09-Dec: Tullamore D.E.W. 12 year old (Special Reserve)

More #WhiskyAdvent action. This time, we visit Ireland. Some people assert that whisky originated in Ireland, others insist that it was invented by the Scots. I don't think we'll ever know, but we can all agree that Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are both fine products (though they disagree on the spelling).

Let's get right down to this. The color is lovely: A nice creamy golden hue. The nose is very bright and floral, like citrus blossoms. The mouth feel is smooth and honestly I don't find it to be very interesting. There is no alcohol burn at all. That's because it's the legal minimum alcohol concentration to be called whisk(e)y. It's 40% ABV. So it looks good but in my opinion it's not very flavorful or complex.

There's a long way to go in December and variety, as "they" say, is the spice of life. I'm glad I tried this. (Note: I had really spicy Burmese food for dinner - it might have thrown off my taste buds.)

 

Trivia: The plural of whisky is whiskies. The plural of whiskey is whiskeys. Truth!

04-Dec: Elijah Craig 12-year-old (Small-Batch Bourbon)

This is day 4 of the Whisky Advent Calendar adventure. #WhiskyAdvent

Out of the 4 days so far, we've had 2 malt whiskies (one Japanese, one Scottish), one blended whisky (Scottish) and now one American whiskey (note the spelling!). BTW, the first post in this series has been permanently lost. If you read it, those photons are a collector's item.

The Elijah Craig small-batch bourbon (age: 12) is my kind of Bourbon, in that it's not super sweet. I have to admit not knowing much about Bourbon, other than that it's made from corn and must be aged in new oak barrels (charred oak barrels). I've tasted a number of Bourbons and some are sweet but to me this isn't a good thing. I like spices and Elijah Craig delivers. (It turns out that - and this is probably a tall tale - but the Reverend Elijah Craig, of what is now Kentucky but which used to be part of Virginia, allegedly discovered that aging whiskey in charred oak barrels gave a nice effect.)

The nose of this whisky is wonderfully woody, as you'd expect for a 12-year-old Bourbon, with some sweetness underneath layers of peppery spices. I did read the tasting notes at Master of Malt and this clearly demonstrates that I don't know jack about Bourbon. I am just not used to the tastes and smells it presents. However, with that said, I did enjoy it and I think I'd like some more, please.