Kamiki and Umiki Japanese Whisky

November 3, 2020 Eric Burke

I would like to thank Kamiki Whisky for providing tonight’s samples with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Two bottles of Japanese Whisky. Kamiki Cedar barrel finished and Umiki Pine barrel finished

As I write this, it is election day in the United States. Theoretically, election season will be over after tonight. But since I was still getting emails and texts from people either asking for money or threatening me with a loss of “Law and Order” as of 15 minutes ago…I’m not convinced that this is the end of anything. All I can say is that over the course of the next week, I hope that half of you get what you want and that half of you do not. All the while, knowing that almost half of you don’t care one way or the other.

God, I love how statistics can be both accurate and complete nonsense at the same time.

Anyway, on to something that has nothing to do with the election, or even the United States: a couple of Japanese Whiskies. In this case, provided by Kamiki Whisky. Just so that we have it all out on the table, I know next to nothing about Japanese Whisky. Over the years, I’ve gathered that it is closest in style to Scotch whisky.

“But wait,” you are asking, “don’t you hate Scotch whisky? Why are you reviewing this then?”

Well, no. I don’t hate Scotch whisky. I’ve just found very few that I enjoyed. But I requested these samples mostly because I have tasted whiskies from Japan that I didn’t mind, and I thought the finishing on these sounded interesting. Both Kamiki and Umiki are malt whiskies that have been finished in casks made of non-standard wood. According to Master of Malt, the Kamiki is “a unique blended malt whisky made using Japanese malts whiskies combined with specially selected malt whiskies from around the world.” That blend is then finished in Japanese Cedar casks. Umiki, on the other hand, is cut with purified ocean water and then finished in Japanese Pine casks. Never having had the opportunity to taste a whiskey finished in either pine or cedar, I requested samples when they sent me a press release.

Let’s see how this goes.

Umiki Japanese Whisky

Purchase Info: Kamiki Whisky graciously provided this sample for review purposes. They do not list a suggested price, but Total Wine in Denver, CO lists it for $45.49

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.07

Details: Blended malt using purified ocean water for dilution and Japanese Pine casks for finishing. 46% ABV.

Nose: Clean and fresh with dried apples and malted grains.

Mouth: Cinnamon, dried fruit, and malted grains.

Finish: Medium length with a gentle heat. Cinnamon, malted grain, and just a hint of smoke linger.

Thoughts: I'm of two minds about this whiskey. While on one hand, I think that I would happily drink this all night if I was with a friend that wanted it, I also think that it won't be one that I reach for very often. It isn't quite to my palate. But I still kinda like it.

Kamiki Japanese Whisky

Purchase Info: Kamiki Whisky graciously provided this sample for review purposes. They do not list a suggested price, but Total Wine in Madison, Wisconsin lists it for $65.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.40

Details: Blended malt made using malts from Japan and around the world. Japanese Cedar casks for finishing. 48% ABV.

Nose: Antiseptic and metallic. Sugar sweetness underneath.

Mouth: Sweet, antiseptic, Caramel and malted grains.

Finish: Sweet and long. Antiseptic and metallic notes dominate.

Thoughts: I do not like this one. And it is for the same reason I don't like many Scotch Whiskies. I don't like antiseptic or metallic flavors. There is also a numbing sensation to this that I'm not thrilled with. I can accept that there are many people in the world that may love this. However, I am not among them.

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Lyre's American Malt and Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative

June 16, 2020 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Two brands of Non-Alcoholic drinks that claim to be Whiskey alternatives. Lyre’s American Malt and Ritual Zero Proof.

Have you ever thought to yourself “Man, I could really enjoy a whiskey cocktail right now, but I don’t feel like drinking?”

I haven’t either, when I don’t feel like drinking but don’t want something sweet, I shake some bitters into soda water and call it good. When I feel like a cocktail, I have a cocktail. But I am apparently out of touch with trends these days because I’m hearing more and more people talk about mocktails (a name I seriously hate) and even alcohol-free bars. I’ve even started seeing bottles of “Whiskey Alternative” on the shelf of my local liquor store.

Now, I like to think I have an open mind. And when I don’t exactly understand something, I like to learn more about it. And being the curious fellow that I am, I took it upon myself to find out a little more about why I might want a “Zero-Proof Whiskey Alternative” and if there is any room for them in my life. So I bought the bottle at my local liquor store which happened to be from Ritual Zero-Proof. They make a whiskey alternative and a gin alternative. And because I like to be thorough, I ordered a bottle of Lyre’s American Malt as well. I’d been seeing mentions of Lyre’s since the end of last year and I was genuinely curious about them.

