Jim Beam Jacob's Ghost White Whiskey Review:

I won’t go on another rant about the litigious category of white whiskey for I’ve already done that. But with Jim Beam’s, still fairly new, release of Jacob’s Ghost, I believe we are finally starting to see some sort of defining categorization, or at least a product which will drive the category in a foreseeable direction. Aptly called a white whiskey, Jacob’s Ghost is a whiskey in the real sense. Using the very same mash bill as Jim Beam’s White Label, Jacob’s Ghost has at least one year of aging with an added filtration process to remove any of the color gained from the barrel. The very target groups of this label, I believe, are mixologist. With the initial youngness transformed by a little age, Jacob’s Ghost proves to be a capable mixer, enough to take the place of a simple vodka cocktail.

Jim Beam Jacob’s Ghost White Whiskey:

Price: Around $21.99 for a 750ml bottle. A don’t understand why they are charging more than the white label which takes years more to mature, but that’s a whole other issue. At least they didn’t do what Jack Daniels did by charging a fortune for their white dog.

Packaging/Labeling: Just ok. The “ghost of Jacob” sticker on the front is very cheap and tacky.  

Alcoholic Content: 40% abv, 80 proof. I would have expected more at the price point.

Nose: The nose impressed me much more than I anticipated. An inviting, light, clean and sweet first impression. This is no white dog. It has a vanilla and grainy sweetness. An oaky-ness does come through as well as some pure malt – not unlike some white malt whiskies I have nosed, yet more refined.

Palate:  A viscous palate with lightly oaked vanilla, cereals and a spicy, very dry finish. It literally sweeps up all the moister in your mouth, leaving you a bit thirsty. It’s calling for a mixer, and with the lack of barrel sweetness I think I could really get into it by mixing it with ginger ale.

Conclusion: Pleasantly surprised by this. It’s a very solid entry into the category. I can’t find many negative points, beside the dryness. Hence, it doesn't do very well as a simple nightcap, unless you have some ice in it. Geoff Kleinman of drinkspirits.com made a very good point by stating that “in some ways Jacob’s Ghost is the flip side of the coin from Jim Beam’s Devil’s Cut. Rather than pumping up the oak, Jacob’s Ghost reduces the impact of the barrel on the whiskey and creates a spirit that is light, dry, and easy to drink, especially with soda.” Hopefully this all means that Jim Beam will be breaking into more experimentation, like Buffalo Trace has been doing for quite some time. Is it something I would tell you to go out and purchase right now? No. But if you need something for a party and want to change things up, you should try Jacob’s Ghost.

Ardmore Traditional Scotch Whisky Review: Another Meaty Malt

Some whiskies are made to be consumed as they are – a pure unadulterated piece of craftsmanship. Others are produced with the intention of being blended with other whiskies – to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Yet every so often the latter kinds of whiskies are produced in such a way that they break free from their sole use as a blending devise. Every so often during the early stages of a distilleries conception, the producers discover that they are creating something which can hold its own among other single malts, while at other times it takes years for a label to break free of blender status. It was such with Ardmore, taking almost a century from its beginnings to finally being released as a single malt. Founded by the Teacher’s Family in the late 1800s, the Ardmore Distillery was originally produced to be used as a fundamental malt for the Teacher’s blends. As was traditional back in the day with most Speysider and Highland malts, Ardmore was peated around 12-14ppm (for reference Talisker on Skye is currently around 18-20pm). That being said, the times of peaty Speysiders is long gone, leaving Ardmore as a bit of an exception.

Today we are looking at the core “Traditional” expression. Non-chill filtered and peated with no age statement, but made of mostly ex-bourbon cask from around six to thirteen years old. Once the malt has been vatted, the whisky is then filled into quarter cask for one more year of maturing and finishing. 

Ardmore Traditional Scotch Whisky Review:

Price: Around $41.00 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: Nothing to write home about, but the bottle is informational, clean and modern, which means I can’t complain.

Alcoholic Content: 46% abv, 92 proof – not bad!

Nose: A creamy and full nose. Peat and smoked fish. Well balanced and tight with strawberry malt flavors. The meatiness and the more softer notes blend very well together.

Palate: The nose is quite indicative of what’s to come. A buttery palate coats the tongue where it releases all its sweet and savory juiciness. There is a nice little spicy vanilla kick on entry, ending on the back with peaty sweetness. I do feel that some of the younger cask come through on the end palate allowing, in my mind, a bit too much green-ness.

Conclusion: Unintentionally this is another unusual whiskey for where it is located. This is not nearly as fantastic as the Mortlach but it is a unique and solid single malt that can easily be found in the US, unlike the former. If you are looking for some similar single malts look either at Bowmore (with a higher ppm of around 25), or across the way in Ireland, at Connemara Peated 12 Year Old. Ultimately really enjoyed this expression of Ardmore and you won’t be let down with a purchase of it yourself I’m sure.

