Bulleit 10 - Lego Advent Day 18

 The Whisky

Oddly, the first Bulleit Whiskey I ever tested was a Rye that was a little too warm on a warm Summer's day in Vienna (at the Beaver Brewing Company -- good burgers, good beer and in Alsergrund so near a lot of other cool stuff, check it out).

Bulleit Rye is 95% Rye 5% Malt from MGP. It's not to everyone's taste and drinking it warm is not ideal. I liked it however. So I have a soft spot for Bulleit.

This 10 Year Old Bourbon is also sourced, but it's not entirely sure where from and it is a "high rye" Bourbon (68% Corn, 28% Rye, 4% Malt).

Compared to Eagle Rage this is a little drier and heavier on the oak, the rye brings a bit of extra spice but it all feels just a little bit rougher

The Lego

A Hoth Laser Cannon. Great for this size and it can turn too, so another winner for the designers.

Proclamation Irish Whiskey & Cadenhead's 1845 - Lego Advent Days 16, 17

 The Whisk(e)y

€20 of Irish Whiskey. Too much grain for my taste.

So, this was bottled for me at the Cadenhead's shop on the Royal Mile. Possibly proving that I'm an easy mark for this sort of thing. It's a Speyside sherry bomb and it's a very nice example of that. Cask strength again because if it's not around 60% these days I just don't feel a thing.

That's  probably why all these photo are blurry and at an odd angle....

The Lego

 

Every Lego Advent Calendar has a weapon rack. This is no exception. I do think this is trying to tie-in to a scene in Kenobi. But I can't be sure.

A Snowtrooper. This is foreshadowing a small Hoth run. It's great but, even better, it's diverse. Lego doing that "woke" thing. I love it!

The Sändebud & Jura Rum Cask Finish - Lego Advent Days 14,15

 The Whisky

Earlier in the month we had the Ardnamurchan Cask Strength. This is a blend of that and a Swedish whisky from High Coast Distillery. It's bottled at around 60% ABV and so stands out in any number of ways.

This has that heavy Ardnamurchan peat balanced with something a little sweeter. It's really immediately flavoursome in ways that even other cask strength whiskies aren't. This goes big. Even after an evening of other drinks this just stamps all over your tastebuds. In a good way.

This was one of 1,183 bottles, so my tasting notes are a little superfluous, but if you can visit me before the end of the year then feel free to ask for a dram.

Rum Cask finished Jura. At a recent tasting with my co-workers (this, Eagle Rare, Scallywag & Longrow) this was the one everybody liked.

I think I used to like Jura more. They had some pretty bottles at a time when whisky marketing was a little more timorous. I've not really felt the need to revisit them until now.

And, well, this is a good sipper. It's fruity and a bit rubbery and sweet. It does what it does well without grabbing your attention.

The Lego

A TIE Advanced. Would you look at that! Swoosh!

I do like that they keep themes within the different days, so this was a couple of Return of the Jedi models. This is a B-Wing. It's just a bit chunky where it shouldn't be and less than chunky where it should be.

Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhona, Longrow - Lego Advent Days 12, 13

 The Whisky

Tastes like bacon.

Tastes like the sea.

The  Lego

So, these two are divisive. They are based on the Lego Star Wars Summertime Special and some of the grumpier end of Lego fandom (not me, surprisingly) think this is wrong and Lego should be ashamed of themselve for such a shameless cash grab.

But, well look at them. Darth Vader in Scarif T-Shirt and a sandcastle he made of his fortress on Mustafar. Just so cute.

Sazerac Rye, Whisky of Mystery - Lego Advent Day 10, 11

 The Whiskies

Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey. So good there's a cocktail named after it.

Or so you would think. It's a good Rye and probably a good introduction to this style. But I find it a little bland. I keep trying it, wanting to like it more but after the East London Rye and High West ryes this is lacking something for me

It's not a mystery. It's from Ben Nevis and it's five years old you can find that on the bottle.

