For those interested, I opened the 154/370 bottle tonight and poured a bit into a glass resting in the wood coaster for the Tolkien Birthday Toast. I love that the wood coaster still has a very fresh pine wood smell. I will put the rest of the bottle away for a future special occasion related to Tolkien. I see that the 370 bottles with coasters are now sold out online. A friend of mine who loves Tolkien received one for Christmas, so the last of them must have sold out over the past few weeks, hopefully as Christmas presents for Tolkien fans around the world.
I very much prefer bourbon over rye whiskey, but I will say I enjoyed the Black Pine Whisky. I am not an expert taster, but it certainly was peppery and smoky, without being overpowering. Despite those flavors, it was still fairly smooth/creamy. I did not detect the mint flavor that was listed as a tasting note. It's definitely a younger whiskey compared to the bourbons I tend to drink, but that is not unusual for ryes, and the Oxford Artisan Distillery's other whiskeys are not aged for a long period of time. It reminded me a bit of the calm and hopefulness after the smoke and fire of battle on the Pelennor. A good whiskey to drink in the Houses of Healing after fire and battle. I very much enjoy having the coaster out and holding part of the wood that supported and inspired Tolkien on so many occasions. To the Professor!
Pictured below with the bottle and with Tom Hillman's excellent book, which I'm currently reading.
I very much prefer bourbon over rye whiskey, but I will say I enjoyed the Black Pine Whisky. I am not an expert taster, but it certainly was peppery and smoky, without being overpowering. Despite those flavors, it was still fairly smooth/creamy. I did not detect the mint flavor that was listed as a tasting note. It's definitely a younger whiskey compared to the bourbons I tend to drink, but that is not unusual for ryes, and the Oxford Artisan Distillery's other whiskeys are not aged for a long period of time. It reminded me a bit of the calm and hopefulness after the smoke and fire of battle on the Pelennor. A good whiskey to drink in the Houses of Healing after fire and battle. I very much enjoy having the coaster out and holding part of the wood that supported and inspired Tolkien on so many occasions. To the Professor!
Pictured below with the bottle and with Tom Hillman's excellent book, which I'm currently reading.
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