Jack Rose - Diageo 2023 Special Release Tasting
Background
As with pretty much all of the large Jack Rose tastings, I'm going to keep the background as brief as possible to get into the reviews! This year's lineup features eight single malt whiskies, each with a unique twist. Seven of these, with the Singleton being the only one missing, were present at Jack Rose’s recent tasting:
Roseisle 12 (first fill ex-bourbon and refill casks)
Clynelish 10 (first fill ex-bourbon casks)
Mortlach NAS (finished in ex-Kanosuke Japanese whisky and ex-Pinot Noir casks)
Lagavulin 12 (finished in Don Julio Añejo Tequila casks)
Talisker NAS (finished in a combination of White, Tawny and Ruby Port Casks)
Oban 11 (finished in Caribbean Rum casks)
Glenkinchie 27 (refill American and European oak casks)
We hopped around a bit during this event, so I’ll be reviewing them in the order we tasted them (as opposed to the order in the pictures). Let’s get to it!
Roseisle ‘The Origami Kite’ (12 Years, 56.5%)
Nose: Floral, cereal grain... Gentle artificial strawberry notes. Vanilla frosting, very light.
Palate: It maintains that light, floral note alongside some lemon peel and vanilla. There is a building baking spice heat leading to…
Finish: PUNCHY, peppery, lots of pepper. TOO MUCH PEPPER. Baking spices, some toasted oak, and yeah- heat.
Sub-par (4/10)
Overall: This is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde pour. The notes above are prior to adding a few drops of water, and a woman in our tasting astutely pointed out that this opens up considerably with a few drops. In that instance, it gets pretty floral. Even still though, the highlight on this pour for me was the nose and then it was a bit downhill from there. I’ll be curious to try more from Roseisle as they get a few more releases under their belt… but I did not enjoy this one.
Clynelish ‘The Jazz Crescendo’ (10 Years, 57.5%)
Nose: Vanilla chews and orange candies, corn pudding. It’s fairly thick and savory on the nose.
Palate: Orange zest, french toast with some extra cinnamon and a thick drizzle of honey.
Finish: Waxy cinnamon, honestly pretty cinnamon forward. Like cinnamon toast crunch. Apple skin as well.
Excellent (8/10)
Overall: Ah a nice, balanced pour. Spicy but not too spicy, cut by some sweeter dark sugar notes and a light waxy texture. There’s a bit of playful citrus present as well, and it’s one of those pours you’re sipping until all of the sudden you look down in sadness at an empty glass.
Mortlach ‘The Katana’s Edge’ (NAS, 58%)
Nose: Meaty and malty, with a bit of match strike notes on the nose. Pumpernickel bread.
Palate: Thick, more of that pumpernickel bread note. Some of that sulfur carries through but it's subtle. A bit of a meaty, venison note as well.
Finish: Sandalwood, bits of cocoa and cloves. It’s a nice medium to long and finish that is heavy (in a good way) on the palate.
Great (7/10)
Overall: This is a thicc boi. Rich and a bit meaty, a bit malty. One of the things we were not able to get confirmation on was if the Japanese whisky casks were Mizunara casks. My tasting companion and I had an inkling that they are based on the sandalwood note we were picking up.
Lagavulin ‘The Ink of Legends’ (12 Years, 56.4%)
Nose: Lime and a bit vegital. A little meaty, sweet and spicy pork perhaps.
Palate: Grilled pineapple, leather and pipe tobacco. That yakitori style grilled pork.
Finish: Lingering peat smoke and grilled fruit, alongside some black peppercorns.
Good to Very Good (5.5/10)
Overall: It’s certainly interesting and unique… I just don’t know how often I would reach for a bottle like this if I’m being honest. It’s a little ash-y honestly, and then has pops of somewhat cloying sweetness. This was the toughest one for me to put my finger on flavor wise if I’m being honest.
Talisker ‘The Wild Explorer’ (NAS, 59.7%)
Nose: Freshly shucked oysters. Ok maybe because Brianna, who was hosting the tasting, was talking about eating oysters but I stand by it!
Palate: Dark chocolate covered dates, saltwater taffy, a little waxy. Dried seaweed.
Finish: Red pepper flakes in fish sauce. I don't think I can improve on that honestly.
Very Good to Great (6.5/10)
Overall: This is wild and weird and fishy and sweet and pretty yummy. I actually found the port influence to be pretty complementary rather than drowning out the distillate. It provides some nice fruity sweetness to marry the seafaring notes.
Oban ‘The Soul of Calypso’ (11 Years, 58%)
Nose: Tequila? I know it's weird but limey, almost tequila smelling notes. FRUITTYYYYYY. Big citrus for sure. I also picked up an occasional whiff of spearmint.
Palate: Tropical fruit, pineapple, seaweed, briny and a little oily. Lime and mango.
Finish: That spearmint comes back, as does a lime zest and a bit of dried seaweed.
Very Good to Great (6.5/10)
Overall: I put this in the same bucket as the Talisker because both are pretty weird and fun, though neither quite rises to the level of palate blowing delicious. The rum influence pops with tropical fruit, and it’s a nice pairing with the salinity… I just kind of want this to be a wild pirates barrel bursting with oily fruity salty goodness and instead it’s a solid and flavorful pour that doesn’t quite leave a lasting impression.
Glenkinchie ‘The Floral Treasure’ (27 Years, 58.3%)
Nose: Vanilla cake coated in rose flavored frosting. Eloquent baked goods.
Palate: White grape, with a bit of the vine still attached. Peach candies, and rose water. Throughout the palate there’s a current of oak that borders on astringent but not quite.
Finish: White pepper, grassy and earthy, and fairly dry. There’s a lot of oak influence here, and not really in a good way.
Sub-par to Good (4.5/10)
Overall: This is likely more my palate than anything, but I don’t love when I get grassy notes on whisky and I feel like that’s what I was picking up here. It’s also just a little dull in my opinion, with oak being such an omnipresent part of this sip.
