Tastes

AGE comes through well. OLD dusty wood, dry bark, oak nuts, chestnuts. Fresh red and yellow APPLES, juicy, clean, like in a young GLENGOYNE. Nectarines, dried pineapple. Raspberries. Tropical - mango, papaya. Coconut water. Slight banana note. Freshly pressed orange juice, blood oranges, orange peels, sweet tangerines. Lime juice and lime peels. Wild strawberries. Candied morello cherries. Black currants. Brambles (Blackberries). Soft marzipan in the back of it. Vanilla pod. With aeration, STAR ANISE. Very soft refreshing minerality. Earthy. Palate is sweet, fruity, and with a mild mature bitterness. Cardamon. Cinnamon. Slightly drying. Cocoa powder as it goes down. Fruitier than the 1''2, softer, and somewhat drier. Sweet, but does not have the caramel you find on the 1''2 ( vanilla, however, definitely ). The 1''8 furthermore lacks the certain barnyard funk I get in the 1''2. Short finish - Otherwise, this is ~ ~ Very solid.

VERY NICE, fresh NOSE, very aromatic. Fruity, and very floral. Treacle, chocolate milk mix. Big big COCOA powder. Molasses-y, mineraly, slightly dry RUM is dominant upfront, then recedes and blends itself into the background with aeration, as fruit and PEAT take over. Candied lemons, lime, kiwis. Green apples and apple drop candies. Pears (with time). Papayas, mangos, pineapple. Red currants. Honey melon. Zesty tropical type fruits I'm finding it hard to identify (certainly from the rum maturation). Gooseberries and rhubarb. Raspberry note (with time). Brambles (blackberries) and black currants. Beautifully BALANCED between SWEET & syrupy and sharper FRUIT NOTES. A fresh green ferny thing (with time). Lime peels, banana peels. Sweet oranges or tangerines, faintly, with time. Leather in the back of it. THE PEAT adds a delectable savoriness but does not dominate. RICH MEDIUM-dark CHOCOLATE, with the peat, on the PALATE. PeaT heaDs will, let me say, not be disappointed here - nor will those looking for a luscious and sweet dram with some depth and dimensionality to it. There's less fruit in the mouth than on the nose; you get the baseline sweeter fruits, but not so much the fresher type ones. Sweet candied lemons most prominent there. Pear drops / apple drops. Treacle again. I'm definitely also getting the applewood that is in the official tasting notes here. The PEAT and the RUM I would say makes for a very satisfying chewy experience: and one that lingers on the finish. SWEET, fruity, aromatic, peaty: the SMOKY TEN 1''0, to me, has got it all, and everything in sublime balance. Good casks! Very highly recommended. ( One late afternoon neck pour and one very late night second pour. )

CUSTARD, vanilla, cardamon, little bit of cinnamon. Caramel. EGGNOG. Some citrus, very soft - lime I would say, and some faint kiwi. COCONUT. Dill on the nose, especially out of the bottle. Red licorice. ANISE. Raisins, slight juicy grape note, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and black currants. Cloudberries. Over ripe strawberries. Cherries. SWEET. Char, soft. Dusty CORN. Waxy texture. Full flavored, nice and mellow. Bites you, but not too hard ;). A real CHARMER. Afternoon neck pour and late evening second pour. #schneidersneckpourreviews

Rich CUSTARD. Wax. Light milk chocolate on the nose. Leather. Sweet strawberries, juicy sweet red currants, red and yellow apples - red fruits. Honey melon. Whites and sugar whip. STAR ANISE. Gooseberries. Some nice hay, little bit dusty. An almost straight up red wine taste. Currants again on the palate, zesty. Refreshing acidity. Sweet & sour. Cafe Latte. Only slightly malty. Dark chocolate finish. Underlying Aberlour character comes out from behind the wax and custard notes with time. Off and on carrot cake aroma, very distinct, mainly just out of the bottle. Certainly very tasty, but definitely young. A 5 - 25 yr old blend? Hardly the case anymore. 25? Splash of water, doesn't take much. I've been bringing it down to maybe low 50s% abv. Bottle needs at least a couple of weeks to open up and get going. * Is * very delicious. BATCH #67 - 59.8% abv. (119.6 proof)

