McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Pot Distilled Whiskey

McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt has a moderate nose of smoke, along with iodine and some earthiness, all obviously from the peating of the Scottish barley. There’s also the typical alcohol nose of a whiskey. But once you blow away some of the alcohol, or let it evaporate away on its own, swirling for a while, you also get some scent of cut grass and a tiny hint of caramel. It’s quite pleasing to the nose.

Bakon Vodka – Meat & Potatoes in a Bottle

There’s obvious raw bacon flavor all through this, but the mouth feel is just not what you’d expect. I am not EVER going to try the likely hurl-in-a-glass that they suggest known as a “Bakon Flip,” which includes a whole raw egg, Irish cream, maple syrup and a shot of Bakon. [shudder]

Balcones Baby Blue Hopi Corn Whisky

I used a snifter for this one, since I drink my Scotch and other whiskeys that way, but after getting an initial whiff it seems pretty clear that this one is better served in a shot glass. It has a heavy alcohol nose with a little earthiness. Buried in the nostril burn is some earthiness and some sweetness from the blue corn used to create this spirit.

Hot Monkey

Hot Monkey vodka has a slight nose of hot peppers at first whiff. Being a bit of a hot pepper connoisseur, it reminds me of a Sandia or some other green chile. But it’s only a slight nose. Tasting it, not so slight. POW!

Mud Puddle – The Spirit of Chocolate

Mud Puddle, by New Deal Distillery, has a fairly strong aroma of cocoa with a hint of cherry that sometimes seems to accompany the darkest of chocolates. There’s no sweetness to the nose. Just the flavors of bittersweet cocoa and fruit.

House Spirits Krogstad Aquavit

First, a disclaimer: I’ve been drinking Linea for quite some time, and Aalborg and other less palatable aquavits/akvavits, too, in part to pretend to get in touch with my Danish heritage. This has been a mistake. I should have waited for this aquavit before embarking on such an effort.

Treaty Oak Platinum Rum

As an interesting aside, the rum begins with molasses from the last operating sugar mill in Texas. I assume that’s the Imperial Sugar Company in Sugar Land, Texas, which still refines sugar imported from Hawaii, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico.

Dripping Springs Vodka

Dripping Springs Vodka doesn’t have too much of a nose, but has a fairly heavy mouth feel, and feels viscous and almost oily. The taste is rather smooth, with some slight bitter aftertaste, but more pronounced tastes of salt and sweet.

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Tito’s is made at the oldest distillery in Texas (dating from way back in 1997). It’s got a slight earthy nose and more than a little earthy and mineral taste. That’s not much of a surprise given the hard water in Texas that makes up 60% of the bottle.

Portland 88 Vodka

I’m not a real fan of this one. It’s a bit hot and a tad harsh, but for an extra proof vodka, I suppose that is to be expected. This is obviously meant for mixing where some of that nose and heat will be mellowed. Or for folks who are there for the proof alone. $19.95 […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »