Scotland | NYC Whiskey Review

The Rusty Nail Cocktail

November 27, 2024 Scotland

The Rusty Nail cocktail is said to have originated in the 1960’s at the 21 Club in NYC and was rumored to be heavily enjoyed by the Rat Pack. The first and last time I had a Rusty Nail was in 2008 in Los Angeles at The Dresden Bar made famous from the movie Swingers. I figured since I was in an “old school place” I should have an “old school cocktail”. I remember it being good, but a little too sweet for me. At the time I had just stared drinking whisky on the regular.

Now in 2024 (16 fucking years later….sigh) I re-introduced myself to this old school cocktail and my opinion has not really changed. I used Monkey Shoulder Scotch which is a little on the lighter side so I am wondering how Johnnie Walker Double Black or a peaty whisky would pair with the Drambuie.

The Rusty Nail

2 oz Scotch
1 oz Drambuie
Serve on ice
Orange peel optional

I will try this one again with a stronger whisky. It is not my preference for a cocktail, but I can see this making a nice sweet after dinner drink. However, I would prefer a brandy, cognac, or a very good single malt.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Jura Seven Wood – 2019 Review

October 10, 2024 Scotland

Name: Jura Seven Wood (2019 Review)

Color: Light brown

Nose: White floral, green grass, spice

Taste: Vanilla, barley, clean/fresh flowers, oak

2024 Revisted Notes:

Yesterday I reviewed Jura Seven Wood in 2024. I discovered I had previously reviewed this whisky during a visit to the Potstill. I was surprised to see my review below. I believe either I was drunk or my taste in whisky has evolved.

2019 Review Below:

Jura Seven Wood was the Pot Still whisky of choice a few weeks back when I was in Glasgow, Scotland for my cousins wedding. Nothing puts a smile on my face than going to The Pot Still in Glasgow and sampling whisky!

If you have never heard of Jura it hails from the Island of Jura in the Inner Hebrides off the West Coast of Scotland.

The scotch is finished in seven different types oak wood barrels. All the barrels are first fill ex-bourbon which are the following; American Oak, Vosges, Bertranges, Jupilles, Allier, Troncais, and Limousin barrels. Jura Seven Wood is bottled at 42% abv with a medium body profile.

If you have not sampled Jura before I recommend you start with Jura 10. A few years ago I saw a “Jura Brooklyn” but I did not try it due to its high price (approx. $75). It looked very gimmicky and marketing to me in the windows of liquor stores in NYC.

Price around $80 and it has nice balance of flavors but is not very complex. It tastes like regular Jura with a special release styled finish for a little extra marketing.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Jura Seven Wood – Revisited Review (2024 vs 2019)

October 9, 2024 Scotland

Name: Jura Seven Wood – 2024 Review

Color: Copper

Nose: Malt, honey, flowers, oak, citrus

Taste: Malt, iodine, dry wood

Jura Distillery was founded in 1810 and is located on the Island of Jura in the Inner Hebrides off the West Coast of Scotland. The distillery has changed hands may times over the years and is currently owned by Whyte & Mackay.

Jura Seven Wood marketing material states that the whisky is pulled from seven types of casks of differing wood. These woods are American White Oak, Limousin, Tronçais, Allier, Vosges, Jupilles, and Les Bertranges. The other six are French Oaks and I have only heard of Limousin. With this method of blending and the the whisky being 42% abv you would expect something different, no? Well, it is different, that is for sure.

On my first taste was Jura Seven Wood came off very weak and I was not impressed. On my second taste it was weak and now dry. Upon my third taste I got a medicine iodine taste and I was done. A week later I sampled it again and I found it even worse than I remembered. Some reviewers praise this expression, but I found it rough, cheap, dry, and medical a dirty finish. You know, like tasting shit.

I do not know how much labor it takes to extract whisky out of seven casks, blend it, bottle it, and sell it at the current market price. But it must cost some money and the price point comes off to affordable. I feel Jura literally got the bottom of the barrels and put this expression together.

Priced around $60-$75 and tastes like shit. I do not recommend it like I did in 2019.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Jura Journey

October 3, 2024 Scotland

Name: Jura Journey

Color: Light Brown

Nose: Malt, cedar wood, earth, citrus

Taste: Malt, cedar, lemon, white fruits

The Jura Distillery is located on the Island of Jura in the Inner Herbrides off the West Coast of Scotland and is adjacent to Islay. The distillery was founded in 1810 and has changed ownership many times over the last 200+ years.

