Tastes

Nose is apple, cinnamon, and a fair bit of scotchy, Islay smoke-tinged brine. Rich taste of dried fruit, chili, and touch of salt. Closest thing I could relate it to is apple slices with Tajin dusted on top. Barrel spice is definitely present but is rounded out with some buttery caramel. Pretty good.

Nose is immediately of acetone and macerated seeds, along with a thin caramel. Reminds me of opening up a new package that's clearly been sitting in its plastic wrap in a warehouse for half a year. Not a great start. Taste is sweet and a bit characterless outside of some light barrel characteristics. Difficult to tease out any specific fruit. Thankfully, you don't get plasticizer on the palate. Not the thinnest body but not full. Not offensively bad so long as you can get over the nose. E for effort, I guess?

Nose is bright caramel, hay, hazelnuts, and some cardboard. There's also some cherry candy, with emphasis on the candy. Drinks a bit hot. The bourbon barrels really come through. Taste is cherry, old-timey candy, nut butter, finishing to loads of barrel spice and a drying grassiness. Gets more astringent the more you drink it, but it's not really bitter. It's the most bourbon-like scotch I've ever had.

Nose is bubblegum and rosewater. Palate is really smooth throughout, no harshness to speak of. Initial taste is of bananas, mint, and decently pronounced barrel spice. Flavor then morphs into a rich raisin bread and some lighter honey notes. It's certainly very good. Not sure it's $100 good, but it's pretty good.

Nose is red candy, and floral fruitiness, likely from the cognac barrel impact. Almost like a fruity bourbon. Apple comes through immediately when you taste it, settling down to cherries and bubble gum. There is some of that Texas dustiness throughout, though the overall impression from start to finish is "red candy". I actually like it a fair bit. This is my first time trying this distillery's stuff since being burned like everyone else by their TX Blended.

Nose is walnuts, sherry, toffee, raisins, smoked fruit leather. Tastes of oranges, floral honey, sweet cigar smoke, supple leather couch, and overall old library. Aftertaste is quite floral with wisps of smoke. The flavor is not at all intense, which is probably due to its proof. It's very reminiscent of the 12 Year but just "prettier" in every way. It's good, but I wish it had more body, and I'm not sure it personally justifies the cost increase over the 12.

Pours a nice dark amber. Smells of cherry, pecan pie, and your usual variety of barrel/warm spices. Even on the nose, it's pretty dense without anything piercing, despite the proof. Tastes of apple caramels and cherry hard candies and a big handful of rye spices. A little bit of bitter astringency up front which gets quieter pretty quick. Good body. Very easy to drink, despite the proof. Overall, it's good but not unique. A solid, down-the-middle representation of bourbon at a good price for a high proof. I am excited for the increasing number of American producers blending whiskey, and I hope to find more interesting lines from Stellum in the future.

Nose is green apple skin, sweet apple flesh, creamy caramel, buttery shortbread, orange flower, and mineraly spray. When you sip it, a lemony tang hits you first, followed by lush apple before a surprisingly robust astringency rises up. The tang never quite disappears but instead morphs to a Szechuan peppercorn tingle. Long finish is that of cider. Interesting blend.

Nose is of stewed, buttery apples, along with bright pear, clover honey, and fresh sweet shortbread. Tastewise, apple jam quickly gives way to cinnamon raisin bread, more pronounced boozy raisin, and then finally bourbon vanilla spice note. It's...fine, but to be honest, if I tasted this blind and you told me it was a Speyside, I'd believe you.