I have to hand it to Nikka, they do make pretty solid budget blends. It's just a shame that its only 37%.

#nikka #japanese #whisky

youtu.be/j6hYv_Jl6sY

New arrivals in the mail from Japan!

#nikka #japan #japanesewhisky #shochu #whisky

This might just be my favorite bottle from my collection. It's not a whisky...but an aged rhum agricole.

Complex and decadent, holy cow this rum has so much going for it! It drinks like a well aged speysider with oodles of layers to it.

youtu.be/WLxCIQWbZm8

#rum #rhum #agricole #saintjames

The Picti Coast by the Islay Boys is an interesting dram. Can't quite figure out if it is a Highland Park or a Scapa. I lean towards the latter because I've never had a HP that was this briny, but that said, I've never had a <12Y HP. Could be the young spirit.

youtu.be/sRB-WCsteek

#scotch #whisky

It's probably the sherry cask aging that does it, but I find Spanish Brandy de Jerez to be a very easy category of spirit to get into for a Scotch drinker. It's also crazy affordable compared to French brandies! (At least over here...)
Keep exporting Spain!

youtu.be/oMGzPYqQgFU

#brandy #review

About twice a year I make cider and though I always do a wee bit of experimenting with the recipe, this is my first time doing the fermenting in a clay vessel (Hangari). Usually they're used for brewing Makgeolli / rice wine.

Admittedly, I've never had the good fortune of trying the old Black Bottle, but I do like the modern iteration of it for what it is. Mostly sweet, but it does have a nice little bit of salinity and spice to give it some dimension. One of the better budget blends IMO.

youtu.be/Ov10HPUCRW0

#whisky

For its price it's not a bad rum. Havana club is a good mixer, but it can also be sipped in a pinch. It even reminds me quite a bit of Barratts foam bananas from when I was a kid. Big artificial banana with some herbal notes.

youtu.be/xBEwZEb1F0o

#rum #rumreview #havanaclub

I feel that this also applies to a lot of the new world whiskies too, sadly. The part about a 3 year old release to the domestic market followed by a 3 year old release to international markets and then another 3 year old release in a different cask....yeah that is unfortunately a thing.

Calvados is one of those spirits I have a bit of a soft spot for outside of whisky!

When offered the chance to try it from an Islay barrel, I jumped at it. The smoke is wispy and takes it down a slightly more medicinal path than the typical calvados.

youtu.be/KhlIBzl0nv4

#calvados #France #brandy

Overall a pretty tasty MGP sourced rye from Lux Row Distillers. I think this might be the 51% rye, 45% corn, 4% malted barley mashbill. It does have the spicy characteristics I would normally associate with rye, but it was sweeter than I expected!

youtu.be/eu6su991trY?...

#rye #whisky #whiskey

Merry Christmas!

I picked this M&H release up at a christmas sale and it's really good stuff. It's got a wonderful complexity to it and I almost ran out of space for my on screen notes! But it sums up my biggest problem with new distilleries (see comments)

youtu.be/OF79soyf7Es

#whisky #whiskey

When I was younger, there were only really two "bourbons" that you could get back home & here in Korea. "Jack & Jim". Neither were great, but the former was fine in coke. It's only in recent years this one appeared.

Similar price, but a lot more character.
youtu.be/k43OWV8lOg4
#whiskey #bourbon

This soju has been taking off pretty big in Korea over the past year as a low alcohol spirit thats about as strong as a South Italian Red wine.

Its actually pretty alright, all things considered. Especially for less than a dollar a bottle.
youtu.be/-53OE6Zvp3c

#soju #소주 #Korea #alcohol #술

Three Societies Distillery / Ki One Distillery in Namyangju, South Korea.

These pictures were taken near the beginning of the year. They're still a very young distillery, only opening in 2020, but their stuff is promising.

#Korea #whisky #kione #ki-one #whiskey #distillery #whiskydistillery #위스키

What I do really like about port cask aged whiskies is how well they play with chocolate and coffee liquers to give really rich and decadent cocktails. This Korean one gives cognac a run for its money in a Brandy/Whisky Alexander.

#whisky #korea #koreanwhisky #whiskey #cocktails #alexander #kione

Canned whisky cocktails...It's a bit of a controversial topic because a lot of them just aren't very good, but Kavalan really knocked it out of the park with this one.

Whisky and Soda. The basics done beautifully.

youtu.be/QVYia14KfZk

#whisky #whiskey #cocktails