August 2023 Digest

September 1, 2023 Whiskery Turnip

Welcome to a brief wrap-up of reviews from August 2023!

Where in the world did the month of August go? Cramming and planning for the upcoming semester left less time for whisky tasting, writing, or editing, so I have slowed down a bit with the reviews. September will likely feature even more of a slowdown as I did not taste as many things over the last month. However, the mad rush to get ready is over; courses are ongoing, and, like many of my students, I am just trying to find the right groove to roll on with.

Now that we have made it to August, it is time for a little celebration! I have now been writing these little monthly recaps for an entire year. While I love writing reviews, taking a break and writing something more blog-like is nice. I love the connection between whisky and reflection— whether reflecting at the end of the year, month, or just the day. This is why I love malts that trigger a reflexive nostalgia and surface memories long forgotten. The first is intentional reflection, and the second is, in the words of Proust, involuntary and perhaps more profound for it. Feeling pressed for time as the semester begins, I imagine I short-changed this digest a bit more than some of the others.

Theme weeks continued in August, and if you check out Maltrunners, you will notice some of my compatriots joined in occasionally. I started the month by returning to American Single Malts and a quartet from two Seattle-based distilleries. The Copperworks bottled by Single Cask Nation was a particular standout among the lot— indeed, I pegged it as my bottle of the month. I should have an opportunity to review an enticing cross-section of malts from the distillery later this year. More on that later.

The first half of the month was all world malts— whether the set of American Single Malts, Japanese Whiskies, or even a trilogy from France. The three French malts were the first industry samples I reviewed on this website. I have included disclaimers in the past to mark when a bottle or cask was chosen by or bottled for a friend. Still, those have nearly always been paid samples or come via an intermediary. I, of course, included a disclaimer for the French malts; as always, I prefer to have my entanglements clear, but for now, no other industry samples are waiting in the wings.

I will tip my metaphorical hat to LMDW’s Version Française label; my previous experience with French malts was not great, but these were all lovely, and the Armorik was a real standout for lovers of Autumnal flavor profiles. From France to Japan, and a focus on distilleries not part of the Nikka and Suntory stables. This was my second time returning to Japanese whiskies this year, and there is a good chance I will return, especially as I continue exploring products from Hombo Shuzo’s Mars distilleries and Shizuoka.

From Japan, I made a return to Scotland with Ardmore’s famed Highland peated whiskies. While it is hard to go wrong with mature Ardmore, my favorite of that week, and it was a week chock full of lovely whiskies, was a 14-year from Signatory Vintage and bottled for Spec’s in Texas. It was beautifully coastal with a delightfully complex melange of earthy, fruity, and meaty notes.

The month concluded with a turn toward blended whiskies, and since the month ended right in the middle of the week, that is where September will pick up! Excursions to Tobermory, Arran, and Caol Ila are all on the horizon, and September looks chock full of some of my favorite distilleries!

A few numbers from August:

24 reviews

5.75 average score

12.1 Years average age

A full list of reviews can be found below:

Aug. 2 Westland 7 Year (2014), Cask 6257 for r/Bourbon

Aug. 3 Copperworks 3 Year (2018/2019), Single Cask Nation

Aug. 4 Westland 7 Year (2014) Cask 6143 for r/Bourbon

Aug. 5 Westland 7 Year (2014) Cask 6063 for r/Bourbon

Aug. 7 Ninkasi 5 Year (2017), Version Française

Aug. 9 Artesia 4 Year (2018), Version Française

Aug. 11 Armorik 8 Year (2014), Version Française