I tasted each of these neat (not how they were intended to be served) so that I could get a handle on their flavors. I also used each of these in a variety of cocktails. I made each into a Manhattan (using actual vermouth and bitters), a sour, and a highball with Q ginger ale and a squeeze of lime.

Lyre's American Malt

Purchase Info: $35.99 plus shipping for a 700 mL bottle from the company website.

Nose: Molasses, caramel, ginger

Mouth: Very thin, no body to the mouthfeel. Weak iced tea notes.

Finish: Ginger, cinnamon, molasses, weak iced tea.

Thoughts: This smells and tastes way more like a rum than a whiskey. Those molasses notes are very prominent. Obviously this wasn't meant to be a sipping drink and it isn't. It doesn't taste bad for what it is.

Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative

Purchase Info: $21.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Nose: Smoke, bubblegum, apple

Mouth: Smoke, hot pepper, and weak green tea.

Finish: Hot pepper spice and smoke.

Thoughts: Ever been sick after eating a spicy meal? This tastes like that with a healthy dose of smoke thrown in.

Manhattan:

Lyre's kinda gets lost among the other ingredients. Orange and vermouth with a hint of molasses.

Ritual does not get lost, but that’s a problem since it tastes so bad that I was hoping the vermouth and orange would help hide it.

Sour:

Lyre's kinda tastes like a lemonade. Not too bad, might be good sparkling.

Ritual tastes more like a cocktail but the hot pepper flavor comes through too much for me.

Ginger Ale Highball:

Lyre's actually isn't bad at all. the molasses notes pair very nicely with the ginger ale. This would be my favorite of the six cocktails we made today.

Ritual once again suffers from the notes of raw hot peppers. Of the cocktail I've tried Ritual in today, the ginger ale highball is the best, but I'd still rather just have the ginger ale.

Thoughts:

I was genuinely curious about these. The Lyre's especially since they make an entire line of spirit alternatives. And truthfully, the Lyre’s American Malt wasn't bad. I could wish for a bit more spice to it, but bitters will help with that. If you are in the market for a "whiskey" with no alcohol you could do worse.

Speaking of worse, there is the Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative. This tastes like no whiskey I've ever had except maybe the Dickel/Tabasco thing. I think they were trying to hit the burn of a whiskey by using the hot peppers but it didn't land. At all. I'll probably just dump this one. I do not even remotely like it.

So do I have a place in my life for these? Probably not. Like I said earlier, I get more enjoyment and variety out of a couple of dashes of bitters in my soda water than I did from either of these. It’s easier too. Honestly, I think that the non-aged spirit alternatives from these brands might work better. Anything that is based on an infusion in spirit form, like gin or some of the liqueurs, might actually be ok since you could follow the same process to make these. Trying to hit the flavor profile of an oak barrel with spices seems to be a dicey proposition at best.

J. Henry & Sons Bourbon

January 23, 2020 Eric Burke

I am sick tonight so this will be short. It’s the type of sick where my mouth tastes a little like vomit even though I’ve brushed my teeth about three times today.

Speaking of a bad taste in my mouth, tonight’s bourbon is J. Henry & Sons Wisconsin Straight Bourbon Whiskey. My mom lives in Wisconsin and is very proud of where she comes from. One day last fall, she was watching a local PBS station when she saw a segment on J Henry Bourbon. My step-dad is a bourbon drinker so she looked it up, saw it was for sale at my local Total Wine, and picked it up for him the next time she came to visit me. My sample is from this bottle.

Ordinarily, this is where I would do a lot of research and tell you all a little about the bourbon. But as I said, I am sick and in no mood to research bad bourbon. Luckily the folks over at Bourbon and Banter have done it for us. Though it seems they have a much different opinion of this bourbon than I do. Maybe it is a batch difference or Total Wine got a poorly treated case.

Because, yes sometimes you just get a bad bottle. I’ve had it happen a couple of times over the years. For example, I recently bought a bottle of Larceny from Total Wine that tasted super funky. Before proclaiming that the brand had gone downhill I decided to buy another bottle from a different retailer. That second one tasted normal.

But in any event, I can only review the bottle I have in front of me. And in this case, the cost of the bottle is a little high to take the risk on a second one.

