Tastes

This is a fantastic single malt. It’s rich, complex, and has a bold, but rounded out sea and fruit characteristic. It’s very delicious and the Amoroso casks bring out sweetness and richness in this whisky that is to die for. The normal Talisker flavors of sea, peat, and black pepper are there, but the sweet fruit and richness complement it so perfectly. I’ve been getting into these double maturation expressions known as Distiller’s Editions and I have fallen in love with how much complexity comes from each one.

I never thought anything could be better than the Lagavulin 16. But this is. Yes, it’s still 16 years old, but the double maturation has improved an already fantastic richness, mouthfeel, and flavor. On the nose, the smoke is old and musty, much like an old cellar that caught fire 10 years ago kind of thing. There is also some dried fruit, particularly raisins on the nose from the PX Sherry casks. This whisky is incredibly smooth and almost instantly you can tell that this is a level up from the standard 16. It’s richer and more elegant. The smoke is similar, but appears to be more “grown up.” There is this tar quality on the palate, similar to when they repave new roads. The finish is long and smooth. If you are used to the standard 16, this Distiller’s Edition offers more developed flavors with new prospects. The finish comes back to the classic Lagavulin flavor, so it’s like the whisky shows up and says “hello I’m more mature than my counterpart, but I’m more mature and don’t fool around, but don’t forget I’m still a Lagavulin.” This is the perfect expression of Islay in my opinion. Distilled 2001/Bottled 2017.

You tell based on the nose that this Ardbeg is quite complex with complex wood notes. The smoke and brine notes of the 10 are more rounded and calmer with other flavors popping up around it like stone fruit sweetness and seaweed. Being cask strength, it definitely gives you a kick in the pants, but it’s not without flavor. There is this flavor of flower pedals but imagine smelling them while in a damp and musty cellar. It’s gives this kind of damp earthiness characteristic that is quite nice. Compared to other Ardbegs, it’s comparable to the Uigeadail. It has a similar nuttiness characteristic, but the damp and musty flower pedals are new and exciting flavors.

I have grown to be a lover of Cask Strength because of how surprisingly different it is from the standard whisk(e)y upon which it’s based. This is do different. This Maker’s Cask Strength has many flavors and nuances that isn’t there in the standard Maker’s. The nose and taste is more complex witch some added fruit and floral flavors. Furthermore, the flavors of wood and sweetness from the corn distillate are more harmonic than in the standard. But the floral notes in this makes this whisky extremely pretty. The “corn/moonshine” flavors in the standard are turned down in the Cask Strength, opening the flavors of flower pedals and sugared vanilla. I highly recommend this bourbon as it’s one of the best that Kentucky has to offer.

This is one of my favorite bourbons. It’s simple yet complex. It’s simple in the since that you can smell and taste the separate notes from the corn distillate and the oak barrels. These are two big flavors. Within that, you get some slight fruitiness from grain blend and you get that classic vanilla from the wood. Maker’s Mark makes their bourbon in a very traditional style and this makes for a very deliciously classic bourbon.

The name pretty much says it all: Heavily Peated. Now, if you’re like me and love peated whiskies, then you’ll love this offering from Bruichladdich. The standard Bruichladdich is unpeated, which allows full access for the sea salt notes and earthiness and fruit to come through. This isn’t that. The peat is quite strong and subdues any other flavors. Now I will say that if you have the “Classic Laddie” before trying this, you will pick up a lot of the underlying notes in the Port Charlotte. And once you do that you’ll always be able to spot them which makes this whisky better. So the fruitiness is there if you look for it and the nose has this floral sweetness that is nice. Now, when you heavily peat a whisky, you better know what you’re doing and Bruichladdich definitely does. For anyone who loves Islay whiskies knows that each distillery offered a different smoke profile in their whiskies. In this heavily peated whisky, Bruichladdich seamed to capture the essence of each one. You get that bright campfire smoke from Ardbeg and Laphroaig, hearty and sweet peatiness from Lagavulin and Caol Ila, a fruity smoke from Bowmore, and a youthful herbaceous smoke from Kilchoman. This whisky truly does capture the peatiness of all Islay whiskies while throwing in some of its own flare in the fruity undertones.

A classic Islay. On the nose the smoke hits you pretty much immediately. If you’re used to smokey Islay whiskies, you’ll know each whisky has a different type of smoke. This smoke reminds you of how your clothes smell after a bonfire. But don’t be fooled, it still hits you almost like you wore the straight bonfire ashes home. It also has this musty cellar component to it as well which is quite nice. There is some light citrus peel notes hanging in the background but the sea saltiness overpowers them. The brine in this whisky is very forward with the smoke. It is so flavorful on the palate. The smoke is bright and let’s you know it’s there. The sea spray aspect is still very prominent but the fruit notes are turned up a little bit. There’s a hint of stone fruit and citrus peel. But, the smoke and sea are still on top. This is a very good whisky that has a sense of satisfaction after drinking it because of how complex and balanced it is.

On the nose, this whiskey is very very floral. Some light red fruit comes through but this is mostly just flowers. It’s very light and pretty. Unlike other bourbons, the wood doesn’t stand out. The wood rather complements the floral flavors. This whiskey is incredibly smooth. Even on the palate the wood doesn’t come through a whole lot which means the whiskey is borderline refreshing. I would call this a “classy” bourbon because of its understatement but no lack of complexity and flavor. It’s like James Bond. He wears nice suits, drives nice cars, and knows how to treat a woman, yet he is effective at delivering more than a few punches. Very delicious bourbon that makes you wonder what the wood is hiding in other bourbons.

On the nose, the first thing that this whiskey tells me is to not forget that just because it’s mostly malt, it’s still American. The classic American sweetness and wood notes hit you in the nose. But, one thing you do remember is that this isn’t bourbon. It has a lighter and fruitier nose. Banana is the prominent fruit in this whiskey that jumps out at me. This whiskey is very smooth. The wood notes attack at first, but they give way to beautiful floral notes. It’s like eating a banana in a flower garden. I’m a big fan of Scotch and you can sense some of the note similarities because of the malted barley. For people who want something different and can’t decide between scotch and bourbon, go for this and you won’t be disappointed.

This is my second time reviewing this bourbon because each Maker’s Private Select is different. Maker’s Private Select is, in general, my favorite bourbon because of the complexity and smoothness coupled with the unique finishing process done by makers. My other recent review touches on that. This particular bourbon has the following finishing staves: 1 Baked American Pure 2 stave 1 Seared French Cuvée stage 2 Maker’s 46 stave 3 Roasted French Mocha stave 3 Toasted French Spice stave This particular combination gives way to a balance between vanilla, spice, and sweetness. This isn’t quite as good as the one I recently reviewed because of my personal preferences, but it is still a very good whisky. This bourbon has some burnt smoke notes coupled with some cooking spices as well as subtle cooked vanilla flavors. Very delicious considering how unique it is compared to other bourbons. Considering this is 1/1,001 stave combinations offered by Maker’s Private Select, it is very good and is special in its own right.