Tastes

With a droplet: blooms of toffee, caramel, pumpernickel bread, prickly spices. White pepper, lemongrass, table salt. The spiciness of this is really enjoyable. The finish is very salty with black peppercorns. The burn is not insignificant. Rye, I feel, may be my gateway into the heretofore impenetrable world of Bourbon.

In a weird-ass MAGA bar in Trump country with more camouflage hats than teeth. Neat: buttery and smooth. Mild smoke, not too much burn but a little. Almonds and some port wine resins. The finish is honey and prickly brown leaves. Deceptively easy to drink, or maybe I'm just hurrying it up to get tf out of this place.

Smoke, mossy peat, tobacco leaf, earthy potting soil, gasoline fusels that somehow work. Mildly salty; definitely plastic/phenolic stuff at the back end: rubber bands. There is nothing quite like Laphroaig.

Wonderful vanilla creme, toasted caramel and creme brulee. The body is so creamy and soft. Just a hint of sea salt lingers in the finish. The big burn mellows out beautifully with a droplet. Buttery and soft. Some of that charred oak is present; it's got a sharpness in the swallow that could be the sherry or maybe some burnt wood. A slight fusel burn in the finish that accentuates the flavors. It's the first Scotch whisky I've had thus far that I can really pick up on the sugary sweetness. A supremely enjoyable (dessert?) Scotch.

By itself: Nose is somewhere between pool chlorine and an ashtray. Taste is Sweet candi sugars; root beer barrel candy. The finish is black licorice. Inoffensive and devoid of complex flavor, for the most part. It's basically the perfect mixer. Not bad or unpleasant at all, it's just basic af. With a 7.5er of Canada Dry and some ice: yep, that's the spot. This drink will be good in the summer.

Definitely needs a dilution. Too hot neat. With ice and not really complex enough without a mixer. Ashy and kinda pedestrian.

Surprisingly enjoyable for such a commercial brand. Lightly smoked, accenting some terrific vanilla tobacco, cinnamon and citrus spices. The burn is pleasant and blunted. The long you let it sit under the tongue, the more mellow it gets. This would go great with a pipe. The TOBACCO is the dominant flavor to me. This is a really terrific option if the price is right.

Nose: Corn with a more lusty burn than normal. Candi Sugar sweetness that reminds me of Sugar Daddy candy pops. That extra 6.85% is not remotely obscured. Some charcoal, with an ashy feel. The finish is a lot milder, smoother and sweeter than the initial heat would indicate. It benefits from a long waiting period under the tongue, and patiently savoring it pays dividends. But that burn doesn't cool down without a lot more water or ice.

Neat: more of a sweet corn/Bourbon malt initial taste to me. The peat doesn't seem to be that prevalent. In fact, the smoke is more like cigarette ashes than a fine cigar tobacco leaf. With a droplet: the burn mellows out but it's still ASHY. Vanilla comes out a bit. Seem like an off-blend of disparate elements that don't quite mesh.