I've had another WoM from Signatory Vintage and that was a Staoisha from Bunnahabain and that was an immediate pleasure. This is more subtle.
 

This is a stubborn one. It initially goes all in on butterscotch notes with a few other little things and the impression that there should be a little more. Eventually, green apple notes along with a touch of spiciness arrive. A slightly frustrating whisky, then, good but it feels like it could have been better.

The Lego

A Moisture Vaporator. A good model, but a little boring.

A speeder of mystery. To be fair you either know what it is and think this is a very well done version of it or you don't and it's still a lovely model. Top marks to Lego.

This is the end of a mini Tatooine Run along with the Land speeder the Vaporator and the T-16 and I have to say I enjoyed it.

 

 

Scallywag Winter Edition - Lego Advent Day 9

The Whisky

 

Scallywag Winter Edition. If I get this next year it will be a tradition.

It just tastes like Christmas. The dried fruits and nuts and, of course, sherry. The 58% ABV gives it a nice warming touch and it's blended in a way that you can drink this without water, but even more flavour and aroma is present if you add a teaspoon of water to a dram.

Also look at that label. The whole experience is just spot on. And you get a little scarf!

The Lego

 C-3PO in a Christmas sweater featuring R2-D2. Perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

Eagle Rare - Lego Advent Day 8

The Whisky

“Bourbon is easy to understand: It tastes like a warm summer’s day.”

Raylan  Givens is, or course, right. Eagle Rare can be simple but it has aged 10 years in oak barrels so it can be a bit more than that if you choose. It does the honey and vanilla with a touch of oak thing on the nose,  and adds a touch of smoke and spice on the palate.

First hit I had of this I thought it tasted intensely of jam but that's never really come back as strongly.

This Knob Creek 9, Bulleit 10 and, particularly, Russell's Reserve 10 make a good case for bourbons with a bit of age on them.

The Lego

It's a T-16 Skyhopper. You can just imagine bulls-eyeing womp rats with it.

 

 

You could may be argue some of the proportions are off, but great work here.

 

Springbank 10 - Lego Advent Day 7

The Whisky

Springbank 10. You can upset Whisky shop owners the world over by asking them if they have any Whisky from Campbeltown. If you are lucky they will try to sell you some Glen Scotia (and you should probably buy it because it's good).

The on-line Whisky Knowers love Springbank and they buy it when they see it. Me too! I've got 3 more bottles of this and one and a half of Longrow (Springbank Peated).

Is it really that good? To be honest the first ever bottle I bought of this sort of passed me by. I think I was more into the smokier end of the peated whiskies and, while this brings it, its a slightly different beast to Ardbeg or Ledaig.

There's also that "funk" thing. Springbank is funky. It's dirty and oily and slightly sweaty which are all good things in their place and that place looks to be here.

Great stuff!

The Lego

A landspeeder!. This is a great tiny version of a classic vehicle. If I were to quibble, it's the wrong colour. As are many of the Lego versions of this as you can see.

Also great stuff!

Ardnamurchan Cask Strength - Lego Advent Day 6

The Whisky

Ardnamurchan are just putting out one fine bottle after another, The story with this one was that they weren't planning to put out a cask strength version but they tried some and changed their minds.

If you scan the QR-code below you will find out everything to know about this particular bottle.

I didn't quite get all the floral notes in the provided tasting notes, but the peat and the tobacco and the sweeter touches are all there.

For me, it took a bit of water and few minutes in the glass to get the most out of it.

The Lego

 

The Marauder from Bad Batch as you can see it captures the form pretty well!

One odd thing: the big Lego set is called "The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle" so, I guess attacking is OK, but Marauding is right out.

Black Bush - Lego Advent Day 5

The Whiskey

I was given two of these for my birthday this year and this is the second, so it must have been OK.

