Smell some cinnamon, oak, and hints of cardamom and amburana.

First sip, sans water or ice—which I'm sure I'll need!—, reminds me of amburana aged whiskies. Some leather. Didn't pick up a lot of strong flavors. The swallow is fire. Moving straight to some water! LOL.

After adding some filtered water, I pick up some caramel creme brûlée. The heat dies down, but still lingers. Smell of amburana has intensified—which may or may not be psychosomatic, I really like the smell. Next sips pick up some cherry. The finish seems to hint at some citrus. Still quite hot, so time to try out some ice.

Smells much sweeter after adding some ice... ...honey, maybe? Pick up more cherry with a “brighter” sip. The finish is reminiscent of a cab or a Barolo. Not the tannin bit.

An interesting dram. Off to just enjoy it.

Cheers!

Uffda! -ath0

It's a 100 proof whisky that's fairly dark. It's not as fiery as those that have aged for a long time. I find it smooth enough to enjoy with just a splash of water—I also have it with ice.

On the nose I get leather with hints of cinnamon stick and honey. There's some heat mid-tongue and with greater heat at the throat. Honey and cinnamon with a brief hint of licorice or anise. The mouth feel is great, almost like coffee with cream.

There are some other flavors in there, but I'm not able to pick them out at the moment.

I like this.

I'll update when I put ice in the next dram.

Uffda! -ath0

The proof makes it hot, so I'm having it with some ice. On the nose, I'm getting maple, chipotle, and maybe some anise. I don't notice anything right away on the tongue, but the maple shows up with some cinnamon. The heat, along with the flavors, lingers on the tongue. There's briefly a hint of anise later. The heat sticks around and follows the swallow and hangs around.

I'm kind of reminded of whisky's that have been finished in amburana casks, but the maple isn't quite as strong.

We'll see how the second dram this evening goes...

Uffda! -ath0

This evening, I'm finishing off a Basil Hayden Toast Small Batch. It's 80 proof, “artfully aged”, but no age statement.

It starts with some toasted marshmallow and cinnamon on the nose. Leads with some carmel, cinnamon, and maybe cherry or peach. There's a hint of toasted marshmallow in the middle, but the finish is a little weak.

I like it, I think it's a fairly inexpensive bottle—this one in particular was a gift.

It's got some oaky heat that lingers after the sip. I prefer to have it with an ice cube. A splash of water is also a good choice, if you prefer the heat.

Uffda! -ath0

This evening I've cracked open a bottle of Holladay One Barrel Bourbon. It is a result of a collaboration with The Saint Louis Bourbon Society and Barrel Blends—this is the “Nice” bottle. It's a Missouri Straight Bourbon Whisky, made with corn, wheat, and barley—percentages wasn't shared. It comes in at 120 proof and was aged six years, 2 months.

I'm a fan.

Trying it neat at first, I smell cherries, leather, cloves and black pepper. There are other aromas in there as well, but I haven't quite cottoned onto them. It starts with a smooth mouthfeel and I can taste cherries and maybe some cinnamon. The heat starts later and then sticks around after swallowing.

After adding some water, the cherry aroma dies off and the cloves pick up a bit. Checking the spice drawer—because there was something there I couldn't quite get—I check mace, nutmeg, and cardamom. Mace and nutmeg are there, but the cardamom's astringency is not there. The flyer did pitch “baking spices”. There's still a hint of black pepper at the finish.

Time to add a little more to my glass and add an ice cube. This is a good one!

Uffda!

Uffda! -ath0

The flavors have been harder to pin down. It's been different on different night. Sometimes caramel. Sometimes leather. Some food may go well with this.

Adding in snacking on sharp cheddar and Triscuits doesn't affect the tasting much.

I've got more, so I'll have to revisit this. Maybe with some chocolate or something sweet.

Uffda! -ath0

Sitting on the patio, I'm having a post-dinner dram of Red Line Elements Amburana Small Batch (https://www.redlinebourbon.com/elements-1). I picked it up for $60 from a local joint. They have several brick and mortar locations, offering a wide variety of whiskies and wine, along with smaller selections of beers, cheeses, and chocolates.

This is my second bottle and I'm a fan. The 103 proof warrants an ice cube or two and requires an “easing in” to get the bouquet—spicy caramel apple pie. That's my summation of the experience. I love it!

There's cinnamon and cloves. Hints of orange.

This offering is non-chill filtered and having learned more about the implications, I can pick out how it is not as 'thin' as Irish or Scottish whiskies.

Some neighborhood deer are in my backyard now, checking me out. The doe is chomping on some honeysuckle, which I would love to have eaten to the roots. One of the two fawns keeps laying down and neither seem very interested in eating. Maybe they're not quite old enough to have been weaned.

With this being my 3rd post, I'm probably not in any danger of creating a run on Red Line Elements Amburana Small Batch, but if you find it—it's limited to a couple of handfuls of states in distribution—and give it a go, please let me know what you think.

Uffda! -ath0

This will be a bottle kill. A more generous pour than I usually go for, but it was nearly empty.

My cold is mostly gone, but the flavors haven't changed much. I'm detecting a hint of anise or licorice on the nose—maybe it's the astringency. There's a hint of it in the back third of the sip, as well.

I've some chocolate covered bing cherries to go with the whisky and they complement it well. Having a sip just after the cherries accentuates some pipe tobacco and sweetness.

Overall, I like the whisky and would certainly have some if offered or if I received a bottle as a gift. It's not the best I've ever had. This is about $60/bottle, so I'd prefer picking up a Penelope Toasted, an Eagle Rare, or even a Kirkland BiB.

Uffda! -ath0

I have a dram of Four Roses Small Batch Select. It's non-chill filtered and is 104 proof. There is a wee string on the label, 331SFA2, which could be a lot identifier. (The 'S' could be a '5'. I needed more light to see for sure, but I'm largely indifferent to be sussed to get the needed lumens.)

I won the bottle in a bourbon raffle. Bottled lightening! (The Weller's Antique 107 was a pleasant discovery and will be another post.)

Without ice, the first sip is a bit harsh and hot. I usually add an ice cube to these higher proofs. I smell some cinnamon and fruit, maybe pear? Some caramel, too.

The heat hits at different places at different times through the sip. It hits the back of the palate and works its way forward. I taste some caramel and cinnamon.

I've been to several whisky tastings and during one with reps from Penelope, I learned non-chill filtered will leave behind some elements to a whisky that chill-filtered will remove. It changes the mouth feel. The feel on this one starts smooth and slightly more viscous than other spirits. I then feel velvet and the sip slips into a slightly rougher cloth.

Continuing on, I also taste butter. I'm reminded of Kerry Gold. I can still pick out some cinnamon, but there are other spices I can't quite put a finger on. Not quite pepper. I feel compelled to say cardamom, but I don't think that's right either.

Perhaps the next dram on another day.

Uffda! -ath0