Whiskies of the World: A Bourbon... Plus an Interesting Talisker

To continue on the whiskies of the world voyage SGwhisky is taking, we go back to the 'New World' (or Old Whisky World), to one of the national drinks of America, Bourbon. We have tried a few bourbons here at SGwhisky, which in my opinion is very interesting and distinctive with that rye-like sweetness. The whisky here at hand is the Buillet Bourbon Frontier Whiskey, a very traditional whisky which traces its history back to the start of the 19th century. Today, especially in Singapore, Buillet is far behind in the pecking order of bourbon, with Jim Beam and (technically not a bourbon but a Tennessee Whiskey) Jack Daniels leading the way.

Let's have a look at this interesting whiskey!

Name: Buillet Bourbon Frontier Whiskey
Distillery: Buillet (America)
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age Statement: Nil
Alc/Vol: 90 Proof (45%)


Nose: Creamy with a nice note of rye sweetness and faint notes of citrus. Promising! (20)


Taste/Palate: Initial pleasant sweetness followed by some orange and oaky spice. Then trails off very quickly (18)

Finish: Almost non-existent. Some oaky dryness, but overall very quick and not impressionable (16)


Overall: The nose was really quite interesting, but flavour wise it is not really rich, and the lack of a finish is a real achilles heel for this whiskey (17) 71/100


Found at: Drinks Fellas

EXTRAS!

Running concurrently with my little world whisky project is another aim of mine to source out and try some of the best whiskies that the Malt Maniacs and other leading whisky writers have strongly recommended. One of those that I have seen receiving good feedback is this interesting Talisker 20YO Cask strength, bottled in 2003. A limited edition with a rather generous run of 12,000 bottles, this was one whisky that really polarized opinion amongst the maniacs, with scores ranging from 80-92. SGwhisky takes on this real beast of a whisky and sees what it gets out of it!

Name: Talisker 20YO
Distillery: Talisker (Islands)
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Age Statement: 20YO
Number Produced: 12000
Vintage: 2003
Alc/Vol: 58.8%

Nose: Dark chocolate, dried prunes, unripe fruits, with a slightest hint of hidden peat and a rich malty sweetness. A while longer in the glass reveals interesting notes of Chrysanthemum tea sweetened with rock sugar. (22)


Taste/Palate: Sweet at first then very spicy. Chrysanthemum tea continues on the palate initially before notes of fruit (banana chips!) and a real sharp pepperiness that is indicative of Talisker whiskies. Loads of liquorice bitterness akin to when you bite on a peppercorn after it has been cooked and muted. (22)


Finish: An interesting finish with what can be described as 'a bubble in your mouth' type of mouthfeel, with the flavours all around the mouth but not in the centre. Predominant green notes with eucalyptus, grassy notes, cooked green vegetables and some lettuce. Weird but certainly interesting (21)


Overall: I can see why this polarizes opinions (in my opinion), it is powerful, rich in flavours, but also has interesting notes which I have never encountered in my very limited whisky library. It is also quite aggressive on the palate. Not for the faint of heart! (21) 86/100


Found at: The Auld Alliance