Woefully late in posting on my recent trip to Vienna. This post covers a hodge-podge of locations and drams. Stay tuned for my next post which will cover the best bar I've ever been too!
Woodford Reserve - While waiting for my first flight, I decided it was time to give Woodford Reserve another chance. I’ve never been wowed by Woodford Reserve. If you had asked me about it a week ago I would have said it was an overpriced blend of Bulleit and Buffalo Trace. (And of course, I wanted to get something rather low on my rankings because I know I’m going to get comparably low ranked whiskies on the flight.) While neat, the alcohol was the dominant characteristic but after adding some water the alcohol gave way to a typical bourbon sweetness, just the right amount for my palette. Then, there was a little bit of malt at the end. It was a good solid bourbon but nothing phenomenal and better than I remembered. I ranked it over Old Grandad because there was a little more to it.
Woodford Reserve - While waiting for my first flight, I decided it was time to give Woodford Reserve another chance. I’ve never been wowed by Woodford Reserve. If you had asked me about it a week ago I would have said it was an overpriced blend of Bulleit and Buffalo Trace. (And of course, I wanted to get something rather low on my rankings because I know I’m going to get comparably low ranked whiskies on the flight.) While neat, the alcohol was the dominant characteristic but after adding some water the alcohol gave way to a typical bourbon sweetness, just the right amount for my palette. Then, there was a little bit of malt at the end. It was a good solid bourbon but nothing phenomenal and better than I remembered. I ranked it over Old Grandad because there was a little more to it.
Dewar’s White Label – This was the complementary scotch on
my flight. It is more pungent version of
the bottle of Highland Earl I have at home.
Sweet, malty, a little fruity, nothing that really stands out as
something I’d buy, but there’s nothing objectionable.
Chivas Regal 12 - My second night in the hotel I checked out
the minibar and I was disappointed to find that the only whisky choice was
Chivas Regal 12. I hadn't had fond memories, but it had been a while and I was
pleasantly surprised! Had I actually checked my rankings beforehand I supposed
I wouldn’t have been that surprised as it comes in right next to some other
very solid whiskies including Laphroaig Quercus Alba, Suntory Yamazaki, and
Angel’s Envy Port Cask finish (now changed with the updated rankings). As for
the experience, it’s what you’d expect from a Speyside/Highland blend with a
little honey, floral and fruit notes, and a bit malty. While there isn’t anything that really stood
out, it was incredibly smooth and drinkable neat. I think the best thing I can say is that I
might actually choose to pick up a bottle again sometime to serve as the role
of a go-to on my shelf.
Der Wien and the Library - After a long
day of meetings and a reception, I enjoyed a plate of proscutto and a Laprhoaig
Quarter Cask at a place called Der Wien.
It was much harsher than I remembered or expected and dominated by the
alcohol. This says something for a
Laphroaig. But after adding a little
water the smoke with salty and sweet notes came through and after adding some
more water the smoke greatly diminished.
It always ended with smoke though.
Der Wien is actually a fine food and drinks shoppe and has a very unique
selection of independently bottled whiskies as well as a few very old
whiskies. I picked up a bottle of
Bunnahabhain distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2010 by Gordon and
MacPhails. I'm excited about this one because it maybe one of the last bottles left and it is currently ranked #98. Stay tuned for a review! Another night I went to a place which was
referred to as “the library” by a former colleague. Had a Canadian Club Small Batch 12 YR old and
appreciated it much more this time. The
strong maple sweetness really turns me off sometimes (see previous post) but
this time it was really nice. The best
part of the drink was the company, which I regret needing to leave early.
| Rank | Name | R | SOS Rank | Change |
| 85 | Laphroaig Quarter Cask | 0.6092 | 128 | -12 |
| 119 | Chivas Regal | 0.5181 | 113 | 45 |
| 206 | Woodford Reserve | 0.2524 | 170 | 12 |
| 221 | Canadian Club Small Batch 12 | 0.1976 | 42 | 13 |
| 228 | Dewar's White Label | 0.1528 | 121 | 9 |
Amongst this set of whiskies, I appreciated the Chivas over the Woodford over the Laphroaig Quarter Cask. My guess is that I had a bad bottle of the QC. Regardless, the combination of this ranking and a few others (see the promised future blog post on the best bar I've ever been to) pushed the QC down and brought the Chivas Regal 12 up. The Canadian Club and Dewars moved up in the rankings because I appreciated the CC more than the Dewars, which I in turn appreciated more than the lower whiskies I have at home - Highland Earl, Wheat State, and Tullamore DEW. Can't put the Canadian Club over the other three though.
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