Let’s talk about The Glendronach 15 for a sec. This 15-year-old expression seems to have a LOT of fans. Seemingly moreso than any of the other distillery’s expressions. In recent months, I’ve had the opportunity to taste a few other Glendronach whiskies, but this one’s eluded me… until now.

Similar to its other siblings, this single malt whisky has matured in both Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso Spanish Sherry casks for at least 15 years and has been bottled at 46% ABV.

The nose is a great example of a sherries malt. Both lush and vibrant, it features hints of red fruit and orange peel as well as toffee and dark chocolate. Tastewise, it’s like a warm cardigan (hey, it’s a Taylor Swift reference) on a cool night. Hints of dried fruit, honey, and orange peel coat the palate, making way for subtle waves of baking spice and dark chocolate. The medium-length finish leaves lingering notes of Angostura bitters and honeyed fruit.

All in all, a well-crafted whisky. The Glendronach 15 manages to walk a tight rope between vibrant and decadent, something hard to accomplish for a sherried malt. I’m so glad to have been able to taste this luscious whisky. This is one of those times I wish my sample was a 750mL bottle instead of a 100mL one. Now I’ll need to explain to my wife why I’ll be buying even more whisky. There’s just no more space in the whiskey room. Maybe mentioning Taylor Swift in my notes will help my case. Who knows. Enough rambling – this one’s an easy recommendation.

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

Seven year old barrels of 95/5 Indiana rye whisky presented at barrel proof (113.2 proof). That’s Four Gate’s latest release, their first rye, on paper. But you have to look deeper to get the full picture.

Four Gate is known for its skillful blending as well its penchant for barrel finishing. A quick perusal of their website will show you some of their quirkier barrel finishes – ex-sherry rum casks, curaçao gin casks, and on and on. Especially interesting is their occasion use of split-stave casks, where barrels are constructed with alternating charred and toasted staves.

River Kelvin Rye, which is batch 7’s official name, is a straight rye whiskey presented as a peek of what they’re working with for the near future. It’s their base whiskey that will be later finished in their split-stave barrels this holiday season as well as ruby port-rum barrels in 2021. Given their fantastic past releases, I can’t wait for these upcoming ones.

But first, how’s the rye?

Nicely aged is my first thought. That famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, 95% rye 5% malted barley mash bill from Indiana can start to seem familiar with its particular dill note. Not so much on this rye. The rye grain shines on the nose along with hints of brown sugar, red fruit, and vanilla. It’s surprisingly not too sharp and not too spicy. On the palate, caramelized fruit and brown sugar are complemented by toasted rye grain and slightly astringent oak. There’s a touch of dill and a little earthiness underneath. The long finish delves into sweet and spicy territory with a lingering sweet oak note.

Four Gate River Kelvin Rye is a delicious, balanced rye whiskey on its own. The thought of barrel finishing this rye in the future is simply mouthwatering. The whiskey nerd in me won’t allow me to buy this whiskey without purchasing the two future releases and vice versa. I want to compare and contrast to taste just what the barrel finishing adds to this wonderful base rye. And if you happen to fall into the percentage of folks who don’t care for barrel finishing in their whiskey, Four Gate batch 7 will easily quench your thirst for a solid, well-aged rye whiskey.

I remember when Knob Creek removed its age statement a few years back. It really seemed like forever ago. Then again, anything pre-COVID-19 feels like forever ago. The distillery, Jim Beam, just didn’t have enough aged stocks in its warehouses to keep up with demand. And they weren’t alone. Other brands either became extremely allocated or dropped age statements to maintain their supply. The bourbon boom certainly was, and is, in fully swing.

Fast forward to 2020, and Knob Creek not only announces the return of the 9-year age statement, but it also added a 12-year-old bourbon to its core lineup permanently. By all accounts, Knob Creek is doubling down on age statements.

And they’re not done.

Enter Knob Creek 15-year-old, which recently started hitting shelves. The limited edition bourbon comes in at 100 proof like other small batch expressions of Knob Creek. Enter controversy. There’s always controversy. You kind of have to expect it these days. Online, a number of KC fans are upset this 15-year-old expression isn’t bottled at a higher proof. Their reasoning – Knob Creek Single Barrel is bottled at 120 proof. In some cases, Knob Creek store picks are bottled at 15 years and available for less than the $100 asking price of this limited edition.

Here’s my take – Knob Creek bourbon is traditionally 100 proof and it wouldn’t make sense to change that for its limited edition releases. I use the same reasoning for Basil Hayden limited edition releases. “Oh, but it’s only 80 proof.” Yes, but so is the standard Basil Hayden. These small batch limited edition expressions are extensions of the flavor profile of the standard release. Part of that includes the traditional proof of the brand. In the case of Knob Creek, that’s 100 proof. Sure, the 25th Anniversary edition of Knob Creek was bottled at cask strength, but remember that was a single barrel and not a batched whiskey.

Moving on to the important bit – how does it taste?

Damn good. You almost expect this to be an oak bomb, but it’s not. The nose brings hints of dark caramel and molasses, cinnamon, clove, and vanilla bean in addition to sweet oak. A little airtime reveals a touch of dried fruit. The palate aligns very closely to the nose with hints of darkened, almost burnt caramel, followed by charred marshmallow, some fruit and baking spice, and earthiness – think tobacco. All this layers on top of a light bed of toasted oak. The medium finish is warming, with charred red fruit, toffee, and sweet oak.

This 15-year-old bourbon is a damn fine example of an older Knob Creek. All the aromas and flavors presented here are luscious, complementary, and more importantly delicious. A couple of marks come off for the thin mouthfeel when compared to the standard 9-year-old Knob Creek. My guess is this is probably due to any filtering used to remove some of that oak flavor. Nonetheless, this is a very tasty, enjoyable bourbon, and an easy recommendation.

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