Tastes

Valentines Day 2022 at Villa Macris. Color is beautiful light-medium amber. Nose is a soft vanilla with carmalized nuts and oak. Taste is a graini-er oak, cherries, apple, and toasted bread. Slightly dry and turns to a leathery finish. A little disappointed with how difficult it is to find

Bought at Meijer to make Super Bowl meatballs 2022. Color is beautiful medium-dark amber. Nose is a beautiful, soft vanilla that smells like a graham cracker! with carmalized nuts and oak. Taste is surprisingly soft- plenty of buttery, creamy vanilla with woody and butterscotch notes. Slightly dry with a nice cherry-fudge finish. Perhaps the slightest hint of herbs and spices

Blind taste test! Color - lighter yellow Nose - dull baking spice Taste - powerful oaked spice with some butterscotch and some nuttier notes on the backend. Overall, pretty soft. As I progress through the glass, the toffee and sweet vanilla-caramel notes come out. Toasted corn

Bling taste test! Color - light-to-medium amber Nose - really nice! mint, pepper (rye), oak, Taste - very different. Buttery mouthfeel with a strong, deep vanilla with lingering baking spices. 3.75/5

Bought at Sam’s club on great discount - Have been wanting to try for a while! Color - a nice medium amber. Nose - very strong sweet vanilla and woody oak notes, butterscotch undertones Taste - different! A sweet start that rolls into a longer, toasted oak, then resides into lingering woody flavors. Nutmeg and some nuttier tones also present. Upon reading other reviews - spice at the forefront is noticeable and the maple syrupy ending is there. But this review is perfect: “toasted coconut and baking spice laden oak, as well as more creamy vanilla. A short finish offers astringent oak, vanilla”

Blind taste test - bought 50 mL bottles at Blarney Stone on McKinley Rd. Color is a nice medium amber color. Smell is fantastic - like a soft Blade and Bow with a hint of tannins, butterscotch, and mild baking spice. Taste is really sweet cake and caramel with TONS of vanilla, some bready and light nutty notes on the finish. Really like this one. Upon reveal, the apple/pear aroma is what I couldn’t out my finger on. Very nice!

Blind taste test - bought 50 mL bottles at Blarney Stone on McKinley Rd. Color is a very, very light yellow. Scent is very subtle with a soft touch of rye spice. Taste is also subtle - rye spice with hint of mint and annise. Overall, unimpressive. Upon reveal, some vanillans come through at the end. Surprised by the 95% rye mash bill - not very spicy

Blind taste test - bought 50 mL bottles at Total Wine in Grand Rapids with Kyle. Color is a more medium amber. Smell is of dark, sweet licorice and rye. First sip lights up the sinuses - very peppery with a hint of sweetness undercutting it. Not too much ethanol heat, but the rye spice burn is strong and lingers - almost like eating a hot Buffalo wing! Very interesting and unique - can’t decide if I like it or not haha. Upon reveal, the mint and cardamom come through as well, but quite overpowered by the rye spice!

Smells exactly like Koval (zero proof) single malt - like apple cider/juice (awful! in my opinion). Taste is packed full of beerish malted barley with a strange earthy aftertaste

Bought at Martin’s on Main and Cleveland. Color is nice and dark amber. Nose is sweet carmel with vanilla notes, but does have a young peppercorn/slight mint smell. Taste is really sweet carmel and vanilla with a small, sweet lingering smoky oak aftertaste. The toasted oak spiral in the bottle is an interesting asthetic touch. Overall, not sure the spiraled oak makes up for the rather flat and uneventful whiskey inside