Tastes

How am I the first person to review this? I’ve now had this bottle open for a week so figured it was time to do a little review… Nose is full of fruit. I’m not a wine person so I don’t know what marsala tastes like but it seems a lot more red berries than most of the bourbon I have. There’s a good amount of honeyed sweetness in there too. 4.5 if I was just grading the nose. Palate is a little less appetizing but not terrible. Tastes a little young and harsh. Like it’s 98 barrels of the young component and one each of the 15 and 16 year old. Unlike Remus Repeal and OKI Reserve, this doesn’t give us a percentage breakdown of how much of which component. WOULD LOVE THAT INFO IF ANYONE HAS It!!! This has none of the maturity of EC18 or even Weller 12. I like brash when it’s Islay peat or 135 proof cask strength stuff but at 101 it should be a bit “smoother.” I like it but I can see people shying away from the $125 price tag. I live in a control state so, for limited stuff, our prices tend to be lower than the average. Finish is actually really strong too. A little citrus or tropical and the finish is decently long for a lower proofer. I’m open to revising if it opens up after a few weeks or the bottle gets a little lower. This started off strong and finished nicely as well. I imagine it’ll get better with some air. Cheers

I’ve drain poured beer before but never whiskey...until today. This was awful. I’m glad I wasn’t the one who bought it

Picked this up yesterday but haven’t cracked it yet. Looks like it will be easier to find than the first release. Sounds weird AF tho. Not sure I want Guinness and my Islay malts in the same glass...

Extremely harsh for me (shocking considering the ABV). A little water makes it a little better but I’m glad I got a sample of this before buying a bottle. It’s not terrible but I don’t drink that often so I’d rather have a couple $60 bottles rather than four $30 ones. This could be for you but when you can get a Laphroaig/Ardbeg 10 for only a little more why would you do this? I’d take Laphroaig Select over this and the “select” in that name is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen. It should be called LAPHROAIG *we did not* SELECT. I’m rambling so I’ll stop. CHEERS!

Based on some reviews here and elsewhere I poured this took a quick sip and then let it sit for 30 minutes. It smelled and tasted completely different (all in a good way) after the time in the glass so I’m reviewing it based on that and you should consider drinking it that way if you ask me. At least the neck pour 🤷‍♂️. This is in a rocks glass. I’ll be pouring into a glencairn as soon as I can and will update if necessary. That long winded nonsense being said, my review will be pretty short. The nose is all citrus. It’s quite wonderful actually. Just based on that I’d probably be closer to a 4.5. The palate has an enormous salt note. I did my research and was prepared for it but it’s still a bit shocking. I’m told that’s normal for Oban but I have more experience with Lagavulin and Talisker from Diageo than I do with Oban. The citrus is still there too. I wish it was more prominent than the salt but it’s not. There’s also some sherry instilled berry notes but, again, more background to the saltiness. The finish is surprisingly long and I appreciate that. For an NAS with a ridiculous focus on packaging (black bottle, black tube, GoT Night’s Watch mantra on the front of the label etc.) I was worried this was going to be trash. It’s not. It’s not awesome but I like it. I’d definitely go with the Talisker or Lagavulin GOT bottle if you only want one. I bet with a sweet dessert the salty aspect would feel savory (like bacon on a donut). I’ll have to try that. On its own I’d drink it. I’m glad I have a bottle. But I wish I paid retail NOW compared to when it came out.

Thanks to @saasbill for sharing. I mean, dollar for dollar, this is probably great but it’s not something I need to have often. The nose is actually OUTSTANDING but it’s rough around the edges and down the middle. If you have a few daily and need a cheap sipper this is better than it deserves to be for the price. But when I can get a bottle of Buffalo Trace for like $7 more I’m willing to spend it. I also have one or two drams per week at most so I am looking for something smooooooooooother

My bottle is 60.4% not 60.2%. It’s wonderful. Opened the bottle and it immediately smelled like BBQ and peat. A wonderful combination. After a while I got a little bit of citrus. Amazingly smooth for so young and so strong. The palate was a lot sweeter than the nose would suggest. I normally don’t add much water but I figured, at over 60%, why not. It really opened up the citrus. I got more lemon than anything else. Very sweet on the palate. Maybe it’s just a surprise compared to the way it smelled but the fruit is really there. This was a neck pour so I’m looking forward to getting in this bottle. Very reasonably priced as well. Thanks Binny’s!

I still like the OG Belle Meade best. This was interesting. A little more bite/harshness than I was expecting.