The spring edition of Old Fitzgerald was a surprising 17 years old. People went nuts. Then Heaven Hill followed it up with a 19-year old release and enthusiasts clamored for it like no Old Fitzgerald before. For the smart few who open their bottle,…
The spring edition of Old Fitzgerald was a surprising 17 years old. People went nuts. Then Heaven Hill followed it up with a 19-year old release and enthusiasts clamored for it like no Old Fitzgerald before. For the smart few who open their bottle, will it be worth the $240 price tag? Plus, now with two extra-aged releases, are the days of 8 and 9-year Old Fitzgerald a thing of the past? Heaven Hill certainly keeps us on our toes for each Spring and Fall release.
Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Fall 2022 Bourbon: Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Decanter Series Edition: Fall 2022 Distillery: Heaven Hill Age: 19 years ABV: 50% (100 proof) Cost: $240.00
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Copper penny with a red hue.
Nose: I expected more oak with the gaudy age statement. It’s still deep with mature oak and leather, but it’s also nutty with butterscotch candy sweetness, rounded out with black tea and a heady, nectarous honeysuckle.
Taste: The balance is remarkable. With a creamy, buttery texture, the spicy oak coats your mouth as it shifts to vanilla, toffee, and pralines, and then turns back to oak with the full array of baking spices.
Finish: The finish has a gear shift that I love, but at first, I mistook it as a short, flat finish. After a quick burst it faded but then it rebounded with sustained warmth. It’s oak-driven and dry, still with a touch of cocoa as it fades.
Bottom Line Pair this with the Spring 2022 release of Old Fitzgerald and you have two of the top ten bourbons of the year, easily. These are remarkable bourbons and strong buys.
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly sent me a sample for this review, without any strings attached. Thank you.
Like many undisclosed Islays that came before it, there is a bit of mystery surrounding the source of the Port Askaig 100 Proof. And I truly mean a bit because with a little bit of reasonable elimination we end up with two distilleries as our possibilities and they taste quite a bit different. Laphroaig and […]
Like many undisclosed Islays that came before it, there is a bit of mystery surrounding the source of the Port Askaig 100 Proof. And I truly mean a bit because with a little bit of reasonable elimination we end up with two distilleries as our possibilities and they taste quite a bit different.
Laphroaig and Ardbeg are both in such high demand, and have been for so long, that this being the source, especially at this price, is highly unlikely – plus it doesn’t really taste like either. Bowmore and Lagavulin don’t supply indie lines and, again, it doesn’t taste like either of them. Kilchoman we can cut just on scale alone.
Bruichladdich barely keeps their own peated whisky in stock and their use of Highland peat gives it a dry signature profile not found in these bottles. That leaves us with two viable candidates who are known to supply NDPS: Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain. Though when you consider the scale needed, coupled with the taste, that really leaves us with one. Caol Ila.
Though if you want to just go with the obvious, that Caol Ila is located in Port Askaig, that would work too. However, most of the sherried releases are rumored to be Bunnahabhain and the ones I’ve tasted don’t taste like serried Caol Ila. Anyway, let’s get to drinkin’!
“One of our core expressions, Port Askaig 100° Proof is a cask-strength single malt with notes of sweet fruit, peat smoke and minerality, making it a benchmark Islay whisky and great everyday peaty dram.” – Port Askaig
Port Askaig 100 Proof Tasting Notes
EYE
Pale straw
NOSE
Orchard fruit (peaches, pears, dried apples), smoke, malty sweetness, vanilla, honey, minerality and a touch of plastic.
Young, crisp and bracing. It’s a slightly spirity aroma that makes me think “Caol Ila”.
PALATE
Minerality, smoke, dried fruit, lemon peels, vanilla cake and some malty sweetness with a bit of spice.
Like the aroma, there is a spirity nature to it, but it works quite well here. It’s a punchy sharp little whisky.
FINISH
Long -> Smoke, honey, spice and minerality.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Decent balance, med-full body, oily feel.
Port Askaig 100 Proof – Overall Thoughts and Score
Kind of strange to have a whisky this high in proof feel so light. It drinks much softer than its heavy 114.2 proof. That could be due to the nice bit of sweetness underpinning the smoke and minerality that dominates it. The balance makes it easy to sip.
Or maybe I’m just so used to high-proof whisky this just seems normal to me. It’s hard to say and after 17+ years of whisky drinking I have to say that either, or both, are possible. Regardless, this Port Askaig 100 Proof is a nice whisky and one to consider if you like the crisp minerally nature of young Islay whiskies.
