The college football national championship game seems like a good time to hit my first sampler box from Flaviar, a whiskey club I signed up for for Christmas.

I chose the Welcome Box for my first sampler. They have a variety of boxes to choose from, from whiskey, rye, scotch, rum, vodka, etc. This one has one each of bourbon, rye and scotch. Figured it would be a decent starting point.

The three whiskeys included are Breckenridge bourbon, Few Rye and Wolfburn Aurora scotch. They include three sampler vials of 50ml each. I’m going to taste them without seeing which is which.

Blind Real Time Notes

A: Bourbon sweetness. Not much age. Slight hint of menthol or mint on the nose. Rating: 87.

B: If it is the Scotch, it is not peaty. If the rye, it is not spicy to start. Wait, nevermind. The spice kicks in as you go. Dry, crisp, a little herbal. This is the rye. Rating: 90.

C: Very sweet on the nose (sherry?), but dry mouth feel almost like a flat chardonnay. Very light color. Slight hint of smoke. Little peppery on the finish. Not sure if that is residual from the previous one, but I don’t think so. This is the scotch. Rating: 85.

Moment of Truth

Well, went 3-for-3, but this has to be one of the easier boxes to do this with, as they are three different whiskey styles. So, my rankings for this one would go: 1) Few Rye 2) Breckenridge Bourbon 3) Wolfburn Aurora. A quick search on Flaviar for prices has those bottles at $57, $44 and $60, respectively.

The Glassware

I have way too many beer glasses. I often use some of my 4 oz. beer sniffers for whiskey. I technically only have one glencairn whiskey glass, this one from my favorite Florida Keys brewery/distillery, who doesn’t even make whiskey. And yeah, I wore a matching T-shirt for this tonight. It’s what I do.

Update: After posting, I noticed Vial C even says Product of Scotland. That would have been a dead give-away if I had noticed. My aloofness knows no bounds.

Whiskey Ratings

92: Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old.
90: High West Campfire, Few Rye
87: Breckenridge Bourbon
85: Wolfburn Aurora
83: Buchanan’s Deluxe 12

Gin Ratings

88: Dogfish Head Compelling Gin