A Whisky Advent Calendar

Towards the end of my first year of discovering whisky I was wondering how on earth would I be able to increase my catalogue of whiskies tasted and adding to my liquid log. Although I was buying at least one bottle a month reaching 101 whiskies looked a long way off.

It was early December when the kids were enjoying their traditional chocolate advent calendars that I thought it would be a good idea if I could have a whisky advent calendar with a miniature for each day of December leading up to a full bottle for Christmas Day. This would allow me to sample 24 new and different drams. I sketched it out, I was going to make it from veneer faced plywood (bringing my old boat building skills into play) with 12 small doors either side of a large pair of doors where I could put a full sized bottle for Christmas. I worked out how much it would cost me to do, just sourcing the miniatures, and realised that it would be very expensive to do, and would probably take me more than a year to complete in my 'spare time' and put it all to one side.

The next Christmas I was a little deflated when I saw that Master of Malt had launched their own Whisky Advent Calendar, using their 'Drinks by the Dram' 3 cl miniatures, in a disposable / recyclable cardboard calendar. I say deflated because in my head I had wanted to bring my design to market and was beaten to it.

This Christmas we were kindly given one to give away in our Christmas Competition and one of our Twitter followers, David Churcher (@smokiechops) won this awesome prize. Imagine how surprised and thrilled I was when I received one of my own from my wife. So here is how it went.

Day 1 Balvenie Double Wood 17 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #457)

I first tasted at Balvenie Fete in London back in June this year where I met David Stewart and tasted my first Tun 1401 at the launch event for Batch 8. No tasting notes were made at the time, and so it's great to be able to revisit and finally jot some notes down.

Day 2 Talisker Port Ruige (Whisky Discovery #409)

I was fortunate to receive a sample when this was first released earlier this year. You can see what I though of that here: Whisky Discovery #409 and I'll save this for Kat to enjoy

Day 3 Nikka 'From the Barrel' (Whisky Discovery #674)

A NEW whisky discovery and one I really should have tried before as I've only heard good things said about this Japanese blended whisky.

Initial nosing note; Chrysanthemums and Lapsang Souchong.

Day 4 Glencadem 21 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #662)

A NEW Whisky Discovery and my first from the Glencadem Distillery. I didn't know anything about this Distillery until researching in the latest Malt Whisky Year Book.

Initial nosing note; Very biscuit like followed by a citrus burst.

Day 5 Glen Garioch 12 Year Old (Whisky Discovery No.453)

First tasted at a Glen Garioch tweet tasting with Rachel Barrie, and it also featured during the Glen Garioch Virgin Oak Launch and I've since added one to my shelf too. You can see what I thought of that here: Whisky Discovery #453

Day 6 Chivas Regal 18 Year Old (Discovery No.663)

A NEW Whisky Discovery. Whilst I have tasted the 12 Year Old before this 18 Year Old was new to me.

Initial nosing note; Malty oranges with hazelnut toffees

Day 7 Smooth Amber Old Scout 7 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #664)

A NEW Whiskey Discovery and the first whiskey from America. Smooth Ambler is a modern, state-of-the-art Craft Distillery in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
Initial nosing note; Chalky blackboard rubber with rum notes.

Day 8 Blue Hanger 9th Release (Whisky Discovery #675)

A NEW Whisky Discovery. I've tasted a few Blue Hangers before, spending an evening in the Berry Bros & Rudd cellar with Doug McIvor tasting the 2nd, 4th and 6th releases as well as previewing the 7th release. You can read about that here: Blue Hanger.
Initial nosing note; Soft malty with a gentle peat reek

Day 9 Bowmore 15 Year Old 'Darkest' (Whisky Discovery #196)

First 'discovered at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in 2012. You can read all about my day at the show here: TWE Whisky Show 2012 Pt1 I also revisited it at a private tasting with Morrison Bowmore brand ambassador Phil Nickson: Whisky Discovery #196

Day 10 Grants 25 Year Old  (Whisky Discovery #676)

A NEW Whisky Discovery from William Grant & Sons, and their oldest blended Scotch whisky containing 25 different malt and grain whiskies.

