Tastes

Look: Evan Williams white label comes in a nice burnt orange, almost brown, lacing on the glass, alcohol legs, all around great looking. Nose: brown sugar and vanilla, more vanilla and vanilla. A really nice, sweet smelling bourbon. Back end of the nose has some spices popping up. Swirling opens up more baking spices and some woody notes. A drop of water really opens up the oaky nose on this bottle. Palate: really sweet vanilla, brown sugar, not really much spice, but some oaky flavors Finish: The finish has a lot of baking spices, not terribly bitter or hot, but the flavor stays on my tongue for a good minute or so. Overall: Evan Williams Bottled In Bond, at about $20, is a pretty damn good deal. If you’re looking for a sweet, vanilla forward bourbon on a budget, look no further. One of my go to bourbons.

Look: Michter’s American has a nice dark amber color to it, with orange on the edges. Plenty of lacing. Nose: initially I get vanilla, and candy corn. After looking at some others notes and wondering what I was smelling, but couldn’t pin it, I figured it out: butterscotch. The bourbon barrels really give some of those sweeter notes, with a slight rye note hitting too. Palate: On the taste, I initially get those bourbony notes; vanilla, brown sugar, slight spice, but then the second half, whoa. The butterscotch kicks in, with the vanilla still there, and a few other flavors I’m struggling with. This is something wild that I’ve never experienced, but I’m loving it. Finish: Vanilla lingers on as the dominant flavor in the finish, with a mild heat lasting for a minute or two. The burn is deeper in my throat than id usually notice. Overall: This whiskey is awesome, I can’t recommend it enough. You get the bourbon notes, a speysidey butterscotch, and what I can only describe as a mix of peanuts and candy corn (someone at work makes this and I love it) definitely grab Michter’s American if you can.

Look: Golden orange, plenty of lacing and alcohol legs, Monkey Shoulders doesn’t look much different than the typical scotch. Nose: Pear, Apple, and vanilla is mainly what I get. Not terribly complex on nose, but what I get is nice. Swirling opens up pretty much more of the same, but with more alcohol vapors hitting my nose. The more I think, the more I get the orange that seems to be what everyone else picks up on. Palate: pear apple and citrus, some slight spice further back on the tongue, but really a nice amount of sweetness. Finish: Finish has a slight spice linger, bitterness from the oak, but largely vanilla. The finish is long lasting, with the flavors never really diminishing in between sips. Overall: I found Monkey Shoulders for 30 or so, and it’s quite the deal for that price. I’d recommend Monkey Shoulders to anyone trying to get into scotch, or just for an enjoyable bottle to relax with from time to time.

Look: a nice orange color, alcohol legs and lacing are abundant Nose: Initially I get the sweet pear honey note, and then some slight smoke akin to pipe tobacco and peat. Pick up toffee a bit too, like a heath bar. Swirling gives me more pear. Taste: initial taste is actually like peat, pepper, honey and pear. This is better than I’d have figured. Finish: dry, hot, and that tobacco, maybe leather note sticks with me. I get astringent notes from the barrel Overall: Color me surprised. This is actually pretty good. The slight complexity brought by the addition of peated malts makes this worth a pour.

Look: Dark, burnt orange, almost brown, with nice lacing on the glass. Blanton’s looks very appealing. Nose: The first thing I get is vanilla sweetness, brown sugar, followed by a sour apple note when giving a deep whiff with some caramel. Swirling opens up more vanilla, but there’s a sense of heat when sniffing as well, so I assume this will have some cinnamon or pepper to it. Taste: I’m overwhelmed at how much spicier this was than I thought it would be. Pepper and cinnamon, vanilla and sugary notes pop there head in closer to the middle of the tongue. I don’t get any of the Apple on the tongue, but plenty caramel. A drop of water opens up more oaky notes and gives a little more acrid feel to the whiskey. Finish: The caramel lingers in the finish, with mid ranged heat sticking around for a minute or so. Overall: After finally getting my hands on this, I see why Blanton’s is so popular. This is the first bourbon where it truly tasted like I was eating caramel, and a nose that is great. Until I find something I like more, this is the standard I’ll compare all bourbon to.

Look: Amber colored, slight lacing, and quite pretty alcohol legs Nose: cinnamon, clove, tobacco, some sweet brown sugar, vanilla, wood. This bourbon smells like bourbon, but more so. Really potent, in a good way. Taste: More woody astringent characters than the nose would give you, followed by the sweet baked goods, and a heavy dose of pepper and cinnamon to end it as well as red apple and slight banana notes. Finish: the finish is quite hot and spicy, with a lingering heat on my tongue, and flavor that lasts a few minutes. Sometimes, I get a higher bitterness in the finish, and I’m glad this bourbon is not like that. Overall: this bourbon is excellent, a complete surprise to me as I’d never heard of this spirit, and I got it from a coworker. All the flavors are there for a good bourbon, with not many of those bitter notes in the finish.

Look: quite light, straw colored, almost like a flat lager. Really good looking. Nose: Sea water, seaweed, honey, campfire Taste: campfire wood, ocean water, honey, pear, more of the ashy wood, and sweetness, as well as some rye spice. Finish: Quite calm, with little heat, plenty of the smoke qualities popping in flavor and lasting some time. Overall: a nice peated whiskey, Ardmore is much more sanded around the edges than the Laphroaigs of the world. Pretty good, worth a shot.

Look: Light, slightly orange with minimal lacing Nose: initially, I’m hit with smoke, and saltwater. Couple more whiffs gives a little sweeter note, red apples and honey. Swirling gave me more alcohol burn and saltwater. After trying the glass, I added a little water and initially caught a smell similar to pipe tobacco. Taste: saltwater initially hits the tip of my tongue, followed by burnt logs from a campfire, intermingling with that apple honey sweetness. Swirling the whisky in my mouth gave me a flavor I’ve never experienced before that I can only imagine is a more intense charred wood note but almost maybe floral? This is the most complex whiskey I’ve experienced. Water made this complex dram a bit boring Finish: long lasting, the smoky burnt log flavor sticks with me for minutes after taking a sip. Relatively mild alcohol burn. Overall: my initial thoughts when smelling were that this isn’t that distinguishable from my other peated whisky experiences: smoke and briny notes with slight sweetness, then the nose shocked me with more fruit notes and the flavor was very complex. I am a fan of this scotch.

Look: a light straw color, with quite light lacing on the glass Nose: Initial whiffs are medicinal, followed by some briny notes, smoke and honey. Swirling opens up a more spicy side of the dram that I wouldn’t have expected Taste: Smoke, rye notes from the bourbon barrels hit the tip of my tongue, some of the honey notes hit, and near the finish I get a sweet note accented by smoke Finish: I’m guessing from the bourbon barrels, I get an initially spicy finish, with smoke and sweetness that sticks with me for a bit. Overall: I like this whisky, but it doesn’t do much to set itself apart from most peated malts next. Worth trying for sure

Look: A dark amber, Russel’s Reserve looks like most bourbons, not much different from Eagle Rare. Lacing hits the glass when swirled, and looks quite pretty in the glass. Nose: Cinnamon and spices, slight vanilla, tobacco, barrel Taste: cinnamon for sure, more spicy than I’d have expected. Sweetness mid palate and the finish I get a lot of creme brûlée’s Finish: not overly hot, but this bourbon brings the heat. Long lasting, I get cinnamon but also a lot of sweet sugary creme brûlée’s Overall: Russel’s Reserve is right up there for me with Eagle Rare, but where Rare is more fruity, I get a lot of nice dessert notes on Russel’s.