Reviews

Hilhaven Lodge Whiskey Review
Photo courtesy of Diageo.

Photo courtesy of Diageo.

Named after the famous Hollywood home, Hilhaven Lodge is a new offering from Diageo and Hollywood director Brett Ratner.  The whiskey itself is a blend of bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey.  Sounds interesting, right?

Ratner is the latest celebrity endorsing a whiskey, but the buck doesn’t stop there.  Based on what I’ve seen and heard online, Ratner is passionate about this whiskey.  Hell, he reportedly helped develop the whiskey with Diageo and is really putting his weight behind promoting this release.  But why? The answer is rather simple:  he loves whiskey.  Not in the hard-core super serious whiskey enthusiast kind of way, but rather just a big fan of the stuff.  Ratner is also the current owner of Hilhaven Lodge.

How is it?

Decent stuff, actually.  The nose is full of rye spice and sweet maple syrup.  Some charred fresh corn and vanilla follow.  Hilhaven Lodge is bottled at 40% abv, but tastes richer than expected.  Just like the nose, the flavors here are a decent contrast of sweet and spicy.  There’s an initial syrupy blast on entry.  Notes of spice, creamy vanilla and barrel char sit on top.  Not much complexity here, though.  The finish leaves behind notes of candied orange peel and cinnamon.

I love the idea of blending these three types of American whiskey.  The best parts of each come out, making this an enjoyable whiskey, if a little on the sweet side.  My only real complaint is this isn’t complex enough to warrant a $50 price tag.  7.5/10

Thanks to Diageo for the sample.  As always, thoughts and opinions are my own.

An Evening with Tullamore DEW


Recently I attended a Tullamore DEW tasting at Katie’s, a jewel of a restaurant here in New Orleans.  I’m going to let you in on a little secret of mine… Until this tasting I’ve never had Tullamore DEW. Ever. So you can guess I was pretty excited about the evening.

Tullamore DEW ambassador Jane Maher walked us through six different expressions of the famous Irish whiskey.  Two of them are currently not available here in the U.S. market, and were brought to the tasting courtesy of William Grant & Sons’ Jorge Lauriano.

We started the night with a Moscow Mule made with Tullamore DEW.  It was an interesting take on the classic cocktail.


Next up was the tasting.  I didn’t jot down tasting notes that night, so these are general impressions from memory.  I hope to tackle Tullamore DEW in a depth in the future.  ‘Til then…

Tullamore DEW:  the entry level blend.  Triple distilled.  Not bad.  Has a bit more character than the standard Jameson.

Tullamore DEW Cider cask:  this one’s finished in apple cider casks.  Adds a touch of fruitiness on the backend.  Travel retail exclusive.

Tullamore DEW 12-yr Sherry Cask:  my second favorite whisky of the night.  Some age and a Sherry cask finish works well with the pot still whiskies in this blend.

Tullamore DEW Old Bonded Warehouse Release:  another solid expression, but sadly only available at the distillery.  It’s also helped by a higher abv – 46% instead of the standard 40%.  There was a touch of dried fruit, which makes me think there is some Sherry cask-matured whiskey here.

Tullamore DEW Phoenix:  hands down my favorite expression of the night.  Bottled at a hefty 55% abv, this one bursts with bold flavors.  Surprisingly, the heat is tamer than you’d expect.  This is a limited edition, so it won’t be around for long.

Tullamore DEW 15-yr Trilogy:  intriguing pour.  Three types of casks are used: bourbon, Oloroso Sherry and rum.  The addition of that last type of cask added some rum funkiness that played well with the Tully flavor profile.  Very elegant.

Afterwards, a fantastic dinner was served.  I had the panned rabbit and mushrooms, followed by bread pudding with a white chocolate sauce.  I couldn’t have asked for a better evening.

Thanks to William Grant & Sons, Tullamore DEW (and their PR agency) for the invite.

Kilchoman Sanaig Scotch Whisky Review

Editor’s note:  I have the pleasure of presenting the first guest post here at AdventuresInWhiskey.com.  Jay Whittemore from Tasty Whiskey shares his thoughts on Kilchoman’s Sanaig.  I’m a fan of sherry cask-matured peated whisky, so I’m a tad jealous I didn’t get to sample this fantastic whisky.  Please welcome Jay, and be sure to check out his blog. – Bobby

Photo courtesy of Kilchoman.

Photo courtesy of Kilchoman.

Kilchoman – the small family-run farm distillery based on the west coast of Islay – recently issued a press release announcing that Sanaig, their 46% ABV sherry cask matured Scotch (~$75), won a double gold and “best of category” awards at recent competitions.

Bobby and I have both previously reviewed other Kilchoman offerings, so I figured it was high time to add to the collection.

The “TL;DR” recaps (with links to full reviews):

Kilchoman notes that Sanaig will join its core range of expressions, and that this release is matured in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels before being transferred for further maturation in Oloroso sherry casks. With the recent introduction of NAS sherried Islay single malts by Ardbeg (Dark Cove) and Laphroaig (Lore), Sanaig seems positioned to compete in this same stylistic category.

The color is a light golden brown (worth noting: Kilchoman doesn’t add any coloring additives to its whiskies, and they are also not chill-filtered). The aroma is richly peaty and heavily maritime in character, which is typical for Islay single malts. It makes me think of old dock ropes, first aid kits (gauze, BandAids, iodine), smoldering bonfire pits at the beach, and something more minerally/rocky, like rain evaporating off pavement. On the palate, Sanaig starts sweet with vanilla and caramel. Then peat smoke shows up on the midpalate, steadily building into a long finish, which also introduces a nice roasted walnut element and some bright cooked fruit flavors (apple/peach).

Kilchoman Sanaig is excellent, and definitely recommended.  The classic Islay flavors are here in full force, but they are nicely balanced by underlying sweetness. Given the production notes, I believe this sweetness is coming from both the ex-bourbon barrel maturation as well as the Oloroso sherry barrel finishing. All of which is to say there isn’t a gigantic sherry influence similar to what you’d see in a first-fill sherry cask expression or a PX-finished whisky. In no way does that detract from the experience; it’s just worth tempering your expectations for a “treacly sweet peat” experience.  8/10

(tasting sample generously provided by Kilchoman; views are my own)