The first time I experienced Jura was about 10 years ago at the Pot Still in Glasgow when my cousins’ husband recommended, I give it a try. When I got back to NYC, I tried to find other expressions from Jura but only saw Jura Brooklyn in the stores. I never got a chance to try it, but looking back, I doubt it would have been anything special. Unfortunately, I do not see Jura on the shelf or in the bars very much.

Jura Journey is in in the Signature Series, bottled at 40% abv, non-chilled filtered, and aged in white oak ex-bourbon barrels. Overall, it is well balanced and has a very nice taste. It has a little sweetness on the finish.

Jura Expressions have a large range of 26 single malt whisky’s and they classified under Signature, Travel Exclusive, and Rare & Limited Series.

Priced around $50 and good stuff. I will look to try more Jura as I find it.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Jura 18

October 2, 2024 Scotland

Name: Jura 18

Color: Dark Copper

Nose: Malt, flowers, wood

Taste: Malt, flowers, cream, honey, wood

Jura 18 has a lovely nose but is hard to detect all the notes. It is well balanced and has a medium body for an eighteen-year-old whisky. This expression is aged in American White oak ex-bourbon barrels and then is finished for several months in Premier Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux red wine barriques from the southern region of France. I have noticed when whisky is aged in red wine casks, I struggle to nose it. I am not sure what my problem is but at least I know I have one. Regardless, this is a very nice whisky at 44% abv. I sampled it right after the Jura Seven so it was vast improvement and I might be a little biased.

Jura has 26 expressions currently on the market divided into Signature, Travel Exclusive, and Rare & Limited. For all these expressions, I do not see a lot of Jura in bar, stores, or duty free. The ones I do see with any regularity are the 10, Seven Wood, 18 year old, and an occasional specialty expression. I am due to be in Glasgow in a few months and I will see what Jura’s the Pot Still has on the shelf.

Priced around $150+ and worth the money if you like the flavor profile.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Bowmore 15-Year-Old “Darkest”

September 5, 2024 Scotland

Name: Bowmore 15 Year Old – Darkest

Color: Dark brown/orange

Nose: Dry fruit, vanilla, sweetness

Taste: Light smoke, sweetness, dark fruits

Bowmore 15-year-old “Darkest” is an expression that was released in 2007 so it has some time on the market. Bowmore is an Islay scotch, and if you follow my reviews, you know I call that region of Scotland the “big boy scotch” area. Islay is known to produce strong, peaty and smoky whisky’s that people either love or hate. I love them in the winter but skip them in the summer.

The name “Darkest” comes from the color which is a combo of the sherry casks and caramel coloring. Coloring scotch is legal in Scotland with respect to scotch laws. This expression has 12 years in ex-bourbon casks and three years in Oloroso sherry casks. As with a lot of these 15-year-old sherry cask whisky’s, it is basically the distilleries 12-year-old product with another 3 years in sherry casks. I have not been amazed by this method or business model.

I have noticed over the last couple of years that sherry cask finishes are becoming very popular. I theorize (based on no research), that they are marketing to non-whisky drinkers by sweetening the scotch. Nothing wrong with sherry cask finishes, but sometimes I feel like I am drinking sugar scotch water.

Priced around $75 its good but a bit expensive for the sweet taste.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Bowmore 18

September 4, 2024 Scotland

Name: Bowmore 18

Color: Brown

Nose: Malt, oak, raisins, vanilla, caramel, light smoke

Taste: Malt, oak, dark/fruit, spices, caramel, light peat

The Bowmore Distillery is located on the Isle of Islay on the South Eastern shore of Lock Indaal. It was established in 1779 and is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, but like the majority of Scottish Distilleries it is under control of Suntory.

Bowmore 18 is aged in ex-bourbon and Oloroso casks, appears to be colored, and is bottled at 43% abv. Upon my first taste the whisky it was very tight and surprisingly robust. It was stronger and more robust than I was expecting for an 18-year-old. After a few minutes I took my second taste expecting the flavors to mellow. I was again surprised that it held the strong body and mouth feel and I noticed a little snap on the finish. The malt, fruits, and smoke worked very well together at the proof and age of this expression. From my research the Bowmore 18 was released in January 2007 to replace the 17-year-old. I have not sampled Bowmore in years and I need to really focus on their expressions in the future.