SCORE: 3.5/5 (tasty, worth checking out ~ B | 83-86)
We’re kicking off the second full week of this Glenmo mega vertical with our second dusty: Glenmorangie Traditional 100 Proof. This limited edition came out around 2003 and made a bit of commotion when it did. Though reading through some of the internet archives that commotion seems to be a bit divided. This kinda shocks […]
We’re kicking off the second full week of this Glenmo mega vertical with our second dusty: Glenmorangie Traditional 100 Proof. This limited edition came out around 2003 and made a bit of commotion when it did. Though reading through some of the internet archives that commotion seems to be a bit divided. This kinda shocks me because if the old Glenmo 10 is any indication a, nearly, cask strength version should be awesome.
Compared to the Glenmo Original, there is nothing from a production point that makes this unique. It’s all Glenmo distillate aged in ex-Bourbon casks. What makes this Traditional 100 Proof unique is the cask selection, non-chill filtering and being bottled at 57.2%. Nothing crazy or different about its production. Though what is kinda crazy is that 2003 was almost 20 years ago… WTF. Where’d the time go?
I feel old, let’s get to drinkin’.
Glenmorangie Traditional 100 Proof – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Style: Single Malt (Scotch) Region: Highlands, Scotland Distiller: Glenmorangie
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley Cask: ex-Bourbon Age: 10 Years ABV: 57.2% (traditional, British 100 Proof)
Glenmorangie Traditional 100 Price: NA – Auction, Specialty Store or Private Seller (originally $100)
“This handcrafted Glenmorangie malt whisky is matured for 10 years and come straight from casks of mountain oak at its traditional strength without any chill filtering.” – Glenmorangie
Glenmorangie Traditional 100 Proof Tasting Notes
EYE
Gold
NOSE
Complex dried orchard fruit, honey, toffee, cocoa, toasted bread, citrus peels, waxy vanilla fondant and lighter notes of coconut, nuts and baking spice.
I could sniff this all night, the complex fruit brings out waves of apricots, apples, pears and more. It love it.
PALATE
Complex dried orchard fruit, honey, sultanas, coconut, vanilla cupcakes, oak, toffee and bit fo banana chips and baking spice with a slight earthiness.
This has a heaviness to it that rolls through with a noticeable oak profile.
FINISH
Med-Long -> Fruit and malty graham takes its time fading out to a honied fruit note.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Well balanced, medium-full body and a light buttery feel.
Glenmorangie Traditional 100 Proof – Overall Thoughts and Score
Comparing this to the dusty Glenmorangie 10 and the current Glenmorangie Original 10… I’d take this every single time. This is the best, purely, ex-Bourbon Glenmorangie I’ve had and I include the Astar in that statement. This is Glenmorangie.
This is elegance, this is beauty, this is Highland fruity deliciousness and I wish I could go back to 2003 and buy a couple of bottles. The Glenmorangie Traditional 100 is a whisky worth hunting down at least of taste of if you’re a fan. Big thanks to Hodas for bringing this to a tasting and the sample.
Earlier this fall, Bluegrass Distillers in Lexington (www.bluegrassdistillers.com), released the first ever Kentucky Blue Corn Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. Bluegrass Distillers is the only Kentucky distillery that produces a wheated bourbon with 100% blue corn, a non-GMO corn grown locally in Central Kentucky. Distilling a mash…
Earlier this fall, Bluegrass Distillers in Lexington (www.bluegrassdistillers.com), released the first ever Kentucky Blue Corn Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. Bluegrass Distillers is the only Kentucky distillery that produces a wheated bourbon with 100% blue corn, a non-GMO corn grown locally in Central Kentucky. Distilling a mash of blue corn can result in a sweeter, nuttier distillate.
This Bottled-in-Bond Blue Corn Bourbon release is comprised of just four 53 gallon barrels, aged 4½ years. Bluegrass previously released a younger blue corn bourbon in 2017, and a Bottled-in-Bond release with yellow corn, but this is the first Bottled-in-Bond release using blue corn.
Bluegrass is banking on more blue corn because this past season it grew 25 acres of blue corn in Woodford County, which will one day go into roughly 500 barrels. To help accommodate that growth, Bluegrass is expanding at the Historic Elkwood Farm in Midway, Kentucky, where it will ultimately relocate in 2022.
Bluegrass Bottled-in-Bond Blue Corn Bourbon Tasting Notes
Finish: Medium finish with lingering herbal and cedar notes, and a bit smokey.
Bottom Line Wheat can be tough under six years but this doesn’t have the hallmarks of a young wheater. While I still give younger bourbons plenty of air, this Bluegrass Blue Corn Bottled-in-Bond is unlike any other wheated bourbon that I’ve had. The earthy, nutty notes are unique and they play well with the brighter fruit and pepper flavors. Maybe it’s the blue corn, but it’s extremely promising for Bluegrass Distillers and I’m excited for future bottlings. Definitely check out Bluegrass Distillers!
Disclaimer: The brand managers kindly sent me a bottle for this review, without any strings attached. Thank you.
