Tastes

Widow Jane 10yr Straight Bourbon N: Like a better Canadian Club, with lots of light caramel tones, except not disgusting T: Similar to the taste, light body with caramel... and then as it opens, a wonderful surprise of deep natural tobacco flavor. Like a sour, well-cured blend of ribbon-cut white burley. F: exactly like chewing tobacco, with the same kind of bitter and sharp notes like you would get chewing tobacco... sour bitter leaf tannin and nicotine spice. Really pleased by the tobacco notes this whiskey presents. Definitely does the theme well. Not one-note, but a great exploration on the theme.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2009 Nose: The aromas are surprisingly present! Soft and sweet. Wildflower honey. A deed inhale reveals spicy basil. Taste: Medium-light body with a silky texture. Similarly to the nose, soft and light with honey sweetness and an herbal phenolic spice reminiscent of the finishing bitterness of pungent freshly muddled peppermint. Finish: Warm mildly, with a pleasant plasticky dryness and a bitterness of fresh pine/Spanish cedar quality. Medium-long and asking for another sip. Overall: Smooth with no opening needed. Not extremely complex or deep, but the honey and herbal nose and taste with the woody finish remind this scotch-drinker of his preferred profile in a speyside! A great value for the $.

Islay was NOT my style, BUT. I had to try this given the reviews and bold and umami pungent flavors well-presented alongside the peat... and being able to pick up a bottle for only $41+tax. Nose: Cyprian latakia, bandages with ointment, the sea on an overcast October evening. Taste: No bandages, but all of that oriental tobacco, woody, but more than just pine or oak with an extra dimension. Behind the moderate veil of smoke lies salty seaweed, lilac, and heather, with a twinge of lavender and only just-ripe green pears, bittersweet and earthy, making this so surprisingly deep and flavorful for a moderately-priced 10yr peated scotch. Finish: long and fine, with no undue warmth of solventy notes returning, the tastes initially perceived fade and blend to create a dry, earthy, robust.... and... dare I say "manly" finish that practically begs for a deep bowl of mature pipe tobacco from such a master blender of English and Oriental blends and cakes as G.L. Pease. 4.5/5

Always a favorite. Everything you love about the Glenlivet and speyside scotch. N: fresh cider of Fuji apples and perry of Anjou pear. Inviting and lively. T: silky mouthfeel of an off-dry flat cider. Fuji apple, Anjou Pear, Lilac, Elderflower, Chrysanthemum. The spice reminiscent of a Tempranillo grape. Salty. F: bittersweet French oak, long and dry with the impressions of all the flavors present in the palate. Incredibly balanced and flavorful. Marries well with almost anything you decide to pair with it. Milder maduro cigar is a surprisingly good choice! Prefer this to the 18 year, as it retains the fresh malted barley flavors and aromas but has rounded out any semblance of a rough edge that may have still been around in a younger form.

Nose: Initially from a new bottle, rye, shoe polish, anise seed, fennel seed, carom. A bit harsh at first but opens up to the aromatic spices. Intense and pungent, reminiscent of absinthe. Slightly plastic-y but not in a chemical way. Deep. Taste: for an unopened sip, it's incredibly silky. VERY rye forward. It's the spice of the grain front and center, like a curry of a whiskey. Same spices as the nose with very minimal alcohol presence. No plastic. The slightest burnt golden raisin at the tail. Finish: the aromatic seed flavors linger and stay long on the palate with a leathery feel on the mid-palate. Slightest bit of puckering from an almost undetectable minerality. A general warming of the palate, even throughout, but absolutely no alcohol harshness or overbearing hot spice, just lingering aromatics... and then the slightest floral lilac note as the bitterness fades. Lovely! This is a rye-drinker's Rye that really showcases the grain. I think the blending helps bring all of rye's dimensions to the table without excessive oak or that "green" flavor, but plenty of fresh and lively notes. The spice really balances with the light sweetness and minerality to make for a complex and flavorful, but still drinkable, rye for all occasions, casual or more pensive. Pairs great with a habano-wrapper cigar. For the price, I give it at least 8.5/10

Straightforward and classic. Not a lot going on in depth, but the breadth is all there. A relaxed drinker casually or a fantastic mixer. N: rye, apple, pear, lemon, vanilla T: malt, Rye, herbal, cigar box F: iodine, furniture polish

Nose of Anjou pear and light Fuji apple. Sherry and honey-sweet bourbon are detectable. Taste begins with pears then apple blossom then fruit blossom honey and escalates to golden raisins, briefly dried figs. Then your classic salty woody scotch dry finish.

Without significant air time and perhaps a drop of water only, it's almost undrinkable. However, with the air time, you can actually taste whiskey, and it's not just a load of ethanol. Actually enjoyable. But the workaround loses points. With some oxidation time, this would win a 4/5. Not a bad barrel proof value for the $. N: fruit cake, hazelnut, caramel, spongecake, fudge T: rye, yeast, char, shoe polish, salt F: sulphuric, upholstery, spice