Tastes

Not half bad for the price. Creamy and rich, no ethanol but can taste the blend with grain whiskey. Im a fan of sherried Irish and this checks the box. Prefer to Jameson and might be a little cheaper to boot.

Color me the fool who thought that Glanfarclas 105 was 105 proof. I will admit I made it 80% of the way through this bottle thinking “I like the ‘farclas profile but this sure is assertive for only a smidge over 50% abv”. When my dumb eyes finally registered the 120 proof everything clicked into place. This has a classic Glenfarclas profile - a tart, vegetal, vanilla nose, concentrated just like the proof. Then chocolate, bread, oak, apricot, and orange. Extremely creamy - both the distillate and proof. I like it. In the days of yore this was an affordable bottle… now that the 12 year has gone from 40 to 70 this is in the 90 range, up from 60. A shame because I think that price point disincentivizes exploration of proof with a challenging distillate. If you can find this for a reasonable price (<$75) and you like assertive Sherry, I’d say give it a whirl.

Not complex but liked the experience. Sweet vanilla cream plus smoke. This bottle, a blend, used to be a slight upcharge vs some quality single malt competitors but its price has stayed pretty flat while those age-stated single malts ballooned, so I think this is available at a very fair price these days. Recommended.

Not a setting for detailed tasting notes. Was on the drinks list at a networking event and everything else was so pricey this seemed like a decent bargain by comparison. Not wowed, but enjoyed the experience. Not sure its a “purist” pour or anything to write your grandkids about, but is a rich dessert in a glass and quite nice to drink at that. Thick, creamy, and decadently sweet with an undercurrent of aged oak astringency. Fruit and barrel notes, some sherry but not a “bomb”. Would drink again at the right price, not worth buying a bottle unless you have $ and like dessert in a glass.

Nice packaging. Great price. Unforgiveable name I am sure is designed explicitly to intrigue but stymie (in equal parts) foreign consumers Light golden brown with an orange tint. Nutty nose - clearly sherried, but done appealingly. Almond extract. Pear. Jasmine. Opens with sweet syrup, then a vegetal cocoa lacking the cream required to make chocolate. Full flavored and sharp, comes off as quite salty (something I also get in the 12 year). A touch of crisp Granny Smith apple tartness. Very much a salted chocolate syrup with pronounced nutty, sherried elements. A rich and weighty distillate. I’ve enjoyed this bottle a lot and is an easy recommendation I’d you like bold sherried single malt at the entry-level price point. Well done and is not hindered by the lack of age statement.

Though about digging up something special for #300, but more organic to review the any-day pour that ended up in my glass tonight before the bottle ends up empty. Cheers all! A honeyed orange. Slightly above average weight. Like the bottle and packaging. Nose is vanilla, jasmine, and sugar syrup. Orange blossom. Fresh green bean. Butter cookie. The palate brings chocolate orange and vanilla custard. Super creamy for a 10-year. A bit of aspartame tang. Roasted pineapple. Beeswax. Can taste the bourbon cask and a bit of youthful barley. Pretty good - would reach for it again. Nice and direct flavor, good body, but pretty monotone profile with some sharpness. Brash but promising. Not worth it at everyday retail but I like it around $50.

A light honey-orange. Thin body. Floral nose – jasmine, vanilla, Turkish cake. Sweet and light. Creamy and surprisingly viscous. Sweet but not overwhelming. Lemon peel. A raw oat note announces the malt’s youth. Almond. A tad bitter around the periphery. Overall, nothing too objectionable but nothing to write home about. Affordable, but can’t hide its youth. Sweet and simple I don’t regret the bottle but won’t seek a replacement.

A very pale straw yellow. Not a lot of body but leaves a few thin legs. OK. Like it or not, dem boys delivered the concept. Crisp apple balanced by a subtle cereal note. Creamy. Gentle honeysuckle. I find myself tempted to think of grain whisky, but nothing harsh in the nose whatsoever - it's just "simple". Orange blossom water. Pear. Almond. Honeydew. A lilting saccharine spice that builds and recedes gently. Beeswax. Vanilla. Gosh that’s easy to like. Conversely, it may also be tough to love. This is not a brooding, complex, or challenging dram. It’s just light, fruity, and approachable. At sub-$50 I think it competes with any of the typical entry-level age-stated highland/Speyside malts and is clearly the superior to a number of them. If it were less than $40 it'd be a home run.

When traveling for work I've found that big city stores don't tend to go easy on the pocketbook, so I'm drawn to grab a bottle with an unexpectedly reasonable price tag of something that I've never had before. In my naïve mind, this helps justify the expense since on some level I've limited the rampant profiteering, tried something new, and will be forgiven even if it goes unfinished. The entry this time is Paul John "Bold" (i.e. peated NAS), for a reasonable $40 that I doubt I could do better than back home even at modest Midwest prices. This is also my first Indian whisky, so double points awarded says I. Enough about me - the dram is a nice light honey brown. While not overly weighty, it coats the glass with a fair bit of oil. A relatively gentle, sweet and simple nose. Unusual but not unpleasant, it showcases honey, chili pepper, raw cane, and a touch of hay. A very creamy body and neutral simple syrup open the palate, then smoke, pineapple, and roasted chestnut develop along with a pleasing floral character. It's a bit as if Laphroaig 10 and a lightly-aged Barbados rum had a love child. A tingle of baking spices play alongside honeydew. Coconut cream. This is pretty tasty stuff for an approachable price. Yes, it's a little young but it suits the finished product quite well. Some drying aspartame plays spoiler to the primary flavors but this is very approachable, sippable, and competitive at the price point. I'd recommend any peated scotch fans take a waiver and see how it stacks up.