I do like to have an Irish Whiskey in my rotation and it's often from the cheaper end  -- Teeling or Roe & Co. -- as the Spot's (Green, Yellow, etc) don't do a great deal more for the price. That said, Redbreast 12 Cask Strength and Teeling Dark Porter are both worth the extra.

This adds some sherry notes to the usual apples and biscuits and is a pleasant enough sipper.

The Lego

A battle droid. You get one every year.

The Missing Stair · Ten Past Now

Ondjaba - Lego Advent Day 4

The Whiskey

The Namibian Whiskey, even. Somewhat burying the lede this is The Namibian Elephant Shit Whiskey.

It's... Chaotic. There's lots of flavour here but it seems to randomly appear on your palate. Not all of them are good. There's an aggressiveness to this that I really need to be in the mood for.

The Lego

Now, I had to look this up. It's an Acclamator-class ship that appeared in the Clone Wars cartoons. A bold left-field choice. But in reality just a grey wedge. Good use of parts, though, and a nice little build, but... Grey.

 

Compass Box Orchard House - Lego Advent Day 3

The Whisky

Compass Box can sometimes be almost hilariously committed to transparency so in this case I can tell you this is made from:
 

- 39% Linkwood Distillery, First Fill Bourbon Barrel
- 29% Clynelish Distillery, First Fill Bourbon Barrel
- 20% Benrinnes Distillery, First Fill Bourbon Barrel
- 8% Distillery near the town of Aberlour, Revatted Oloroso Sherry Seasoned Butt
- 2% Highland Malt Blend, eigenes Frensch Oak Barrel – Heavy Toast
- 2% Caol Ila Distillery, First Fill Bourbon Barrel 

And when you are starting with those goodies you'd better do a good job.

Compass Box nail it. Especially at this price point  (€40). There's a reason it won the OSWA for best blended whisky.

One thing I will note is that I recently finished a bottle of Benrinnes which I kept forgetting I had but always regretted not buying more bottles of it when I had a dram. The Benrinnes had a lovely central hotness that Orchard House somehow manages to preserve and showcase.

Get a bottle if you see it.
 

The Lego

A Tri.Fighter. It seems there 's a willingness to go back to the pre-quel trilogy at the moment. This is a great model with interesting parts that is solid and endlessly swooshable. Great!

 

Old Pulteney Huddart - Lego Advent Day 2

The Whisky

 

 

I heard about this one from Roy of Aquavitae in one of his vPub videos. The usual Old Pulteney 12 Year Old is one of those work-horse Whiskies you can get everywhere, fruity and soft with a bit of salt it's a lovely sipper that is probably a bit over-looked in favour of more aggressively present bottles.

This isn't going to change that, but what it does it does just a little bit better all round. For a start it's 46% ABV.

On the nose fruit here is apples though there's more honey or caramel and a small smoky note.

On the palate that smoky note becomes something quite bitter like a dark chocolate and it has a full oily mouth-feel. 

It has a longish dry finish that is quite surprising at this price point (€46).

The Lego

The pilot, a Clone Trooper. As before Minifigs are hard to review. This has nice printing and comes with a pistol (with advent calendars they often save weapons for weapons racks later in the month).

Like the whisky this is a solid choice that's reassuringly good more that totally amazing.

The Missing Stair · Empty Barrels

Ten Past Now

The Missing Stair · Ten Past Now

Cotswolds Odyssey Barley Single 2017 - Lego Advent Day 1

 

The Whisky

 

An English Whisky! Not my first, though. There was Filey Bay which was a big hit of butterscotch and East London Rye which was herbal and spicy and lovely.
 

This is from Cotswolds and it's OK. As you can see it's a recent purchase so this could be the "neck pour", but it's a fine dram that just doesn't do anything in particular.
 

I may have to come back to it when it's had a bit more time in the bottle.

 

The Lego

 

A Republic Gunship! This seems to be more photogenic than it should be. It's a good collection of parts and it looks like what it ought to but it just seems too delicate to me. Still, a good start for this year's calender.