Tastes

A sweet malt with a hint of chocolate and dark fruit on the nose. The nose is way more funky than the taste, which is milk chocolate, honey, and a little bit of red apple. For such a low proof, the finish sticks around and circles back to some of the malt that was on the nose. After a while the chocolate is less prominent and it seems like a softened Speyside. Overall it’s well executed and pleasant, nothing spectacular and not what I would expect from an Irish finished in Stout barrels.

A huge smoke bomb on the nose, next is a briny note and if you search long enough there’s a bit of floral sweetness and malt that hides in the ethanol. Campfire and ash lead the palate and quickly fade to honey and black pepper. The finish is reminiscent of the smoked ham in other Ardbeg offerings. For me, in the A/B test with Uigeadail, the Oogie is the clear winner. Where the sherry of the Uigeadail balances everything so magically the Corryvreckan is more in your face and pokey. If you’re into the ashy and campfire flavors it’s a great option and more like the Ardbeg 10 that it contains.

Ethanol, brown sugar, honey, and cinnamon on the nose at first. Longer nosings yield mint and peanuts. On the taste a menthol shoots up front but immediately dies down leaving behind buttery caramel and spicy wood tannin. The finish lingers a little with honey and a cherry cola. I get why folks would be excited at $30 but for $60 you can do better.

Honey, dried leaves, maybe a little fruit on the nose. Not very dramatic but interesting, like a raspberry tea. The dried tea leaves and hint of ash lead the palate and are replaced by a sweet berry finish. As it lingers it reminds me a bit of some sherry finishes with some fig and other dark fruits. Excellent dram.

The rum and the rye come together to make a really great and unique nose. If you’ve had Waffle Crisp or French Toast Crunch cereal, you’ve experienced this nose. It’s cinnamon, maple syrup, and sweet baked goods. There’s a hint of the rye spice but with so much sweet, it presents as caramelized goodness. The taste makes good on what the nose promises for a bit, but it promptly fades into nothing. For 100 proof I was hoping for those flavors to linger more than they do. That being said, it’s not the worst thing to leave you wanting more. I couldn’t drink this all the time but it’s a nice after dinner change of pace.

Sweet honey and butter cookie on the nose, classic Irish pot still notes. The taste isn’t much different than the nose except it leads mostly with the honey and the butter cookie takes a back seat. Closest comparison is Yellow Spot, same ABV, same age. But Yellow Spot has the same notes plus fresh honey crisp apples. For me the Yellow Spot is the clear winner, but for the price, this one almost gets you there.

BevMo barrel pick. Nutty corn dust up front on the nose with a backing of oak, honey, and ethanol. Peanuts and brown sugar are dominant on the taste and they fade into a cloyingly sweet honey finish. Not much to complain about here, for my personal preferences I would have loved for some cherry that I can’t seem to find. The finish lingers for days, with the nutty corn dust popping back up a bit. Really good, especially for the price. I think the ECBP is more well rounded and more in my wheel house. This one is a welcome change of pace though, throwing some more elbows and bringing a nice nuttiness that just isn’t there in the EC stuff. You can’t go wrong picking this up.

I get a sweet and savory smoke on the nose that is a touch abrasive with some ash, iodine, and ethanol. It’s not my favorite Islay nose but it reminds me of my favorites if not just a bit younger and less well rounded. The taste is very sweet with light fruits like melon and apples. The sweetness lingers as the ashy smoke builds and overtakes the finish along with some sherry notes to round out the initial brightness. A nice journey of flavors that’s worth revisiting, but not quite on the same level of Ardbeg or Laphroaig.

Brown sugar, cherry, apples, a hint of cinnamon and honey on the nose. The taste isn’t as dense as the nose would lead on, especially if you’re familiar with the ECBP, mostly leaving out the dark fruits and cherry, leaving the brown sugar and honey. I’m not ashamed to say it reminds me of what Southern Comfort mixed with Dr Pepper tasted like back in college. It’s a good, approachable bourbon for the price.

The nose has dark fruits, some spice, but also some bright honey sweetness that shows up with the ethanol. The dark fruits really show up on the taste as the dominant flavor: fig, dark cherry, and plums. On the taste and finish it is a concentrated sherry bomb. Coming back to the nose afterward adds a pleasantly tart accent. Despite the ABV it’s pretty drinkable. I could see cask strength bourbon drinkers enjoying this as a way to change things up from the typical bourbon notes but still getting bold, big flavor that isn’t watered down. I much prefer the nose of the Macallan Sherry Cask, if only you could combine that with the taste of this.