Chris | Page 25 | NYC Whiskey Review

christopher.dias.nyc@gmail.com

Bank Note Peated Reserve

February 5, 2022 Scotland

Name: Bank Note Peated Reserve

Color: Light brown

Nose: Malt grain, peat, heather

Taste: Peat, malt, caramel, red fruit

Review:

Bank Note Peated Reserve is a blended scotch whisky bottled at 43% and is the “peatier” cousin of Bank Note Scotch. It is aged approximately 5 years for each blend that is in the bottle and has a mash of 40% malt and 50% grain.

A.D. Rattray produces Bank Note and states that it is a mix of Speyside and Highland scotches. If you are not familiar with A.D. Rattray it is a family business in Scotland that started back in 1868 and blends cask of various whisky’s for bottling and selling. Basically, they are a middle man. Depending on the product your local liquor store stocks you will find these bottles of blends, single malts and various ages stated whisky that have unfamiliar labels to the developing eye. I have had A.D. Rattray before but I remember I paid a high price for it and decided to focus on main distilleries as I was just starting to make efforts to really learn about whisky.

Bank Note Peat Reserve is a nice tasting and well-balanced scotch that is a little lighter on the flavor profile. If you would like to start to get into peat flavored whisky’s I would recommend starting with this one.

Priced around $30 and an overall nice blended peat flavored scotch.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Angels Envy Bourbon

February 3, 2022 America

Name: Angels Envy Bourbon

Color: Light brown

Nose: Corn/malt, vanilla, orange, port wine sweet

Taste: Corn bourbon, light cream notes, port wine finish

Angels Envy is a Straight Kentucky Bourbon, aged 4 to 6 years, and bottled at 43.3% abv. The bourbon is matured in charred oak of barrels and is finished in Port wine barrels. Angels Envy is created by the Henderson Family and is produced by the Louisville Distillery in Kentucky which is owned by Bacardi.

The bottle I sampled was Batch No. 752 and Bottle No. 8840. It is different tasting than most bourbons I have sampled due to the port finish. The port wine finish is nice touch, but for traditional bourbon drinker this may not be to one’s liking. The bottle is a tall and flat shaped and imprinted wing that stand out through the bourbon and is unique looking. It is also a thin bottle that is easy to hide at your desk at work.

Other expressions produced by Angel Envy are:

Port Finish
Rum Finish
Cask Strength,
Sherry Cask 2019
Tawny Cask 2020

Good to drink straight or on rocks and maybe an after-dinner drink. I do not recommend it in cocktails, but the website has several receipts.

Priced around $55 and worth the money if the flavor profile.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Proletariat Bar NYC

February 2, 2022 NYC

Proletariat is a beer only bar in the East Village of NYC that I discovered a few years ago and is my favorite place in NYC to go for a beer. No whisky, wine, cocktails, or food. Good craft beer only.

Located at 102 St. Marks Place the entrance is simple and non-descript. The bar is a small dark railroad shaped space with about twenty seats and no tables. There is a one toilet bathroom that is dimly lit with a red light. There is no television and the walls are brick or plaster with framed tattoo artwork for decoration. The beers rotate and are written on a chalk board or with colored magnets in the center of the bar. There is no mixologist, there is a bartender that knows the beers they are serving.

The word “proletariat” means “the working class people” and the name suits this place. As NYC continues to become more of a non triggered safe-space corporate controlled environment small businesses continue to get lost to time, but more often to rising rent prices. I have only been here for seven years, but I notice the changes when I am in the city and it breaks my heart.

I had not been back over the two years due to the lockdown, so I made a point to go last week. I was happy to sit and enjoy my beer, but I learned they will be moving their location so I recommend you visit soon.

Hours:

M/T/W/R 5:00pm – 12:00am
Friday 4:00pm – 12:00am
Saturday 2:00pm – 12:00am
Sunday 2:00pm – 10:00pm

Beer Menu: Rotates/Pour sizes vary

Cost: Moderate

Proletariat is the kind of place that I wish there were more of in the city. I hope the new spot has the same vibe!

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Bunnahabhain – Stiuireadair

January 13, 2022 Scotland

Name: Bunnahabhain – Stiuireadair

Color: Light Yellow

Nose: Malt, lemon, seaweed/iodine, flowers, cedar wood

Taste: Malt, lemon, sherry notes, white fruit

Stiuireadair (pronounced stew-rahdur) is an “other” expression from the Bunnahabhain Distillery which hails from Islay region of Scotland. There is no aged listed, it is 46.3% abv, natural colored, un-chill filtered, and matured in sherry casks. The name is Gaelic for “Helmsman” which is the guy who drives the boat. (“Hooper drives the boat Chief!” – name the movie!)

