The Oamaruvian Cask Strength DoubleWood 16 Year

...and now for something extremely rare and a bit weird: The Omaruvian. It's a single grain whisky from New Zealand that was aged 6 years in ex-American oak and then finished for an astonishing 10 years in New Zealand red wine casks. It was distilled in 1999 and the distillery is now defunct. It's cask strength and comes in at a whopping 116.8 proof. The bottle originally sold for around $95 and it was never available in the U.S. I obtained this 1oz sample from a new friend that travels extensively. There's no way I'd have ever been able to get this rarity any other way. In the nosing glass it simply looks like a pour of red wine. It's beautiful and it's already filling the room with cherry and strawberry fruitiness. When I stick my nose in and inhale deeply there's a robust kick of oak barrel before the red wine overpowers it. Very nice. That first sip packs a wallop- there's a hit of sweet grapes, but the oak and heat from the alcohol just clears the room. The overwhelming dryness doesn't allow anything to hang around more than a second or two before it just takes your breath and sets your nose on fire. It's unavoidable. I've got to add water and try to tame this beast before the sample is all gone... The water really kicks up the grapes on the nose in an unbelievable way. I don't want to finish this- I just want to sit here and smell it. I'm not a wine drinker at all, but I have slowly begun to appreciate single malts with wine barrel finishes. I'm liking them more and more and this takes that to an incredible level. The water really did the trick on the palate, as well. Tons and tons of cherries, strawberries and grapes just wash over the tongue and explode with flavor. The finish is, of course, very dry and that's the only shortcoming I can find. It leaves your whole mouth dry while warming you to the core. I would love, love, love to have an entire bottle of this to savor for as long as I could hold out on finishing it. The rarity just makes me yearn for it even more. Great stuff. A big thanks to Pranay for providing me with this sample. To say that I thoroughly enjoyed it would be an understatement. Cheers.

There was a time when New Zealand had a few distilleries. All were then dismantled, with the equipment then sold to make rum in Fiji. I'm a bit conflicted towards this particular one. I actually bought it when I was on vacation in Australia and NZ. These bottles are a rarity now, since it's from a closed distillery. So...I finally wanted to open it this year, specifically this past Saturday for my birthday. Every year, I try to open a special bottle on either mine or my wife's bday. But---I'm conflicted in giving this a 3 Star rating because you really are tasting a piece of history, despite maybe not being up to par with some of its other down-under brethren from either NZ or Aus. Nose is sweet and caramel-y. On the palette, you get the full force of the wine cask. Red wine, specifically port. Even though the casks used were French red wine, I'm getting Portuguese tawny. It's definitely worthwhile to try if you ever spot it in the wild, since it's a rare piece of history, but...it's no Port Ellen , Karuizawa or Brora. What it is instead is a taste of a bygone era, and instead of ratings, just enjoy it for that. ( side note---add water...else it's just too winey). EDIT 11/27: I retasted this over the weekend. I stand corrected....this time I let it "breathe" for a while, close to 15 minutes, and added plenty of ice. It really opens up the aromas and flavors. I taste oranges, roasted nuts, and cloves. It's amazing the difference if you let it rest out in the glass and add sufficient ice.

As the Sunday comes to a close, finally found the time to sit and watch the NY Giants play the Steelers (as they are rarely as the late afternoon Sunday) and recalled that I have a sample generously provided by Pranay awaiting a taste. This Oamaruvian is quite unique and found to be more wine than whiskey. The color is a rich and deep amber that on nosing reveals a pleasant sweet molasses or darkened brown sugar with mixed nuts with a touch a leather. A sip immediately numbs the tongue with a bit of burn and heat. Red wine dominates the palate, A touch or brown sugar, nutmeg and dark fruits all swirl about in the background. As it fades, red wine, drying oak tannins are found. The palate is left with a slightly bitter with a medicinal aftertaste; somewhat like cherry-flavored Nyquil (if you ever had the displeasure). Water is a must with this dram to bring down to a rounder and palatable/enjoyable level, due to the high proof. Overall, this whiskey had undertones of Sweet Vermouth and is most unique. This would be paired well with a Giants win (which, sadly did not happen tonight) and a nice steak or red meat in lieu of a red wine. [Dry Glass: Vanilla with Sweet Vermouth][87/100]][Tasted: 12/4/16]

The color is very dark amber-brown, the shade of dark brewed tea. 116.8 Proof / 58.4% is untenable (for me), 3 teaspoons of water added to a 1.25oz pour, down to approximately 40-43%. I've sadly recently proven that cask-strength whisky is a major migraine trigger for me, no matter how much water I drink alongside, one sip of this and I could almost HEAR my frontal lobes shriveling up... Nose: Omnipotent red wine, some maraschino cherry, dry grape skin, freshly sawn pine, malty grains, faint cocoa and a bit medicinal. Quite musty; ubiquitous and encumbering, increasing with water... not the kind of musty wood I usually relish, more of a mephitic moldering log... Palate: More drying red wine on arrival, then a rush of heavy oak, cherry preserves, some clove, ginger snaps and infinitesimal mint. Finish: Fairly hot and tart, more floral mint and inimitably drying (Like there's a desert in your mouth with no oasis in sight). Certifiably unfiltered in any way, leaves the glass filthy with an ashy film, just like Bookers Bourbon cask-strength releases. Salutations due, as is usual, to our idiosyncratic Pranay for sharing this shard of lost history! Dry Glass: yes, inimitably.

Pours a spectacular ruby hue; the aroma is unlike any I've ever taken in — plump red wine grapes, clove and other woodland spices, vintage leather, and candied orange peel; the first sip reveals mouthwatering mince pie and soon becomes a tannic burn; as it opens up salted pecans and burnt sugar come to the aid of the pleasantly musty midsection; the finish is violent, as one can expect at 114 proof, but amazingly you are still interacting with the complex palate and the menthol-medicinal aftertaste even five minutes after that initial swallow; this out-of-my-league glass of a rare blend of New Zealand malt and grain is the Ares of the whisk(e)y world — I doubt I'll ever have something so special again. (But if I do I'll add a few drops of water.) Update: With water, the palate is a frontal flood of red fruit and vanilla, while toward the back clove and nutmeg dominate. That bellicose finish is luxurious and woody.

[Bottle 208/400 from Barrel 328] A souvenir from my stay in New Zealand. Cheers to my new Kiwi friends. With no water added, all I smell is nail polish and wine. Adding water changes everything- graham cracker, butterscotch (the yellow candies that my grandparents always had), salted caramel, clementine, red wine (my wife thinks it smells like dessert). I smell both the wine and bourbon. A full nose on this one. Taste- Very fruity! Very full upfront juicy and fruity. Mouthfeel is sticky, sticks to your tongue and refuses to leave. Red cinnamon candies before they get terribly spicy (grandparents also had those). Red grapes. A slight cranberry juice like tartness. Leatherish quality on the back of the tongue. The bourbon influence is hiding deep in this whisky. Quality bourbon creamy finish with vanilla tobacco to send it home. This is my favorite whisky.