Initial nosing note; Soft malty with rich sherried fruits and plasticine

Day 11 Evan Williams Single Barrel 2003 Vintage  (Whisky Discovery #677)

A NEW Whiskey Discovery and the second from America in the advent calendar. This 10 year old bourbon is distilled in Kentucky's Heaven Hill Distillery.
Initial nosing note; Dusty grain with hints of cinnamon

Day 12 Mackmyra 'Brukswisky' (Whisky Discovery #359)

First tasted at Whisky Live earlier this year with their award winning Master Blender Angela D'Orazio. I have a few Mackmyra samples to review so a full blog post will follow eventually. You can read all about our trip to Whisky Live London 2013 here: Whisky Live London 2013

Day 13 Balcones Texas Single Malt (Whisky Discovery #346)

First tasted in March 2013 and from a sample from @Whiskylassie, the founder of the #WhiskyFabric on Twitter. This is a firm favourite and has been experienced many times at shows where we have worked with Balcones, educating attendees in the power of Texan whiskies and a Twitter Tasting with @TheWhiskyWire. You can see what I thought of that here: Whisky Discovery #453

Day 14 Tomintoul 14 Year Old NEW (Whisky Discovery #678)

A NEW Whisky Discovery from Speyside distillery Tomintoul who have a core range of nine single malts ranging from 10 to 33 years old. Tomintoul is known as 'The Gentle Dram'

Initial nosing note; Danish pastries and apple blossom

Day 15 Dalmore 18 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #278)

This was first tasted at The Dalmore Tweet Tasting with  @TheWhiskyWire and revisited again at this years Midlands Whisky Festival at an amazing Master Class with David Robertson where we tasted four of the prohibitively expensive Constellation Series. You can see what I thought of that here: Whisky Discovery #453

Day 16 Balvenie Caribbean 14 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #190)

First 'discovered at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in 2012, and subsequently a bottle was added to my shelf a little later on. You can read all about my day at the show here: TWE Whisky Show 2012 Pt1 and yes, I still need to post my notes!

Day 17 The Glenlivet Nadurra  (Whisky Discovery #59)

Tasted at the first whisky we ever attended, Whisky Live London 2012. This show was a huge turning point in our journey. We love visiting Whisky Shows and try to attend as many as possible. You can read all about our first whisky show here: Whisky Live London 2012

Day 18 Yellow Spot 12 Year Old  (Whisky Discovery #193)
First 'discovered at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in 2012. You can read all about my day at the show here: TWE Whisky Show 2012 Pt1 while I write my notes

Day 19 Auchentoshan Three Wood (Whisky Discovery #35)

This was my 'Official' January 2012 purchase and was the first I ever posted on the Whisky Connosr website. You can see what I thought of that here: Whisky Discovery #35

Day 20 Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old 'Platinum' (Whisky Discovery #165)

This was one of the '12 Blends' tasted earlier this year back in April 2013. A group of 12 Whisky bloggers all sent each other a blended whisky dram, blind, for 12 evenings of highly entertaining madness on Twitter. You can read about that here: #12Blends

Day 21 Scapa 16 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #270)

I first tasted this at the Birmingham Whisky Club's trial Show back in December 2012. No notes were recorded at the time so it's good to be able to revisit and make some legible notes. You can read all about that show here: Birmingham Whisky Show

Day 22 Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Distillery Edition (Whisky Discovery #84)
I first tasted this at the second whisky show we ever visited, The Whisky Lounge's London Show in April 2012. I actually managed to get some notes down that day too! You can see what I thought of that here: Whisky Discovery #84

Day 23 Yamazaki 12 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #89)

This was also first tasted at The Whisky Lounge's London Show in April 2012 but sadly no notes were recorded. I also revisited this at The Birmingham Whisky Clubs' Trial Show in December 2012 and again no notes so it's good to finally put some notes down.

Day 24 Glenfarclas 40 Year Old (Whisky Discovery #187)

The final dram was a great surprise. A 40 Year Old from Glenfarclas. OK, so not a new Whisky Discovery having first tasted this at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show in 2012. You can read all about my day at the show here: TWE Whisky Show 2012 Pt1 while I write my notes

So What Did I Think?

Well considering I thought of it first, this is a fabulous idea! 

In their first year just two advent calenders were launched featuring whisky in One and Gin in the other. This year additional spirits were covered with Tequila, Rum and Craft Gin Cognac, Armagnac Vodka and Absinthe as well as the introduction of a Premium Whisky Advent Calendar which along with the Whisky and Gin calendars should satisfy most spirits adventurers! (all details can be found here: Master of Malt Advent Calendars)

Whilst I had just eight new whisky discoveries to make, I had at the time of opening already logged over 600 different whiskies in my journey. Just three of the calendar had been or are already on my whisky shelf meaning the other thirteen drams were all just fleeting tastings at Whisky Shows where I rarely get the chance to scribble some meaningful notes. especially if tasted towards the end of the show where notes, if legible, consist of smiley (or sad) faces or stars.