The expression is listed as a “tribute to the sea” so I will page Don Draper as I usually do when I read this type of bullshit marketing.

Bunnahabhain has core and “other” expressions. Many of these expressions I have not seen in stores or on menus, so I am curious to sample more.

Core Expressions: 12,18, Toiteach, 25

Other Expressions: Amontillado, Feis Ile, Palo Cortado, Port Pipe, French Brandy, Moine Brandy, Vintage Marsala, Moine Marsala, Moine Oloroso Toiteach A Dha, Culag, Moine Bordeaux Red Wine, Pedro Ximenez, 40 year old, Canasta 46 year old, Eirigh Na Greine, Cruach Mhona, An Cladach, Ceobanach

The profile is very good and works well as a winter whisky served neat or a summer scotch on the rocks.

Priced around $60 and worth it if you like the flavor profile.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

December 23, 2021 Scotland

Name: The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

Color: Clear

Nose: Juniper and fresh green earth notes

Taste: Similar to nose, no burn on the finish

Review:

3 Days until Christmas! Do you have all your gifts and bottles ready?!?

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin 22 is produced by the Bruichladdich Distillery in Islay, Scotland. Since it is the clear liquid cousin of a very good scotch producer it was worth a try and review. Before I was into whisky I was Gin & Tonic drinker but one trip to Kentucky changed all that in 2008. I do not know why Bruichladdich decided to make this gin, but I am glad they did.

The Botanist Gin is a London dry styled gin that is bottled at 46% abv, made from 22 hand-forged botanicals on Islay, and contains 9 core aromatics. You can look them up as there is a lot

Upon first nosing the gin I found aromas all over the place. I could not really determine any specific notes. The taste is sweet with earthy greens and it was very easy to drink neat which was a surprise. A martini straight up with a twist of lemon was then created for assurance of quality. It was excellent.

Priced around $45 and worth the money if you enjoy gin or want to add a bottle to your bar.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Pinhook Straight Bourbon

December 18, 2021 NYC

Name: Pinhook Straight Bourbon

Color: Dark Brown

Nose: Corn, caramel, spices

Taste: Carmel, corn, pepper, cinnamon

Review:

8 Days until Christmas! Do you have all your gifts and bottles ready?!?

Pinhook Straight Bourbon is a whiskey created by Sean Josephs who has a extensive background in the food and beverage business. He is involved in several restaurants that are whiskey themed including Maysville in NYC.

Pinhooks bourbon is distilled, blended and bottled at Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, KY. The distillery has a bunch of gin and few whiskeys listed on their website which means they are in the long term process of aging their own whiskey in house. I am guessing the distillery is buying product from Buffalo Trace and blending to make this expression. Lots of startup’s have to do this but they never really admit it up front.

This expression is part of the “Bourbon War” vertical series 5 year, which is the second release in the Bourbon War line, which follows barrels as they age from 4-12 years. The mash bill is 75% corn, 20.5% rye, and 4.5% malted barley. Started in 2015, they all have the same mash bill at 4 years and the distillery will age the barrels up to 12 years to get to 2027. The bottle I sampled was 113.9 proof, 56.95%, bottle number 072/214. So, there is a lot of stuff is going on with the label including a “selected by Shop Rite” and with the producers of this whiskey.

It is hard to nose due to the high proof. Upon the first taste the whiskey is very strong but you can tell it has some nice flavors hidden under the alcohol. Add a little water and then some ice you get a much smoother flavor profile and it is very nice stuff.

Priced around $50 and is worth a try, but the price versus all the marketing makes me wonder what I am really getting. I will give the other expressions a try in the future.

Thanks to Barry for letting me try it!

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Jack Daniels – Sinatra Select

December 7, 2021 America

Name: Jack Daniels – Sinatra Select

Color: Dark Brown

Nose: Sweet mash mix, soft oak, apples, vanilla

Taste: Honey, vanilla, butter scotch/cream, dark fruits

Review:

19 Days until Christmas! Do you have all your gifts and bottles ready?!?

In honor of Hoboken’s favorite son, Old Blue Eyes himself, I shelled out some money to sample Jack Daniels Sinatra Select in honor of The Chairman of the Board. This expression was created in honor of Frank Sinatra, and it was said he was buried with a flask of Jack Daniels.

