Penny for Your Thoughts - Old Forester 1870, Talisker 10, Blanton's Single Barrel
Here are two whiskies I had at The Rusty Nail and one at another hotel bar. Two of them are all-time favorites of mine, although we'll see how they hold up now that I've been trying a broader selection of whiskies recently.
Old Forester 1870 (45% ABV) - The experience of this one immediately reminded me of Old Forester 1897 -- great nose, a bit of a letdown thereafter. I might prefer to leave this around the house as an aromatic rather than drink it: vanilla, barrel char, toffee, and cappuccino. Wow. The palate is spicy, floral, and fruity (apple). A little cherry cough syrup. This bourbon isn't as sweet, so it almost feels like a blend of scotch and bourbon. It has a yeasty, bready finish. This bourbon costs $45, which is a pretty steep price for a 45% liquor. At around the same price, you can get some nice bourbons such as Woodford Reserve Double Oaked or, better yet, Four Roses Single Barrel, and still save a buck or two. If you're a fan of Old Forester, this would be a good way to step up to something with a more complex profile. B
Talisker 10 (45.8%) - OK, everyone has their desert island scotch. It might not be your favorite dram of all time, and there are other whiskies you'd pick when the mood strikes you. But if you can have only one, you need a versatile drink that ticks off all the boxes and doesn't stray too far in any one direction. That's Talisker 10 for me. It's not the greatest scotch or whiskey I've ever had, but it's one I could drink every day. The initial curl of smoke that wafts out of this glass is near-perfect. It's not a sooty Islay peat smoke, it's more of a resinous and sappy woodsmoke -- a camping smoke, not a coal smoke. The other scents lean away from the sweet side of the spectrum, with significant minerality and seaspray. It's the perfect bridge between Islay and Highland scotches. The palate is complex, sweeter than the nose, and features mild sherried nuts and dates, floral rosewood, pepper (the Talisker signature), and a smoke and honeyed malt core. Talisker 10 has a medium body with a near-ideal texture for a daily sipper. Its spectacular finish has a strong pepper kick, a light lingering smoke, cocoa-powder covered cherries, and orange emerging at the end. $70 for a bottle and worth every cent. A
Blanton's Single Barrel (46.5%) - Unfortunately, Blanton's is fast becoming impossible to find in most cities and, it seems, more expensive by the day. A friend gifted us a bottle when we moved a number of years ago, and it was a wonderful gift. Blanton's has the most scotch-like qualities of any bourbon I've had, with a lot of baking spices that balanced out the syrup and caramel sweetness of bourbon, and also a mature smokiness that made it feel like a dram that would hold up to even a robusto cigar. This bourbon uses Buffalo Trace's No. 2 mash bill, which is supposed to feature more rye -- and this bourbon really feels that way. It's peppery and almost multi-grain in its nose and in the finish in particular. I also got some pleasant coffee in the backdrop. Finally, this is one of the most distinctive and beautiful bottles on the market! I just found myself wishing it was a little stronger. B+