Tasting #72: Michter’s Whiskey

Tasting #72: Michter’s Whiskey

Tasting #72: Michter’s Whiskey

On Wednesday, February 24th, the Saratoga Whiskey Club had its 72nd tasting. What a night! We had some very special guests that were brought to us by one of our member’s sons, LJ Sconzo. He started working for Michter’s a year ago and we were excited for this tasting. Joining us were both Andrea Wilson, Master of Maturation and General Manager, and Dan McKee, Master Distiller. They stayed with us for two hours and we tasted through 8 of their great expressions. It was really an incredible night of lots of information with some of the most talented people in the industry. 

Here is what we tasted.

  • Michter’s American Whiskey
  • Michter’s Sour Mash Whiskey
  • Michter’s Bourbon Whiskey
  • Michter’s Rye Whiskey
  • Shenk’s Sour Mash Limited Edition 2020 Whiskey
  • Michter’s 10 Year Bourbon Whiskey 2020 Edition
  • Michter’s 10 Year Rye Whiskey 2020 Edition
  • Bomberger’s Bourbon Limited Edition 2020 Whiskey

56 members were online for this really great tasting.

YouTube video: YouTube Video

For scores, please check here: Scores

Tasting #71: Bourbon-Paired Dinner

Tasting #71: Bourbon-Paired Dinner

Tasting #71: Bourbon-Paired Dinner

On Thursday, February 17th, the Saratoga Whiskey Club had its 71st tasting! We worked again with Hamlet & Ghost in Saratoga Springs to put together another really great To-Go Dinner, this time food paired with Bourbon. The talented crew at Hamlet & Ghost created a Korean-inspired meal to pair with our Bourbon selection, mostly obtained during a recent trip to Kentucky. It was a great evening and thank you so much for the work and time that the restaurant devoted to making this evening so special.

Here is the menu and what was paired with it:

  • Bourbon Cocktail to start using Weller Special Reserve
  • Pan Fried Chicken Dumplings – XO sauce – Paired with a single cask of Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Westport Whiskey & Wine Store Pick
  • Momofuku Style Bossam – Caramel Roast Pork Shoulder, Lettuce Cups, Fixin’s, Sticky Rice – Paired with New Riff Maltster, Ezra Brooks Straight Bourbon Single Barrel Pick from Westport Whiskey & Wine, Old 55 Single Barrel Bourbon – Total Wine Store Pick
  • Vanilla Panna Cotta – Bourbon sour cherries, Cinnamon-Oat Lace Cookies – Paired with Starlight Carl T Huber’s Single Barrel Bourbon Port Finish

28 members were online for this really great dinner and whisky tasting.

Tasting #66: American Whiskey

Tasting #66: American Whiskey

Tasting #66: American Whiskey

On Wednesday, December 30th, the Saratoga Whiskey Club had its 66th tasting! It was the last tasting of the year and a great way to end it. We all can’t wait for 2021!! The focus of this tasting was American Whiskey. We dove into some Bourbons and then finished with 3 single casks from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society that were Bourbon, Rye and American Single Malt. On top of this, one of our members made ginger snap cookies with our logo on them! See the photo below. It was a really fun evening and a nice way to end the year. Here is what we tasted.

  • Pre-Tasting Dram: Kyro Malted Rye Whisky – from Finland – yes, not American
  • Penelope Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Rose Finish
  • Elijah Craig Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Toasted Barrel Finish
  • Knob Creek 12 Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 100 Proof
  • SMWS RW2.1 American Rye Whiskey ‘Out of the ordinary – in a very good way!’
  • SMWS B6.1 American Bourbon Whiskey ‘Ginger-spiced sponge’
  • SMWS 142.1 American Single Malt Whiskey ‘Made in New York, New York’

53 members were online for this really great tasting.

For scores, please check here: Scores

First Annual Advent Calendar 2020

First Annual Advent Calendar 2020

First Annual Advent Calendar 2020

The Saratoga Whiskey Club did its first ever Advent Calendar for 2020!! We had 48 Calendars in total go out to members and friends. Here is the list of whiskey that we have tasted so far. This is a blind calendar, so each day’s whiskey will be released at 9pm.

  1. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon C920 (Fall Release), 66.4% ABV
  2. Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake, 46% ABV
  3. Amrut Single Malt Indian Whisky – Cask Strength – 61.8% ABV
  4. Method and Madness Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey – Finished in French Chestnut – 46% ABV
  5. Arran Sherry Cask ‘The Bodega’ – 55.8% ABV
  6. Pinhook Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Store Pick from Gordon’s – 57.25% ABV
  7. Nikka Days – 40% ABV
  8. Penderyn Portwood Single Malt Welsh Whisky – 46% ABV
  9. Tomatin Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch – 57.5% ABV
  10. New Riff Single Barrel Rye – 57% ABV
  11. Talisker Port Ruighe Single Malt Scotch – 45.8% ABV
  12. Drumshanbo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (Inaugural Release) – 46% ABV
  13. Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon – Barrel Strength – Gordon’s Pick – 62.2% ABV
  14. Glenallachie 10 Year Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch – Batch 3 – 58.2% ABV
  15. Mars Maltage “Cosmo” Japanese Whisky – Blended Malt Whisky – 43% ABV
  16. Starward Australian Whisky – Single Cask Release – Astor – 55.8% ABV
  17. The Lakes Single Malt Whisky – The Whiskymaker’s Edition: Colheita – 52% ABV
  18. Glenfarclas 15 Year Single Malt Scotch – 46% ABV
  19. Waterford Rathclogh (a) & Dunmore (b) Single Malt Irish Whiskey – 50% ABV
  20. Maker’s Mark Private Select Bourbon – Bayway Store Pick – 54.3% ABV
  21. Edradour Caledonia 12 Year Single Malt Scotch – 46% ABV
  22. Smoke Wagon Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Private Barrel – Bayway Liquors – 58.76% ABV
  23. Barrel Craft Spirits Rye – Cask Strength – Batch 1 – 58.5% ABV

Stay tuned for each day’s announcement!

Tasting #55: Dusty Bourbons

Tasting #55: Dusty Bourbons

Tasting #55: Dusty Bourbons

On Wednesday, July 8th, the Saratoga Whiskey Club had its 55th tasting. This was a very special tasting with some older Bourbons. Most of these bottlings were purchased in Japan during a pop-up Dusty Bourbon sale in Kyoto. We matched these with a couple of older bottlings from here in the US and it made for a special evening.

Here is what we tasted:

  • Old Fitzgerald Prime
  • Wild Turkey 1994 Tradition – Export Bottling
  • Wild Turkey 8 Year Japanese Release from the 80s
  • Wild Turkey 8 Year US Release from 1965
  • Wild Turkey 12 Year Japanese Release from the 90s
  • Maker’s Mark Japanese Release from 1995

35 members were online using Zoom for this really fun tasting.

For scores, please visit our Scores page.