Out of interest I went to see if I could have purchased all of these drams from Master of Malt in their 'Drinks by the Dram' range. Although many were available six of these advent calendar drams were 'money can't buy' drams albeit that five of these are within my whisky budget and may eventually grace my whisky shelf one day

If you are starting your own whisky journey or you haven't expanded your whisky tastes past the supermarket offerings then this is a must for you! So much better than chocolate I really looked forward to coming home and opening my advent calendar. I quite fancy a Tequila one next year, and I've never tried Armagnac and Cognac - so a few more to keep the run up to my Christmas merry and bright!

Wishing you all the very best for 2014 Slàinte! Dave

Liquid Americana Tweet Tasting

The second Tweet Tasting with Arkwrights Whisky and Wines and The Whisky Wire and once again five blind drams were sent out to the chosen tasters. 

I do enjoy a blind tasting - I'm usually totally hopeless at them, even more so when there's very little in the way of clues about them. Still everyone was in the same boat and the only things we knew about them were that they would be American whiskies (which we assumed would mean from the USA rather than the whole of the Americas) and that they were probably stocked and sold at Arkwrights on-line store, which meant that we had a reference point to search and narrowed the field down to around one in fifty chance of getting it right!

Five blind drams for the Liquid Americana at Whisky Discovery HQ

With Steve @TheWhiskyWire guiding us through the drams numbered one to five and Fran from Arkwrights @WhiskyandWines ensuring all the facts were correct we started under the #LiquidAmericana hashtag.

Whisky Discovery #149

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old (47% abv)
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Circa £32.00 70cl

Bottled exclusively from a dumping of 70 barrels or less, the brand carries the name of the Rev. Elijah Craig who discovered the method of making true Kentucky Bourbon when he stored his wares in barrels that'd been charred.

I had tasted this once before as Kat had bought a bottle for her other half a while back and brought me over a sample to review as it was on my '101 List'. You can see what I thought of it then here:

So What Did I think?

Nose: Rich spicy flavours abound in the bouquet of this dram. It oozes sweet spicy maple syrup, brown sugar and treacle, vanilla essence, cloves anise and cardamon with a touch of aniseed too, before fresh mint leading to a floral note. With time some musty nutty wood notes develop! like a cup full of walnut shells

Palate: Opens sweet but the spices build quickly. Creamy vanilla with licorice and cloves, and leafy herbal note too as well as some Parma Violets

I had no idea what this was despite having tasted it once before and lamely guessed Four Roses Yellow Label! I thought it was familiar and have had a bottle of Four Roses on the shelf, so had my reasoning. However we had a winner with @DramStats guessing correctly before the reveal.

So what did the others think?

@paula_read: Sweet, toffee, a nice strong nose, bit of a nip at the same time.

@DramStats: Nose: Big vanilla, sweetcorn and aniseed balls. Nice and sweet to kick us off. Guessing this is Bourbon.

@rickfurzer: Nose: Putty, nutty and spice - a bit of rye in the mash-bill?

@mynameisgone: Nose; the more it opens the sweeter the nose becomes with a hint of oak peeking through

@thomas_speller: Palate - some white pepper and melting sugar again. Also obvious presence of vanilla again.

@dvdbloke Palate - Sweet spicy vanilla, chewy, creamy, chocolate coffee creams. more spice, and yummy.

@ansgarspeller: Palate, has a strong, warm kick to it. Nice! Spicy, vanilla, sweet, caramel, chocolate, stone fruits.... promising!

Whisky Discovery #465

Noah’s Mill NAS (57.15% abv)
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
Circa £54.00 70clNoah's Mill is a bourbon produced in Bardstown, Kentucky by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. The bourbon is aged in charred oak barrels until mature at 15 years old and then bottled by hand at 57.15% abv (114.3 proof). It was awarded a gold medal at the 2005 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The brand is one of several small batch bourbon offerings by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers also known as the Willett Distilling Company. It is a private family owned and operated company that markets bourbon and rye whiskey.

So What Did I think?

