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Whiskey in the Winter, an annual event held in downtown St. Louis this year on November 12, is a singular opportunity to taste over 350 whiskeys, cocktails, and whiskey-inspired food. Every year the event sells out, as do the VIP Golden Tickets, which include a respectable pour of a super-premium whiskey.
On Saturday evening, the event's resident "whiskey sommelier" Bill Meyers will be tending the Golden Ticket Bar, dispensing whiskey and spirited wisdom.
His description of this year's 12 Golden Ticket Whiskies is below. Take notes if you're heading to the event and take note if you're thinking about gifting some dark spirits this holiday season. (Retail prices from Total Wine & More are by category and in ascending order.)
SCOTCH:
HIBIKI 12 is a blend of grain whisky from Chita & single malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu. It’s nose shows pineapple, plum, raspberry, honey, hibiscus. Palate has banana, pomegranate, custard. A staple for Japanese Whisky fans, this expression contains whisky matured in Japanese plum liqueur casks. $69.99
MACALLAN EDITION NO. 2 The second in he series, Edition No. 2 is a non chill filtered collaboration between Macallan Master Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno and the Roca brothers. On the sherry scale it sits closer to the 12 than 18, but the extra proof adds a great mouthfeel and releases stronger notes of vanilla and spice, like the discontinued Macallan Cask Strength. $89.99
JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE Few whisky drinkers have not heard of Johnnie Walker, a grocer whose blended whiskey made him a household name. Over the decades Johnny Walker has released many blends, and the Blue Label was launched in 1992 as a premium blend, containing whiskies over thirty years of age. Many consider it a benchmark blend. It is very delicate, and best sampled early at an event which will challenge even the best palates to go the distance. $164.99
BALVENIE 21 PORTWOOD The Balvenie 21 demonstrates how port pipes can add an new dimension to the whisky. This traditional Speysider is a great merger of wine notes with single malt. $199.99
CRAIGELLACHIE 23 Once only obtainable from independent bottlers, this backbone of the Dewar’s blends has been released as a single malt. The 23 is amazing – bottled non chill filtered, it demonstrates what the Craigellachie 13 is like with an additional 10 years. $259.99
HIGHLAND PARK ICE First in a series of limited editions from famed distillery Highland Park. Launched February 2016 30,000 bottles. 17 year old similar to the Freya expression with pineapple, smoke and ginger on the nose, vanilla and more smoke on the palate and woody spiciness on the finish. $279.99
BOURBON:
ELIIJAH CRAIG BARREL PROOF This Bardstown bourbon is aged a full twelve years and bottled at barrel proof, allowing you to taste all the rich caramel, vanilla, apples, spice, butterscotch and pepper you would get if sampling straight from the cask with the Master Distiller. $50.99
OLD FORRESTER 1920 PROHIBITION STYLE is the third in a series meant to replicate 115 proof barrel sample obtained during Prohibition. Old Forrester was one of only 10 distilleries allowed to produce whiskey during Prohibition. Tasting notes reflect cherry jam, caramel, chocolate and maple syrup with graham cracker and a hint of cedar. $54.99
COL. E.H. TAYLOR RYE This small batch bottled in bond 100 proof straight rye is produced by Buffalo Trace as an homage to the former distillery owner. Produced from a different recipe than the famous Sazerac Rye, this expression’s mash bill contains only rye and malted barley. $59.99
WILD TURKEY MASTER’S KEEP At 17 years of age the Wild Turkey Master’s Keep is the oldest Wild Turkey ever released in the U.S. By contrast, casks in the standard Wild Turkey 101 are six to eight years old. Bottled at the surprising low natural strength of 43.4% attributed to time matured in stone warehouses. $129.99
BEAM DISTILLER’S MASTERPIECE Released in 2013, this third iteration of this expression is set apart by extra aging, or finishing, in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, which add a new level of complexity to this premium expression.. The former releases were finished in cognac and port. $169.99
IRISH WHISKEY:
MITCHELL’S YELLOW SPOT Produced by Jameson, the name refers to Mitchell’s practice of marking e casks with a spot of paint depending upon their age – Green was 10 and Yellow was 12. Yellow Spot disappeared in the 1960s, but has returned, and has become a fairly new addition to American shelves. Bottled at 46%, Yellow Spot contained whiskies aged in three types of casks, namely bourbon, sherry and Spanish Malaga casks to give it a unique flavor, comprised of notes from all three cask types. $89.99
William C. Meyers is an avid scotch collector and local attorney. He co-authored a book on Scotch and is one of 23 contributors to the recently published 1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die. He's written for the Chicago Tribune and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and can be contacted at scotchguy@earthlink.net. Follow him on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
