Tastes

The nose is very promising with vanilla and apple notes. Reminds me a bit of Eagle Rare 10. The palate is also fairly reminiscent of Eagle Rare 10, except a very faded version with the flavor volume turned down to 3. There's potential here, would be curious to try a more mature version like Weller 12. This one however goes firmly in the mixer category, just not enough flavor intensity to make it an enjoyable sipper for my palate.

What a beast of a whisky! I generally don't add water to my scotch but needed to add several drops to tame this one. The nose has that rubbery peat quality to it with a hint of iodine. This continues on the palate with some sweet toffee but without the wet ashes that I normally associate with Ardbeg. A really great dram to end the evening on.

I generally drink my scotch neat but for my taste this lacks the character, flavors and depth to work as a sipper. As a mixer though it makes for a pretty nice highball. This is where it really shines since it brings out the light notes of peat that I enjoy.

Not trying to be malicious here, but this whisky has literally no redeeming qualities. It drinks fairly hot at only 40% abv which means it is very young, probably the minimum 2 years of aging to qualify as whisky. The nose presents as a mixture of rubbing alcohol and faint smoke. There is an astringent malty flavour on the palate and very little else, maybe a hint of lemon pith? It shows no evolution or complexity whatsoever as you hold it in your mouth trying in vain to find even a hint of something pleasant. If you enjoy drinking cheap vodka straight, this is your whisky

Nose: Vanilla, banana custard and cereal. Palate: The vanilla and banana custard from the nose immediately deliver on the palate. Green apple makes an appearance a few seconds later ending with a spicy pepper note and a touch of candy cinnamon heat. Finish: Slightly waxy, pepper, candy cinnamon and ginger. Medium length. I can definitely see this as a scotch that would appeal to bourbon drinkers since it has a similar intense flavor experience that you would get from a bourbon, just without the corn driven sweetness. Distller really needs to re-evaluate this one because it's way better than a 77! It has a solid craft presentation; 46.3% ABV, un-chillfiltered and I believe the color is natural as well. This is a great little single malt for the price and I would take this over most other scotches in this price range.

This review is a bottle kill, the peaty aspect has faded considerably at this point. Nose: A mix of honey, mineral oil, and vanilla. The peat is there but pretty faint, then again I just drank a Bowmore 18 before this in hopes of regaining some of the peat influence. Probably a mistake. Palate: Thick vanilla custard and honey. There are some nice cereal notes as well. I really like this. It's creamy, sweet and feels very pleasant on the tongue. Not getting much peat flavour, it's more in the background. Once again that's probably because of the Bowmore I had before. Finish: Finish is short, with a touch of honey lingering before becoming a bit hot and oily. I initially bought this bottle as a bit of a novelty since it's the only peated Irish whiskey I've ever seen available here in my area of Canada. When opening the bottle for the first time there was a bit of a diesel fuel odour that emanated from it, but that soon dissipated and that odour never translated to the palate. Overall I've really enjoyed this whiskey and for the price it's definitely been worth experiencing.

Nose: Burned wood, blackberries, Concord grapes and touch of eucalyptus oil. Palate: Not particularly sweet, but I do get a grape candy note flavour poking though a very dominant dry woodsy flavour. There's some tarry peat in the mix as well. Finish: Lingering dry burned wood and eucalyptus oil. Medium length. This was overall a pretty disappointing bottle even though it was relatively inexpensive for an 18 year old scotch (101$ CAD). Makes me wonder whether I should even bother with the standard 18 year old?

Nose: Candied fruit and orange peels, slightly leathery. Palate: Initial burst of butterscotch followed by a bitter orange peel taste that takes over mid to late palate and dominates the waxy medium length finish. Not as complex, nor as sweet as I anticipated. Still it's a very nice scotch overall, however the orange peel flavour is quite intense and may be a bit off putting for some. Just wish it came with the same 46% abv as the 15 year old (which I think I prefer).

To be honest the first few times I tasted this whisky I was not impressed. I found it a bit too light and floral for my palate. A bit of a shrinking violet as far as whiskies go. For the first 1/2 bottle or so I used it mostly as a mixer. After that point however the flavour really started developing. I'm having my final dram from this bottle tonight and am seriously considering buying this again. I agree with the Distiller review on many points. I totally get the vanilla and ripe red apples on the nose along with the shortbread on the palate but there also a bit of a banana marshmallow candy flavour. The finish is a brief sweet pear note and slightly hot.