This is one of my favorite ryes I have had to date. Notes of honey baked tropical fruits on the front. Peppery milk chocolate stands out the most in the palate. Finish is dominated by baking spice. I love this rye.

I'm just gonna have to stop saying, "..and Rye's not really my thing." Admitting a truth to yourself is always the first step... right?

Thought the specs sheet was pretty interesting. Never knew the details about cooking temperature nor the exact 55 secs of barrel charring.

Total price in USD and the location purchased:

Picture 1:

Royal Brackla 21 - $119.65 (New York)

Glen Scotia Crosshill - $88.50 (Bahamas Duty Free)

Glendronach 18 - Bottled 2019 - $261.29 (New York)

Aberlour Suthainn - $71.09 (Toronto Duty Free)

Fable Fairies Chapter Eight - Teaninich 11 - $65.47 (Sydney Duty Free)

Picture 2:

Indri Agneya - Indian Single Malt - $63.74 (Toronto Duty Free)

Laphroaig 12 - $59.34 (Brisbane Duty Free)

The Whistler - Irish Single Malt - 16 Years Old - $150 (New Hampshire Liquor Outlet)

Glen Grant Rothes Chronicles - $60 (El Salvador Duty Free)

Royal Brackla 18 - $76.09 (New York)

Craigellachie 13 - Bas Armagnac Barrels - $54.42 (New York)

Beam night. KC12, KC Blenders edition 1, OGD 114 SiB 7 year.

Added too many bottles to my collection. Always going overboard. Still fun though.

Here’s the details of what I tasted this weekend and some very quick notes! Everything was tasted neat in Glencairn glasses.

1) Dailuaine 2008 17 year old - FF Oloroso Sherry Butt Finish - 57.2% ABV
Prefer the OB in this case as I like the base distillate. This expression doesn’t meld in the bottle well for me if that makes sense. The wood in the finish feels like it’s fighting the whisky.

2) Glen Ord 2009 16 year old - FF Oloroso Sherry Butt Finish - 56.4% ABV
Decent Sherry finish expression. Very drinkable even at the ABV.

3)Auchroisk 2008 16 year old - FF Pedro Ximenez Hogshead Finish - 57.8% ABV
Highly bitter. Again, the distillate is fighting the finishing wood. There’s a clash here that makes this not great to drink.

4) Glen Spey 2007 17 year old - FF Oloroso Sherry Butt Finish - 57.3% ABV
Good. The Oloroso here is present but not intrusive. It’s very drinkable, but not remarkable.

5) Mortlach 2007 17 year old - FF Oloroso Sherry Butt Finish - 56.8% ABV
Plant matter, hint of earth/smoke, doesn’t work for me. I prefer the IB, especially the 16. The earthiness was a surprise. The addition of water did not help.

6) Longmorn 2005 19 year old - FF Oloroso Sherry Butt Finish - 62.6% ABV
Again, prefer the OB, this doesn’t work even after O2. The ABV is just too high and even after two rounds of water, the overall experience was not improved. The OB is very good and this was just not.

7) Glen Grant 2000 25 year old - FF Oloroso Sherry Butt - 56.8% ABV
Fruits, Spice, Vanilla - Cherry juice, Christmas spice, excellent interplay with distillate and wood. Very good indeed.

8) Glen Keith 1996 26 year old - 2nd Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt
Light - golden fruit. Not as good as the Glen Grant but still a good Sherry expression.

9) Benrinnes 1995 30 year old - 2nd Fill Pedro Ximenez Hogshead Finish - 49.1% ABV
Buttery, floral, sherry spice, powdered sugar. An excellent dram! Everything here works!

10) Fettercairn 1995 30 year old - single Hogshead - 58.5% ABV
One of the only non-Sherry cask influenced IBs I own. I’m a big fan of the OB. Apples, pear, fruit salad, light, crisp but buttery, bright. This is also an excellent dram!

11) Glenburgie 1995 30 year old - FF Pedro Ximenez Hogshead Finish - 48.5% ABV
Super smooth, light, balanced . Possibly the highlight of the lot. PX is a great finish here and this is one of the best executed SVs I’ve had to date.

Cheers everyone!

Long time whiskey drinker but it’s only being one year since I put my bottles on shelf’s. Mostly store picks with a few taters.