taste great expensive whisky.

Balvenie PortWood 21 is a great whisky but it is expensive. The price range of this bottle is $175-$240. As I’ve said before, if I were to purchase every bottle of whisky I tasted, I would be extremely poor. Having a dram of this 21 year-old was a courtesy of my friend Kevin who bought the bottle.

My experience:
This great whisky is finished in port casks, which in my opinion only enhances its unique flavor.

Smell: woodsy and fruity
Taste: Strong and creamy, with notes of honey and fruit.
Finish: A delightful burn

I very much enjoyed this whisky; I would not buy it only because it’s expensive, but I loved it and am grateful to have had the chance to try it. For all my non whisky drinkers out there if you ever get such an opportunity to try it, then I recommend you do.

Even if you don’t try this one in particular, if you are just starting to get into whisky, know that you don’t have to be an expert to try and appreciate whisky. Everyone has to start somewhere. Most of my whisky drinking memories are filled with stories from sharing them with friends and love ones.

What you do you need to keep in mind is that your palette will not match other people’s palette. If you enjoyed a dram or if you don’t, then don’t let anyone or a supposed “whisky expert” tell you otherwise because you aren’t wrong in what you tasted. Everyone will have a different opinion and taste when it comes to the same dram.

Cheers!

PS – Stay safe if you are headed out this evening taking kids trick-or-treating and even if you are not!

Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon

For quite some time now in the instances that I’ve been out at a restaurant, bar or liquor store, and have spotted the name Four Roses or seen the bottle on a shelf, I’ve always pointed it out to someone and have said, “I’ve heard it’s great, I should really try it sometime.” That “sometime” ended up being last night. If you are an American sports fan then you’ll know that October baseball becomes a wonderful thing when your home team is playing. I wanted to elevate my game watching experience last night by also enjoying great bourbon.

For all those bourbon lovers out there let me go on by saying, if you have not tried Four Roses single barrel bourbon yet, then you are missing out. I will admit that I was certainly missing out on those other occasions that I missed the opportunity to try it. Four Roses is a Kentucky Bourbon and the bottle we purchased rang up around $37. To me that is a bargain price for smooth tasting bourbon.

When opening the bottle I was first hit with the smells of sweetness and fruit. At first taste I had no words for this bourbon; it was so smooth that I had to take a few more sips before I could try and make out the different tasting notes. I enjoyed it so much that I actually ended up sampling the bourbon in three different ways.

Straight-up

• Taste: Was smooth with a nice slow burn. I tasted notes of wood and honey.

Splash of Water

• Taste: Was still smooth but the water brought out hints of cinnamon notes.

With Hot Apple Cider

• It was a bit chilly last night and we wanted to see how Four Roses held up in spiked hot apple cider. The Four Roses in the hot apple cider was GREAT. It didn’t over power the hot apple cider and it actually just elevated the flavors. They blended very well together and made up for a great cocktail. Something I recommend trying if you like hot apple cider and bourbon.

Overall in all three instances the finish just left me wanting more. I’ve been accused of not trying out enough bourbon but if all bourbons are like this, then you better believe I will be trying out more of them.

Now that I have tried this one, I am very much looking forward to exploring more of the Four Roses range. If you are looking to try new bourbon and haven’t tried this one, give it a world it won’t disappoint.

Cheers!

Scotch is whisky!

One of my goals when I started to writing this blog was to help those who weren’t familiar with whisky or were starting their whisky experience. In my years of enjoying whisky and my time writing about it, I have realized that many people are not only confused by the spellings of whiskey and whisky but are also confused by the words scotch and whisky.

If you missed my whiskey and whisky post see 7-25-13 post. Link is below:  http://whiskeywench.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-difference-whisky-whiskey-spelling.html 

In past instances when talking to people about drinks of choice, I have brought up the fact that I enjoy drinking whisky. In more than one occasion to this some people respond with, “I don’t like whisky I prefer Scotch”. Getting this answer many times over is the reason why I am writing this small blog posting today. I want all non whisky or whisky drinkers that don’t know, to know that Scotch is whisky.

In terms of whisky, it is acceptable to use the terminology Scotch whisky, however the word Scotch alone in modern day is considered to be a bit offensive in Scotland.

So, if someone ever tells you that they like whisky now you’ll know that they are most likely also including Scotch whisky in that mix. And finally, if you are ever in Scotland and want to order a whisky, ask for a Scotch whisky or just ask for a plain whisky as that will do the trick!

Cheers!

PS - As a New Englander I wanted to send out a big Cheers for the 1st game of the World Series! The Boston Red Sox take on the St. Louis Cardinals. Two great teams will make for some great baseball watching. Go Sox!

Bushmills 16 year old

For a while now I’ve been asked the question “Have you tried Bushmills”? I would always reply “No, but it’s on my list to try”. Well, that certainly changed this past weekend, so YES, I have finally tried Bushmills! I had a finger (maybe 2) of this 16 year after a long Sunday which included an 8.5 mile walk through the Minuteman trails here in MA.

Before I go further I want to clarify what a finger is for those who aren’t whiskey drinkers or are just learning about whiskey. A finger of whiskey is not a formal measurement but roughly equals one fluid ounce. The amount usually comes out to be the width of one finger. So, if you have two fingers then it’s basically the width of two of your fingers. 

This 16 year old is an Irish blended whiskey. Out of their range, in my opinion, it has the nicest color with a beautiful reddish hue. A bottle would cost around $60-$70.

