Tastes

As I have progressed through the bottle, the salinity/brine and gingery caramel have really stood out.

(Original review on Feb 17, 2022) Voyage 23. Received as gift from McKinley for Valentine’s Day 2022. Color is a beautiful medium amber. Nose is GREAT! Caramel and salinity come through - almost like an ocean breeze! Taste - salty! Butterscoth and carmel with notes of vanilla and a weird spice - almost a salty spice rather than a rye spice! Ginger is present and some berries are, too. Really, really good!

Bought at Chalet Party Store in Elkhart. 40% (12 yr / 74 corn 18 rye 8 malted bar) 18% (3 yr/ 68 corn 20 wheat 12 malted bar) 42% (2 yr/ 60 corn 36 rye 4 malted bar). Found as the last bottle on the shelf - had probably been sitting on the shelf for 2 years. Color is light-medium amber. Smell is okay - toffee and caramel with hints of hay and soft rye spice. Mouthfeel is quite different: almost more like a jello with almost a chewy, leathery, grainy finish. Taste is light vanilla and almost like a pound cake with lingering baking spice. All-in-all it is good with a lot of potential, but the flavors feel underdeveloped. A splash of water opens up more of the woody, nutty aromas but actually blunts a lot of the flavors and smoothens and simplifies/dulls the flavors. Slightly disappointing.

Nose is actually FANTASTIC - really sweet caramel/vanilla. Taste is REALLY good up front, with fading green flavors, that finishes with sweet vanillas again - this was a one-off taste

Flavor is starting to grow on me. Starts off strong with beautiful sweet vanilla, caramel and chocolatey oak, but finishes with a lot of those youthful green and harsher wood flavors.

Bottle purchased at Blarney Stone by South Bend Airport. Nose is strongly alcoholic with woody oak and subtler caramel and maybe even chocolate notes. Taste is early fruit (cherry/apple/banana) followed by a hint of herbs, then vanilla and chocolate. A damn good bourbon! Not sure it’s worth the hype, but $50 is a good price point

Flaviar 03/22 Blind Test C - [ ] Pour is nice and smooth - no bubbles - [ ] Color is a very dark amber. - [ ] Smell is soft, but loaded with vanilla and ginger - [ ] Taste is a LOT of vanilla - SO smooth. Some butterscotch and soft nutty and toffee notes - [ ] Upon reveal, I mischaracterized the BOLD butterscotch flavor in this whiskey with vanilla. Fruit and apple do come through. I really enjoyed this whiskey the best of the three. Very sweet with a hint of apple and chocolate - [ ] 4.25

Flaviar 03/22 Blind Test B - [ ] Pour is nice and smooth - no bubbles - [ ] Color is medium amber - [ ] Nose IS INCREDIBLE! Almost like vanilla ice cream with hints of salted caramel. - [ ] Taste is sweet caramel and malt that fades into a slight peppery spice. Good, but I think I would get tired of it after this one tasting - [ ] Upon reveal, the corn and charred, dry caramel with chocolate do come through at the end, but I do not get the orange flavor - [ ] 3.5

Flaviar 03/22 Blind Test A - [ ] Pours nice and smooth - no bubbles - [ ] Color is a light medium amber - [ ] Nose is nice - dark fruits and a hint of chocolate - [ ] Honestly, tastes like sewage water. Taste is grassy with a lot of barley - almost like a Scotch or single malt. Some butterscotch undertones. - [ ] Upon reveal, the SMOKE and ASHY-ness really stands out - [ ] 2.25 - would not buy

Blind taste test. Color is a light amber. Not much scent other than ethanol. Taste is a little bit of bread and spice, but mostly ethanol. Underwhelming