The Malt Cask

I was talking to my dad on the phone the other day after he just had a Caol Ila 12. As the conversation went on to Bourbon, I told him to try the Blanton Gold Reserve that I left at theirs at Christmas, which he did. He did not rince his glass with water before pouring the Blanton's but was very pleasantly surprised to have whiffs of peat smoke on top of the sweet and spicy Bourbon. This gave be the idea to mix one of my Bourbons (or rather some Tennessee whiskey!) with one of my Islays.  The two bottles I chose were my Jack Daniel's Single barrel and my Kilchoman Machir Bay (of which I have barely any left). I wasn't really sure of what to expect but it turned out to be one of the best if not my best experiment so far! I went for about 60% Kilchoman and 40% Jack Daniel's so the mix should be around 45.6%. Nose: Sweet and vegetal with honey, vanilla and spicy fruit, and oaky, earthy, vegetal peat notes running alongside.  Palate: Sweet and spicy fi...

Back with some Bourbon today or should I say Tennessee Whiskey? Jack Daniel's is indeed one of the main distilleries based in Tennessee and for which Tennessee whiskey should be differentiated from any other Bourbon. To be perfectly honest, the difference between both is rather minor as Tennessee whisky is basically a Bourbon which has been filtered through sugar-maple charcoal after distillation. Apart from that, the rules are the same (it has to be produced in the USA, the mash bill has to be made of at least 51% corn, no colouring or flavouring must be added, the spirit must be distilled at 165 proof maximum and must be barreled at 125 proof or under in casks made from new charred American white oak for at least 2 years)  Jack Daniel's has never been a brand I looked to much into. To me it was more of a cocktail whiskey than a sipping one. Plus, my dad always had a big decanter of it at home but never drank it, which probably tainted my idea of the stuff.  I attended a...