Tastes

Nose: sweet dried fruits, honeysuckle, caramel, a slight mineral or iodine note, hint of peat smoke, pleasant overall. Palate: malt, caramel, vanilla, hint of baking spices and peat smoke, fairly balanced with a medium length finish. Just oily enough to cling to your tongue and suggest you another dram. What you would expect from a Highland Scotch. Solid and worth having in your home bar.

Nose: caramel and vanilla, with a touch of a dried fruit and ripe fruit combo, not very deep. Palate: nice sweetness of caramel, fruit, and grain or cereal notes. Has a slightly hot touch on the finish, peppery, ashy, oak. The used bourbon barrel definitely comes through. Not the worst and comparable to JW Black or others within the same price range.

Nose: orchard fruits, apple, fig, orange zest, nice malt sweetness with a touch of spice and woodiness. Palate: malt and fruit, dried fruits, raisins, sherry comes through a little. Transitions into light smoke, some oak. Has a nice warm peppery touch on the finish. Overall, a good Highland Scotch that will fit in well into any Scotch whisky collection.

Nose: toasted toffee/caramel, honey, vanilla, a light fruitiness, and a light floral note- all of this as if you’re at an autumnal harvest fair. Palate: more toasted sweetness of toffee, honey, fruit, cinnamon and spice, all with a light pepperiness and herbal note on the somewhat short finish. Not completely your typical Japanese whiskey profile you’d expect, but definitely still Japanese. Quite enviable and worth a try.

Nose: a rich dense sweetness, dried fruits, pear, apricot, maraschino cherry, decadent bready fruitcake, honey, candied pecans, lightly toasted cereal. Palate: dried fruits, golden and dark raisin, honey. Good heft with a solid oily cling that leads very well into the finish. Has a pleasant finish with a hint of a floral/grassiness, baking spices, medium peppery barrel spices, and a hint of ashiness. This absolutely hits way above its price point. Alexander Murray hit a home run with this one. If you have a Costco near you, you need to try this. It’s definitely worth the chance.

Nose: light sweetness, honey, vanilla, toasted cereal and grains, hint of a fruity or sherry note, spices, mild grassy or straw-like note. Palate: similar to the nose, honey, vanilla, toasted cereal, hint of orange/lemon citrus zest or peel, more presence of a spicy, herbal, white pepperiness and oak on the finish. Warm and smooth with a pleasant oily clinginess that keeps it lifted throughout the sip. Solid expression of an Irish whisky.

Nose: fruity, dried fruits, white grape, orange peel, mild malt, vanilla, slight woody note, the lightest touch of a floral note. Not a super deep nose, but a solid classic scotch nose for sure. Palate: more of the fruity tones, dried fruits, baking spices, a nice sweet malt touch with a little vanilla and a medium coat on the tongue. Mild ashy barrel char with a little pepperiness on the finish that’s medium in length. Overall, a good scotch. Nothing that will wow you, but certainly nothing to refuse.

Nose: Classic pleasant aroma of crisp orchard fruits, apple, pear, honey, toasted cereal, touch of oak. Palate: honey with a light fruitiness, touch of vanilla, a wisp of a floral note, oak, hint of a barrel char smoky note, transitions to a peppery finish with an almost grassy herbal-like quality tucked away in it. Overall, this is about as classic as you can get with a Scotch. Friendly, easy going, and you know exactly what you’re going to get every time. Nothing fancy, but always a solid straight shooter. You really can’t go wrong with this one.

This one is a wild offer from Japan as it incorporates whiskies from Ireland, Scotland, Canada, America (JB distillery), and Japan. Nose: honey, vanilla, a light touch of citrusy orange zest, crisp orchard fruits, sweet malt, and toasted oak with the mildest wisp of char and peat smoke. Palate: very nice mouthfeel, rich malt with a little honey and vanilla from the American and Canadian whiskeys, a flash of the fruitiness from the Irish and Scotch whiskies peeks through for a moment and quickly transitions to baking spices, cinnamon, and a nice touch of peppery barrel spices. The Japanese whiskey seems to be the base foundation of the blend and keeps somewhat neutral but offering a little herbal touch to the end of the palate and the beginning of the finish. The finish itself is medium in length with a smoky woody tone. Just oily enough to give it a little cling too. Overall, this is a fun one to try and definitely a unique marriage of whiskies from around the world.

Nose: Classic Irish whisky up front with honey, apple, biscuit style cookie, but then transitions to a light creamy quality with dried fruits, baking spices, a general hint of coconut shavings, and the lightest wisps of tropical tones from the rum cask finish. Palate: the tropical tones peel away here and give way to a creamy and bright honey note, lemon, sweet vanilla, barrel spices, a slight herbal note, all with a warm peppery finish. Has a great mouthfeel and is definitely lending from that rum cask to give a unique twist on Irish whisky. If you want something a little different from your typical Irish whisky, this might be it.