Turns out this is actually a single barrel version chosen for a local shop, but we got it for the upcoming St Patrick’s Day (in true Honest Booze Reviews tradition). It’s actually not a bad reposado overall, but for the typical mixers we have it doesn’t do very well here, which is sad for us.
Again we delve a bit into some grandstanding American bottom shelf vodkas. It’s a bit annoying that this tries to look Russian too hard. I actually bought this for infusing under the guise of – the flavor I am putting in will remove any of the flaws here (well usually most of them), but aside from it’s lying and aftertaste this as far as budget vodkas go is not bad really.
Another scotch gift to the lounge this time a Speyside instead of an Islay, and while this is not an Islay scotch it also manages to disappoint my personal tastes. This is clearly a Speyside scotch, and I think it’s main issue is this is a special release made for the United States.
Alright so we’ve not really branched out far into dark rums, I would say we still only have a handful by now, but the good news is that the popularity of the Kraken has ‘inspired’ other companies to try and get some of that sweet sweet money. While this is good news for those wanting a variety of darker rums, maybe we should have left it to the professionals.
This was a late-Christmas gift to the lounge, and because it was not a gift from myself, and was intended to be something I’ve not tried – well the odds were not in my favor. What we get is a true Islay scotch, but sadly an Islay scotch that could turn off the regular imbiber away from the majesty of Islay.
Now we move onto a gin that has a history longer than most any spirit; however unlike Gordon’s which claims to have kept it’s rotgut bathtub recipe, you can tell this gin has been subtly improved. If anything my problem with this gin is that it has honed it’s edge too far.
Well I had a recent stint across the pond, and a load of time at the airport before my return. So of course I walked around the duty-free shop looking for something neat that I’ve not seen in a local store. However with a very distinctive color and name (and let’s be fair the brand of Auchentoshan is a friend) the choice was quite obvious.
I wish this was called Cane Run Sugar Cane Rum just for the wordplay alone. In short though we have a non-gimmicky fairly standard white rum that does not do much to not fade into the background of where it sits on a store shelf. Not that we take issue with that – some of our favorites barely standout, and the few with pizzazz are often left wanting in other areas.
This was a gift to the lounge, and while I am always gracious to accept gifts I knew almost instantly this was a mistake. Especially when once again I have encountered the new dreaded style of pour-sprout that requires a kickstart. Yes folks once again we have another spiced rum (apologies for all of the scotch we just finished).
So we reach the end of my scotch filled holiday. This time with a scotch that has been talked about a few times here, and is one of my personal favorites – truly a spirit of ‘if you were stranded on an island and could have a crate of just one spirit’ sort of favorite. I am of course speaking of Oban. While Auchentoshan was my first time I really tried and realized I loved scotch, my first Oban was when I realized I was in love with scotch.
