Reviews

Usquaebach Old-Rare Blended Scotch Review
Photo courtesy of Usquaebach.

Photo courtesy of Usquaebach.

Usquaebach Old-Rare is the high end of the company’s small core range, which includes Usquaebach Reserve and 15-year-old blended malt.

This blended whisky is made from 41 single malt whiskies aged up to 20 years and two grain whiskies which were aged in ex-sherry hogsheads.  What differentiates this blend against most is that it’s made up of 85% malt whiskies.  That’s a lot of malt for a blended whisky.  How does it taste?

Some stewed fruits, sweet malt and a slight sherry head up the light nose here, with  some toffee and lemon rind in the background.  It smells richer than the standard Usquaebach Reserve blend.  The entry is a bit thin at first.  That’s most likely due to the low 43% abv.  Layers of toffee, sweet malt, lemon peel appear first.  Some white chocolate develops afterwards, but not much else happens until the finish, where some freshly ground black pepper shows up to the party.  If you look past the sweet notes, the medium finish sort of tastes like lemon pepper chicken, sans the chicken.  That spice note is welcome here.

Usquaebach Old-Rare is a fine whisky, but not a particularly memorable one.  I do appreciate the richness this whisky carries, which is here courtesy of the 85% malt content in the blend.  The sweet malt and lemon peel combination work well together, but there isn’t too much more here until the finish.  This comes with my recommendation, but know this:  at $115 a bottle, Usquaebach Old-Rare doesn’t provide as much value as the standard Reserve, which only costs $40.

8/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by this company behind this whisky free of charge.  The opinions written are my own.)

Laphroaig Lore Single Malt Scotch Review

Laphroaig Lore

A new permanent Laphroaig expression?  That’s an exciting idea, although I hope this whisky is worthy of an addition to the distillery’s core lineup.  The basic idea behind this release is to honor the skills and traditions Laphroaig distillers have passed on generation to generation.  In other words, they’re referring to the use and blending of different types of barrels.

Laphroaig Lore is made up of variety of barrels:

  • First-fill ex-bourbon casks followed by a second maturation in virgin European oak casks
  • First-fill ex-Oloroso sherry butts
  • First-fill and refill quarter casks
  • Refill ex-Laphroaig stock (casks that previously matured Laphroaig)

Although Laphroaig Lore carries no age statement, Distillery Manager John Campbell says he used whiskies aged between 7 and 21 years to craft this blend.  It’s being called “the richest of the rich.”  Let’s check out the liquid.

The nose on Laphroaig Lore is heavy with grilled pineapple, spiced mango and a crisp bonfire upfront, and notes of salted dark chocolate, vanilla, orange peel and licorice just past that.  A blast of peat starts things off on the palate alongside fresh orange juice.  This quickly develops into creamy malt, spicy cinnamon, toffee, brine, seaweed and sherried fruit notes.  The ashy smoke in this whisky slowly increases as you approach the slightly dry finish.  Oddly it isn’t as long as I’d expect from Laphroaig, but then again there are quarter cask-matured whiskies here. All that wood contact may have added drying tannins.  A bit of smoke and sweet malt are left lingering.

I’m a sucker for peated sherried whiskies, and this one fits the bill, if only a bit.  That smoky fruit flavor combination is killer stuff.  Adding to the complexity is that spiciness provided by those quarter casks.  Those first-fill sherry butts do give this whisky a richness not normally found some of their expressions, but there is a crispness that cuts right through.  This is a really nice expression of Laphroaig.  I’m glad this is a permanent addition to their core lineup and not a limited edition, one-time release.

9/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by this company behind this whisky free of charge.  The opinions written are my own.)

Booker’s Batch 2016-02 “Annis’ Answer” Bourbon Review

Bookers 2016_02

The second batch of Booker’s bourbon released in 2016 is called “Annis’ Answer”, honoring the day former Jim Beam master distiller (and this bourbon’s namesake) Booker Noe proposed to his wife Annis.  Since 2015, every batch of Booker’s is dedicated to one aspect of Booker Noe’s life, both professional and personal.

Bookers 2016_02 BBooker’s is a barrel-strength bourbon.  Other than filtering out chunks of barrel wood, this bourbon is pretty much straight out of the barrel.  This uncut whiskey is usually aged between six and eight years.  Fred Noe, current Jim Beam master distiller and Booker’s son, said, “The batch is made up of barrels from four different production dates stored in 5 different storage areas. The oldest barrels in the batch were 7 years, 1 month old and the youngest barrels were 6 years, 2 month old.”

Batch 2016-02 is bottled at 126.7 proof.  Bourbon beginners might want to add a splash of water.  However, I think everyone should experience a barrel strength whiskey at least once.  Maybe take a few sips neat before adding water.

The nose is filled with robust vanilla, caramelized sugar, burnt orange peel, and charcoal over a hint of lavender.  Taste-wise, a tantalizing concentration of dark brown sugar, vanilla extract, fresh orange, and toasted oak.  The finish is long and warm with notes of cinnamon, vanilla and slightly drying oak tannins.

This is one of my favorite batches of Booker’s since “Dot’s Batch,” which was released early 2015.  It’s a tad more complex than the usual releases.  However, I haven’t run across a bad batch yet.  My reaction to Booker’s usually goes from “mmm… me likey” to “oh my God!”  The latter was from tasting Booker’s 25th Anniversary, one of my favorite bourbons ever.  Just like Annis said to Booker the night he asked her to be his wife, say “yes” to this batch of Booker’s.

8.5/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by Beam Suntory.)