4x Bourbon Reviews: Willet, FEW, Blanton's Original & Gold

Hi everyone,

Haven’t reviewed much American whiskey recently but I had a great chance to try some in Spain back in May, along with a certain infamous whisky reviewer whose name will remain anonymous for the moment.

This reputable, irrefutable reviewer is quite the fan of American whisky and claims to have tasted more rye whiskey than any other human on earth, so it was interesting to see him at work and taste some of the following with or in close proximity to him.

Willet Bourbon 47%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Corn, lots of it, oak, lots of it, old crystallised honey, toffee apple, sweeter as it opens up, some nutty pistachio coming through?

Taste: Oaky hit then caramel, green apple and honey before darker notes of coffee and dark chocolate, pretty oaky all the way.

Finish: Long. Still quite oaky here, very dry, more floral oak.

I do quite like this one, despite all the oak.

74/100

 

FEW Bourbon 46.5%

Colour: Dark Bronze

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: A better balance than I remember the rye having. Dark caramel, marshmallow, deep oak, clove, quite rye forward.

Taste: Soft, quite oily mouthfeel, rye, clove, liquorice root, lots of oaky spice coming in with some marshmallow, tannins.

Finish: Long. Spicy but a bit flat here, flat tannins.

Not bad but any stretch for craft American, the nose in particular is pleasant.

69/100

 

Blanton's Original 46.5%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Fragrant and full bodied, orange peel, lots of oak, dark caramel, quite nutty with Brazil nuts, floral oak, cherry lip gloss. Very good nose.

Taste: Soft arrival, builds well with fresh orange citrus and good oak, eucalyptus, oily mouthfeel, plenty of spice, red and black liquorice, mixed peppercorns.

Finish: Long. Very oaky here, but good and dark, very strong black Americano.

Single barrel. Good nose but a bit too much oak to taste, still, one of those Bourbons I like. My companion loved this one in particular and I wonder if a certain award might be swinging the way of Buffalo Trace this year…?

75/100

 

Blanton's Gold 51.5%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Medium

Nose: Pretty bloody good, lovely balance of fresh citrus-y orange, fragrant floral oak and clove and liquorice spice. Dark chocolate with walnuts, a little sugary almond paste, and a single apple pastry.

Taste: Soft arrival, quite delicate in the mouth (in a really lovely way) before developing more power, dark chocolate, coffee bean, tobacco leaf, dry great quality oak coming in then very lovely dark chocolate powder into the finish. Did I mention mouthfeel is spot on too?

Finish: Long length. Very great here too. Dark chocolate powder, soft oak whispering away,

One of my favourite ever Bourbon's. What I love here is the balance and effortlessness, which, in my book, puts it above the Pappies 20 & 23. Barrel 187 was clearly a very, very good one.

82/100

Thanks for reading!

American Review #56-#59

Whisky Network Review #779-#782

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glen Breton 10 Review

Hi everyone,

Its been over a month since my last review! Which is maybe the longest break I’ve taken since I posted my second one. Crazy. Do I have an excuse? Well I’ve been writing a lot and I feel like one only has so many words to write in a day, so I’ve been saving them for my book.

Anyway, I feel a little more motivated to post again now and why not open with my first ever Canadian whisky. Yes, the very first. After 800ish whiskies. But we don’t see much of it here in the UK and actually I ended up trying this in Spain.

 

Glen Breton 10 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Clean and malty, lemon and a bit of a weird note- somewhere between Parmesan cheese and salty anchovies? Slightly savoury in any case. More and more actually as it opens up with salted pork and frying kippers. Then moments of the more average Speyside-style I expected before back to the savoury. Keeps going back and forth.

Taste: Clean and soft entry then soft lemon citrus, more malty intensity then, quite oily for 43 with some generic ginger/oak spice, drier into the finish.

Finish: Medium. More generic ginger spice, more oak.

A really unexpected nose that I quite enjoyed, if it’s a bit weird. No idea if its meant to be like that, though I imagine not. The taste and finish were the more generic Speyside-style I was expecting.

71/100

Thanks for reading!

Canadian Review #1

Whisky Network Review #778

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Pittyvaich 25 Review

Hi everyone,

Pittyvaich is quite a rarity these days. The place only ran from 1974 to 1993 and is well known for being one of those distilleries that everyone is glad is closed. Apparently the stuff wasn’t great… The distillery was actually built to supply generic malt for the Bell’s blend, so you can see why.

I wouldn’t know much about all that, having never tasted one so when I spied a bottle at Bristol Whisky Lounge (Thanks to Colin Dunn for the taste), I gave it a go.

 

Pittyvaich 25 49.9%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Quite light and delicate. Fresh green apple, musty oak, a little soap, floral with dried flowers, deodorant- that horrible Lynx chocolate stuff to be exact.

Taste: Sharp arrival with lime and lemon juice, sour, then lots of chocolate, lots of oak, praline and sour oak, bitter almond and a weird green note, green sappy oak?

Finish: Long length. Chocolate soap, more Lynx chocolate deodorant.

1989 from Diageo’s Special Releases. A unique one for sure but the weird soapy notes drag this one into bad funky territory.

67/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #652

Whisky Network Review #777

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Clynelish 24 TBWC Review

Hi everyone,

There ain’t much old Clynelish out there. What is out there is normally crazy expensive but get good reviews.

