Tastes

An absolute steal of a whisky at the price they're selling it at. A fabulous example of straightforward ex-bourbon cask aging. Big barley sugar flavours, lemon, light smoke, floral, lightly fruity. And the craft presentation, too--high ABV, non-chill-filtered. For the price tag (it's one of the cheapest single malts I can buy; even less than standard 'fiddich and 'livet bottles) I'm not sure you can find better.

Decent stuff. Maybe the first bourbon I ever sipped on neat or over ice. But there's better at the price point, even if we're limiting ourselves to wheated bourbons. I'd take Weller Special Reserve over Makers any day, and not just for the price difference. Still, Makers is a fine pour at an airport bar or a dive establishment when it's one of a few options available.

Peat smoke, pepper, vanilla, some sherry. Grainy sweetness. It's fine. I'd never turn it down--which is lucky, since it's usually the only choice on airplanes--but if I'm buying and I've got a choice, it's low on the list. There's so much better out there for less.

I'd probably give this three stars in a straight rating, but in terms of value it wins some extra points because it's so much better than I expected from a $30 Cdn. scotch blend. Heather honey, surprisingly rich smoke, a little fruity. Sweet. Shows its provenance--I definitely get some shades of Highland Park, which I've heard is a constituent malt. Nice to have around for when you've had a couple better drinks to start but the night is marching on.

Again, credit to Teeling for doing what most Irish whiskeymakers won't: higher ABV, no chill-filtering, openness about contents of the bottle. Both this and the Teeling Single Grain are good whiskeys; I think I prefer the Single Grain by a hair. The Small Batch is very sweet, with the rum really upping the sweetness of what is already a pretty sweet profile for Irish whiskeys. Flavours of cut hay, vanilla, rum cake, raisins, molasses, gingerbread, nougat, maple syrup. That dough-y, yeasty flavour I generally get from Irish. Like I said: very sweet. A bit of a tannic bitterness on the finish that I'm not crazy about, but generally good quality. Worth trying.

Nice to see an Irish whiskeymaker doing things right--46% ABV, non-chill-filtered. Openness about the contents of the bottle. This is young stuff, but the quality is there, and the cabernet barrel finish does it some big favours. Spicy youthfulness, but big flavours: rum raisin, banana, corn husk, apples, vanilla, watermelon, grapes. Quite juicy. Mint, honey, ginger, tobacco. A bit of custard. Good stuff.

A prototypical Irish whiskey in a lot of ways, and a significant step up from standard Jameson. Lots of tropical fruits, apples, pears, wood, vanilla, and that doughy, yeasty flavour I associate with pot still whiskeys. Creamy, light, delicate. I remain annoyed that Irish whiskey makers continue to bottle at 40%, chill filter, and artifically colour, but no denying this is good juice.