Tastes

Nose: honeysuckle, malt, toasted grains, fruitcake, sherry, spices. Palate: silky smooth, oily, creamy, and luxurious. Dried fruits, orange peel, toasted coconut. Has a long finish with smoke, spice, anda little herbal quality. This one is quite good. I was rather surprised by this one.

Nose: rich with orchard fruits, honey, sherry, spices, hint of a floral note, dark chocolate. Palate: nice oily feel, fruity, oaky, a little smoke with a touch of tobacco. Good spiced finish that lingers well.

Nose: rich fruitiness upfront, dark dried fruits, honeysuckle, sherry, vanilla, spice. Palate: candied dried fruits, spices, oak, cinnamon, touch of ginger. Finish is clingy with a pleasant sweetness. Very smooth and an easy drinker. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Nose: fruity, cinnamon spice, citrus, vanilla, and the lighter touch of a floral/rose water that plays off and mixes with the fruitiness. Palate: fruity, toasted nuttiness, light creaminess, baking spices, finish is decent in length with a little oak at the end. Quite a smooth and pleasant dram. It’s definitely a Glenlivet but with that additional maturation time to smooth it out and give it a little more depth and character.

Nose: sweet fruits, sherry, hint of chocolate, vanilla, toasted oak, touch of orange citrus Palate: sweetness of dried fruits, light roasted nuttiness, citrus and spice on the finish, as suggested. Transitions to a cocoa touch, tobacco, with an oaky ending. Overall, a good dram that will surely impress friends when you pull it out. The name says it all. But to those that have more of a refined palate, they will find that this does not quite hit for the price. Worthy of the bar, no doubt, but you can find others that are just as good for a little less.

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.