Tastes

Nose: red Apple, bing cherries, honey and maybe a hint of vanilla. Very sweet on the nose and difficult to pull flavors that are not sweet. Taste: very similar to the nose with added complexity. The honey, apple and cherry take over and slowly builds to a oak and leather like walking into a horse tack shop. On the swallow the sweet flavors take over again especially on an exhale. Over all very smooth drinking with just a bit of pepper at the end, a nice tingly pepper though not a over powering one Overall: a wonderful bourbon that I could nose for hours and would be willing to give to any friend new to whisky due to how silky smooth it is. Full of flavor and has now found a permanent spot on the shelf.

Nose: orange, honey, vanilla cream and slight raspberry Palate: hint of barrel tannins, soft peat (not like a laphroig), ends with honey and raspberry. Overall: the Oak and Sherry barrels are very present in this whisky and for a NAS it comes across as an old whisky. It is very smooth with nearly no alcohol burn and is inviting keeping you coming back for more

Nose: raspberry, dark chocolate with a hint of vanilla. Very pleasant an inviting Taste: raspberry and dark chocolate right off the bat, very sweet. Builds to a bit of spice and barrel tannins the disappears quickly and finishes with some port wine notes, more raspberry and dark chocolate and a faint hint of mint (almost like taking a nibble of a thin mint cookie) Overall: I love how the initial flavor matches the nose then continues to trick you as it changes from sweet and chocolatey to spice and tannins and finishes off sweet again with the hint of mint. I haven’t come across many whisk(e)ys that have had such variance in flavors while still staying true to the nose. Very smooth and great to drink but I would have to classify it as a dessert whiskey due to its sweetness finishing multiple glasses may become difficult but is a bottle I am thrilled to have in the collection and will be going back to it many times again.

Pre note: I am very bias to peated scotch so I know this will be high rated due to my disposition and because it was the bottle to make me fall in love with whisky from liking it. Nose: meat on an electric smoker with notes of honey and raspberry Taste: smooth with almost dark chocolate notes off the bat that finishes strong with slight barrel tannins peat and oak. Overall: still my favorite whisky to date, starts off with a wonderful nose that tastes simple and smooth on the tongue until you go through the process of swallowing where the complexity kicks in. The oak shines through due to its age but the tannins from the barrel do not over whelm as many earthy and oily flavors come through as well. A must try for any scotch enthusiast that hasn’t had the pleasure and a perfect representation of how great the Islay region is to the scotch category. Note:

Nose: vanilla, brown sugar and cherries Taste: smooth, brown sugar & caramel a taste of oak creeps in while holding and barrel tennis that end with a taste of cherries Overall: a very smooth whiskey with many bourbon notes that are subtle due to them using used bourbon barrels instead of new charred barrels. Great complexity within the whiskey that is topped off with supreme drinkability due to how smooth it is wether it’s your first drink of the night or last. Both a great spirit for an introduction to bourbons or for an experienced whiskey drinker to enjoy.

Nose: Plum, wine notes and honey Taste: sweet taste that reminds me a lot of a Irish whiskey. A touch of the port wine flavor comes through briefly but doesn’t linger. Tannins build moving toward the finish but most flavors disappear quickly. Overall: I would call it palatable but best to be used in mixers. Can easily fool an Irish whiskey drinker to believe its an Irish instead of a scotch. Don’t want to down grade it much as not much was not thought to be much as I found a scotch for $10.99 but figured it was worth a try for the price. Really enjoyed the port taste from the port finish just wish it would linger longer instead of coming and going immediately.

Nose: caramel, honey and banana with a late hit of alcohol Taste: initially sweet and smooth with a build of barrel spice and alcohol burn on the finish Overall: wonderful smooth whiskey for everyday drinking. What it lacks in complexity it easily makes up for in drinkability.