Whisky Advent Calendar

[frozenuts]

So back in 2012 Valgar got one of these things and did daily updates.

Me, being apologetically unimaginative, did the same thing but on Facebook in 2013.


Why am I bringing this up?

I treated myself to another one and figured I would share it here as well as on the Facebooks. Some background on my Whisky knowledge. I have none, really. I just calls them like I sees them.

Day One: Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Cask Finish, in case you can't see what my cat Columbo is trying to point to.

The 228 comes from the volume of the barrels that it spent 12 months of its life in.

I would not let Columbo have any, and he bit my arm...while purring. After that, he flopped down and wanted to play.

The little bastard has obviously had some of this before and was trying to clue me in.

On the nose this product of Scotland was very pleasant. Light enough to not give away any secrets, strong enough to let you know it was probably going to have a touch of honey and spice to it.

The first sip had a very strong citrus mixed with either vanilla or honey depending on which taste bud you asked. As it lingered that promise of spice came through and finished on top of what I can only describe as a slightly microwaved marshmallow. I am guessing that this had something to do with the oak barrel getting it on with the honey, but what do I know.

If you have never microwaved a marshmallow, please take the time now to do so, but pull the plug before it starts to burn from the inside out. If you don't, your parents will come home and ask why the whole house reeks of burnt sugar. If you answer them "because I knocked over the sugar and vacuumed it up, it must have gotten hot in the vacuum" they will believe you, and eventually when you are in your 40's you will confess to microwaving things while writing a review on some juice from the Highlands. Or so I have heard.

After giving it some time to breathe, it bites you. Gone is the subtlety of vanilla/honey and replacing it is a slightly peaty, very peppery, sweet citrus pop that lingers lovingly - waiting patiently for you to play with it some more.

At 43ish bucks a bottle, this might make its way into my regular rotation.

 

[littlebeast]

whiskey makes my head spin, but i found your words oddly seductive. and if i may say so, columbo has a stunningly beautiful face.

 

[Bay Arean]

I had one of those calendars a few years ago. It was fun!

 

[Yakoo752]

They were a bitch to buy this year

I’m doing tequila

 

[augustiron]

I approve of this thread. Keep em coming. Long live Valgar.

 

[295566]

Burgundy casks are yum. Specifically 12yo Burgundy cask Springbank is amazing whiskey, one of my all time fav.

 

[frozenuts]

whiskey makes my head spin, but i found your words oddly seductive. and if i may say so, columbo has a stunningly beautiful face.

He is a cute lil muffin. He and I both thank you for the compliments.

They were a bitch to buy this year

I’m doing tequila

Super easy for me. I got a text from the company that I bought it from (Flaviar) and 4 days later it was at my doorstep.

The place I got the last one from does not ship to the US anymore, not sure where they are based.

I approve of this thread. Keep em coming. Long live Valgar.

He is an inspiration to generations.

Burgundy casks are yum. Specifically 12yo Burgundy cask Springbank is amazing whiskey, one of my all time fav.

The main reason for making my reviews public was to get more recommendations. Thank you!

 

[frozenuts]

Day Two: Copper Fox Original Single Malt Whiskey.

No cute cat pictures today as I got a very late start on the review...

Copper Fox makes their stuff in a copperpot still one barrel's worth at a time from hand malted and then apple/cherry wood smoked barley - a practice that they claim to be world exclusive.

The pretentious hipster that wrote the whisky's description on the official Copper Fox Distillery website claims it has "intriguing aromas and flavors of suede, olive tapenade, honey, dried fruit chutney and clay with a silky, dry-yet-fruity, medium-full body, and long, spicy, orange marmalade on rye toast and root beer float-like finish."

Good thing Johnny Neckbeard had no fucking idea what he was talking about, as that sounds awful. Granted I have never eaten suede or clay, so maybe the joke is on me. It sure did not smell like anything in that train-wreck of a sentence, and he was wrong about every other word in his description... except for maybe orange. But even then orange marmalade? C'mon, bro, did you even try this stuff?

At first sip there is enough peat that the subtle citrus notes have to fight their way to the front, kinda like a pajama clad shopper three rows back from the entrance of Walmart on Black Friday.

