Tastes

It has a nice rich sea spray smell, which is represented nicely on the palate. There is a definite chocolate richness to it that brings in sweetness. The spiciness does come through in a substantiald way, but it doesn't totally overwhelm the rest of the drink. The mineral flavor is very present too, but it merges nicely with the sea spray. It tastes fairly to h and mature despite being sweet. There are a few things going on here, though I wouldn't call it terribly complex. This would be a great choice for mixing but would also be a fine sipper. It barely even tastes like rye, but some rounded fruit comes out - apples, plums, and apricots. The present flavors are really good and the net result is well balanced and a little bit complex. There are some deficiencies with the mineral elements and it could use some more richness, but this is a really good drink. There's something a little nutty in here like peanuts or maybe cashews. Aged a bit more,this could be excellent.

It smells kind of like a hotel room: bland and stuffy, needing to be aired out. It's a unique smell. There's something a little sour going on too, which is also like a hotel, but there's a little mesquite mixed in too, which I guess is like a hotel that someone microwaved something spicy in and then didn't get aired out. The oatmeal scent is definitely noticeable. The palate is this weird flavor, with spicy cinnamon and a bunch of smoke playing with this weird oatmeal flavor. What in the world is this? There is a lot of alcohol, but the richness of of the paper-like oatmeal and the spicy other flavors balance it out. It doesn't have much that could be compared with malted barley, but there is some vanilla standing its ground. There's a smooth chocolatey backing that blends with everything like a a trombone in a jazz band playing in a speakeasy. It leaves a smokey note, but when you take another sip some nice cherry and pumpernickel stand out. This is complex in a jazzy way: it isn't bad, but it isn't that comforting usual complexity. It throws me off and makes me think about it. This is possibly the most interesting whiskey I have ever tasted. Props to Corsair for making such a unique drink. I enjoy it as a novelty, but I'm just not sure I enjoy it in its own right. I appreciate the creaminess, but it tastes like fake cream that is made of paper and sold to poor people. Arguably, it shifts from the 1920s to the 1930s in an artistic representation of the foolish nativity of humanity. The complexity is terrific and the flavors land. I am not a huge jazz fan and so that leaves me puzzled. I appreciate how different and well-executed it is though, so I'll give it high marks. In a first, I'll label this a sipper worth pondering. There's a bit of befuddling tobacco in here that I am having trouble making sense of. This is a work of art, but not perhaps a daily pleasure. This might actually be better with a little less alcohol to let the other flavors shine. I dunno, this drink has done me in. I can't explain it, but I want to keep trying. That underlying creamy sweetness is a tempting flavor that makes me willing to keep opening myself to the other flavors that challenge my notions of what whiskey is. Everything balances in this way that pushes at the boundaries of my preconceived notions of what should be acceptable. It's quite a feat. I still don't love drinking this, but I do sure appreciate its subtlety. Hints of chai dance through with other spices like cinnamon and a little tiny bit of cardamom or maybe corriander. The richness is wonderful. There's definitely some coffee hanging out with this chocolate.

There is a lot of Earth on the nose with some herbal elements too that blend with bitter but oil, a bit of tobacco, and a hint of cherry. The palate is on the light side with the alcohol showing a bit much and some nice bright cherry coming through in a manner that is a hair reminiscent of Cognac. There is a bitter, oily nutty flavor that comes across as a bit rancid. The vanilla is there quite a bit. A hint of sawdust makes its way in too. There are some tobacco notes that bring in earthy character and come across a bit like coffee. There's some drying tartness that has a hint of cereal in it and is reminiscent of rye. Aside from the alcohol sharpness, there is nothing too inherently problematic going on here, but the flavor isn't particularly exciting and has some rough points to it. There are occasional glimmers of excellence, but it's an acquired taste at best. I wish I liked the earthiness and nuttiness, but the end result for this whiskey is that it tastes a bit like a Canadian whiskey crossed with a young bourbon, crossed with Nikka Whisky From The Barrel. The bright notes with some mild bitter backing is kind of a nice setup, but the end result is has too many flaws. Despite its flaws, this is a tremendous improvement on the likes of Ensign Red though. It also doesn't suffer from High West American Prarie's corn syrup caramel flavor. I appreciate that it makes more of a statement than Larceny does, so in that regard it certainly tastes more mature. That said, Larceny is notable for avoiding unappealing flavors and just sticking to the few that it has worked out. It similarly has a more robust and mature flavor than Maker's Mark does, though the similarity between the two is more apparent. Maker's lacks some of the nice hints such as honeysuckle that make Corsair Quinoa work. The nuttiness and earthiness along with the mild, bright, floral fruits really are the key players here. Compared with Balcones Baby Blue, this is richer with less of an off flavor. While this doesn't have quite the same degree of complexity, it does have that interesting quinoa earthiness that brings some nice tannins and evolves into a more hedonistic fruitiness wrapped in chocolate and tobacco.

