Articles by Stephen

The Single Cask Nation Imperial 24 Year Old 1996 Bourbon Barrel (54.6%)

March 23, 2021

Tasting notes:The nose is as if a Rosebank married a Dallas Dhu and the two were put inside a parfait. It immediately transports Bill to a psychedelic scene from Yellow [...]

The Simply Whisky “Let’s Dance” (8 Year Old Clynelish distilled in 2011)

February 28, 2021

Tasting notes:Hello, Bananas! Wow–a saucier writer would say, “Is that a fruit in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” [Bill: Are there sauciers [...]

The Glenmorangie 19 Year Old Finest Reserve (travel retail exclusive)

February 10, 2021

The nose bursts forth with classic leather and sandalwood–or maybe rosewood, but definitely not a leather sandal on Rose’s foot. But overall, the nose is softer [...]

The Bib & Tucker 10 Year Old Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

January 20, 2021

Tasting notes:Imagine kittens bursting from a box, only it’s rye instead of kittens and the bottle instead of a box–such is the first hit of the nose. Then comes [...]

An Impostor on Domestic Soil: Stephen visits Får North Spirits

January 2, 2021

Summer before last, when COVID-19 wasn’t yet a thing, my wife and I drove up to Hallock, Minnesota to visit Michael Swanson and Cheri Reese at Får North Spirits. Only [...]

The Ben Nevis 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (previous era branding)

December 29, 2020

Tasting notes:The nose opens with a whisper of pickle juice, thrown on a fire and evaporated–or perhaps 24-hour turkey brine cast into a buttered skillet. There’s [...]

The Simply Whisky “Good Times” (8 Year Old Single Grain Irish Whiskey 45.6%)

November 30, 2020

Tasting notes:On the nose, I find some great, high register notes: lemon curd, caramelized pear, melted (paraffin-free) candle wax (unflavored), and coconut. There’s [...]

The Bivrost Niflheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky

October 31, 2020

Photo credits here to Aurora Spirit Tasting notes:The nose on this dram opens with lemon floor wax used by thoughtful friends to glaze an igloo for its depressed owner. [...]

The Ballantine’s 17 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky

October 12, 2020

Tasting notes:The nose on this dram is light, slightly fruited, like coconut oil skin lotion. There are muted flowers, too: imagine a mischievous gardener [...]

The Westland Cask Exchange Series: Lucky Envelope

September 26, 2020

[This is another in a series of Westland bottlings that feature ex-Westland casks that Westland then lent to a brewery, which then aged some of their beer in them, then gave [...]

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