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welcome to the fifty best spirits of 2004 |
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 Presents
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Page 3 - WHISKEY & BOURBON
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Suntory
“Yamazaki” 18-Year-Old
Single Malt Whisky
(Japan; Suntory International Corporation, New York, NY)
43% abv, $100.  
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
The opening bouquet offers resiny notes of cigar box and pipe tobacco; further aeration brings out complex aromas of buttered popcorn, old leather and sausages. The palate entry is silky and wonderfully sap- and maple-like; midpalate is sweet, nougaty and creamy. Finishes fiery and intensely grainy. A delicious treat comparable to a robust Eastern Highlands malt.
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Bushmills
Black Bush Blended
Irish Whiskey/ Black Label
(Northern Ireland; Pernod Ricard USA, White Plains, NY)
40% abv, $28.
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
Possesses a high ratio (80%+) of malt whiskey. Black Bush’s racy bouquet offers aromas of toffee, cotton candy, malt mash and cream highlight. Palate entry is deep, dark caramel-like and stunningly luscious. Simply one of the greatest whiskeys from Ireland.
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Connemara
Pure Pot Still Peated/Cask Strength
Irish Whiskey, Cooley Distillery
(Ireland; Preiss Imports, Ramona, CA)
60% abv, $60.
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
Prickly, medicinal, but aromatic notes of brine, green olive and vinegar soften with aeration into a mildly sweet, moderately smoky/briny perfume that’s salty, focused yet plentiful. Palate entry is beguiling and understated; the midpalate is compact, moderately smoky and tobacco-like. The lush texture supports lots of viscosity and natural oils. Aftertaste is long, lush, more sweet than smoky.
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Crown Royal
Special Reserve
Blended Canadian Whisky
(Canada; Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, New York, NY)
40% abv, $40.  
CLASSIC / Highest Recommendation
Aroma includes honey, Sherry, dried fruit, spearmint and nougat, black tea, cocoa butter and tropical fruit. Palate offers bittersweet chocolate, brown sugar, honey-coated peanuts, melon, Sherry and nougat. A modern-day classic.
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Black Maple Hill 18 Year Old
Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Cask #R66
(USA; CVI Brands, San Carlos, CA)
47.5% abv, $86.
CLASSIC / Highest Recommendation
Complex opening bouquet ranges from scents of burnt marshmallow to cigar box to whipping cream; air contact releases additional scents of cotton candy, candied almond, spicy grain, confectioner’s sugar and maple. Palate entry is long, prickly, fruity and semisweet; at midpalate the oily, viscous taste profile surges forward, highlighting flavors of baked pear, apple crumble, toffee and buttercream. Finishes as stately as it began. A true superstar American whiskey.
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Evan Williams Vintage 1994
Single Barrel
Kentucky Straight Bourbon
(USA; Heaven Hill Distilleries, Bardstown, KY)
43.3% abv, $25.
CLASSIC (96-100)/Highest Recommendation
A mildly peppery and spicy aroma precedes unbridled, multilayered scents of bacon fat, oak resin, buttered corn and toasted honeywheat bread. Palate entry is firm, assertive, moderately oily and grainy sweet; the midpalate flavor offers bittersweet, harmonious flavors of tobacco leaf, caramel, nougat, pine needle and sautéed almonds. Concludes sweet, moderately oily and luscious. Rivals the now-legendary 1990 vintage in presence.
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George T. Stagg
Limited Edition
Uncut & Unfiltered Barrel Proof
Kentucky Straight Bourbon
(USA; Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY)
71.35% abv, $45.
CLASSIC / Highest Recommendation
Due to the bracing cask strength, I first sampled G.T. Stagg neat, then with spring water. Sniffed neat, the aroma offers bittersweet chocolate, egg cream, brown sugar, marshmallow, nougat and dried red fruit; diluted, the aroma turns up the volume on the nougat/nut butter. Palate entry is silky, oily and intensely flavorful (the water brings out a luscious honey-like element); by midpalate, the muscular, Sherry/dark toffee taste reminds me of old Grande Champagne Cognac. Concludes refined and engagingly sweet. A classic.
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The Classic Cask Selection
22 Year Old
Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Distilled in 1981 Batch #RW-108
(USA; Spirit Imports, Inc., Sunrise, FL)
45% abv, $70.
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
Aromas are of almond butter, linseed oil, figs and dates; aeration allows more luxurious scents of honey, molasses and nutmeg to emerge and meld. Palate entry is long, sweet, woody and caramel-like; midpalate the flavor profile turns chewy in texture and sap-like in taste; finishes fudge-like and intense.
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Old Forester
Birthday Bourbon Spring 1990
Kentucky Straight Bourbon
(USA; Brown-Forman Corporation, Louisville, KY)
46.5% abv, $35.
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
First inhalations detect an easy, polite aroma that highlights sweet grain, bread crust and a trace of vanilla; aroma expands with exposure to air, affording the grain element to deepen. Palate entry is firm, sinewy and grainy sweet; the midpalate opens to include dark caramel, honey, vanilla bean and tobacco leaf. Aftertaste is warming, moderately sweet, caramel-like and almost biscuity.
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Woodford
Reserve Distiller’s Select
Kentucky Straight Bourbon
(USA; Labrot & Graham Distillers, Co., Versailles, KY)
45.2% abv, $30.
SUPERB / Highly Recommended
The first sniffs detect restrained, lightly roasted kernel/bean-like scents; bouquet opens up as aromas of saddle leather, tobacco leaf and walnut come to the fore. Palate entry is semisweet, candied and creamy; by midpalate, the taste includes pepper, welcome spirity heat, oak resin and caramel corn. Ends showing the delicate side of Bourbon.
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