A New American Cask vs. an Ex-Cognac Cask: who wins?
This is the first time I have done a family heritage whiskey tasting. There is also no single bottle this time, but I have two different whiskeys to compare, and because this is such a large tasting for myself and my family, I decided not to make any dinner. My attention is completely on the whiskeys in front of me. There are three bottles in the photo, but two of them are the same whiskey. I had brought two bottles of rye malt whiskey aged in ex-cognac casks. They looked interesting and figured that one bottle might not be enough.
A little more on their insight. They are both Rye Malt Whiskeys, with one aged in a New American Oak cask and the other in an Ex-Cognac cask. They both are around 5 years old, and my father had them specially ordered to create a couple of batches. Those bottles are only for the enjoyment of family and friends. This is not some sort of independent bottle project or anything. As a result, you will not be able to find this at any store. Hopefully, this will lead to far bigger things, and one day I will be able to give you all my own whiskey. Because both bottles are about the same age, comparing them will be more intriguing. They were also created in the same distillery. I wanted to include this tasting in my blog, because this experience gives me more knowledge for my taste buds and how differently a cask can implement the taste when both are primarily made out of Rye malt. Secondly, this should be my first Rye Malt Whiskey tasting on this blog, so this is something special as well for me and my family. Let’s dig in!
I am going to start this tasting by sampling them both separately, rather than together, because doing so may confuse the flavours and prevent me from getting the most out of these whiskeys. The first bottle I will try comes from the New American Cask. It has a lovely oak colour to it. The nose has a rich sherry and peppery flavour to it. When I say strong, I mean STRONG. The nose is quite rich and aromatic. There are additional notes of caramel and oak. I swirled the whiskey for the first time, which I usually do not suggest, but this one was rough and you could tell it was strong in alcohol. As a result, the swirling enabled me in discovering strawberry notes and lime zest. I could tell it needed a drop of water, but I opted to give it a shot without it first.
I was correct, it needs water. The sip was difficult to bear. It was not pleasant or welcoming; it was more like an irritated and threatened octopus who had gotten out of the sea and needed some water. The flavours were nearly all oak, with a strong oak undertone and a hint of vanilla. However, the high concentration of alcohol in it prevented me from obtaining all of the treasure that he was holding. Selfish whiskey – I call them that when they do not share everything the whiskey has to offer. As I began to pour some water, I discovered something that confirmed my allegations. Because of all the swirling, I saw “legs” or “tears” on the side of the glass. It is the whiskey leftover that flows down the glass to the bottom, and if it does so slowly, it indicates that the whiskey has a higher alcohol level. The tears in this whiskey were quite slow.
So, as I mentioned, I dropped some water in the whiskey to neutralize it, and at the same time, I tasted the aftertaste. It had the longest aftertaste, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was experiencing intense flavours for a longer period of time than usual. It had a surprisingly pleasant aftertaste in my perspective. It tasted fruity, like orange, and had an oaky caramel blend in it. It was drastically changing the flavour profiles. Cinnamon, dry, left, right, up and down – my tastebuds were on a road trip of their own.
The aromas began to emerge after the water was added. Grilled bread, butter, and salty caramel syrup. The texture was much smoother, and the spicy flavour was reduced to a more normal level. I began to enjoy this whiskey. The wild octopus was successfully returned to the sea, and it may now relax. The aftertaste brought out even more scents than previously. Green apple and oiliness were there, along with the other flavours I had earlier. This was an eye-opening experience in terms of how much water can change your taste.
There was now another animal to hop on. I was eager to begin after the first ride, but first let me advise you that if you want to compare two different whiskeys, try to leave some space in between tastes. In this manner, your tastes can “recover,” and you can have a blank page while also drinking water. The ex-cognac cask smelled like sweet cognac as you can predict. There was also some grape, and after some swirling, I got a sense of cigar smoke, similar to a wonderful Argentian cigar I once had.
I have never had whiskey aged in an ex-cognac cask before, so the aromas are quite distinctive. The taste was rich and silky, with a wonderful texture. It was not overwhelmingly sweet, I tasted honey and plum. Cherry notes were found in the second sip as well. The honey note lingered in the aftertaste, and it was unusual since I had not previously encountered any peaty notes, but this whiskey provided them to me, and they were delicious (I love the taste of some good peat). This one did not require any water. This one was an adorable puppy dog.
It is time to put them up against each other. I have to award the Ex-Cognac Cask Rye Malt Whiskey the Diamond Whiskey Trophy (DWT). Congratulations! It is a good thing I brought two bottles of it. It was the more delightful journey from start to finish, but the New American Cask whiskey was not terrible either. It only took some professional experience to handle it and make the most of it. The wild octopus was conquered by a cute puppy, this sounds crazy if you think about that. Still, if you see a cute puppy picture on social media and an octopus picture, then probably the puppy one gets more likes.
Speaking of social media, I recently launched the Diamond Whiskey Blog’s first Facebook page. There you will find brief descriptions of the whiskeys I have tasted on my blog. The Link is located below.
This trip has come to an end. It was a brilliant one, and I think it should be something that happens on a regular basis: a competition between two whiskeys, with the winner receiving a trophy from me. The Diamond Whiskey Trophy is a prestigious award given to the best whiskey in the world. Please let me know if you think this is a good idea. Stay safe, and until next time, bye!
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