Note: these notes were taken before I was sick.

J. Henry Bourbon

Purchase Info: $56.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.80

Details: 5 years old. Batch 57. 46% ABV.

Nose: Dried grains, bubblegum, and mint

Mouth: Bitter almond, dried grains, and cinnamon.

Finish: Medium length with lingering bitter almond notes, as well as mint and cinnamon notes.

Thoughts: This is...not good. It’s bitter, it’s grainy. It's actually unpleasant to drink. I can't recommend this to any but the most fervent localvores. And even then I'd probably try something else.

My Wandering Eye: A. de Fussigny Cognac Collection

August 6, 2019 Eric Burke

My Wandering Eye is a series reacting to the crazy rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going be asked to drop $40 to $70 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. My hope is to see if another spirits category offers something that is downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits, but to maximize the quality, I’m getting at a particular price point. And one thing to remember is that these reviews will all be written from the perspective of a bourbon drinker.

IMAGE: five cognacs from the A. de Fussigny Cognac Collection. One from four different cognac regions and one organic blend

As we are coming up on the Autumn Whiskey Release season, I think it is just about time to clear out the last of the items I bought the last time my eye wandered down the brandy aisle at Total Wine. It was a while ago as I was, once again, looking for a Christmas gift for my Korbel Brandy loving father. Often times, I will get him a cognac or an armagnac for Christmas as a treat. But of course, when I look for a gift for him, I often walk out with at least one gift for me as well.

The thing I found interesting about this gift set was that the company that produced it apparently bottled brandies from each of the regions they produce in separately. So conceivably you could taste the terroir of each region. It reminded me of a daydream I had many years ago of buying five barrels of new make whiskey from the same batch at the same distillery and aging them each in different climates to see what the differences were. Needless to say, that idea was too expensive for me. But if you want to do that feel free, just be sure to send me a sample of each when they are done.

A. de Fussigny Cognac Collection

Petite Champagne VSOP

Nose: Delicate floral notes along with light wintergreen and dried fruit.

Mouth: Cinnamon, dried fruit, white sugar.

Finish: Fairly bitter.

Thoughts: Not a fan of this one. Can't get past the bitter finish. This is a distant number 5 of 5. We are not starting out well.

Borderies VSOP

Nose: Subtle. light notes of baking spice.

Mouth: Sweet, Floral, nutty and peppery.

Finish: Black pepper and caramel sweetness.

Thoughts: Nice pepperiness to it. Took me by surprise. It’s ok, but I wouldn’t seek it out. I rank this number 4 of the 5.

Fins Bois VSOP

Nose: Carmel covered raisins.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy, dried fruit, baking spice.

Finish: Caramel and baking spice.

Thoughts: Sweet. Very bourbon-like finish. This is where we enter the ones that we actually liked. Number 3 of the 5.

Organic VSOP

Nose: Lemon lime soda, light notes of baking spice

Mouth: Citrus, baking spice, almond.

Finish: Candied Almonds.

Thoughts: Delicate but quite tasty. This is a close number 2. I really like this one.

Grande Champagne VSOP

Nose: Dried fruit with a lime-like tartness.

Mouth: Lime, clove, mint, dried fruit.

Finish: Citrus and baking spice.

Thoughts: Refreshing. I like this one quite a bit. It reminds me of my favorite summer white wines with how crisp and refreshing it is. I liked this enough to look up the price. Total Wine has it for about $70 for a 750 mL. I may have to pick a bottle up next time it is in stock. I think it’s worth it.

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Smooth Ambler Big Level Wheated Bourbon

October 16, 2018 Eric Burke

IMAGE: nighttime shot of a bottle of Smooth Ambler’s Big Level wheated bourbon.

Have you ever had this experience?

Someone uses the restroom in your house when you really gotta go. I mean you gotta go so bad that once the door is opened and your wife (or whomever) comes out, you dodge them and rush through the doorway. Immediately upon entering, you are hit with the smell. It’s like walking into a wall. A wall that wants to slap your nose across the face.

Your head rocks back and you make a noise that sounds like a strangled: “wheeeew!” At which point, your wife (or whomever) exclaims: “Oh, it’s not that bad!” All the while you are just trying to relieve yourself, wash your hands and get out of there as quickly as you can.

You can’t really blame them. They spent too much time with it. They don’t know how bad that thing they made really is. They started with nothing and worked it up into something…different. But they did it gradually. It didn’t just hit them all at once like it did you. They had time to get used to it.