To create its blended flavors, one whiskey is matured in Oloroso sherry casks and the other in bourbon casks. They are then brought together and matured in port wine casks and then voilà, this whiskey is born. Although this whiskey does not top my list of favorites, it is still very enjoyable and a very good Irish blend.

The Experience: After pouring my finger, or two, I first smelled the fruitiness of the whiskey. That was then followed by the smell of sherry and sweetness. In the palate I was first hit with a burn. The taste was creamy, sweet and it very much tasted like honey. In the end I was left with a woodsy taste.

Overall, it was a very good blend that is definitely worth tasting. The burn of this whiskey would immediately warm anyone up on a very chilly/cold day. So, if you are looking for some warmth this winter give this one a world, you might just like it.

Cheers!

Macallan 18

If you all didn’t know, fall is my absolute favorite time of the year.  Not only do I love the nice chill in the air, Halloween and all things pumpkin, but I love the color changing in the leaves. It makes it for a beautiful time of the year here in New England. With that said, I find the word “change” the perfect transition into this week’s post, as I am once again writing about Macallan. This time around its Macallan 18.

For all those who continue to follow my posts, if you recall, I wrote about Macallan 12 on my August 8, 2013 post and my comments weren’t so favorable towards that tasting.

Here is the link: http://whiskeywench.blogspot.com/2013/08/macallan-12.html

No, my opinion on the 12 has not changed, but my opinion on the 18 year old is slightly different. The 18 year old like the 12 is also matured in Sherry Oak casks. The color goes into a nice mahogany color which does remind me of fall, actually.

For my non whisky drinkers, what you need to keep in mind is, if the 12 was affordable then the 18 isn’t as affordable. At an average cost of $170 to $200+ it’s a hefty price, specially comparing it to the average cost of the 12 which was $40-$60. No need for me to tell you that this is a pretty significant price difference.

My experience:

Smell: Fruity
Taste: Very light. It was smooth, fruity with just the right amount of spice.
Finish: Wood smoke

I did very much enjoy this whisky. I was actually very surprised at the smoothness of it. I found it to be extremely different than the 12 that at times, I kept forgetting I was drinking Macallan. The take away here for those just starting their whisky experiences is that if you don’t like one age of a particular brand don’t completely rule that brand out as you might like a different age on their whisky range.

Although I did enjoy the 18 year old, I’ll be honest and say that would not buy the bottle. It is an expensive bottle. I fortunately got the opportunity to try this single malt during an Alumni gathering up in Vermont at the start of the month. Our college friend Kevin (I believe it is one of his favorites) was kind enough to bring this bottle as well as a few great others to share with the group. Thank you Kevin!

So finally, if you've tried the 12 and not the 18 then I recommend you try the 18 because you will be able to note all the differences between the two.

Cheers!

PS – In another way change pertains to this blog; I am considering changing blog platforms so look for that to come in the future.

Laphroaig 10 and things non-whisky(ey) drinkers should know

After taking a bit of a hiatus, I am back and very excited to be. I spent this past weekend in Vermont with a good group of college friends that reminded me of why I love whisky so much and why I need to keep writing. From what I tasted this past weekend I wanted to highlight Laphroaig 10. Looks a bit hard to pronounce, but according the Laphroaig website the pronunciation is Laphroaig (La-froyg).

It has that signature Islay smokiness, so if you are not a fan of smoke then this will not be the whisky for you. For all my non whisky drinkers Laphroaig 10 is a great Scotch that is very affordable (price range $40-$55).

Smell: The minute you smell this whisky you are immediately hit with the lots of smoke, seaweed and spice. To me this is perfect as I always enjoy a good smoky Scotch.

Taste: The smoky smell then transcends into the taste as you get hit with that smoky taste. I got hints of saltiness with a slight burn. At times I got a peppery taste as well and you can make out the peaty notes.

In my opinion, it is a very enjoyable Scotch. It's also a good Scotch for that cold/chilly weather that will soon be coming during the fall/winter months. It was perfect this past weekend as there was a nice chill in the air up in Vermont.

It was on our way back to Boston from this trip that I was reminded why I started writing this blog. We stopped by the NH Liquor outlet and I might have spent about 30 minutes just staring at all the single malts, bourbons and Irish whiskey selections. While there one thing I noticed was that most of the people grabbing products weren’t entirely sure what they were buying. At one point I heard, “this bottle looks cool, I’ll just get this.” Trust me there is nothing wrong with picking up a bottle because it looks cool, however a cool looking bottle doesn’t always mean you will get a great tasting product. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its covers.

If you’ve never drank whisky, whiskey or bourbon before and you want to, here are a few things to know and remember:

1.    The first time you try it, chances are that you will not like it the 1st time… the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time, etc.; in my opinion it really is an acquired taste, and something you eventually build a great appreciation for.

2.    It is OK to have it in a cocktail, with water and even ice. I know I make a big deal about me being a neat (straight up with no ice or mixers) drinker, but that is not how I got my start. You better believe that my first Bourbon was packed with ice.

3.    Not all great tastings whiskies or bourbons are expensive. You can go out there and find a great tasting product at an affordable price, Laphroaig 10 is a good example. There are whiskies and bourbons for all price points.

4.    What you taste may not be what someone else tastes. Everyone’s palate is different. If you and I sat down to share the very same dram, chances are I will taste notes you don’t and vice versa. This means that there might be a product you hate but others might love and that is certainly ok.

Finally, start with something light that will eventually help you acquire a liking for it. 

Cheers!