Michael Collins - Blind Tasting

I'm trying to play catch up here so bear with me.  As a reminder, I hosted a blind tasting of Irish Whiskey and the Michael Collins was selected due to its age.  Coming in at 10 years, I figured this would provide additional complexity to the whiskey even though it's bottled at 80 proof.

This is a Single Malt offering from Cooley that is distilled twice instead of thrice as many Irish selections tend to be.  Why is the number important?  For those that are curious, the more you distill, the more flavor is stripped from the distillate.  The Michael Collins is also an interesting selection as it's slightly peated.  I noticed the peat and smoke just a touch with the fruit profile playing a more dominate role overall in the whiskey.

From the website, Michael Collins is described as such:

"Robust and complex, with a subtle peatiness, Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single Malt is double distilled for proper balance of purity and character, then matured in small bourbon seasoned casks for a minimum of ten years.  Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single Malt has a slightly sweet nose that is rich and complex with hints of ripe fruit, meadow flowers and peat. Clean and smooth, the dry-to-medium finish has a lingering light smokiness that is made to savor."

The tasting panel liked this selection for the most part as the bell curve was above average.  It ranked as follows:

95-100 Classic Whiskey	0
90-94 Excellent Whiskey	1
85-89 Very Good, Above Average Whiskey	5
80-84 Average Whiskey	2
75-79 Fair Whiskey	0
74 and Under - Pass on This Whiskey	1

Some comments from the panel starting with my own:

"The nose was bready and sweet with a hint of smoke and peat. Very inviting. The entry had sweet start that exhibited traces of orange peel, vanilla biscuit with a subtle smokey peaty finish. Nice deviation from a normal Irish (e.g. Bushmills, Jamesons)"

"Nose shows light smoke, reserved fruit and scotch like nuances. I suspect a bit more age as the nose reveals increased complexity. Less sweetness on the nose and a bit more alcohol. The palate reveals good depth of flavor, fruity sweetness, hints of smoke and nice balance. This is a much more interesting whisky and it exhibits good complexity… once again it is very scotch like. Good finish with a lingering smokiness."

"Lots of honey and fruits in this one. Very enjoyable, and definitely my favorite so far. I think this could handle some extra proof and become something outstanding. Well picked....."

 "A nice start with white grape juice and some malt notes but it dulls pretty quickly, getting flat and watery.  The finish isn't much, slightly malty."

"Initially sweet and delicate, this one seems to deliver some heat mid-palate; a little bit of dryness with vanilla, some of those pear notes and a nice lingering finish that seems to dry out as it goes along"

 This whiskey runs about $40 which in my opinion, is a fair price for this offering.  Michael Collins 10 year is not overly complex but delivers enough flavor and interest to make this a regular resident in the bunker.  This label also comes in a blended version that is not age stated.

Good Bye Old Overholt *sniff*

Ok, so I'm not trying to be Mr. Dusty drinker in your face snobby blah blah blah.....but the reality is, there are actually quite a few enthusiasts out there that have a decent bunker that includes out of production whiskies.  So, I share just for the heck of it plus it's fun rolling through these older whiskies.

A number of years back, I'm pilfering through D.C. liquor stores and I walk into one store that is a treasure trove of older whiskies in bygone era decanters that included a Baccarat Crystal Decanter of Wild Turkey 101, two full train sets of Jim Beam, various Michters Jug Decanters and a few others that escape me.  The owner had a decent inventory of whiskey and when asking him about these very unique decanters he indicates that they may not all be for sale.  So, on a whim, I ask about the Baccarat Decanter, hold my breath and wait for the answer.  He indicates he would take no less than $1,200.  I secretly think "yah, I bet you would".  Moving on....nothing to see here.

He also indicates the other decanters are not for sale as they belonged to his father and had sentimental value.  Ok, fine.

I'm ready to walk out and move on to the next store when I spy a couple of bottles of Old Overholt Rye Whiskey.  The label on this whiskey hasn't changed in years so it's hard to tell what's recent and what's dusty.  On closer inspection, they both have tax strips so I ask to see them. This Rye whiskey has a very long history in American whiskey production and as such has contained a couple different mashbills.  Early on, Old Overholt was produced in Pennsylvania, then was moved to Kentucky by National Distillers.  In 1987, Jim Beam purchased the brand and began using their normal Rye whiskey for this label.  The timeline is somewhat important for these two bottles I'm eyeballing as I didn't want the whiskey if it contained Beam juice.  For a more detailed explanation of Old Overholt, see Chuck Cowdery's post here.

