Field Briefs June 2024: Brave New Spirits Pt. 2
Welcome to the end of an entire week’s worth of reviews from the Brave New Spirits tasting extravaganza. As with everything reviewed this week, I first tried the whisky at the tasting and then gave everything at least one additional taste back at home a week or two later. Our guide from Brave New Spirits was wonderful— the order of the whiskies was exceptional considering how many there were (the tasting started with five other whiskies from the venue), and the pacing was excellent so that we really had time to sit with some of the highlights of the lineup. Cheers to everyone involved because it was a beautiful evening.
Whisky Details: Dailuaine 10 Year, Bourbon Barrels 55%, Brave New Spirits “Whisky of Voodoo” Batch 2
Nose: Tropical and herbal with pineapples, canned passionfruit juice, and dried tangerines; slightly floral at times with passion flowers or subtle rose water; aromatic herbs lingered in the background with coriander and dandelion greens; youthful and spirited.
Palate: Medium-bodied and oily— on the fuller side really; citrusy fruits and fresh crushed sugar cane; lime and cane juice, lemon peel candies, peppercorns, wood shavings; herbal undercurrents that the wife called pho spice bag; touch of a chalky mineral bite at the end.
Finish: Medium-length with drying oak, herbal spice, and citrusy candy.
Score: 6-7 (80)
Narrative & Notes: This bright young Dailuaine was youthful and spirited, with big fruity flavors and herbal undercurrents linking the palate and aroma. Occasionally a touch peppery, the whisky was generally well-balanced and refined considering the age— I would have thought it was a bit older. The cask influence felt relatively restrained, allowing a lot of the wonderful malt to shine. Overall, a lovely whisky with a good bright quality, perhaps a touch woody for my taste at times; I bet this would be perfect in a highball.
I was not a fan of the label and generally found that the Voodoo series had some of the weakest and oddest branding. Some of the others were excellent, but this series was odd enough that I would probably skip it on that basis.
Whisky Details: Benrinnes 12 Year, First Fill Tawny Port Barrique 54.1%, Brave New Spirits “Whisky of Voodoo” Batch 2
Nose: Mulled apple cider with big orchard fruits and spices, tart blackberries which occasionally drifted toward new Sharpie marker, a touch of leather and earth as if there was a bit of sulfur to the cask, musty grape skins, and leaves, vigorous and spirited.
Palate: Medium-bodied and oily— glassy almost, blackberry mojitos with tart fruit and crisp citrus, more apple cider and leather further in, malty sugars with berry cobblers and pastries; herbal undertones with tea and mint; pepper and youthful spirit toward the end.
Finish: Medium to long with berries, earth, and musty herbs.
Score: 6 (78)
Mental Image: Cocktail Hour at the Cider Mill
Narrative & Notes: Youthful and spirited— a touch less refined than the Dailuaine of the same series, the cask played a central role with the young Benrinnes. Big orchard fruits dominated with some underlying herbal and pastry characteristics— all familiar aspects of the Benrinnes malt, no matter the era in my experience. The youth of this malt came through in a more aggressive manner than the Dailuaine. I did not notice it as much the night of the tasting, but it was hard to miss when I revisited the whisky a little over a week later. The flavors were still nice, and like a couple of the Brave New Spirits bottles, I expect it would really shine in the right cocktail, or, in this case, simply on ice.
Whisky Details: Strathmill 10 Year, Bourbon Barrels 46%, Brave New Spirits “The Game”
Nose: Creamy and fruity with green apples and lemon zest, a touch of varnish and walnut oil, brown sugar and malty dry pastries, youthful and spirited
Palate: Light-bodied but still creamy and oily at times, orchard fruits and vanilla, cream with a touch of citrus and torched brown sugar, peppercorns and lemon seeds toward the end before icing sugar arrived for a sweeter finale.
Finish: Medium-length with creamy sugars, spiced apple pie filling, and a touch of pepper.
Score: 5 (76)
Mental Image: Cider Mill Bake Sale
Narrative & Notes: Pleasant for sipping, but surely better in a cocktail. I really liked the bottle shape for this whisky— though I know I just complained in another review about the eclectic nature of the glassware and labels, I did like this bottle format. However, I wish the label named the distillery and included more detail about the whisky; I have no idea if the bottles in this series are supposed to be secret or not— but our guide for the evening described it as Strathmill.
Generally a fine young malt with plenty of sweeter high notes and orchard fruits. While the aroma had no place to hide some of the youthful spirit and its prickly nature, the palate was tamer with only a hint of those sharper edges and youthful attitude toward the end. The finish was pleasantly long with a mild creaminess lingering among spiced chopped apples and honey.
