Tastes

Nose: Honey that has been stored in an oak barrel, very light traces of vanilla, mild floral fragrances, enveloping dusky orange, apricot preserve, orange marmalade. Leather armchair, old oak sideboard and a hint of cigar smoke. As it rests it gains complexity and the delicate smoke note becomes a little more assertive. Palate: Perfect arrival – slightly sweet, and gaining sweetness and depth as it unfolds. Stewed and fresh fruit, particularly blood orange and currants, but the sweetness is simmering and slow-burn, not bright and immediate. Chocolate and toffee in the development along with liquorice and prunes with just the lightest touch possible of peat smoke. There is a presence of spices and spicy herbs (mustard, cress, rocket and clove) and the texture is good, somewhat chewy, and with water it gains creaminess. Finish: Medium/long. The palate fades gently into a lightly maritime aftertaste with echoes of the mustard spice note and cigar smoke. A wonderful nose that is relaxed, urbane and rewarding. It has that dusky, dusty oxidised lignan quality that old whiskies typically show. The smoke is very reserved here, lacking any phenolic or guaiacol notes whatsoever, but the subtle cigar quality is pervasive. For some time after finishing the dram you have a definite mouth taste as of just having smoked one. The palate has complexity, but not to the degree you might wish for. In some ways it is a limited profile but what is there is very good indeed. The finish is good. Adding just a small dash of water mellows and broadens the entire experience. The dried orange and spice notes both gain softness and the texture becomes more silken. The finish gains a little heft, and there is the most interesting sensation when breathing out of genuinely feeling like you are smoking. A lovely whisky, but if you have the good fortune to try this do not rush the experience. Give it at least 15 minutes in the glass to wake up, and if adding a drop of water (which you should) give it another 15 to recompose itself. Those are bare minimums - ideally sit, nose and ponder this for an hour before taking the first sip. There is nothing to be gained by haste and everything from patience. Great stuff, but overpriced in my opinion. This is not light years ahead of the 18 year old, in fact it’s more like a sideways step than an advance, so I’m giving it the same rating. Tasted from a 30ml sample generously provided by @DrRHCMadden “Excellent” : 89/100 (4.75 stars)

Nose: Stewed apples, cinnamon, cereal. There is a fermentation note that is at odds with the fresh fruit aroma. Palate: Initially sweet, fruity and heavy on the apple syrup, then a pleasant spicy note of both sweet and hot cinnamon comes forward. The texture is sweet and full. Finish: Short. Apple and cinnamon. After the pretty ordinary “White Lightnin’” moonshine from Ole Smoky I just tasted I had low expectations for this, but I was pleasantly surprised. You get exactly what it says on the label – apple moonshine. Lots of apple aromas and tastes, lots and LOTS of cinnamon, and a little cereal in the background. It's sweet and pretty tasty. The only oddity was on the nose where I found an unusual aroma as of an apple pie that had been left too long in a hot room and started to go off. However on the whole I thought this was surprisingly agreeable, and way better than many other flavoured spirits I’ve tried. It is hard to know how to classify it. You could call it flavoured unaged spirit (or moonshine, more simply) but given the low proof and the obviously very high sugar content I’d actually call it a liqueur. Tasted from a 50ml official sampler. In a moment of madness I may even buy some of this someday, or try other flavoured Ole Smoky variants. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)

Nose: An instant hit of ethanol, faint vanilla, a twist of lemon peel … and not much else. Palate: Ethanol with overtones of popcorn, acetic acid and acetone. The texture is slightly oily and not that bad. Finish: Short. Surprisingly citric. The nose was unexpected. I thought this would just have the bland aromas of vodka with maybe some corn on the sides, but it was a bit more interesting than that. It does have the sweet vanilla presence that is characteristic of vodka but there is also a mild citrus hint. The palate follows on in the same manner and the finish just trails out into a peppery citric flavour. Not as bad as I thought it might be, but nothing to praise either. I thought it was adequate but overpriced and I'd never consider buying a full bottle. The only valid comparisons for this moonshine are against another moonshine or vodka. I have not tasted any other corn moonshine so I can’t form an opinion there, but in comparison to vodka it reminded me of the Citron Absolut vodka I tasted here a while back, but on the whole I thought the vodka was better. Not horrific, and come the apocalypse when I’m reduced to drinking moonshine distilled from rotten fruit in my own jury-rigged still I’ll probably look back at this with longing … but not before. Tasted from a 50ml official sample. A full bottle of this costs AUD$86 and I'll be chuckling at the absurdity of that for days to come. “Adequate” : 72/100 (2 stars)