I flip the bottle over and see "84" on the bottom......glory be!  I purchase both bottles for $9.95 a piece.  A a general rule, National Distillers made some pretty fine whiskey from Old Grand Dad to Old Talyor and Old Overholt.

The 1984 Old Overholt at 80 proof was packed with flavor, had a nice mid palate that exhibited sweet floral notes.  The finish was moderately long with a good bit of sweetness lingering on the palate after the sip made it's way to my gullet. I've been nursing this bottle for quite some time but it was time to retire this bottle.  I still have the sister bottle in the bunker and I'm not sure when I'll get around to opening it.  Maybe if I ever go hunting again, I'll make an effort to find more of this very fine Rye.

Good Bye Benchmark and Michael Collins

I'm on a roll!  I've had some success in draining those low fill bottles.  It's a bittersweet success though as some of these selections are not in production any more and chances are, I won't find more. 

A 1978 Benchmark gave up its last the other night.  One of tastiest and smoothest dusty bourbons I have is the Benchmark.  This particular bottle was non-age stated (NAS) and came in at 86 proof although I suspect it was older than 4 years just by the depth of flavor and long finish.  Whenever I drink this bourbon, I think of velvet.

Second dead bottle was a Single Malt Irish, Michael Collins coming in at 10 years old and 80 proof.  This particular Irish has nice transitions for a low proof.  Fruit, spice and sugar coated nuts.  A very pleasant whiskey.

So now I'm on to other selections on the list.  The BTAC stuff is going to take some time as I don't hit those that often; not sure why, but I don't.  My tastes have changed over time and I'm less inclined to hit the big barrel proof bruisers.

Good Bye Old Crow and Old Fitz

Back almost 3 years ago to the day, I posted an Exam-o-dram for a 1969 Old Crow 10 year.  I've been on a mission to drain my low fill bottles.  As someone posted on this very blog, I have bottles with low fill and if I let them sit too long, they could over oxidize and turn on me.

So, rather than taking my normal eclectic approach to drinking, I've decided to focus on those bottles that just need to be killed off.  Two bottles I focused on in the last week or so was the Old Crow and a '82 Old Fitz BIB.  After being open for a number of years, they were both still very enjoyable and tasty to the last drop.

The short list of low fill that I'll be concentrating on in the coming weeks will be:

70's vintage Cream of Kentucky
1959 Old Forester BIB
1992 Old Fitz Prime
1978 Benchmark
1984 Wild Turkey 101
Various BTAC
Various Willett
Michael Collins 10 year
Redbreast 12 year

Actually, that's not a short list after all.

Abraham Bowman 17 year

Over the course of my bourbon education, one thing I've learned is that a single sip doesn't tell the whole story on a bourbon or whiskey.  As many of you enthusiasts may know, oxidation can make quite a difference. There's been many of bourbon that when first opened is tight, hot, flat, etc.  Given enough air time, magical things can happen.

Unfortunately, neither Tinker Bell nor Harry Potter can do anything to help this latest release from Bowman.  I'll caveat once again, this is my impression only; I leave final judgement up to those that drink it and come to their own determination.  I have friend in MD that loves this stuff.....he says the more heat and wood the better.

This latest release from Bowman is cask strength at 147.5 pf and 17 years old.  Color is a golden hue with shades of amber.  Nose is actually interesting giving up caramel and barrel notes but the heat really gets in the way of doing proper nosing. 

First taste is nothing but heat that attacks the palate first thing which masks any flavor components on the front end of the sip.  As the heat subsides around mid palate, there's hints of burnt sugar, wood and a bitter note that detracts from the overall profile.  From mid palate to finish, it's rather flat and one dimensional.  I added water taking it down to about 100 pf and while there's a touch of sweetness that pops up, the heat is still way too dominate to enjoy.

Bowman released an 18 year last year and it's fantastic.  In a previous post, I blogged about our 14 year old barrel pick and that one is also fantastic so I had fairly high expectations of this 17 year.  Unfortunately, it's really not a bourbon I would add to my bunker nor drink.  I hate to be this critical of this bourbon but that's the way I taste it and my taster typically doesn't steer me wrong.

I revisited  this bourbon a couple of times and it's just not going to get any better.  If you enjoy heat and wood, go for this bottle.  Other than that, I would recommend the big bypass on this one.  It's just too one dimensional to invest nearly $70 for a bottle.