Ever had that experience? Maybe it’s just me.

Smooth Ambler Big Level Wheated Bourbon

Purchase Info: $54.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 50% ABV. This is a wheated bourbon recipe. Non-age stated. Batch 16.

Nose: Herbal mint, dried grains, and green lumber.

Mouth: Spicy heat, dried grains, mint, and black pepper.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Dried grain notes lend a bitter aftertaste, along with herbal mint and black pepper. A lingering tingle on the tongue.

Thoughts: I’m not going to sugar coat it, this straight up isn’t ready yet. It is very young tasting. I remember tasting their “Yearling” bourbon (which in my bottle was 1.67 years old) and this reminds me a lot of how I remember that. Which is too bad. At the time I reviewed Yearling, I’d said I was looking forward to tasting that when it had grown up. I’m guessing that I’ll need to wait longer. This is highly disappointing, especially considering the price it sells for.

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O.Z. Tyler, Bourbon and Rye

August 14, 2018 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Two miniature bottles. One OZ Tyler Bourbon, one OZ Tyler Rye

When I was a kid, Walt Disney's Bambi taught me two things.

1) The mom will always die in a Disney cartoon.
2) "If you can't say anything nice, don't say nothin' at all"

...

OZ Tyler Bourbon and Rye

Purchase Info: $0.99 each for 50mL bottles from Liquor Barn Middletown, Louisville, KY

Details: 45% ABV. Processed using the TerrePURE fast filtering process.
Bourbon: "Aged a minimum of a year and a day in new charred oak."
Rye: "Aged a minimum of six months in new charred oak."

Nose:
Bourbon: Caramel Corn. Smells very young.
Rye: Buttered corn initially. A hint of rye spice appears after a bit.

Mouth:
Bourbon: Gentle spice (mostly alcohol tingle), Sweet corn.
Rye: Thin and cool in the mouth. After holding it in the mouth for a while, rye spices appear. Slightly sweet with a hint of citrus.

Finish:
Bourbon: The finish really reminds me of the sips of Seagrams 7 and 7-up that I'd steal from my dad as a kid. Thin, grainy and just a bit longer than you'd hope for given the flavors.
Rye: Gentle and short with hints of rye spice that fade quickly.

IMAGE: A hand drawn face with a frown, tongue sticking out and x's for eyes.

Thoughts: It is my understanding that most of the TerrePURE whiskey is being either sold as bulk whiskey or bottled as store brands. Given that, you can be sure that it will end up in plenty of private labels near you. I know that Total Wine has multiple of their own brands that are made from TerrePURE whiskey. I've tried a couple. I haven't found one yet I could recommend. I bought this thinking that since this was a brand being released by the producers, that it might be a good representation of the best that they could do.

I still decided to only risk $4.

If this is representative of TerrePURE whiskey, then "Distilled in Indiana" will become the mark to look for on unknown bourbon instead of "Distilled in Kentucky." This bourbon gives Kentucky bourbon a bad name. Luckily most of the TerrePURE whiskeys I've had have been labeled as such. But maybe we should avoid all store brand Kentucky bourbons, just in case. And in case it wasn't obvious, I really do not like this. At all.

The rye is pretty meh. It's light on rye flavor. Doesn't have the punch you'd expect from even young rye. But, hey, it is much better than the bourbon. So there is that.

George Dickel Tabasco Brand Barrel Finish

May 31, 2018 Eric Burke

I state in my Statement of Ethics that if I accept a review sample, I will disclose it at the beginning of the article. Please consider it disclosed. I’d like to thank Taylor Strategy for providing this sample to me with no strings attached. As always, all thoughts are just my opinion and should be taken as just that.

You've seen the .gif online featuring Jason Bateman in his role from Arrested Development, I'm sure ("What? No. No. No. NoNoNo."). Well, that's what went through my head when I got the PR email regarding a Tabasco barrel finished version of George Dickel.

But then, then I remembered that my favorite condiment is made by Tabasco. And I remembered that I have planned meals around the fact that I wanted something to eat upon which I could put that particular condiment.

And so, I requested a sample. A request, I might add, that I was rightly and roundly mocked for when I last met friends for a drink. I believe that the exclamation was along the lines of "But Tabasco is so vinegary! Why would you want vinegar in your whiskey?" I'm not going to lie. He made a point, I hadn't considered. But still, here it is. I might as well taste it.

