Penny for Your Thoughts - Mojo No. 4
Returning after a long layover and excited to get back into it! This list of reviews consists of a mix of whiskies we had in Jacksonville and then more recently at home.
High West Bourye (46% ABV) - This whiskey is a "maverick" whiskey, meaning an unusual blend of different types that doesn't belong to any other genre. In this case, High West has combined bourbon and rye, both aged in the double digits in years. For some people, this is a sensational, first-rate dram. I wouldn't go quite that far, although it's not unfairly priced at around $80 (and I see it a few places online for closer to $60-65). The nose is almost hoppy in its herbal, vegetal rye-derived freshness, with some vanilla lending some sweeter notes. The rye is definitely dominating the blend from the outset. The palate demonstrates more hybrid characteristics, with an odd tinned pineapple note, but over time the rye again seems to win out and resemble High West Rendezvous Rye. The finish features barrel char and a great combination of rye spice and bourbon richness. I'm on the fence between an A- and a B+ on this one, but I'll give this one a slight boost due to its uniqueness. A-
Orphan Barrel Gifted Horse (57.5%) - Diageo isn't exactly doing their premium Orphan Barrel series any favors with releases like this. The story behind Gifted Horse -- and I stress the term story, because it's blatant marketing speak -- is that the distillery "accidentally" spilled some 17-year old Bernheim bourbon into a vatting of much younger, 4-year old bourbons, then realized that the resulting blend tasted amazing. Yeah, right. The company probably had some barrels of bourbon that got a little long in the tooth, and decided to even out the mix as much as they could with young, sweet juice before releasing it for a big price tag. Apple cider defines the profile of this whiskey, although it's a spiced, mulled cider. The problem with this expression is that the young whiskey gives it way too much heat at this high an ABV -- I see this as something that would have been better below 50%. As it is, it's rough and burns on the way down. Not easy to drink, and not much complexity to justify fighting through that heat. For $100, I'll pass easily. B-
Little Book "The Easy" (60.24%) - As the premium American whiskey genre starts to take off, Jim Beam has thrown its hat into the ring with this offering, meant to recall the distillery's much-loved Booker's series of cask-strength bourbons. Little Book, the brainchild of Freddie Noe (descendant of the legendary Booker), is a blend of a 13-year old corn whiskey, a 4-year old bourbon, and rye and malt whiskey that's in the 6-year range. The contrast between this and the disappointing Gifted Horse is pretty striking, although ultimately I'm not 100% sold that this whiskey warrants its $80-90 price tag. The nose is an intense blend of vanilla and well-aged oak, and those flavors also dominate the palate, which bursts with complex oak and cedar wood. This feels like chewing on Werther's candies in a dusty, antique furniture store. Additional complexity comes in with heavy wallops of rye and corn, and the palate has an extremely thick, oily mouthfeel. I would not have guessed that there are components in this blend that are 4 to 6 years old, so that's a testament to the work done by the young Noe. B+
Templeton Rye (40%) - This is a strange rye, and only after trying it did I read online that this whiskey is notorious (and much criticized among enthusiasts) for adding some flavoring compounds to this otherwise standard MGP juice. I won't be buying this whiskey again, but for what it's worth, it's an inoffensive dram. Other than a standard blend of mild sweetness and herbal rye scents, the most unique and standout note for this rye is a strong flavor of green or eucalyptus tea on the palate and finish. Hey, who knows, maybe that's what they threw in through artificial flavoring. B-