Mortlach 16 Year Old Scotch Whisky Review:

When one hears the word, “Speyside,” if you are thinking about whisky, fragrant and floral notes seems to make their way into your mind. As is well known, Scotland is vast when it comes to distilleries. Yet in terms of flavor profiles we commonly think of its 4 to 5 regions and Speyside whiskies seem to be a prisoner to this notion just as equally as one would think of the peaty whiskies of Isla. However this concept, that all Speysiders taste the same, is one people are beginning to move away from. Mortlach 16 Year completely blows the hinges off this perspective. This old-world big bruiser of a Speyside has nothing to do with the fragrant and floral, and everything about the rich and meaty.

Possibly the heaviest and most outspoken character of the Speysiders, Mortlach holds one of the most unique distillation methods of any whiskey in Scotland.  Starting with the washbacks, even though all 6 can hold 90,000 liters of wort, they are only charged with 55,000 liters. With distillation, Mortlach uses what you could call partial triple distillation (technically 2.8). The only distillery in Scotland with such a practice, the spirit is finally condensed using five worm tubs made of larch and one made of stainless steel – this is where much of its potent nature originates from. And with this old style of production a spirit is created with a character that fits perfectly into the Johnnie blends (especially the black label) – which for a time made the obtaining of a bottle very difficult. So with my wife and I having the rare opportunity of visiting Scotland last summer, we grabbed a bottle at the Cardhu distillery before heading back to the States.

Mortlach 16 Year Old Scotch Whisky Review:

Price: Around £42.00 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: The legendary Flora & Fauna label. It’s hard to dislike this on any level. You feel privileged to have such a bottle.

Alcoholic Content: 43% abv, 86 proof.

Nose: A large beefy nose – think of a syrupy stew or doughy pot pie. Tightly woven. Rummy with figs, sweet plum. 

Palate: Quickly lets its presence be known. Sherried panforte. Soft fruit cake. Drops off into a beautiful dry finish with a little smoke, pepper, and ginger spice.

Conclusion: Mortlach has been labeled a cult malt for good reason. It’s assertive and powerful in a place where elegant and graceful rule. It breaks all the rules by way of holding on to tradition. Of course we would love a cask strength or higher abv, but one cannot complain with this too much. All I can think about is how sad it will be when this bottle is gone. If you can get your hands on this, savor it. Take it slowly.

Angel's Envy Bourbon Whiskey Review:

Produced by the Louisville Distilling Company, Angel’s Envy is simply a brilliant product. What you get when you buy a bottle is a small distillery production without any of the hype from the micro industry and one which is constructed by a first-class master distiller, Lincoln Henderson. His experience being intensive, Lincoln put small-batch bourbons for Woodford Reserve on the map while he also played a large part in the development of Jack Daniels’s “Gentleman Jack” and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel. Along with two younger generations, the Henderson’s have created a great product with a modern edge. Aged at least four years, the liquid is then transferred and finished in port pipes for four to six months, lending them to label their product as a “Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels.”

Angel's Envy Bourbon Whiskey Review:

Price: Around $45.99 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: Some comments have been made that the label is a bit much, and I agree that it does at least toe the line. But the in the end the design is clean and elegant with a beautiful wooden cork stopper. The label details are clear and concise. On a side note their website provides great clarity to their product. Exactly what I like to see.

Alcoholic Content: 43.3% abv, 87 proof. The only issue, though minor, is the abv. Could have been higher, and with the flavor profile it would have added a great compliment. More reason to get excited about trying the cask strength version.

Nose: The nose is a wonderful delight. Supersweet corn and honey.Tropical notes. Some Kiwi and tangerine coated in sugar cane juice. Mint, vanilla, toffee, and wood in the back.

Palate: Balanced and complex corn and rich toffee flow into sweet honey and mulling spices. Spicier than other reviewers led me to believe, Angel's Envy has a tactile palate imparting you with orange zest and fresh oak in the back. What you are left with at the end is the port pipe sweetness. Very well rounded. The dram will slowly open up into more maple sweetness on the finish.

Conclusion: When the product was first released in 2011 there was a New York Times article written by Frank Bruni who stated that “[after drinking Angel's Envy] I missed the rough edges of other bourbons and the way they can burn slightly in the back of the throat. When I drink bourbon, I like the sense that I’m playing with fire.” An opinion no doubt and one cannot simply state it is wrong, but I feel like he simply missed the point: that the intrinsic quality of the whiskey is simply different than what he prefers. And that’s the problem. His “review” wasn’t a review, it was an opinion peace. He is practically stating that Angel's Envy is a tempered product for a wider audience, as if a fruitier and more drinkable 86.6 abv bourbon is somehow less to write home about. When tasting spirits one always needs to remove themselves from the current trends and look only at the intrinsic quality. Funny as it may seem Bruni’s article makes a great point: many people who look at American spirits today and do not see them as somehow relating to or holding an aesthetic quality of a “down to earth” and “humble” product simply disregard it. As I said at the beginning, Angel's Envy actually appears quite different from the micro-guys (aka different from current trends in one respect). I agree that it is a modern product, yet one which is expressed clearly, tastefully (aesthetically speaking), and it is superb bourbon to boot. Let’s shelve the idea that good product should be above the need for marketing, while never succumbing to the idea that it really matters. Diversity in the industry, if it be a real quality product, is needed. Angel's Envy is a product I would recommend.