Nose: Fragrant floral herbs, vanilla, peach, green apple. Nose deeply and there’s hints of lemon zest and oak, and if you add a small dash of water the citrus and wood notes amplify. Palate: Pillowy, creamy arrival entirely focused on soft cereal and sweet malt. The mouth-feel is arguably the best part of this whisky. The development does not bring a great deal more forward apart from some toffee and mocha. However, none of that is a fault - the palate is reserved and narrow, but good. There is an elusive note of tobacco in the background. Adding water brings out more sweetness, makes the texture buttery, and the whisky becomes highly quaffable. Finish: Short. Gristy cereal and a little honey with a touch of ginger and nutmeg (soft tannins), but it remains very easy and friendly right through to the aftertaste. There is a very slight bitter note when neat, but that disappears when it's watered. This has a lighter, more delicate nose than I was expecting but it never seemed to really open up. The palate follows suit and although pleasant I kept wondering if more would emerge. It didn’t. It’s an obviously young and not particularly complex whisky and I had the definite feeling that the grain components hold it back. I’d love to taste a blended malt made from just the malt whiskies in this, and I’d also love to taste this as the base of a highball – I have a feeling that’s its real arena. Many thanks to @DrRHCMadden for the generous tasting sample. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Nose: Initially grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine, green hay, cereal grist and oatmeal porridge. Fleeting notes of pine resin, menthol and eucalyptus oil. After resting for a while the nose gains considerable softness and depth with herbal honey, vanilla, musk and warm citrus aromas developing. Palate: A bright, almost sharp sweetness of pears with a warm core of malt on the arrival. As it develops there is vanilla, orchard and citrus fruit, pineapple, grist and … yes! the palate does the same trick as the nose. After resting in the glass for a while, and after a couple of sips, the profile gains more depth and character with honey, lemon pudding, banana custard and unusual fragrant wood notes noticeable. The texture is creamy. Finish: Medium. Herbal lozenges fading to barley sugar then turning just a fraction metallic but finally reawakening as milk chocolate coated honeycomb in the aftertaste. A strange whisky, but certainly not a bad one – just unusual. It starts off on first nosing very like a Mannochmore or a grassy Teaninich, but after resting for 15 minutes, and with a small sip or two to dial the palate in, it morphs into something more like Scapa and eventually transforms into a Linkwood personality! What a shape-shifter – it’s quite singular and delightfully complex. Speyburn is usually encounted through their 10, 15 and 18 year old expressions but this 16 was a special TRE bottling released in 2018. To start with I thought it was going to be fairly ho-hum but it definitely surpassed my expectations. The source where I obtained this taster has remainder stock bottles available for less than AUD$100, which I consider a bargain. It’s just a whisker short of being a 4-star whisky. Tasted from a 30ml sampler. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Nose: Sweet honeyed malt, butterscotch toffee, roasted hazelnuts, autumn leaves, red berries, dark cherries, boiled Christmas pudding and marmalade. There’s a very mild hint of eucalyptus and oak cask in the background. Palate: Sweet arrival (but not overly sweet – just enough) mainly showing chewy rich malt and mocha coffee with a dusting of dry cocoa powder. In the development a more spicy side shows through with mild ginger, sweet cinnamon and nutmeg in evidence, but it always remains genteel, elegant and refined. The texture is very good, full-bodied and creamy. Towards the finish an excellent orange note becomes prominent. Finish: Long. Malt and preserved fruits leading into an extended aftertaste with echoes of the spices from the palate and a finale of sweet leathery tobacco and orange liqueur. A most enjoyable dram. The nose is delightfully fragrant and improves with every second of rest in the glass – do not hurry this dram. The palate is longer than you might initially think. It’s one of those profiles that is immediately good and then just keeps rolling along, gradually revealing more and more subtle flavours. There is a twinge of sulphur in the background but it acts as a spice and adds complexity and depth to everything else. You may not even notice it, but you won’t miss the subtle and lingering positive effect it has on the spice notes and its contribution to the length. Highly recommended. While scanning the online sellers today I saw a bottle of this and after checking my database I discovered I had a tasting sample from another company already on my shelves! I had not planned any tasting today but decided to give it a try. Result? I just ordered two bottles. Tasted from a 30 ml sample. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars)