Tastes

Nose is a bit of fruit and sugar, almost like a pear pie if there was such a thing. The palate opens sweet and silky, and goes mostly nowhere from there. It's a bit sweeter than the 12yr, but lacks the depth and complexity, instead replacing them with astringency and dryness. The fruit and brine are most noticeable in their absence. This isn't really representative of the core expressions, and you would do yourself well to stick with them. Especially the 17yr.

I've tried three different times now to write my own notes on this bottle, but I've finally given up. Everything I write is essentially the same exact thing Stephanie wrote in her review. The only note I'll add is that it doesn't do very well in a half-empty bottle; the nose becomes very one-note (smoke), and the palate thins just a bit, losing most of the lemon. On first opening though, Stephanie nailed it. At $50-ish a bottle, this is one that will continue to be on my whisky shelf.

Thick and floral on both the nose and the palate. Vegetal hints, like fresh plant clippings in new topsoil show up early in the sip, but are quickly overtaken by a sweet burst of honey and vanilla before the cereal grans take over. The finish is short and rather astringent, drying things out before cleanly fading. It's not Green Spot, but it's worth $35 to give it a try.

The nose is rather faint, even in a Glencairn, but if I work at it for a bit, I can pull out a bit of apple and nutmeg, so I guess Stephanie is pretty spot on with the apple pie reference. I also get a bit of earthiness, almost like potting soil fresh out of the bag. The palate opens fruity, smooth and creamy, than the heat arrives and balances things out, leading to a little spice in the middle before finishing with a floral hint and a bit more apple and vanilla. Not a bad drink by any stretch, and so much better than the more popular blends. Compass Box is doing good stuff, but either this just isn't my style of Scotch (it's not, really), or I expect a bit more for a blend containing over 50% malt. It's smooth and creamy, but it's not exciting; it doesn't pull me back for another sip to see what else I can find hiding in the aroma, to hunt for flavors tucked behind the initial burst of light fruity sweetness. If you don't like smoke, you don't like peat, you don't like much depth of complexity, and you just want a decent drink for a decent price, this is your ticket. For me, I tend to look at it more as Scotch without the malt, or Irish with half the flowers and fruit.

From a Glencairn: The nose is a bit hot, with a strong alcohol presence somewhat masking the honey, vanilla and molasses that wait within. After a few minutes, the bourbon comes through a little better, but it's still fairly delicate. Somewhat thick, especially for this proof, the first sip hits the tongue hot, with a mouth-coating blast of cinnamon leading into a sweeter bit of vanilla and brown sugar. The middle dries out a bit with the oak making an appearance before finishing short, clean and neat with a hint of spice and a linger of smoke. Quite a bit of spice here, especially when compared to Jim Beam 12yr or Elijah Craig 12yr. While it's well worth the effort to find and have, the price ($65 here in AK) pushes it out of my realm of a daily drinker. This is another bourbon that I much prefer with just a splash of water out of a rocks glass...much less spice forward, and a smoother overall palate as compared to the Glencairn glass.

Two notes: I usually despise the traditional 100 point rating system, and was very pleased to see Drink Distiller go with a 5-star format. Unfortunately, sometimes the expanded room for rating would be prudent, and this is one of those instances. It's better than 80% (4 out of 5), but it's certainly not perfect. If I had a 10-point scale it would be a solid 9. Unfortunately, the scale requires me to leave it the same as it's much less-smooth brother, the 8-yr aged Double Black. Rest assured...this whisky is a helluva lot better than the Double Black. Point 2: This whisky changes flavors significantly based on glass type. The Glencairn shows a lot more on the nose, but also washes out the aroma with alcohol burn. Taste is similar, with the Glencairn amplifying that which is found in a traditional rocks glass while bringing forward a lot more wood and char. I much prefer this from a square rocks glass, but in the name of consistency, this review is from a Glencairn glass. The nose is rich with toffee, vanilla and oak. After sitting for 5 minutes, it opens up a little and you can detect a bit of mint as well. The palate is rich and creamy, with vanilla leading the charge. Molasses and brown sugar follow right behind before a swift kick of wood and spice finish things up. The finish is drying, with more wood and a hint of smoke before the astringency leaves a polite numbness on your lips and gums. This is a great bourbon at most any reasonable price, and for $40-odd a fifth, it's exceptional. If you haven't tried it yet, do yourself a favor and grab a bottle. Or three.

Not what I expect from a company that self-affiliates with "traditional" i.e. smoky& peaty Islay malts. The nose is rather lackluster, with just a hint of vanilla and fresh-turned dirt to indicate what you might find inside. [Disclosure: This bottle has been open and about 1/3 full for about 2 months. I vaguely recall the nose being somewhat stronger when first opened]. This hits the palate much softer than the other Islay peat champions, and the hay notes that I find so objectionable in the Bruichladdich 10yr seem to fit in perfectly with the rest of the supporting cast. And it's a pretty sizable, and decent, supporting cast. Immediately following the fresh-cut hay is a bit of vanilla and brown sugar, but the arrival of the peat tamps down any sweetness you might find. The middle is very reminiscent of a hot salted pretzel, with a bit of a fresh bread-dough flavor that I usually associate with wheated bourbons making an appearance before it's quickly overcome with salt. The salt goes from normal pretzel salt to an ocean brine so typical of Islay malts and then a bit of meatiness rounds things out before smoke and peat close things out. The finish is medium, just over a minute, with lingering smoke interwoven with vanilla until a slight dryness finishes things up. A very good dram, for a very good price. If this had a better nose, it'd easily be 5-stars. Not only would this be ideal for those who like complex bourbons or un-peated malts (apparently these people exist somewhere), it's good enough (and cheap enough) that Scotch lovers of all persuasion can drink it without shame or remorse. Well done Bowmore!

I'll start off with damning by faint praise, and say that it's better than JW Red Label. The nose is bitter, with a lot of chemicals, mostly turpentine and acetone. If you dig around for awhile, you might get a hint of honeysuckle and a fresh floral arrangement. Even after sitting for awhile, the chemicals still persist, albeit at a slightly lower strength. The palate is thin, and if you hunt around for malt, you can find it, but the grains dominate this drink. A hint here or there of heather, honey and vanilla, but it's overshadowed by astringency and cereal notes. The finish is short, and I don't know that I'd want it any other way. It's not spit-it-out bad, but the remainder of this bottle will be used for cooking and a new one will never grace the confines of my whisky rack. I was really hoping this would come through, especially with the glowing praise it received from Mr Mayhew, but in the end, I reaffirmed I don't like anything Dewar's, and confirmed that Mr Mayhew and I have completely different palates.

Let this one sit in the glass for a few minutes before you nose it, or the alcohol will wipe out any chance of nuance. After 5 minutes uncovered in the glass, I get caramel, honey and vanilla up front, with a hint of molasses and oak hiding in the background. Straight, it's very, very hot and antiseptic, coating the tongue with lovely cinnamon before immediately numbing your tongue and gums more effectively than lidocaine. If you regain sensory presence rather quickly, you'll notice a warm, lingering sweetness with a lot of corn, followed by the caramel and vanilla again. The finish is abrupt and hot, with cinnamon lingering at the end. With water, things are much different. When cut to about 45 % ABV (two parts whisky to one part water), the nose takes on a light, floral smell, which isn't at all indicative of what you'll find on the tongue. The first sip is still slightly numbing, even at this ABV, but is immediately followed by full, rich, heavy old-fashioned caramel. The type of caramel your great grandmother used to make on the stove with pure brown sugar, butter and heavy cream. The type of caramel that some would gladly kil.....oh wait...I've gone a little off track there...er...the caramel is VERY pronounced, and VERY good! The palate lasts a lot longer, and you have time to pick out the little things that were previously hidden by the alcohol numb. There's a surprising amount of spices; (cardamom, anisette and nutmeg anyone?) which are eventually overtaken with vanilla, butterscotch and molasses in equal parts, before leading to a warm cinnamon finish. Rich and full from beginning to end, with just a whisp of smoke right before the numbness finishes up. So why only 4-stars instead of a Unicorn-horn trophy? Two things: 1) I waited a long time before I found this bottle, and I may have overhyped it somewhat. It's good, there's no doubt about that, but... 2) at the $60 price point ($79 here in Alaska) I'm looking for a bit more from a bourbon than an amplified and slightly expanded 12yr Elijah Craig.

Balvenie through and through, but with a molasses kick at the end. Slightly oily, vanilla, brown sugar and pears show in the middle, very little smoke throughout. The rum is noticeable, and while not overpowering, it changes the finish in such a way that it seems to pollute the entire experience. It's worth a drink if you can find someone who will share, if only to confirm that some things shouldn't be mixed...