Penny for Your Thoughts - Ardbeg Day, Yoichi 12, Blanton's Gold, Benromach Maison du Whisky
We tried four whiskies at Golden Promise, two in the main bar and two in the rare whiskey vault.
Ardbeg Day (56.7% ABV) - Ardbeg's annual special releases around Ardbeg Day (the actual date, not this whisky) are now a regular feature of the scotch landscape. This whisky kicked off the tradition in 2012 with a cask-strength release for Feis Ile, one that featured scotch aged in the sherry casks that formerly held Ardbeg Uigeadail. It's an interesting and unusual cask choice for Ardbeg, as the use of a refill cask will not impart the same intense, fruity, rich flavors as a new sherry cask does. Conveniently for Ardbeg, it also gave them something to do with used casks. The result is a substantial but gentle giant of a whisky. On the nose, cereal grain, smoke, and tons of leather exude from the glass. There's also some lemon rind, which is an Ardbeg signature. The palate is an orchestral combination of minerality and gravelly peat, vanilla fudge, cream, and a rich malt flavor. The smoke weaves in and out of this one, and I'd guess that it's aged in the range of 12 years or so based on its slightly reduced intensity. The finish is hickory smoke and lingering sweetness, and it lasts and lasts. Among the Ardbeg special releases, which can be hit-or-miss, Ardbeg Day is one of the best I've tried. It's a shame one can only find it now at rare spirit shops or at bars like Golden Promise, and either way it'll cost a pretty penny. I'm still happy we had it, which speaks to its quality. A
Yoichi 12 (45%) - I am not 100% on board the Japanese whiskey train. Due to the recent explosion in their cost, driven by demand that leapt tenfold in the last few years, all of these bottles are getting hard to find. Ten years ago, however, these were the Ardbeg 10s or Balvenie DoubleWood's of Japan, and it's worth keeping that in mind. Once revered for being an underappreciated gem or good value, Japanese whiskies now tend to command the kind of prices that would fetch an older scotch from the finest distilleries in Scotland. If the choice is between a 12-year old Japanese whiskey or a 15-year old scotch, those extra three years are going to make a big difference. In Yoichi 12's case, the experience felt like getting yeoman's work after being promised the attention of a master artisan. This whiskey has an air of vinegar to it or a fruit wine, and a palate of Southern tea, plums, and a mellow, herbal peat. There's still a tingling, ethanol edge, so it's safe to say that the older age statement Yoichis should be better (not that those are easy to find nowadays). The smoke from the peat reveals itself at the very end. Because it's so hard to find age-statement Yoichis nowadays, these bottles go for $200+. Not worth it. B-
Blanton's Gold (51.5%) - I'll be reviewing another bottle in this series, Blanton's Straight from the Barrel, at more length in a week or two. For now, the quick hits: Blanton's is owned by Age International, an international company, but it's distilled at Buffalo Trace. This odd ownership structure produces an even stranger result: three Blanton's expressions are available only overseas and not in the U.S. That's right, there are Kentucky-made bourbons that can't even be purchased here. Now you see why we had to try this rare (for an American) dram while in Paris. In some respects, this is going to be a familiar pour for someone who's had Blanton's Single Barrel. The additional ABV, however, reveals some surprising shifts in the Blanton's profile. I found the rye spice to be dialed down, and the woody, cedar notes to be amped up. The difference between 93 proof and 103 proof adds an extra level of intensity to this bourbon. But the price difference between this and regular Blanton's is much higher than the price difference between this and Straight from the Barrel, which is a cask-strength bruiser. At $85, I would lean toward alternatives, or pony up the extra $10 for Straight from the Barrel. B+
Benromach Maison du Whisky 60th Anniversary (56.3%) - To celebrate their 60th anniversary, Maison du Whisky, the shop responsible for starting up Golden Promise, picked out this cask-strength, single-cask release of Benromach to release as a limited edition. This was one of only 248 bottles in the world. It's also a young whisky, distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2016, meaning it's a 7- or 8-year old scotch. To be honest, I didn't think much of it. It certainly is smoky and sharp, with an almost bracing quality on the nose and the palate. The youth is present in its grassiness or slightly bitter quality, which seems to be some of the first notes that distillate pulls from the barrel. That, or it's actually the raw grain of the barley peeking through. It's young, fresh, excitable, like a puppy careening around and breaking a few dishes along the way. I'm not upset we tried it, but this scotch would benefit from a few more years of maturation. B-