George Dickel Tabasco Brand Barrel Finish

Purchase Info: This sample was kindly provided to me free of charge by Taylor Strategy. The suggested price was $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Details: 35% ABV

Nose: Citrus and hot peppers

Mouth: Sweet with hints of pepper flavor. Not as hot as you'd expect.

Finish: Mild at first with a hot pepper kick after a few seconds.

Thoughts: This is not a drink that was intended to be consumed neat. It's a gimmick product. The press release describes enjoying it as a shot. So, I'm going to guess that this was initially envisioned as a Fireball competitor (though I'm hearing rumors this is becoming more of a "one-and-done" sort of product). So, as it wasn't intended as to be consumed neat, it was a bit unfair of me to subject it to my standard tasting regimen.

Because of that, I also decided to try it in a few cocktails. And it did ok there. I'm not a cocktail guru, but I could see this becoming an interesting ingredient in the hands of a skilled mixologist. I used it in a whiskey sour and it did well. Made it slightly spicy. I had a few people thinking it might be good in a Bloody Mary, which I could see. I once made a Manhatten riff with a vinegar shrub in place of the vermouth which was pretty good, so that might be a route to explore too.

Bottom line: There is nothing inherently wrong with this and to quote Mark Gillespie from WhiskyCast: it "could have been MUCH worse." But, yeah, this isn't for me. I'll be trying it in more cocktails, but if I can't find something that I like better than my standard ones, I may not finish the bottle. That said, this is a weird one. So if it intrigues you and you see it at a bar, give it a try.

King's Creek Tennessee Whiskey

March 8, 2018 Eric Burke

Last week I got an ad circular letting me know that King's Creek Tennessee Whiskey was Total Wine's Whiskey of the Month for March. I promptly forgot about that since I don't make a habit of buying whiskey on price, preferring instead to purchase most of the stuff I review based on how interesting I think I can make it.

So when I got to the store and noticed that it was 9 years old, my curiosity was piqued. It was a "Spirits Direct" selection which normally means store brand, though there are exceptions. I was curious because a nine-year-old Tennessee whiskey could really only come from a few places. Mostly because there are only a few places in Tennessee that have been distilling and aging whiskey since 2008/2009.

So, what do we know about this? Not much. It is nice years old. It is 90° proof. It was bottled in Princeton, Minnesota so, since it is a Tennessee Whiskey, it is obviously sourced. Like I said, there are only a few places that have been around long enough to put this out so I'm thinking it is either Jack Daniel's, George Dickel, Prichard's or maybe the old Collier and McKeel since, based on my research/SKU's wonderful list, it seems that they may or may not be supplying Costco's Tennessee Whiskey as well.

Based on that, I thought I had pretty good odds of it being something decent. I mean, I'd had 9-year-old Dickel and it was delicious. I've had Prichard but I don't really remember it (I assume that I'd have remembered it if it was bad). Jack can make good whiskey. And that left the one that I knew nothing about except that they sold their brand to a California company that may or may not be supplying Costco.

Well, now onto the important stuff: how does it taste?

King's Creek Tennessee Whiskey

Purchase Info: $39.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 9 years old, 45% ABV.

Nose: Dried Grain, oak, and peanut.

Mouth: Cherry, dried grain, hints of spice.

Finish: Robitussin Cough Syrup. Long and gentle.

Thoughts: Oh please, let this finish stop! The flavor lasts forever and in this case that is not a good thing. You do not want Robitussin to be a lasting reminder of a whiskey and that is precisely what happens here. This is a terrible whiskey. I'll give it this. It would only be a meh if you didn't need to swallow it. But since we all swallow...nothing kinky...this is a hard pass. It is a mediocre mixer but neat? Just steer clear of this one. You can get a better Tennessee whiskey from the same store (Jack Daniel's) at less than half the price. Well, at least I know where my next prop whiskey will come from.

Blog

Umiki Japanese Whisky

Kamiki Japanese Whisky

Lyre's American Malt

Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative

Manhattan:

Sour:

Ginger Ale Highball:

Thoughts:

J. Henry Bourbon

A. de Fussigny Cognac Collection

Petite Champagne VSOP

Borderies VSOP

Fins Bois VSOP

Organic VSOP

Grande Champagne VSOP

Smooth Ambler Big Level Wheated Bourbon

OZ Tyler Bourbon and Rye

George Dickel Tabasco Brand Barrel Finish

King's Creek Tennessee Whiskey