Pineapple - red apples - zesty orange - lemon juice. Grapes. Thick heavy salty CARAMEL. Heavy RED LICORICE. Indian cooking, various - Naan bread. Thai food - various. Honey. Bread sticks. Greek cooking spices, something decidedly Greek in there. Blood orange note. Honey melon. Coats the glass - thick. Gets zestier with aeration. Crisp citrusy palate, and very sweet. Grapefruit. Lime, by and by. Cocoa powder - milk chocolate. Kiwi. Plums, plum wine. Red berries - juicy ripe strawberries in the back there. Fresh garlic? Very soft mild ginger, nutmeg. Cardamon. Oak nuts. Pistachios. Neck pour, 45 mins in the glass. Lovely.

Scotch! Dang!

SHERRY before peat, and it's a spicy rather than fruity or sweet kind of sherry. Soft light marzipan/ almonds. Dry walnut shells, dusty malt, dusty bourbon note. Leather. chamomile, dry peppermint / mint, cooling eucalyptus. Oak nuts, oak forest. Pine resin. Orange peels, dates, peach, apricot, lemon peels. Lemon grass. Soft minerality. Chestnuts. Ginger, nutmeg. Floral: daisies, cherry blossoms, lilies, rose petals. East Asian type cooking spices. SAFFRON. cloud berries, rhubarb and gooseberries. Fresh cut grass note. Hay. Nectarines, dried. Anise. Carrots, fresh out of the ground. HORSE RADISH. Cocoa powder. Touch of banana peels. Smoked herring. Black pepper. Pepper steak, also bell peppers. Ferns, green shrubs, the pungent scents of early summer burgeoning verdure. Garlic bread sticks. Red and dry black licorice. Balsamic vinegar spices. Cola cubes. Mixed barbecue spices. Hint of cardamon. White pepper. Curry rice. With air and a drop of water, vanilla, white grapes. - slight rancio. Aromatic sort of leather shoe store note, that soft elegant leather note you find in an Ardbeg 10, strong at first but it quickly tones itself down: New car smell. Peat and sherry equalize and balance each other out after some time. Smoked meat peatiness as the bottle gets air. Smoked bacon. Not fishy or particularly tarry; only mildly coastal. ( EDit: Gets more sea-spray-y and seafood-y after a few months: fish sashimi, shrimp on the barbie. Fudge-y chocolate also more prominent. ) - A noticeable but not overwhelming presence of sulfur, which some people have issues with. And it must be said, there's quite an in-your-face wet cardboard note. A drop of water and especially aeration mitigates this: with enough air a distinct tiger balm note half takes over, then also barbecue spice, salt & pepper potato chips. It will, with a bit of patience, turn into a properly gratifying experience. Take it slow.

Fresh bourbon on the nose, fresh wood sap and wood shavings. Kiwis, lime, lemon peels. Honey melon. Tropical, yellow fruits, pineapple - hint of mango. Gooseberries. Rhubarb and green ferns. Sugary sweet. Vanilla pods. Yogurt note. Icing sugar. Anise. Pears on the palate. Oloroso. Very concentrated flavors. Altogether very woody and aromatic, very fresh and citrusy, very green, and certainly very delicious. Reminds me very much of a Dailuaine. A more than pleasant surprise. Happy Burns' Night!

Drier than an Ardbeg 10, both on the palate and on the nose. Floral, but less vegetal than Ardbeg. Smoke is sharper and grassier that Abg10, closer to a Caol Ila. Yellow fruit: honey melon, tangerines, orange peels, hint of blood orange, cloud berries. Hint of tobacco. whipped cream. Big vanilla. Fudge. Nice and salty. Sour bite. Nuttiness. Hint of black pepper on the finish. Horseradish. * Custard *. No real medicinality or presence of iodine here. Cream-like mouthfeel. Sweetens up with aeration. Well balanced. Luxurious.