Nose: Dusty and spicy at first and needed a good shake to wake it. There was a definite grain husk note before the minty menthol and oriental spices break through with cloves and liquorice. There's hints of varnished wood, treacle and a touch of saltiness too. Eventually it sweetened with expected vanilla then fruit too, blackened bananas. I wasn't expecting the spice to be quite so forward though 

Palate: This attacked the palate with a big spicy hit, sweet but with a touch of sourness too. It settles eventually becoming rich and creamy with lots of woody liquorice and aniseed and a spicy chili heat finish

No educated guesses here though, just silly schoolboy guesses of Knob Creek from both @dvdbloke and me. No logic behind the guess, just that we liked the sound of the name (snigger)

So what did the others think?

@dvdbloke: Nose - feels more charred to me. burnt wood, vanilla, burnt caramel.

@Andotron: Not the strongest of smells. hints of curries red cola with a floral perfume kick

@andrew1bardsley: Nose. Lots of corn again for me, but this time it's been thrown on the BBQ coals. Lots of black bits.

@EdinburghWhisky: Burnt honey and floral undertones. Took me a little while though. Think it might need a touch of aqua.

@dvdbloke: Palate - Hot, deep dark stoned fruits, vanilla, toffee (burnt), thick mouth-feel, sweet and dry!

@rodbodtoo: This is creamy (coconut cream!), sweet, a bit of char ?burnt toffee?

@mynameisgone: Palate, a big hot punch of rye spiciness cloves and cinnamon, hints of mint, oak and as you swallow the heat again

Whisky Discovery #466

Bernheim Original NAS (45% abv)
Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey
Circa £53.00 70cl

In January 200 when it all began, Bernheim Original Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey was the first truly new variety of American straight whiskey introduced since Prohibition. Bernheim was also the first whiskey to use winter wheat as its primary grain creating a soft, sweet flavour and medium finish

Produced at the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, Bernheim is aged in 'Rickhouse Y' at Heaven Hill's Nelson County facilities. Defined as a "small batch" as the Master Distillers select from 75 barrels or less to create a 'one of a kind' taste profile. The Bernheim name comes from pioneering German immigrants, brothers Isaac Wolfe and Bernard Bernheim, who with little money and big dreams, established a distillery in Louisville, Kentucky in the 19th century

As a straight whiskey, this has to meet all the same criteria as Bourbon or rye; Aged a minimum of two years in a new, charred oak barrel, distilled at less than 160 proof, and contains no colouring, flavouring or blending agents.

I was fairly certain that I was drinking a wheat whisky here, and was just about to name this correctly when @mynameisgone got in before me. I'm still taking the points anyway, and as a 'Brucie-bonus' it's also on my '101 List' This was my favourite of the three tasted so far.

So What Did I think?

Nose: Quite gentle initially and needed to be teased out. A little damp sawdust at first, followed by cloves and licorice root, not overpowering though, a more gentle approach. There are lots of soft vanilla notes amongst the a background of pine needles and floral notes. A couple of drops of water and it sweetens and parma violets were picked out.

Palate: Like the nose this started out gentle sweet creamy vanilla and coconut flavours with an undistinguishable fruit juice note too it, one of those multi-fruit tropical juices. Spicy wood flavours build with clove oil and aniseed leaving a peppery finish and a touch of menthol.

So what did the others think?

@emilymayfox: In comparison to No 1 and No 2, much more delicate on the nose. Vanilla, a hint of liquorice, stewed apples

@thomas_speller : Nose - Getting a wet cardboard box with cornflakes and mushrooms

@paula_read: Nose;Buttered caramelized popcorn, and lemon

@DramStats: Nose: Vanilla, Candy-floss, Rice Crispie squares, melted butter 

@Andotron: Tastes like salty butter with wood-chips  not that I've ever tried actually eating those ingredients

@dvdbloke: Palate - Very creamy, surprisingly smooth, custard creams, stewed apples and bananas mashed and simmering.

@rodbodtoo: Palate is very soft, somewhat oily, and mellow in a ?corn? Frosties kinda way

Whisky Discovery #467

Pikesville Supreme Straight Rye NAS (40% abv)

Straight Rye Whiskey
Circa £24.00 70cl

Manufactured by Heaven Hill, makers of the mighty Rittenhouse ryes, among others, Pikesville Supreme is distilled under an old Maryland formula & matured in charred white oak casks for 4 years

Pikesville whiskey was originally distilled by L. Winand & Bro., Maryland in the late 19th centrury but prohibition killed the company, but after repeal, the brand name (and, reportedly, the recipe) was purchased by Andrew Merle. 