The citrus then clears a path for a hint of oak and vanilla followed by a very strong pepper finish that lingers long enough to make you question if you tasted any peat at all.

If anyone from the Copper Fox Distillery is reading this, please check on your copywriter. He either had a stroke or you have been serving him really shitty root beer.

 

[Yakoo752]

Super easy for me. I got a text from the company that I bought it from (Flaviar) and 4 days later it was at my doorstep.

The place I got the last one from does not ship to the US anymore, not sure where they are based.

Similar but I placed the order and it was denied so I had to find a UK shop that would fulfill. Once I did it was super easy

1st purchase, I just placed the order and it was all done.

 

[frozenuts]

Day Three: Tipperary Watershed Irish Whiskey

Meowdy Roddy Piper (AKA Piper Prettypants, AKA The Velveeta Cheetah) convinced me to start day three before my morning cup of coffee.

The Tipperary people pull the Watershed from a selection of six first fill bourbon casks, and judging by the very light color they don't let it linger in there for too long.

On the nose I get a hint of ginger followed by an undisclosed fruit aroma. Not sure exactly what it is, some sort of apple/raisin hybrid? Would that be a Rapple? Appsin? Anyway. It is a good scent, not that muddy shoe or whatever the last guy thought he smelled. Did somebody check on him yet? I hope he is OK.

The first sip gave me undertones of buttered raisin bread with a sprinkle of cinnamon. The finish was equally simple keeping the cinnamon and adding a whisper of chocolate/caramel flavor on top...like someone walked through the room with an open Milky Way while I was drinking it.

At 47% it is much stronger than my morning coffee would have been, and it has motivated me to finish a couple of moto reviews that I have been slacking on.

Thanks for the suggestion, Piper. You are a good kitty.

 

[frozenuts]

Day 4: Sia Blended Scotch Whisky

I had to do a double take on the name of today's sampling as I know that there is a one-hit-wonder out of Australia that goes by the same name. Before the comments start rolling in, I know that the photo is more of a wrecking ball than a chandelier, but the songs sound the same to me and I don't have a chandelier. The Sia song is about getting shitfaced, so I was honestly expecting to find out that she put her record sales money into haphazardly splashing Scotch into bottles.

The real story is way cooler.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski, the brand owner, evidently had a bad break up, amassed a collection of Scotch instead of going to therapy (my kinda girl), and then convinced people to give her $50k on Kickstarter making her the first American woman to found a blended Scotch brand. She also has promised to give one percent of sales to groups that help women start small businesses. Kick ass, Carin, that is most excellent.

Now on to the hooch.

The name of the brand is quite fitting as it is the bubblegum pop music of the advent calendar so far.

If not for the bottle shape I would have a hard time distinguishing it from any other blend on the shelf, there is nothing complex about it, and the vast majority of the general population will probably LOVE it.

The critics fucking love the stuff. It has won a bunch of awards, and will probably win a bunch more.

Sia isn't bad, it just is not special in any way, shape or form. (I am talking about the booze in this case, although the statement is true for the musician.)

On the nose are the expected notes of vanilla and honey, on the tongue is citrus, and the finish is just smokey enough to mask the subtle 43% burn.

I look forward to adding a bottle to my collection...and hiding it with my Taylor Swift collection - behind the cool stuff.

 

[Melissa]

much love for this thread! Enjoy it daily.

 

[CoorsLight]

much love for this thread! Enjoy it daily.

+1

Great write ups!

 

[frozenuts]

much love for this thread! Enjoy it daily.

+1

Great write ups!

Thanks!

I have fun doing it.

 

[frozenuts]

Day 5: Van Brunt Stillhouse Rye

To me Rye is the Brooklyn of the whisky world. It is often brash, unrefined, and usually makes a shitty first impression because of those first two traits.

Ironically the Van Brunt Stillhouse is located in Brooklyn, specifically Red Hook, Brooklyn. Oh joy, you can see Jersey from there. I guess that explains the slightly orangish color. OK, not really, but it is a little darker than the last rye I had.

The nose of this hooch fits the Brooklyn stereotype - punched in and unrecognizable. After letting it sit a bit the scent of espresso made its way to the front, swinging wildly through lesser floral notes.