Tobacco and Whiskey - Indulgent Pairing

For quite a few years, I've enjoyed my pipe while sitting on the front porch during temperate times of the year.  A few years back a good friend of mine piqued my interest in cigars and I was hooked.  Unfortunately, my pipe took a back seat for a spell until recently and I found that I missed the mellow times pipe smoking brings.

I've paired tobacco and whiskey together whether it be cigars or pipe on a regular basis and thoroughly enjoy the combination.  There's no right or wrong pairing when selecting a whiskey or tobacco, it's really whatever you happen to like, but it's also fun trying various combinations that may be better than others.  In the end, this double indulgence provides a time of relaxation, reflection and pure gratification.  The one bit of advice I do offer, and again, this comes down to preference, is paring a whiskey that is not cask strength when smoking a pipe.  The high ABV will impact the palate minimizing your ability to enjoy the subtle nature of the pipe tobacco.

For this post, I'll focus more on pipe tobacco.  There's a very broad selection of pipe tobacco and the topic would take far to long to articulate here.  There are numerous resources on the web if you're interested in researching.

Growing up, my Father smoked a pipe and I always remembered the sweet aroma that lingered in the room or car as he puffed away.  Unfortunately, my Mother was not a fan and my Father eventually gave up smoking and gave his pipes away.....a real shame that I don't have some of his pipes today.

When someone asks me to make recommendations on cigars and they are new to smoking, I recommend something mild that has a light wrapper and little to no Ligero as this particular leaf adds strength to a cigar.  For pipe tobacco, the selections are almost endless.  There are a number of tobacco's that have higher nicotine content which can provide the same physical effects as a Ligero cigar......a good sucker punch to the gut.

I won't recommend anything here but will point you to a good website that has a deep database of user reviews at http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/index.cfm.

I have about 15 various selections and I recently picked up a couple more.  Last night I enjoyed one of the new acquisitions; Dunhill Navy Rolls.  While this is a Dunhill offering (Dunhill is a UK company), the blend comes from Orlik Tobacco Company in the Netherlands.  This tobacco is labeled as medium in strength and very mild in flavor.   Navy Rolls is a Virginia tobacco blended with Perique.  The tobacco itself was coin rolled, not loose, which required the added job of breaking apart the coin before loading the pipe.  Overall, an enjoyable smoke that exhibited a sweetness which comes from the Virginia tobacco and a spice on the finish that comes from the Perique.

With this smoke, I paired a low proof Bruichladdich 15 year 2nd Edition (I know...it's an Islay and I said I didn't like those.....).  The 'Laddie exhibited a profile of summer fruits, very mild peat, and a nice viscosity promoting a creamy mouthfeel.  The whisky spent 15 years in used Bourbon Casks and then another 26 weeks in Sauternes Casks imparting an additional layer of sweetness; an exceptional dram.

Connemara Peated - Blind Tasting

When selecting whiskies for the Irish tasting, I purposely picked a peated expression in order to have a selection that deviated from the more standard Irish profile.  The Connemara is a peat monster; at least to my palate.  This particular expression is double distilled (rather than triple distilled) and aged in oak casks and bottled at 80 proof.  This selection is from Cooley distillery and they offer a couple expressions of Connemara with this one being their base offering.

To be honest, I couldn't even finish this whiskey.  I was just too nasty for my palate since I'm not a lover of high peat content and this one was over the top for me.  The tasting panel was pretty split on this whiskey.  A little more than half liked it and the rest agreed with me.  Here are how the numbers stacked up:

95-100 Classic Whiskey	0
90-94 Excellent Whiskey	0
85-89 Very Good, Above Average Whiskey	5
80-84 Average Whiskey	2
75-79 Fair Whiskey	0
74 and Under - Pass on This Whiskey	4

If you like Scotch, particularly those from Islay, you may find this Irish agreeable.  Here are some comments from the tasters:

"An unpleasant nose dominated by rubber, with a little smoke and malt in the background. Bitter on the palate."

"Peat tea with honey, well balanced sweet and peaty elements. A nice flavor profile but a bit weak tasting.  The peat is lighter on the finish but still very present."

"Beautifully complex - drinks nicer and smoother than the nose would suggest (didn't much care for this nose on an Irish whiskey), finish that goes on and on - great legs on the glass - just enough warmth on the sip to add to the complexity of the entire experience..works greatly with the sweet woody taste."

"A nice medium mouthfeel, this is pleasantly different than what I was expecting; there’s a sweet smokiness that follows the nose with a pleasantly drying smokey finish that lasts a while."

Bottle comes packaged in 750ml and is priced around $40.  If you like Irish Whiskey and you like Peat....knock yourself out.