Tastes

Was given a shooter to try. This has notes of chocolate, caramel, and spice. I like this a lot, but earlier this week I drank some of my Bushmills 10 and the two are VERY similar. Except Bushmills 10 can be had for $40 less.

This is lovely. Nose is like taking in a breath of sea air. For taste I get the salt, a slight spice, oak, honey, little smoke, and citrus. So much going on here.

This is some easy drinking whiskey. Honey is dominant in both the nose and taste. The nose make me think of leaves a nice fall day or being in a orchard. Aside from honey, I get biscuits and almonds in the taste. Overall, I think this is a lovely whiskey. Not really complex, but it hits its notes beautifully.

At first wasn't digging it, because I was getting rubber notes. On my second go at this though I started to appreciate this more. Without water it was spicier, and I got a lot of pepper to it. I also picked up notes honey, leather, sherry, and a little bit of smoke/peat. In my opinion, a drop or two of water makes this much better. Took down the spice and harshness significantly, and it made this more pleasant all around with similar notes. There is also some herbal notes, which I can't pinpoint, but something I might have experienced in tea. I really like the complexity of this, and how much you can play around with it by adding water.

My review might be skewed, because it sounds like I got hell of deal on this. This is a fine scotch though for someone who wants to dip their toes into the peat realm. The peat is there but it's not overpowering, and it's also not medicinal. It's smoky enough to give it some character. Also has the classic sherried speyside notes, so it it remains ever so sweet. I get more of a cedar wood. I'm not picking up the mint notes other have indicated. Overall, I think this is a great speyside, and I might have to pick up another bottle for $25.

Finally decided to pick up a bottle after staring at it for three years. Initial reaction is this is a bourbon for red wine lovers. The port wine shines through on the nose. Taste is sweeter, and I get more notes of raspberry and chocolate. Not a lot of bite, but still a bit of alcohol on the nose and taste. I know this bourbon is wildly popular, but can't say I would pick this up again for myself. I think it needs to be knocked about $10 from the $45 I paid, but that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Not much bite. I get subtle cherry and vanilla notes with little alcohol on the nose. A bit thin for my liking. Taste I get barely any oak, cherry, and brown sugar. Nothing jumps out. Overall, I don't get the hype with this one, but I think this would be an excellent bourbon for new bourbon drinkers given its approachability.