Tag: finished whisky
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Found North Hover Hawk First Flight Scoresheet & Review
The modern whisk(e)y market has no shortage of recent brands that seemed to blow up overnight, particularly when it comes to North America. Although this predominantly extends to bourbon—and rye to a lesser extent, one brand has recently captivated drinkers while adding an air of credibility to a more flimsily…
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Dewar’s Double Double 21-Year Oloroso Scoresheet & Review
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that most non-casual scotch fans don’t give Dewar’s much time nor thought. They’re incredibly popular, thanks in no small part to their NAS minimum viable product, which makes dismissing them that much easier. There are certainly other reasons for people…
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Maker’s Mark 46 Scoresheet & Review
Popular distilleries with a narrow range of bottles can be a blessing when you review whiskey for a hobby and have a relatively limited budget. The same could also apply to whiskey-curious consumers since they only need to parse through a handful of bottles in order to land on a…
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Maker’s Mark Private Selection “Sweet Bourbon Dreams” Scoresheet & Review
It’s no secret that I’m a Maker’s Mark fan. Even when the brand frustrates me, they still find a way to win me over, whether with a stellar new product or a cute ambassador gift in time for the holidays. Being a reliable, available, affordable producer of solid wheated bourbon…
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Maker’s Mark 2022 Wood Finishing Series (BRT-02) Scoresheet & Review
I’ve grown increasingly jaded towards finished whisky over time. In theory, it’s an interesting—even exciting—idea: Take a mature whisky and dump it into a different, secondary cask for a few weeks, granting it more flavor, dimension, and complexity. However, the sheer volume of bottles using finishing casks has exploded to…
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Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength Scoresheet & Review
Maker’s Mark frequently finds its way into my collection. Their core lineup is available, affordable, and of competent quality, yet they’re hardly in rarefied company these days. Much of the interest surrounding Maker’s Mark from present-day whisky lovers can be traced back to the introduction of Maker’s Mark 46. The…
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Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake Scoresheet & Review
Glenmorangie have been one of the easiest scotch brands for me to turn to. The reason is simple: pricing. Although it’s easy to find their four-pack tasting set (consisting of The Original, Lasanta, Quinta Ruban, and Nectar d’Or), local pricing for a full bottle of each is far more approachable…
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Barrell Dovetail Scoresheet & Review
Broadly speaking, finished whiskey is a bit of a mixed bag. A good, tasteful finish can bestow incredible flavors contributing to an elevated drinking experience; a sloppy or otherwise half-hearted finish can leave one confused at best and put off at worst. With Barrell Craft Spirits’ popular finished bottlings, it’s…
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Glenmorangie Lasanta Scoresheet & Review
Revisiting the Glenmorangie Tasting Set has brought a couple small surprises, namely a slight bump in appreciation for Nectar d’Or and a respective decrease in fondness for The Original. However, I was most interested in trying the other two expressions. Quinta Ruban, as you’ll see here, still won me over…
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Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or Scoresheet & Review
“Subtle” is among the more interesting words one can use to describe a whisky. There are a couple of ways it can be used, but I typically choose it when labeling something as understated. As a bourbon lover, I’ll admit that discerning between nuanced and straight-up boring isn’t always plain…
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Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban Scoresheet & Review
Finished whisky is huge. It’s to the point that if a household brand doesn’t have at least one finished product, then it makes them an outlier. The process, where a whisky is matured and then dumped into a different cask, has supposedly drawn the ire of some whisky purists (I’ve…