The first sip? I could taste the Brooklyn accent. It was harsh and I am pretty sure it tried to pick a fight with me. After it was done talking shit, the VBS Rye showed me dahk chawcolate, cawfee, and some fuggin' owranges, bro - anything else fuhgeddaboudit.

SHIT.

I meant dark chocolate, coffee, and a little citrus, no more, no less.

When I say mellowed out, I don't mean that it didn't continue to talk about my mother for no real reason and still be a bit harsh in general. Pretty sure it stole my car too.

I kid a little bit, obviously. It isn't bad, but it is not on my short list of to buy Rye. If anyone from Van Brunt Stillhouse (or Brooklyn in general) happens to stumble upon this: I might not be the biggest fan of your Rye but at least I hate the fucking Dodgers.

 

[R3DS!X]

I really want one of these

 

[frozenuts]

Day 6: Koval Four Grain

Koval means "Blacksmith" in a variety of European languages as well as "Black Sheep", the latter being a nickname of the great-grandfather of one of the founders. The name came to him when he moved from Vienna to the good ole USA to start a business back in the 1900's.

For those of you thinking that business was this distillery, sorry. The Chicago based Koval distillery was founded in 2008. I actually don't know what it was, so I am going to make it up. Left handed sandwich bread decrusters for southpaws that like a PB&J sans encrustation. They were HUGE in Chicago in 1908.

The four grains used in the mash are oat, malted barley, rye, and wheat. No corn? Correct, and kinda weird, right? Koval only uses the "heart cut" of the distillate, (whatever that means) when they put it into their "heavily charred" yet new oak barrels. I am not sure which grain or combination of smells like under-ripe banana, but that is the main scent. Maybe they char the barrels with banana wood? Doubtful. Disregard that suggestion, along with the one about left handed bread shears. I am a total hack.

Anyway.

Spice is the predominant flavor, but it is a buttery spice. (I think that she might have been kicked out of the band before the Spice Girls got famous.)

Think cinnamon infused Chardonnay but with hair on its chest, like if John Wayne was a wine. There is a faint oak finish, but that, too, has a bit of complexity to it that a noob like me can't quite place. Pancakes? Vanilla? Caramel?

I think I need a bottle to dig a little deeper.

 

[CocoLoco]

I’m guessing but I think the “heart cut” refers to a part of the distillate as it comes out of the still based on time. The impurities are higher at the beginning of the process before it has reached a steady state. Something about azeotropes...blah...blah...anywayz...the “heart” is the distillate that comes out after a certain amount of time has passed and the process is at a steady state.

Maybe CoorsLight can stop by and set me straight if my guess is wrong.

 

[frozenuts]

I’m guessing but I think the “heart cut” refers to a part of the distillate as it comes out of the still based on time. The impurities are higher at the beginning of the process before it has reached a steady state. Something about azeotropes...blah...blah...anywayz...the “heart” is the distillate that comes out after a certain amount of time has passed and the process is at a steady state.

Maybe CoorsLight can stop by and set me straight if my guess is wrong.

That was my take on it as well, I just didn't want to do any further research. If this turns into work, then I have less fun. Unless of course someone is paying me to drink, then it will still be fun.

 

[CoorsLight]

I’m guessing but I think the “heart cut” refers to a part of the distillate as it comes out of the still based on time. The impurities are higher at the beginning of the process before it has reached a steady state. Something about azeotropes...blah...blah...anywayz...the “heart” is the distillate that comes out after a certain amount of time has passed and the process is at a steady state.

Maybe CoorsLight can stop by and set me straight if my guess is wrong.

Correct, heart cutting is selecting the “center” of a “peak.” In this case the peak is the alcohol, which evaporates along with flavor compounds and impurities. I do not believe that azeotropic effects are an issue until you’ve reached the “tail,” where the heavy fusel alcohols, high temp bioling compounds and highly polar compounds start to concentrate.

This is analogous to heart cutting in two dimensional chromatography, where the center of the peak is the most pure.

This is probably an expensive process to discard the tail. I don’t think the head is usd because it can contain methanol.