A few housekeeping notes before we kick things off. The whiskey Advent calendar I am working through came with the spiffy Glencairn glass seen above and each whiskey sample is 50 ml (~1.7 ounces). I'll record my impressions in a stream of consciousness style, jotting down thoughts as they come to mind. Once satisfied with my impressions, I'll reveal the whiskey and conclude with some final thoughts on the dram. I am interested to see how attuned my Spidey-senses are in profiling and predicting what it is I am enjoying. Let's get to sipping!
Immediately upon pouring, my initial sniff took me to Scotland and a malted barley based whiskey. By the time I made it from the kitchen to the living room chair, my mind had shifted drastically however. Grassy spearmint aromas soon whisked me away from Scotland and towards North America; specifically rye whiskey. As time has passed, my mind further solidified on the rye whiskey guess. Unlike most American whiskies, this sample does not have a pronounced oak or corn influence. The classic hallmarks of an American whiskey are bold vanilla, oak, and lumber aisle aromas, none of which are present in this dram. There is zero astringency or solvent aspect to this whiskey. It smells like a moderate, but not high proof spirit.
The taste further convinces me this is indeed a rye - very low sweetness, grassy, mint, some herbal/floral savory notes, and definite pepper spice all waft over my tongue. There are no sharp edges to this whiskey, it feels aged sufficiently long enough to buff out the harshness. The barrel has been gentle here - very little oak influence to my tastes. There is a pleasant bitterness towards the end of the sip, further pushing me to the rye side of the spectrum. As for proof, I'm sticking with my initial 'moderate' assessment. Above 40% but below 50%, let's split the difference and go for 45% ABV.
The finish is moderate in length with spearmint and pepper spice lingering the longest. This is a dry whiskey, very little sweetness to my tastes but also not a drying whiskey, the tannin levels seem low.
The conundrum for me is virtually every United States produced rye I've had tends to have a significant percentage of corn (upwards of 39%) and that heavy corn influence produces a rye whiskey that is much sweeter than what I am tasting here. I'm thinking this whiskey has a very high rye percentage but because there is not a significant oak influence, it has not been matured in new oak barrels.
My Guess
Type/Style: Rye Whiskey
Region: North America (Canada)
Age: 6 to 10 years old
Maturation: Oak, no wine influence, not first fill
Strength: 45% ABV
Producer: No idea, but I'll go with a wild-ass guess of Alberta Premium
Sip, Mix, or Skip?: Mix. A bit too dry and herbal for me to want to sip, but those qualities will lend scads of character to a cocktail. A Black Manhattan comes to mind as a lovely destination for this whiskey.
Reveal
Name: Fistful of Bourbon
Type/Style: Blend of five Straight Bourbons
Region: North America (USA)
Age: Non-age stated (minimum of 2 years)
Maturation: New charred oak
Strength: 45% ABV
Producer: William Grant & SonsPrice: $25
Official Tasting Notes
Why Fistful of Bourbon, you ask? They're probably fans of spaghetti westerns over there, but the official version goes like this: Each finger represents a different Whiskey that went into the final blend. That's five fingers and five juices. One that's sweet & smooth, a green & floral one, a warm & spicy one, a creamy toffee one, and a cinnamon & licorice one, all of them proper Straight Bourbons. Take it neat or mix it up, you have William Grant & Sons' blessing each way. Here's hoping it turns into a trilogy ― we'd love to see a few Fistfuls more.
Final Thoughts
Whoa. I am gobsmacked. I truly thought I was sipping on a rye here, but it is indeed a blend of straight bourbon whiskies. How amusing that my initial thoughts took me to Scotland when this is produced by the folks who own/operate the legendary Balvenie and Glenfiddich scotch distilleries. Sadly, nothing is officially known in regard to which bourbons make up this blend, nor how old they are. Given its price, I presume each whiskey is fairly young, but not so young that the whiskey reeks of immaturity. The lack of oak and vanilla steered me away from the United States, but bravo to the folks who blended this, they produced a very well (too well?) controlled whiskey in regard to its oak influence. I think this bourbon is a cracking good deal considering its $25 MSRP. I've consumed far less enjoyable/interesting bourbons that cost much more than this.
On the upside, I did manage to zero in on the floral, grassy, spicy nature of this whiskey and I did nail the strength of the whiskey perfectly. Back in my younger years I played a lot of golf. Now golf is a notoriously humbling game where the bulk of one's time on the links is often filled with frustration and disappointment. No matter how miserable one's round is however, the golfing fates will often inject a stroke or two of miraculous awesomeness that proves to be just the elixir to woo you back to a game you had earlier forsaken. So it shall be with nailing the strength for me tonight. Oh sure, I totally shanked on the vanilla and oak, but hey, I aced the proof like a guy with a Green Jacket or two hanging in the closet. Ha! Until tomorrow night.
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