The nose has plenty of herbal character with a ton of vegetable funk. There's some tartness in it too. I would have guessed it to be tequila based on the smell, or possibly an Islay Scotch. The mouthfeel is fairly viscous. The palate is quite spicy with a big peppery hit (including white pepper as well) mixed with some herbaceous mint with vegetable sweetness. This is truly a unique drink. There some of that malty character that is present in Westward Single Malt as well, bringing in more richness to tie in with the vegetable flavor. The bitter flavors of the herbs are oddly smooth and blend well with he rest of the flavors. There's something a bit salty like the ocean and seaweed, giving this a further rugged character. It's hard to pick out the individual herbs and such, but it has a fair amount of complexity nonetheless. It's very interesting to drink. There's quite a bit of smoke in here and could be convinced that there's peat too. It doesn't taste exceptionally old, but I would be we have guessed that this was not yet even 2 years old! That must be because of the wood chips, but it's surprising that they don't overpower the flavor or make it one dimensional. Some of that rye tartness and minerality does come through, but it balances well with the rugged nature, the mineral surprisingly not making the whiskey taste weak. There's definitely a bit of fruity richness in here that reminds me of rich apples, but I'm surprised by how subtle and subdued it is given that apple wood and cherry wood were used for the malting and the applewood was again included as chips during the aging. This is a shockingly good whiskey, though it may be upsetting for rye drinkers that it tastes to unusual. This is highly intriguing and surely a sipper. The sweetness is nice and mixed with the rich flavors it doesn't seem at all overpowering. A grassy, grainy flavor is present without being overly forceful. The whole thing reminds me a bit of Laphroaig 10 on a good day. Excellent use of wood chips in this to create such a rich, smoky whiskey. In direct comparison, Laphroaig has more smoke and peat, but also a lighter overall flavor with more floral notes and vanilla. Laphroaig has more flavors clearly standing out from a single swig, but it's less rich overall. Frankly, this could pass as a 12 year old Scotch easily and might even work as an 18 or 21. It would be harder to pass off as a 25 though. This isn't a mind-blowing whiskey in terms of quality, but it is still very good. It's very enjoyable to drink. It's less fruity and floral than Caol Ila 12, with less of a Pinot noir acidity and less of a toasty richness. Call Ila 12 actually tastes really nice after Copper Fox Rye. After tasting Call Ila 12, this has a greater sense of youthful immaturity, though it by no means tastes like a baby whiskey - it just doesn't have the same marriage and balance of flavors that older whiskeys have. It reminds me a bit of Johnnie Walker Green in how the flavors blend together so that there's more of a general feeling of richness than any particular flavors. There's definitely substantially more Sherry flavor in the Caol Ila than in the Laphroaig or Copper Fox. With its comparatively fun fruitiness, the Laphroaig has some advantage over the Copper Fox. Really, all 3 are different and enjoyable for their own merits. It's really a tough call among them, though I think I might take the Laphroaig and Copper Fox over the Caol Ila by just a tad. There's even some hints of butterscotch in the sweetness here. What a delightfully surprising dram. It's no Johnnie Walker Green though and I think for the extra few bucks, I'd pay up for the improvement. On a subsequent tasting, I partially recant what I said about this tasting like an Islay Scotch. While it does have some of that herbal flavor (e.g. band aids) of Laphroaig 10 and other scotch, the herbal flavor largely just seems like a much stronger, more bitter version of what is in Templeton 4. This whiskey shows a strong influence from flavorful grain rather than character from peat or from the barrel. I would love to love this whiskey, but although it is interesting, rich, and different, it is hard to find a use for it and there's something just a tad unpleasant in its flavor profile. Maybe it's an acquired taste though like Islay Scotch. If it had its own genre, maybe the flavors would be standard enough that it would taste really good. Or maybe it would be a mediocre example of its category.