Other Expressions: Bowmore No. 1, 12, 15-Year-Old Darkest, 18, 25, 18 Year Manzanilla Cask, 19 Year French Oak Barrique, 26 Year French Oak Barrique, Bowmore 1964, Vault Edition Atlantic Sea Salt, Mizunara Cask, Bowmore 1957, The 50-Year-Old, Bowmore Arc-52, and 52 Years Old.

Travel Expressions: 10-Year-Old Dark & Intense,15-Year-Old Golden & Elegant, 18-Year-Old Deep & Complex, Bowmore 1984, and others depending upon releases.

Priced around $175+ and worth it if you like the flavor profile. I will be buying this bottle next time I see it in the store.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

The Singleton Glendullan 12-Year-Old

August 29, 2024 Scotland

Name: The Singleton Glendullan 12-Year-Old

Color: Light Brown

Nose: Malt, lemon, honey, heather, light oak

Taste: Malt, citrus, honey, toffee sugar

The Singleton Glendullan 12-Year-Old Whisky is produced by Diageo and comes from Dufftown, Scotland which is in the Speyside region. Glendullan is a distillery founded in 1897 and today is owned by Diageo for their production needs.

There are three brand names of The Singleton that were originally designed for three major markets. Glendullan for North America, Glen Ord for Asia, and Dufftown for Europe. However, today all are available in each market sector. I am sure the plan made sense in the conference room when it was pitched. They also having varying age expressions such as the 12, 15 and 18 year old.

The whisky is 40% abv, chilled filtered, color adjusted, and aged for 12 years in ex bourbon and sherry casks. I first saw this whisky promoted on Binging With Babish and thought it might be worth a try. The description appeared to be a sweeter summer whisky which matches the flavor profile. It is not too complex, but it is fresh tasting with a nice clean finish. It reminds me of Tomatin 12 for taste and price range.

Priced around $45 and worth the money if you like the flavor profile.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

The Singleton Glendullan 18-Year-Old

August 28, 2024 Scotland

Name: The Singleton Glendullan 18-Year-Old

Color: Amber

Nose: Malt, light wood, vanilla, honey, flowers

Taste: Malt, cedar/oak, vanilla, honey-citrus

The Singleton 18-Year-Old Glendullan is a Speyside Scotch produced by Glen Ord, Glendullan, and Dufftown distilleries which are owned by Diageo. The Singleton production started in 2006, but the distilleries opened in 1838, 1897, and 1896. At least there is some history to the suppliers.

The Singleton 18 is a medium bodied whisky with a soft nose, medium-light taste, and is bottled at 40% abv. I compared it to the Singleton 12 and I was surprised at how much more richer and complex the 12-year tasted. The 18-year lacks complexity and its overall flavor profile falls somewhere between flat and boring. When I started learning about whisky ten years ago an expression like The Singleton 18 would have impressed me. Today, not so much. However, if you really like The Singleton 12 I believe you will like The Singleton 18.

Priced around $100+ and nice for a Singleton expression, but very average for a Speyside whisky.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

Opinions Vary: Scotch in Scotland

August 22, 2024 Scotland

Opinions Vary: Scotch in Scotland

If you have been following my reviews for a while you might have picked up that I am half Scottish. My Mother was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and I have family in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Sterling. I’ve learned a few things since traveling over to Scotland in the last twenty years. First thing I learned is that my cousins are annoyed that I spell “whiskey” with a “e”. The second thing I learned is do not get your hopes up for a proper pour of whisky.

The word “Scotch” is used to separate Scottish Whisky from Bourbon, American Whiskey, or Irish Whiskey. The spelling of “whisky” is reserved for Scotland only, but in recent years some producers are breaking that rule. Calling whisky “Scotch” is mainly used in America from my experience.

Proper pours are a not going to happen in Scotland when you are at the pub drinking Scotch. Free pouring in pubs is illegal. The UK have regulated pours of 35ml (1.2oz) or 50ml (1.69oz). What the actual fuck? I mean seriously, who came up with that bullshit rule? Is so un-American. At least in America you have a chance for heavy pour with a good tip and a friendly bartender.

So, to summarize, Scotch (aka whisky) is not to be call in Scotch in Scotland and the pours are small. I recommend Scotland vote for a different type of Freedom!!!!

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

The Rusty Nail Cocktail

Jura Seven Wood – 2019 Review

Jura Seven Wood – Revisited Review (2024 vs 2019)

Jura Journey

Jura 18

Bowmore 15-Year-Old “Darkest”

Bowmore 18

The Singleton Glendullan 12-Year-Old

The Singleton Glendullan 18-Year-Old

Opinions Vary: Scotch in Scotland

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