Tastes

The nose is pretty typical of an Irish whiskey, but is nothing special. The palate is surprisingly solid for the price. It tastes quite clearly of apricot, which is always a good sign. It's sweet and also a bit rich. It isn't as flavorful as Bushmill's Black Bush is though and it certainly doesn't taste as much of apricot. That said, despite being a bit less sweet, it is a little richer. It holds its ground surprisingly well for a store-brand drink. There is definitely some mineral presence, which is fairly disappointing. There's a bit of but of a minty flavor here. It's also kind of vegetal. It's sweet enough, but also kind of bland. There's a little smoke, but not much. Kind of watery and bland with an uninspiring bitter note on the finish. It tastes quite young. Markedly inferior to Green Spot and Bushmill's Black Bush. There are some nice apricot and tangerine notes in here, but the overwhelming blare of rough alcohol really messes it up. This is not quite sippable, but it would be a good mixer. At least it isn't super watery even though it is only 40% ABV. This tastes less natural than Bushmill's Black Bush. It has more of a generic butter backing and hints of icing sugar. It may have sweetness, but it also has that awful Irish whiskey bitterness. There's some honey me that in it that is nice and kind of rich eventually, but it's still a very rough drink. I could vaguely sip this on some occasion, but it would be a tough sell. I would like the minerals and salt to be decreased in this. There is too much of an alcohol flavor in here, unfortunately. The hints of honey, fruit, chocolate, etc are unfortunately just hints and the rest of the flavor is harsh Irish whiskey.

The immediate sense is that this has a lot of alcohol. The flavor is surprisingly subdued, emphasizing the rich, natural rye flavor with licorice and enough sweetness. There is a little bit of wood, but it is surprisingly little due to the licorice masking. The sweetness is kind of caramely. This tastes sort of like a young rye mixed with an opinionated gin. Its pure character stands out but I expect some more complexity and deep flavors from an aged spirit. The caramel is mixed with some butterscotch and there is plenty of vanilla. There might be a little marzipan too. The flavors that it does have do land nicely, but they aren't necessarily the flavors I want in a rye. It's good, but needs more complexity and a richer presence. Essentially, it shouldn't be marketed at the premium level that it is.

The nose is super rich. It doesn't smell so much like port or fruit as it does like wood and smoke. There's a strong fireworks presence on the nose. This smells like Jamaican rum that means serious business. The nose holds hints of tropical fruits with enough swirling, with mango being the most prominent. It smells super rich and I hope it tastes rich. Just before sipping, some more fruits come out on the nose. Cherry in particular, but also a hint of tangerine (though maybe that's the mango). The nose is complex, interesting, and delightful. If the whiskey tastes as good, it will be worth the outlandish price. The palate has a surprisingly light mouthfeel and a surprising dryness. The flavor is incredibly full though and it just keeps developing. Itsysrts rich with smoke skin to fireworks, but some tartness makes its way in, giving way to fruitiness, which reveals cherry, mango, and astringent pineapple quite readily. The flavors are very good and the profile is quite unique. The balance and fullness of flavor are exquisite too. The fireworks are highly indicati e of rum and the tropical fruits are too, but having the cherry rather than banana and plenty of malty notes makes this taste like a whiskey with rum influence. There's quite a bit of tartness though, so it tastes sort of like a blended grain whiskey with malt and rye aged in rum and bourbon barrels. The fact that I can describe it that way and that it has distinct flavors means that it is a very good whiskey though. It lacks that mellow, rich integration that comes with age, but its flavors stand out on their own quite well and they are all good. This is assertive, as more whiskeys need to be. The fireworks are a bit strong though. Still, I appreciate that it has to be drunk a tad at a time because that makes it easy to savor and difficult to consume all at once. It's great, though possibly not worth the price. I almost wish that it had more PX sweetness, though in actuality it is sweet enough. There's sort of a metallic flavor that comes with the tropical fruit (I think) that is a. It off-putting. A few drops of water increases the fruit, though the highly tannic fireworks remain. Watering it down by half leaves dry, rich, bitter, tannic flavors with a bit of astringency present. It tastes good, but the tannins seem too harsh. It's thoroughly drinkable and I like it, which should be no surprise given my fondness of Plantation Trinidad. This tastes markedly inferior to Glenfarclas 25, whish is far more balanced with more immediate complexity too. This is much harsher a d depends upon an incredibly full flavor with a ton of tannins (and high ABV) to attain its position. Plantation Trinidad has more complexity and less fireworks. Interestingly, I prefer Plantation Trinidad a bit. This is fascinating though and it doesn't quite fit. On a more recent taste, this is delicious! Following Foursquare Premise, it is richer with a big amount of wood, chocolate, and fruit. As long as the wood can fade into he background without smoking out the whole thing and just provide a rich backing there is terrific complexity with a lot do sweetness that does not taste out of place. It's all quite in balance as long as that smoke can be held back. It has too much tannins and a bit much astringency on the back making its drying, but it is actually very good. It actually works better for the price than would be expected because not only is the ABV high, but also the flavor is really strong. One key problem though could be that it tastes more like a rum than a scotch. There's a lot of wood present with some sawdust on the nose, but the sawdust doesn't really come through into the palate. Instead, it has more of that red wine astringency. If you told me that this had been aged in red wine barrels, I would definitely believe you. Bladnoch 17 smells and tastes (weirdly) more like a strawberry poptart, but it does have a decent amount going on. Between the two, this is a bit better, but the difference in quality is not tremendous. This seems about a couple of points higher. This isn't delicate, but it is rich with some nice complexity in it. Weirdly, it's more like rum meets bourbon than it is like scotch. I prefer Foursquare Premise, which is pretty damning given the price differential. Still, this is a really good dram. It definitely doesn't have the Sherry of Joseph Magnus. Somehow, Joseph Magnus tastes a bit like cough syrup after drinking this. Not a good use of Joseph Magnus. Wow, following Joseph Magnus, this somehow tastes better. It's still quite astringent though (and this is following a bourbon). Glenfarclas 25 offers a relief with some chocolate and malty notes (though not much else beyond that somehow, I think Joseph Magnus is more sherried, though the Glenfarclas milk chocolate in these circumstances is quite nice). In comparison, Springbank 12 leaps out with balance and scotch complexity. This is competing with the big boys, but it doesn't quite make it. There's a huge amount of quality and potential here, but it was clearly rapidly aged to add too much wood. Kavalan has a ton of potential though. This lacks the delicate nature of Port Charlotte 10. Port Charlotte 10 packs a punch, but this kicks it's ass. Port Charlotte 10 may not be the most complex whiskey, but it is quite good. This seems on par with it. The complexity here is better, but the balance is off due to that backing flavor. Rich now, this seems better. I get why this is hard to drink though. Delord 25 is lighter and dryer with flavors that are more herbal with standard fruit flavors. Delord 25 is interesting and complex in its own way, but it doesn't stand up to the punch of this dram despite its strong flavor for its ABV. This has some of that Delord 25 tartness and dryness and acidity. Of the two, I prefer this, but only when able to appreciate the complexity despite the overwhelming backing. This dram is hard to judge, like a final boss with two stages.

