Reviews

Tap 357 Canadian Maple Rye Whisky Review

I’m generally not a fan of flavored whiskey.  However, I won’t pass up the chance to try one.  After all, you can’t know if you dislike something until you taste it.  Enter Tap 357 – a Canadian rye whisky blended with Canadian maple syrup.  Here’s some info straight from the producer:

The cask-aged 3-, 5-, and 7-year old blended rye whisky used in TAP 357 is produced at the oldest distillery in Western Canada, where it is distilled four times then matured in a combination of new, second-, and third-use bourbon barrels. 

TAP Whisky’s Master Blender Michel Marcil then blends these whiskies and adds pure Canada 1 Light maple syrup from the Quebec area.  It’s then married for a period and bottled at 40.5%.

The nose is dominated by maple syrup, which is accentuated by notes of vanilla extract, baking spices and spice cake.  Taste-wise, we’re talking maple.  Lots of maple!  Loads of maple!  The whisky is expectedly very rich, but not cloyingly sweet.  Rye spice compliments and cuts through.  Creamy vanilla and oak spice add some depth.  The finish features creme brulee and light maple syrup.  

The maple nature of this whisky doesn’t taste artificial.  Of course it doesn’t.  The producers are using real maple syrup.  Maple syrup is generally a note I pick up in Canadian whiskies, so it feels natural to use it to flavor the whisky.  Like I mentioned earlier, Tap 357 is rich, but not cloyingly sweet.  It leans strongly on the maple syrup side, but has just enough other flavors to keep things interesting.  Does this mean Tap 357 is the first flavored whisky I actually like?  I believe so.  Nicely done!  8/10

Thanks to Tap 357 for the sample.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Copper & Kings Blue Sky Mining Brandy Review

Photo courtesy of Copper & Kings


New from American Brandy producer Copper & Kings is Blue Sky Mining, a 7-year-old 100% Muscat brandy finished in a Kentucky hogshead cask.  The different brandies produced by Copper & Kings are all full-bodied, flavorful spirits.  They all stick to the creedo of no coloring or flavoring added.  No chill filtration.  Blue Sky Mining is no exception.  Like I mentioned earlier, it is made from exclusively muscat grapes.  And the folks at the distillery are estatic over this.

“Wow, wow, wow – we couldn’t have dreamed this one up,” said head distiller Brandon O’Daniel. “It’s just spectacular, heavenly, easily some of the best liquid to come out of our basement cellar. Muscat de Alexandrie aromatics have always been spectacular, and this is illustrating that beautifully. The larger volume, 80-gallon hogshead, with used Bourbon staves and new American oak heads is a fantastic medium for brandy maturation – incredible polish that lets the fruit shine brightly, whilst still letting the oak impart its typical warmth and layered honey. I wish I could keep this one all to myself!”

So how is it?

The nose is very aromatic, with big floral and perfume notes.  Underneath find hints of honey, vanilla bean, lemon oil, and a certain flintiness or minerality.   Taste-wise, there’s lots going on here.  Sweet white wine, honey, and rose petals dominate.  There’s a touch of vanilla, crisp apples, a little spice and even a touch of a slight malty character.  At times, the honey and floral notes make this brandy feel like a second or third cousin to Glenmorangie Astar.  The finish is long, and leaves behind the fruity/floral notes from the palate.  

Blue Sky Mining may be one of the more interesting spirits I’ve had the pleasure of tasting this year.  I’m intrigued by the big floral notes, and surprisingly not turned off by the perfume nose.  There’s enough happening in the glass to keep you interested.  A big kudos to the Copper & Kings team for releasing something different from their “standard” brandies. It is bottled at 100 proof, and available at the distillery and very select shops around the country in limited quantities.   8.5/10

Thanks to Copper & Kings for the sample.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Colonel E.H. Taylor Four Grain Bourbon Review

EHT Four Grain

The newest limited edition bourbon from Buffalo Trace is Colonel E.H. Taylor Four Grain.   It’s a 12-year-old bottled-in-bond bourbon made from corn, wheat, rye, and malted barley.  Most bourbon is made with three grains consisting mostly of corn with a flavoring grain and a very small percentage of barley.  That flavoring grain is typically rye, though some producers use wheat.  This bourbon isn’t the first to feature four grains in its mash bill, but it could go on to become one of the most noteworthy.

“We wanted to extract everything we like from both the rye and the wheat mashbills we currently use and combine them to see how they react,” said Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley in the press release.  “Not surprisingly, it added complexity to the finished product.”

I’m a big fan of the Colonel E.H. Taylor line, from its Small Batch and Single Barrel releases to the recent limited edition Cured Oak.  Last year’s Seasoned Wood was nice enough, but I sadly wasn’t able to get my hands on a bottle.  That’s the problem with limited releases these days.  One thing that might help here is that Buffalo Trace has also announced a bottling of Four Grain to be released next year.  I hope that’s a sign that this whiskey may become a semi-regular addition to the Taylor lineup.  So, how’s the whiskey?

The nose is rounded and sweet, with an initial wave of spiced caramel and vanilla alongside hints of orange jam and herbs.  The entry is initially sweet, with notes of caramel and vanilla.  A small amount of spice comes through.  I’m assuming that’s the rye grain at work.  I also pick up some wonderful candied fruit buried somewhere in the mix.  Some sweet oak adds a touch of astringency on the backend.  The finish is long, sweet and spicy.  Interestingly, a small sip of water afterwards leaves the mouth a bit dry.

All in all, Four Grain is a solid bourbon, but not a particularly memorable one.  I thought a four grain mash bill would lead to a really complex bourbon, and in that regard my expectations weren’t quite met.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice.  The flavors in the bottle play well together, but it left me wanting a little bit more.  That said, I’d gladly pay retail ($69.99) for a bottle, but not a penny more.  8/10

Thanks to Buffalo Trace for the sample.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.