Pikesville Maryland Rye continued to be made in Maryland, at the Monumental Distillery (later the Majestic Distillery) in Lansdowne, but in 1982 the brand was sold to Heaven Hill, which has produced and bottled it ever since.

You can find out more at Cocktail Chronicles, but this was another 'Brucie-bonus' being on my '101 List' 

So What Did I think?

Nose: Quite a dry chalky nose, with cereal notes, ginger and dry floral notes like sniffing a box of Earl Grey teabags. There's some pencil shavings in here too along with some herbal notes - oregano and perhaps sage, and of course some creamy vanilla ties it all together.

Palate: Light bodied, light a weak fruit juice, fresh and zesty, with sweet cinnamon and vanilla, spices; coriander and fennel, slight mustiness, earthy even, at end. The sage is more pronounced on the palate and remains on the finish which has an earthy mintiness about it.

I wasn't expecting a Rye whisky, the musty earthy finish reminded me of a Buffalo Trace. This is much gentler than I would have thought a rye whisky should be, but it is nice easy drinking though.

So what did the others think?

@rodbodtoo: Nose is sweet, bright & grassy. Herbs. Sage. The sweetness has a barley sugar quality

@paula_read: Nose Peaches and oak embers...or maybe peaches on oak embers.

@mynameisgone: Nose sweet fruits with a citrus syrup drizzle,

@dvdbloke: Nose - Sweet powdery sugared vanilla, pears, sweet shops, some charred oak

@TheWhiskyWire: A box of teabags and some subtle lavender notes coming through

@BeersIveKnown dry cardboard, coriander seed, lots of cereal..a a grain whisky perchance?

@thomas_speller : Palate - you know the bbq-ed bananas with rum and brown sugar? That. But with whisky instead of rum. Sort of.

@dvdbloke: Finish - Sugared honey, Minimal fruit, Cream sticks around. A little oak tannins towards the end

Whisky Discovery #468

High West Double Rye! (46% abv)

Straight Rye Whiskey
Circa £45.00 70cl

The High West Distillery is Utah’s first distillery since the 1870′s. Located at 7,000 feet above sea level in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains in Old Town Park City, Utah. The distillery and Saloon is the world’s only ski-in distillery and gastro-saloon.

Founded by prospectors in the late 1860′s, Park City became one of the richest silver mining towns in the West, and the best watering hole in Utah. 

High West Distillery and Saloon started with one man’s passion to make a great Rocky Mountain Whiskey. Proprietor and distiller David Perkins married his background as a biochemist, his love of bourbon and cooking, and his passion for the American West to bring the craft of small-batch distilling back to Utah, of all places.

This Double Rye is a marriage of two straight rye whiskies that combines the feisty properties of a high rye Two2-year-old and the saddle smooth richness of a Sixteen-year-old. The Two-year-old has a 95% rye 5% barley malt mashbill. The older rye has a "barely legal" rye mashbill of 53% rye and 37% corn. The extra age and corn provides some extra sweetness to calm the "bite" of the younger rye for a relationship that works.

High West was a distillery that featured in our 12 Blends Challenge earlier this year, with their 'Campfire' release.

So What Did I think?

Nose: This has a rich spicy sourness to it; Angostura Bitters. Herbal with Burmese Coriander and green pepper corns. Once it settles down the Vanilla notes sneak out along with a nice charred wood notes and menthol

Palate: Quite a lot going on with this one. Initially sweet, then slightly sour, aniseed and licorice, both spicy and herbal with a dry white pepper kick at the end, and finishes quite dry.

So what did the others think?

@dvdbloke: Nose - BANG! That hurt! Heavy clove, pepper, chilli, very very spicy.

@andrew1bardsley: Nose; Pepper, a little star anise. Really grassy too.

@rodbodtoo: Wow! Crazy nose: iron, herbs, fireworks, vermouth, a dry version of Grand Marnier, rust.

@ansgarspeller: Some biscuits, chocolate, vanilla, fudge, honey, anise on the palate sweet, warm, and a bit creamy, but not too much

@BeersIveKnown: Vanilla, fiery whiskey and charred barrels

@Andotron: Salty, Burney (nothing to do with Rab C Nesbitt) and hints of wood, Afterburn!!! 

