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Javier Barranca

Mezcal / Spirit Reviews

Mal Bien Mezcla 5 Magueyes 49.32% – Ciro + Javier Barranca

Papalote, Zacatoro, Espadín + Magueyes Desconocidos...

January 23, 2023

ryeamlegend

This past September I attended one of the few Ardn

This past September I attended one of the few ArdnAmerica tour tastings. We met both @craftycarl21 and @connalwhiskymack who led us through a tasting of every @ardnamurchandistillery and @adelphi1826 bottle being released this year. Everything from the new blended whisky, Maclean’s Nose, to a wonderful 16-year-old ‘Breath of the Isles’.
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Since I had already purchased my bottle of ArdnAmerica, I decided to take home my favorite of the night, a 14-year-old oloroso cask from Glen Elgin. My wife fell in love with this 13-year-old Caol Ila and so we left each with a bottle for ourselves. It was a fantastic evening and it was great to meet with the Adelphi and @impexbev crew!
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Full notes can be found on my website as always #linkinbio as well as on r/scotch and over on @maltrunners.
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Nose - Soft cherry and intense vanilla notes. Tart raspberry and underripe Barlett pear. Fresh hay bales. Raw ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. Mineral-rich peat with a soil and briny quality.
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Palate - The first sip hits you with that rich barrel char. An almost maple syrup quality with it. The sugars however more resemble a vegetal sweetness of caramelized wild onions and sweet potatoes. I swear it’s not just lingering Thanksgiving flavors! Butter cookies, oatmeal, and sweetened barley cereal.
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Finish - Dark cocoa powder finish with even more barrel char flavors. This cask must have been a level 5 char! Big flaky finishing salts over dark chocolate. A subtle perspiration on your upper lip on that abnormally warm fall day.
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Lovely dram and a wonderful ex-bourbon expression of Caol Ila. It’s not entirely what I expected, but it delivers most of what I enjoy about Caol Ila. From sweet grains to subtle savory notes, there’s a malted harmony with the cask that satisfies my palate.
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#scotch #scotchwhısky #sınglemalt #whisky #whiskygram #caolila #bourbon #whiskey #singlecask #independentbottler

I’ve been getting into some of the simpler bottl

I’ve been getting into some of the simpler bottles on my shelf lately. Blends, 46%’ers, straightforward ex-bourbon casks—nothing too fancy. A couple of bottles have been hitting that spot for me. Ardnamurchan’s AD/ and these neat little blends from Thompson Bros. Having finished off this bottle recently, my appreciation for it evolved over the past year.
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Full review notes can actually just be found right here! #linkinbio if you'd like to read on my website with only a few additional details and my overall thoughts on this bottle.
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Nose: Fruit and honey blended up in an industrial grease smoothie. Something about this blend brings out a weird accoutrement of aromas. Unsalted European butter with a very grassy, green element. Clover, alfalfa, and sage. Unripe, green strawberries, right from the vine. Coinciding with the previous fruit note, there’s this artificial fruit punch aroma reminiscent of a Kool-Aid packet. Right behind the fruit is loud, obvious peat and cereals. That dirt and grit just remind me of a bagged school lunch. A warm ham sandwich in a plastic baggie. From the nose, I’m kind of in love with it.
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Palate: Dirty, funky peat with a side of engine oil. Very industrial in composition on the nose and now the palate. The fruits are kind of murky but the flavors are still evident at the sides of your tongue. Summer berries and hopped mead. The grassy elements are clear and clean like fresh-cut herbs from your back garden. Fresh watermelon and rocket summer salad. Sesame oil and toasted black sesame paste. A salinity comes around with a welcome umami emphasis.
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Finish: A subtle hint of a sherry cask in the blend, just sufficient to perk up my taste buds. Lots of old tannic oak bitterness. It’s old, earthy, and dirty with just a light fruity wisp on the finish. Textiles and old warehouse dust. Heavy cereal notes and a light sweet barley flavor coming through. Metals of iron and rust, like a butter-basted steak in a cast iron pan. Wet grass cuttings and mulched leaves. Mushrooms and vegetarian broth. The finish is so damn earthy and I’m here for it.
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#whisky #scotch #scotchwhisky #whiskygram #thompsonbros

A humble malt sample for today's review. I can't h

A humble malt sample for today's review. I can't help my affinity for Linkwood but I had to give this one a try after seeing the unique "Charred Red Wine Hogshead" cask type. Certainly a new one for me and a cask that @signatoryusa seemed to use a fair bit of if you search through the @whiskybase database. This was selected for @binnysbev a few years back in 2020/2021.

Full notes can be found on my website and on @maltrunners #linkinbio

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Nose: Cask driven fruit aromas. Dates, currants, almost Armagnac brandy notes. Unripe strawberries, butterscotch chews, and citrus notes of orange zest and lime leaf.

Palate: Prunes, more dates, and figs. Earthy nutty quality from the wine cask. Bold floral vanilla bean and a touch of leather. A touch of water turns this dram into a butterscotch cookie!

Finish: The wine cask fades away on the finish with more typical ex-bourbon flavors. Karo syrup, pecans, pie crust. A touch of dark cocoa and tobacco on the finish. Oaky, but not tannic in flavor.

Overall I feel like the cask has trampled over the Linkwood character. Some good ways, others not so good. It almost tastes like a wine finished bourbon at times! Muddied but a deviation from the distillery I was happy to sample.

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#scotch #scotchwhisky #singlemalt #linkwood #linkwooddistillery #binnys #diageo #signatoryvintage

Branching out again with another @habitation.velie

Branching out again with another @habitation.velier rum review!

The same disclaimer as last time that I'm not the biggest rum drinker, and especially not aged rums. I do have a soft spot for Jamaican rums however, and I'm always willing to try something new!

Full notes on my website #linkinbio

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Nose: Hot wallpaper glue! Lime peels and sugar soaked rolling tobacco. Molasses candy and raw ginger spice. Industrial and fruity!

Palate: Decadent and rich, molton molasses cake. Fruity vanillas, black cardamom, casia cinnamon, and ground ginger. Toasted almonds and earthy walnuts.

Finish: This certainly tastes better going down then letting it sit on your palate. Pineapple tepache, dried mango, papaya, an unripe bananas. Lingering almost anise-like quality or herbescent. Goes down like strawberry starbursts and an exclusively fruit waste compost.

This is a wild expression and an aged rum I think I rather enjoy! The mix of dirty industrial funk along with the fruit really appeals to me. I adore the distinct but immensely flavorful raw ginger bite I got off the palate. All of these flavors combined in one incredible single cast rum!

I think I might be turning a corner on my aged rum preferences. High ester Jamaican rums just hit it out of the park!

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#rum #longpond #jamaica #jamaicanrum #habitationvelier #lamaison

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