This one is an old Clynelish. This one was crazy expensive (50cl bottles remember). And was very graciously given by Dave at That Boutique-y again (many thanks).

 

Clynelish 24 TBWC 49.7%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Light and delicate, lemon, heady perfume, sea salt, vanilla, beeswax and coffee, very light wood smoke and some oily wax.

Taste: Very dry, oak then light with perfume and beeswax, pine, outdoorsy woodland walk (Is it just me, or are my notes getting more subjective and pretentious?) then lots of salt and oily wax comes in.

Finish: Long. Very oily, lots of white pepper, lots of very dry oak and chalk.

Is it nice Clynelish? Yes. But felt like the oak has gotten the better of it just a little. It’s restrained and nose is a little light for me. Also, I’m not a fan of the label on this one.

77/100

Distillery: Clynelish

Average Score: 79.5

Distillery Ranking: 10th/65 places

Up/Down: 10>12 (Down 2)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #651

Whisky Network Review #776

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Orkney Single Malt 2002 Sherry BBR Review

Hi everyone,

There has been a bit of a lack of activity on my part recently, partly due to moving house, work and I’ve started writing a book (which is something I’ve always wanted to do but, as you can imagine, time consuming).

Has anyone else noticed that a lot of Highland Park IB’s have started coming out? Either under ‘mystery Orkney’ or under the official name. Lots of good deals too, fair prices compared to the expensive OB single casks.

This one was bottled by Berry Bros with a labelling mistake! Which is always funny to see. The label says that it is 14yo but in fact it is 16yo.

 

Orkney Single Cask Berry Bros 56.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Lovely meaty Sherry, honey, malt and golden raisin, very Macallan-like if it weren't for the heathery smoke in the background. An Unami note like salami or gammon, slightly Ledaig-like salted cheese. Herbal notes too. Quite complex. Fantastic nose.

Water: Equally great but softer, more chocolatey.

Taste: Soft sweetness then intense, great Sherry cask, raisin, honey, golden raisin, heather then very earthy, some green apple, working in the garden, lots of chocolate.

Water: Dry, honey, more floral, more spice and oak here. Ginger and some pepper.

Finish: Long length. Lots more oak, dry, lots of chocolate, heather.

A little too oaky to taste but a brilliant nose. Better neat. Almost Ledaiggian in style with the funky Sherry and light smoke. Which in my book makes it great! Oh and almost forgot, the price was really good too. Sadly all sold out now I think.

80/100

Distillery: Highland Park

Average Score: 80.3

Distillery Ranking: 8th/ 65 places

Up/Down: No movement

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #650

Whisky Network Review #775

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Tomatin 21 TBWC Review

Hi everyone,

Thanks to Dave from TBWC for this dram, always the gent.

So back in April still (Yes, I’m behind) I was at Bristol Whisky Lounge, and just about managed to try a few whiskies despite the crowded space. I didn’t actually want to try this one, I wanted to try the 25yo mystery Islay, not this pale Tomatin but as always Dave made a good suggestion.

Tomatin 21 TBWC 47.4%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely musky slightly tropical fresh fruit, mint sprig, tomato stem amazingly (or maybe that’s the label talking!), plenty of dry oak, lemon peel. Leather and chocolate powder over time.

Taste: Dry, soft oak first then more musky and perfumed, amazing old leather and chocolate, quite dark, older than its years. Even better, there’s a great balance of flavours here too.

Finish: Long. Mouthwatering, leather and dark chocolate, some ginger snap.

Much darker and older tasting than the colour would let on. This is an absolutely wonderful example of Tomatin, if a tad expensive for most of us…

84/100

Distillery: Tomatin

Average Score: 77.5

Distillery Ranking 22nd/ 65 places

Up/Down: 25>22 (Up 3)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #649

Whisky Network Review #774

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Ledaig 13 Amontillado Review

Hi everyone,

This is a whisky I’ve been desperately trying to get my paws on for a while for obvious reasons. Unfortunately it didn’t cross my path until it has almost disappeared. This was the last whisky I had at Limburg thanks to a very heavy night the night before…

Official Ledaig. Cask strength. Interesting cask. Good price. What’s not to like friends?

 

Ledaig 13 Amontillado 59.2%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Interesting and funky, honey, sexy cigarette smoke, smoked cheese, something meaty like glazed ham or pastrami, lightly sulphury. And a very odd but not in any way unpleasant note of pumpkin soup.

Water: More cigarette, opens up, exotic spices, saffron.

Taste: Powerful and full, mineral smoke, smashed rocks, honey glazed ham, oily mouthfeel, some oak and black pepper.

Water: Much softer and more balanced arrival, more spices, much more salt, saffron.

Finish: Long length. Powerful smoke, more smashed rocks, very mineral. Great finish.

A good one from the officials but glad I didn't buy a bottle as I was very tempted to do. The funk is here in full force and we wouldn’t want it any other way! Although the pumpkin soup on the nose is interesting and cool, it doesn’t quite jive with the other notes there though. The palate is delicious but I do wish there was a touch more complexity. In any case, still great stuff.

81/100

Distillery: Tobermory

Average Score: 80.3

Distillery Ranking: 8th/ 65 places

Up/Down: 9>8 (Up 1)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #648

Whisky Network Review #773

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?