@mynameisgone: Palate, surprisingly sweet at first almost liquer like, a dash of peppery heatand a pink grapefruit pith sourness

Verdict

Well at the end of the evening, our third dram, Bernheim Original was my favourite. I've since revisited all of these, and have considered my initial thoughts with new notes and the result still stands. The Elijah Craig 12 is an outstanding dram and is worthy of being a good second place and running up closely behind is the High West Double Rye. At the end of the day, I'd be happy with any one of these on my shelf to enjoy, there's not a bad drop here, and my favourites might not necessarily be yours. You can always drop me a line and let me know your thoughts

and finally....

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on but this post is probably far too late to tell you to search on the #LiquidAmericana hashtag on twitter for the full story. Four new Whisky Discoveries were recorded on the Liquid Log this time as the Elijah Craig was one I'd tasted before

A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire and Fran from  @WhiskyandWines for both being on hand to answer our questions as well as sending out all of the samples to us and of course the tweet tasters who were:

@TheWhiskyWire @dvdbloke @mynameisgone @frazerj @kizzsmyth @beersiveknown @rickfurzer @jalcock1982 @WhiskyDiscovery @rlemkin @TheWhiskyBoys @EdinburghWhisky @andrew1bardsley @DramStats @EmilyMayFox @rodbodtoo @andotron @paula_read @ansgarspeller @rborghma

For more information see: www.thewhiskywire.com and www.whiskyandwines.com

Now you too can taste these five American whiskies as those clever people at Arkwrights have put together a retail pack of these in 5cl bottles for more information check it out here: 

Whisky Discovery #153

Buffalo Trace NAS (40%abv, OB, Bottled 2012 70cl)
Straight Kentucky Bourbon
£22.00 70cl

The sun came out for my Buffalo Trace

I decided that this July I was going to get some Bourbon for my journey. I fancied a bottle of Four Roses Yellow Label which I first tasted at Whisky Live London earlier this year, and because it was on a special offer in the supermarket, my wife picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace for me too. Both were on my wish list, and Buffalo Trace is also listed in Ian Buxton's fabulous book, '101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die'

So why Buffalo Trace? A ‘trace’ is a wide path, beaten out by herds of buffalo. These traces were followed by explorers and early settlers who travelled to the Wild West. Buffalo Trace was named for the Great Buffalo Trace which cut its course to the banks of the Kentucky River, the buffalo forded their way across the river, eventually reaching the Great Plains. The area was rife with distillation during the eighteenth century, the water was limestone which and the locality proffered excellent cereal growing conditions.

A distillery was built in 1857 and was the first to use steam power. During the 1880s, the distillery boasted climate controlled warehouses and was also the first to ship the product down the Mississippi river. The distillery was one of but four that continued to run during US Prohibition, legally. It was granted a permit for distillation for medicinal purposes. Once Prohibition was repealed, the facilities were managed by Albert Blanton. He was committed to his art and, accordingly, produced the best product he could. Named the George T Stagg distillery until June of 1999, at which point it was renamed Buffalo Trace, the distillery produces a range of upmarket bourbons including the acclaimed Eagle Rare and Blanton’s.

Since 1990, the distillery has received more awards than any other North American Distillery; notably Malt Advocate hailed it as their 2000 Distillery of the Year and in 2005 Whisky Magazine heralded it as their Distiller of the Year. Buffalo Trace is also noteworthy for marketing the first single barrel bourbon, released in memory of Albert Blanton, who produced a single barrel whiskey to enjoy with friends.

So What did I Think?

Buffalo Trace has a lovely tarnished copper colour. On the nose bright citrus notes were immediately recognised, mainly limes, perhaps even Kaffir limes. There's oak wood, and sweet honey cutting through the limes. Eventually the vanilla breaks out. There are some earthy, musty notes too which reminded me of a outward bound course when we had to came out in a recently mucked out cowshed. The nose certainly seems to evolve over time in the glass.

The mouth feel is oily initially then a short burst of spicy pepper heat, there's a slight sourness balancing the sweetness, with spiced orange peel, a slight clove like taste, but certainly not overpowering.

The finish seemed quite short with sweet honey, a light saltiness, pepper spice and a drying nuttiness at the very end. I've been very impressed with this entry level bourbon, I'm not one for drinking cocktails, preferring to drink my spirits neat, and Buffalo Trace is very enjoyable to sit and ponder over at the end of the day.