It smells rich and smokey. There's some fruit on the nose and also a little peat. The palate is solid. There is plenty of rich fruit but it is balanced by rich smoke. This is very robust for the ABV. I appreciate that it doesn't rely on high alcohol to deliver flavor. The fruit is predominantly dark cherry, but it also has a lot of nice tropical notes. It's a great sipper. It tastes somewhere in the 15 year range, but that makes it quite solid. The fruity notes also include orange blossoms that balance well with the vanilla and floral flavors. I would love to try a more aged version of this. It is very fruity, but it is also mature and avoids bad flavors. It could use some more punchy to it, but it compares favorably with Highland Park The Dark, despite being less complex. The clean finish is delightful. There's definitely a cherry flavor going on here. This reminds me of both Macallan 12 and Highland Park The Dark. It substantially outperforms the Macallan but also clearly underperforms Highland Park. The tropical flavors are reminiscent of Rampur, but this is much better. It might be a tad pricey at $60, but that is within the reasonable range for this whiskey.

It smells rich and fruity. This is definitely a lot richer than the regular Kavalan with more of a chocolate and dark cherry presence. It tastes like bing cherries were soaked in this whiskey. It has more of a cinnamon spice flavor to it that I quite enjoy. It has some nuts and caramel too, as well as some nice balanced vanilla. It's a hedonistic pleasure to drink. Some more age and complexity would help, but this is a splendid whiskey even without those changes. There's a bit of smoke but it isn't too much. This is easy to sip in quantity. The finish is very nice and none of the flavors are off. It's very jammy in a fun and rich way. What a delight, despite its short duration.

There's tons of rich barrel on the nose, but there's also plenty of vanilla. The palate is punchy and complex with bitter barrel balanced by assertive vanilla and some harsh cinnamon. It's also kind of fruity with cherry notes bursting through. This is really good stuff. Yeah, it's really bitter and on the dry side, but it's incredibly rich like Wild Turkey Master's Keep Reserve, Delord 30, and Glenfarclas 25. It tastes just the tiniest bit skunky. It could use some more complexity, but there is some stuff going on with deep dark roast espresso, bittersweet chocolate, dark cherry, vanilla, and just a general sense of deep richness. You don't often find richness like this for under $100 unless it's mixed in with some nasty flavors. Fortunately, this just tastes richly aged. All of the flavors are very good and the net complexity is enough to keep this a little interesting. The finish avoids gross bitterness, so the overall experience is very nice. There's some mint, but it is definitely peppermint rather than spearmint. Despite the fruit notes, this is a dry whiskey (though it does have enough sweetness to work well). For the price, this is an amazing find. And it's fantastic in general. The nose is super rich with savory wood and spicy notes along with some toasty vanilla. The palate is robust with rich vanilla wood and notes of spice. There's a nice leather presence like in Wild Turkey Master's Keep Reserve that I adore and suggests the Sherry Cask finish mixed with the smoke (but without excessive char). This is hedonism with brilliantly executed flavors but not without complexity. The sweetness is a rich toffee and brown sugar. There's a slightly musty presence to the wood, but it fits beautifully with the cinnamon. This is really a magnificent bourbon.

The nose takes the regular Magnus and adds more fruit, removing some of the wet wood. It has a rich and savory presence, but one that is less pronounced than that of the regular Magnus. The palate is quite nice with a big hit of cinnamon and toffee without being too harsh up front. There's a lot of vanilla too, making this really hedonistic. It's very woody with rich dark chocolate notes dancing with red fruit and spice. It lacks the brashness and leather of regular Joseph Magnus, though it also lacks the wet wood (the wet wood really works in the regular Joseph Magnus though). It has more fruit and the vanilla and brown sugar are less present. This tastes more like a (very well executed) standard bourbon than regular Joseph Magnus does. The balance is excellent with just the right amount of tartness. From every direction, this is a wonderful drink. Between the two, I think I slightly prefer regular Joseph Magnus, but this has an amazing balance that slightly surpasses Booker's Shiny Barrel with water added and also beats Booker's Shiny Barrel in complexity. There's a ton going on here, like another evolution from Evan Williams Black to Jim Beam Black to this!