This whiskey is very smooth with caramel cream and dried dark fruit notes. It is aged in “Sinatra barrels” which have deep groves in the staves and get extra toasted oak to allow the whiskey to absorb the flavor of the barrel. It is is non-age stated with a mash bill of 80% corn, 8% rye and 12% malted barley. It is bottled at 90 proof and expensive for being Jack Daniels, but it has an advantage that it is a 1 liter bottle, not the standard 750ml size.

Sinatra expression has almost no taste comparison to No.7 Jack Daniels. It is extremely smooth and very easy to drink. There is no charcoal, banana skin, or rough mash finish. If regular Jack Daniels was even half as good as this expression, I would drink it regularly drink Jack Daniels. But, it is not, so I do not drink Jack Daniels.

Priced around $165 and I would not spend the money on this for myself, but if you know someone who is Jack Daniels drinker and Sinatra fan it would make a wonderful gift.

As of June 2021, I am having a hard time finding a bottle in any stores in the NYC area.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Deanston 12

December 5, 2021 Scotland

Name: Deanston 12

Color: Dark Yellow

Nose: Malt, orange, flowers, light oak

Taste: Malt, orange, honey-vanilla, white fruits

Review:

21 Days until Christmas! Do you have all your gifts and bottles ready?!?

The Deanston Distillery is located on the River Teith, about eight miles from Sterling, Scotland (near Edinburgh) and was founded in 1965. The Distell Group Limited owns Deanston and also owns Bunnahabhain, Isle of Islay, Tobermory, and Isle of Mull whisky. The name “Deanston” is named after the Dean of Dunblane. Dean was connected to the Gaelic term “toun” meaning farm/settlement to make the name “Deanston”.

The Deanston 12 is un-chilled filtered, natural colored, aged in ex-bourbon barrels, and bottled at 46.3%. It has a medium body but with lighter fresh fruit notes on the finish. This expression is better tasting and more balanced than stated Deanston Virgin Oak (nas), BUT, not as good as some the other expressions I have reviewed.

I have reviewed the following Deanston expressions: Virgin Oak, 15 year Organic, 15 Year Sauternes, 12 Year Palo Cortado Finish, and Decennary.

Deanston Single Malts are a great gift or a change of scenery if you only drink the “Glen’s” that come from Scotland and there are a few of them. I am hopeful that travel will to the United Kingdom will re-open in later 2021. I look forward to seeing my family in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sterling, and a trip to Deanston Distillery.

Priced around $55 and Deanston is always worth the money.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Johnnie Walker 4 Pack Sampler

November 25, 2021 Scotland

Johnnie Walker produces a four pack of 200 ml bottles of Black, Gold, Platinum and Blue (375ml) Scotch for around $200. You might not find it as easy in a store but it is online at various distributors and I have seen it in Duty Free in Heathrow Airport.

I received this one as a Christmas gift and I am down to the Blue only. I am saving it for a special occasion.

If you want to do a tasting with friends and make up your own minds while saving some money I would definitely recommend this box set in lieu of full bottles. I would strongly suggest you treat it like a tasting with measured pours of whisky in different glasses, note taking, trying it with a splash of water etc. After that, you can decide on the value of the higher labels and see if it is your cup of tea (or whisky!)

Note: Specific Johnnie Walker Labels may vary in 4 pack box. Confirm with supplier prior to purchasing. I have seen red and black then two other higher labels as opposed to what I have described.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Penderyn Madeira Single Malt Welsh Whisky

November 18, 2021 Wales

Name: Penderyn Madeira Single Malt

Color: Light gold yellow

Nose: Clean fresh spring water with citrus and tarnish fruit.

Taste: Clean and creamy with a fresh taste and a finish of the Madeira

Review:

I could write a very long review with numerous stories about each person’s facial expression after I gave them a dram of this whisky but that would take too long. I can tell you this, everyone gave me the same look after they tasted Penderyn Madeira. They sip, look down, scrunch their face and then say “Damn that’s good!” This spirit is like spring water and whisky had a baby and this is the baby in the bottle. It is extremely good, refreshing and different. I enjoy this one if I am going to have one (or two) or after dinner. Normally the creamy taste of whisky’s is not my preferred taste but this one is an exception. I highly recommend it!

Price around $70 it is a great value.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

christopher.dias.nyc@gmail.com

Bank Note Peated Reserve

Angels Envy Bourbon

Proletariat Bar NYC

Bunnahabhain – Stiuireadair

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

Pinhook Straight Bourbon

Jack Daniels – Sinatra Select

Deanston 12

Johnnie Walker 4 Pack Sampler

Penderyn Madeira Single Malt Welsh Whisky

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