Tastes

On initial pour, this smells singularly of mincemeat pie. And I know...mincemeat is a big blend of spices and fruits (and occasionally real meat), but they have always seemed, to me anyway, to come together in a cohesive smell that is unique to mincemeat. Let this sit in the glass for 10 minutes and it opens a bit; grape, raisins, grape, burnt caramel, grape cool aid, vanilla, and grape make an appearance, in that order, and in that intensity. Getting past the nose, the palate is sadly much of the same. While I know it's sherried, this tastes much more to me like Port, and sadly, a thin, sweet, cheap Port at that. The mouthfeel is nice, smooth and silky before it comes back to bite a bit sharper than I'd expect for the ABV. With a lot of work, I was able to discern just the faintest hints of tobacco (think more of White Owl or Swisher Sweets than a Montechristo Epic) and an ashy flavor that I sometimes find when I've just changed the house water filter. The finish is brief, sweet, and mildly pleasant, possibly because it is so brief. All in all, this will be my last bottle of Auchentoshan. While not as bad as the Alberta Dark Batch which I absolutely loath, it definitely shares a lot of the same unpleasant flavors.

Nose is a surprise for an island Scotch in that there's as much floral as there is saltspray and iodine. A good swirl in the glass reveals a bit of vanilla and citrus, followed by smoke. Palate opens very cleanly, and while there's the faintest bit of that west coast band-aid flavor, it's hidden behind a sweet, salty bunch of bacon, a dash of lemon and a LOT of pepper. Slightly sweet, yet not cloying, (dark cherries maybe?) it strikes a very nice balance with the peat and smoke. The finish is medium and smoky, with just the slightest astringency, and makes you want to go back for more. A very, very good drink, and one that continually reaffirms its place in my liquor cabinet. An excellent intermediary between Highland malts and their more abrasive, ostentatious island cousins. A must try for anyone that likes any whisk(e)y. I must add that it's nice to step back from the new stuff to a bottle that I've found reliable for literally decades. To co-opt a line from a cult classic: "Talisker...don 't go changing"

[UPDATE: I was going to rate this a 3 when I started my review, but as I worked through it, and started taking notes and typing, the whisky changed quite a bit in the glass. What was fairly mute and unexpressive opened a lot, and the flavors grew more bold. Definitely recommend letting this sit uncovered in the glass for at least 10 minutes] The nose is fairly light, with a bit of saltspray, honeysuckle, and the faintest whiff of citrus, more lemony than grapefruit, but certainly a mashup rather than just one or the other. Maybe not awe-inspiring, but certainly unique. The palate is almost a flavor-for-scent copy of the nose, but underlying it all is an essence of outdoorsiness. Think of eating a grapefruit while sitting on a clean linen in the middle of a freshly harvested hayfield, with the wind blowing the soft vanilla/sugar aromas of honeysuckle past you. Not very complex, but pleasant and enjoyable nonetheless. The finish is all too brief, because this is the best part of the dram for me. It gets heavy, oily, and redolent with lemon and eucalyptus flavor...if they could find a way to carry this flavor throughout the whole experience, it would be a 5-star Scotch. As it is, it's mostly the finish that keeps it from sinking to a 3. I'm beginning to worry that Bruichladdich just isn't my cup of tea. This makes me sad, because I absolutely love the peated expressions from Port Charlotte, and Octomore is my second favorite drink of all time. I don't know for sure, but I'm committed to finding out.

Nose from the bottle is very sweet, with little alcohol present. In the glass, there's far more alcohol present, but there's also vanilla, caramel and the faintest hint of honeysuckle. Wood is notable in its absence, something I think indicates a younger than average time spent in barrels. Based on nose alone, I'd guess it's a 4-5 year whisky, but that assessment falls apart when I take a sip. The flavors are predominately, almost overwhelmingly, sweet, but it's the depth of richness and flavor that blows me away. Vanilla bean, brown sugar, browned butter, caramel, nougat, and a hint of candy-coated pecans all seem to arrive small, grow large, and then fade as the next flavor arrives. It's like tasting them individually versus pulling flavors from an overall profile. Most unique! The finish is medium short, and cinnamon finally makes an appearance before fading to a pleasant numbness that doesn't burn at all. I can see why some call it Japanese bourbon. It hits all the same notes (sweet, vanilla, caramel, honey), but they're all just a quarter-pitch off, as if it's a piano tuned by a deaf guy who simply turned the wrench until all the torque readings are the same. So while it's technically in-time with bourbon, it's not in-tune. And I'm eternally grateful, because the end result is something not often found. This is my second Coffey Still whisky, with CR Hand Select being the first. They share many of the same unique traits, but most profound is the depth and richness of character. I believe I've found a new friend in the Coffey Still. Now it's time to find a bottle of the Nikka Coffey Malt.