March Madness!

OK.  #1: I have a few bottles I need to kill. #2: it's March.  So the only natural thing to do is a bracket.  I have 17 bottles open... so the decision is pretty easy to take my favorite 16 of 17.  The initial line up was set to ensure I compare the whiskies not yet directly compared and after that I let my wife pick.  Let the March Madness begin!

 Russel's Reserve 6 Yr Rye            
                                                        |  Willett's       
 Willett's 3 Yr Rye                           |                       |
                                                                               |  Willett's      
 1792 Single Barrel                                                 |                    |
                                                        |  Larceny        |                    |
 Larceny                                          |                                            |
                                                                                                     | PC CC:01 
 Ardbeg 10                                                                                   |                  |
                                                        |   PC CC:01                         |                 |
 Port Charlotte CC:01                      |                      |                     |                 | 
                                                                                | PC CC:01   |                 |
 Balvenie 17 Peated Cask                                      |                                       |
                                                        |  Lag 12 CS    |                                      |
 Lagavulin 12 CS                            |                                                              |  105 
                                                                                                                      |
 Reservoir Hunter & Scott 18 Yr                                                                    |
                                                        |     Tayne                                               |
 Glenmorangie the Tayne                |                       |                                      |
                                                                                |  Bunna  12                    |
 Bunnahabhain 12                                                   |                    |                 |
                                                        | B'habhain 12 |                    |                  |
 Old Overholt                                   |                                           |                  |
                                                                                                     |   105        |
 Jim Beam Black                                                                          |
                                                        |   105                                   |
 Glenfarclas 105                              |                       |                    |
                                                                                |  105            |
 Filibuster Dual Cask Bourbon                                |
                                                         |  Filibuster     |
 Taconic Dutchess Private Reserve |

First Round:
Willett's 3 Yr Rye easily handled their first round match-up against Russell's Reserve 6 Yr Rye.  The Willett's is so much ... more ... rye than the Russell's Reserve.  I initially thought my wife had poured me a Willett's and one of the bourbons. Larceny's complex nuttiness gave it the edge out the deliciously smooth 1792 Single Barrel.  Similar to the Willett's - RR 6Yr match up, the peaty, fruity Port Charlotte CC:01 just dominated the go to Ardbeg 10... it was just much more.  The Balvenie 17 Peated Cask bursts with baking spice and the Lagavulin 12 CS burst with peat and fruit.  The win goes to the Lagavulin, but the Balvenie could go much further with a different seeding.

We have our first upset of the tournament with Glenmorangie The Tayne beating Reservoir Hunter & Scott 18 Yr Bourbon!  Both are very oaky - The Tayne is a young oak, the Reservoir a mature.  It was a tie until I added a little water.  The Tayne smoothed out nicely and the floral notes came through.  Every time I try Old Overholt I'm surprised at how good it is.  Every time.  You'd think I'd remember at some point.  Buuutttttt.... it's still no Bunnahabhain 12.  Similarly, Jim Beam Black is an excellent bourbon, but it just can't beat the sweet and herbal Glenfarclas 105.  It took me a while to come to a conclusion between Filibuster Dual Cask Bourbon and Taconic Dutchess Private Reserve.  Both are solid bourbons but Filibuster moves on due to a thicker mouthfeel.

Elite Eight:
The Willett's minty rye spice gave wins over the smooth Larceny. The PC CC:01 vs Lagavulin 12 CS may actually be my #1 vs #2 seed.  My wife poured me a dram of each blind so I knew which two I was drinking, but didn't know which was which. It actually took me a few sniffs, sips, and drops of water before I decided which one I liked more.  They were both very similar but one was a bit more fruity and the other a bit more herbal (ON TOP OF PEAT).  I preferred the fruity whisky which turned out to be the PC CC:01.  The bottom half of the bracket wasn't as close in the second round.  The caramel brine of the Bunnahabhain 12 easily handled the thin herbal oaky Tayne, and the relatively simple Filibuster Dual Cask Bourbon didn't measure up to the complex and bold Glenfarclas 105.

Final Four:
The PC CC:01 is just such a great dram.  Thick, fruity, and PEATY.  Willett's 3 Yr old rye was great but honestly after sampling the PC CC:01 the Willett's 3 Yr Rye was like a calming mint tea.  Bunnahabhain 12 had a relatively easy run until it ran into Glenfarclas 105.  The easy drinking  yet still complex Bunnahabhain 12 is one of the best gifts I've received and I'm certainly going to make Bunnahabhain a staple on my shelf.  But I also will be making Glenfarclas 105 a staple as well.  It's like two whiskies in one with a sweet fruity nose and herbal palate.  I won't go as far as to say it is easy drinking, but even though it is 60% ABV it isn't hard to drink!

The Championship:
Glenfarclas 105 pulls off the upset over my top ranked whisky of all time, the Port Charlotte CC:01!  Both whiskies are strong and bold, the 105 with it's sherried herbally goodness, and the CC:01 with its fruity peat.  But in the end the CC:01 lost much in the same way a top seeded team loses in the late stages of the NCAA tournament - it simply had a bad day.  Along with all the good flavors I was expecting with the CC:01 was also an unwanted soapy flavor.