In full disclosure, I haven’t had the opportunity to sample a lot of Indian Single Malts. To date, my exposure has been to a few expressions from Paul John which I felt were quite good. In comparison, I found this Rampur Double Cask promising. The nose was fruity and full of heavy malt aromas. The oak swiftly registered and the resulting spice notes were a bit aggressive and overpowered the lighter fruity notes.
HEADS & TAILS: “SMOKE AND BARRELS” EDITION
View PostHeaven Hill Heritage Collection 17-Year-Old Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review
This is a delicious mature whiskey, far from overly oaked, and full of complexity and nuance. The nose is loaded with cooked dark cherries, warm dark chocolate, macaron, green apple and Juicy Fruit gum. On the palate it’s rich and mouth coating, not drying at all. Surprises like dried strawberries and Cap’n Crunch Cereal (think sweet-sweet corn) interweave with darkly toasted bread and s’mores. For me, the 20- and 19-year-old barrels are ideally balanced with the younger 17-year barrels.
Rigorous testing is the norm for every Maker’s Wood Finishing Series
View PostHeads & Tails: The Bulked Up Edition
View PostJeptha Creed Bottled-In-Bond Rye Heavy Bourbon Review
On the palate, the Jeptha Creed Bottled-In-Bond Rye Heavy Bourbon begins with earthiness and intrigue, but ultimately the pour falls apart for me on the finish. The fact that it’s so drying is distracting, and that isn’t helped by the fact that it’s quite earthy and in need of a sweet or spicy kick to provide balance. It certainly rewards anyone patient enough to let it sit in the glass a while … as the saltiness is tempered … while the dried apple and bacon fat notes become more robust. However, that doesn’t change the fact that sitting with it for a while is made difficult by an unpleasant finish that you won’t want to dwell on.
The Bourbon Blues: Life with Post-Covid Anosmia
When my wife tested positive for Covid in November of 2020, she bounced back from it quickly. So, when we suspected our kids might have it 10 months later, I assumed that any fight would be equally brief. After two eye-watering nostril swabbings, we got a split decision: our daughter was clean, our son had Covid.
With my wife and me vaccinated, we weren’t concerned by the results. Kids bounce back quickly from the virus, we were told. Surely a return to normal was around the corner.
Not hardly.