Tastes
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N: light sweetness, honey, toasted cereal grains, malty, vanilla, touch of rye spices, orange peel, musty grain in the background, dusty leathery note, very light hint of peat, hint of woody oak barrel, definitely a JW backbone to it. T: sweet maltiness with vanilla on the front, honey, a little oiliness, grassy herbal notes, transitions to nice rye and barrel spices, peppery spices, decent wisp of ashy peat smoke, finish is medium in length. A few drops of water tamp down the smoky ashiness and lets some other characteristics come through a little, a little fruitiness, someone else (BDANNER) suggested fresh berries and I can see where they’re going with it, finish is a little weaker. Overall, I like this one. For the price, could stand to be slightly lower and it would be appropriate for the product you get.
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Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed April 1, 2022 (edited June 20, 2022)N: malty, fruity, orange zest, light hint of coconut, a smidge of a salty note, honey, slight floral note that lingers in the background, unfortunately the rum notes are a bit of an afterthought and not as strong as I was hoping for. T: malt, ripe fruits, some cereal notes, a little peppery herbal note that transitions to the rum finish, has a little oiliness to it, finish is short but with a little ashy char to it. Overall, not as good as I was hoping Glenlivet would offer for a rum cask finished scotch. Not exactly wowing me here for the price. It’s decent neat, but for those creative types, this could probably be incorporated into a mixer of some sort. -
Kirkland 24 Year Speyside Sherry Cask Finish
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed March 27, 2022 (edited September 3, 2022)Let this one open up for at least 20 minutes. You will get more out of it. N: deep brown sugar, rich maltiness, dark ripe fruits, dried fruits, plum, cherry, mixed berries, good sherry presence, baked oranges, baking spices, dark chocolate, old woody oak. T: very similar to the nose and very smooth, dark fruits, malty richness, brown sugar, orange, hint of dark chocolate, a good quality tobacco smoke, old leather, oak, lightest pepperiness on the finish, a gentle and easy going finish. Got it for around $80 where I’m at. Like the others before this one (the 20-23 yr), it delivers a great dram for the price. I will most definitely be getting the next year edition to this series. -
Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey (Discontinued)
American Single Malt — Colorado, USA
Reviewed March 25, 2022 (edited April 19, 2022)Ok, so this one is a unique, odd one for sure, but not necessary in a bad way. N: ripe fruity notes are front forward along with a malty cereal granola that’s almost like grape nuts cereal. I’d swear there was rye in this even though there isn’t, so that’s a neat trick in this one. Orange zest and a hint of vanilla in the background, touch of cherry and dried fruits as well. Some spice notes like allspice or cinnamon. Middle of the road complexity, likely could benefit from a little more aging or a nice finishing barrel. T: definitely malty and a rye-like spice to it on the frontside, cereal grains, woody oaky notes, fruity vanilla notes eventually pop through but quickly leave in the finish with a return of a white peppery heat, some herbal notes on the finish but not strong, light to medium ashy or smokiness as well. Overall, this is definitely a scotch style meets a heavy American distilling influence for sure. I prefer more of an actual scotch vs this. But the only thing I can say is give it a try. You might like it, you might think it’s just ok. Definitely has no category that it can fall in. -
Batch 120- N: browns sugar, candied orange, vanilla cream, cherry, fruitiness from the brandy, light corn note, toasted oak, light nuttiness, balanced but not crazy complex. T: sweetness of brown sugar, fruity, brandy finish shows up nicely, touch of rye (maybe?), oak, all spice, peppery spice, ashy char, tobacco, medium finish. Overall, not bad, but I was expecting a little bit more from this one.
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N: brown sugar, honey, grain maltiness, citrus, light crisper fruits, floral, baking spices, oak, hint of vanilla, not super complex. P: mainly what the nose is all mixed up, some bitter herbal notes, white peppery spice that transitions into an ashy char, lingers on a medium length finish, dry. For a blend, it’s ok. Not the worst I’ve had though.
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N: honey, pear, light malty brown sugar, vanilla, oak, maybe a sherry finish, fairly simple overall. T: honey with light crisp fruit upfront, peppery spice follows, hint of an herbal quality, light ashy not, finish is medium in length. If you would have told me this was a budget blended scotch, I would have believed you. Reminds me very much of scotch vs a Japanese whiskey. A simple but pleasant sipper. Worth a try.
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N: brown sugar, orange marmalade, honey, nutty granola note, dried fruits, vanilla, light oak, fairly simple and straight forward nose but pleasant. T: the nose, only translated into taste, a little peppery barrel spice, finish is short, light ashy note, a good simple profile overall, easy going sipper. Some might like it, others may find it too boring.
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N: juicy ripe fruits, apple, pear, honey, sherry, cherry, citrusy grilled orange slices, baking spices. After 10-15 minutes of letting it open up, dried fruits start popping through, brown sugar syrup, granola cereal notes, floral notes of rose and carnation but very subtle, old leathery notes, peat is hard to pick out initially but it’s there. P: wonderful orchard fruits, brown sugar, malted cereal, a quick pop of citrus and baking spices that leads into a light brine and is immediately followed up with a smoked peppery char that builds as if you just slowly turned up the volume, finish is medium to long dominated by the smoked peppery char and fades to the briny sea air, a little sweet richness creeps back in as well. The 51% surely helps keep that edge. It is most definitely a JW, all the characteristics are there, but it is quite well balanced. This is an excellent contribution by JW that I’d purchase again if I could find it.
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Teacher's Highland Cream
Blended — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed March 4, 2022 (edited March 19, 2022)Nose: light, a little touch of alcohol upfront but manageable, hint of a simple malted grain note somewhat like granola, touch of honey, butterscotch, a little fruitiness, hint of vanilla, maybes a lemon or orange zest note, faint ghostly hint of sea salt air and peat but is a little hard to find. Taste: light and very easy going, honey, fruit, touch of creaminess, ashy peat smoke but not strong and overpowering, some barrel spices, finish is medium leaning more on the shorter side. For the price, this is honestly very good. If the noise and flavors were a little stronger, this would be a really decent sleeper scotch. Give it a try, it’s worth a look for under $20.
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