Tastes

Nose: bright clove honey is the dominant and upfront feature on this one, a little butteriness, crisp orchard fruits, apple, pear, apricot, a touch of hay, hint of a pleasant grassy or herbal note, some light youngness that may give the faintest of an alcohol note, fairly simple but pleasant overall. Taste: slightly thin, honey, butteriness shows with it, medium sweet maltiness, crisp fruits, light ashy barrel char, light peppery spiciness, finish is fairly short. To be honest, this is one of my favorite budget friendly Speysides to rotate in. It’s seriously a fun one to try just because it’s a Trader Joe’s contribution. Yup, may not be overly complicated, but definitely worth a try. Punches well above its price. Seriously, give it a chance just for fun.

Nose: alcohol and a paint thinner-like punch off the cuff (you can tell it’s a cheap-o budget Scotch, hard to get past), light orchard fruits, light honey, shiny grainy notes, herbal grassiness, almost a neat funk that I just can’t place what it is, nothing spectacular in the nose, alcohol smell never really goes away. Taste: light and thin, watery, a light sweetness that gives way to the alcohol mixed with a touch of barrel char, some herbal notes, overall very little to it on flavor. For a budget blend, is actually quite serviceable and is ideal for scotch and soda, i.e. whatever mixer that just needs a blended scotch. For the price, this is more than appropriate to put on that bottom shelf.

Nose: a mix of ripe orchard fruits and some darker fruits in a jam-like sweetness, apple, pear, cherry, honey, sherry comes through in a medium tone, light floral and herbal notes, hay, faintest wisp of brine but then hides again, a touch of oak barrel. Taste: pleasant fruitiness with honey upfront, a mild peppery note, light ashy char that pairs with the peppery note, baking spices, a light sweet grassiness that’s almost herbal but not quite. For one of their budget entries, this is actually not bad at all for the price. Worth a try.

Nose: light with notes of honey, zest of lemon, pear, crisp orchard fruits, strangely almost a white grape cognac-like note, hint of a grassy note, slight floral note, malt, a briny peat that hides in the background, smidge of a sherry finish. Palate: lightly sweet and fruit forward at first with the orchard fruits, honey, citrus, dried fruits, malty toasted cereal, and then transitions to the spicy barrel notes, smoke, oak. Medium finish that lingers nicely for a moment or two and has hints of white pepper, chocolate. Nicely balanced and complex enough to give you something of quality when enjoy with a friend but also not break the bank. Great character for an addition to the collection.

Nose: ripe orchard fruits, honey, a little butteriness, sugary rum finish, hint of a cinnamon-like spice, slightest vegetal note, fairly simple and straight forward, very little depth. Taste: fruity, rum, herbal vegetal note that transitions into a peppery spice, some slight alcohol burn (I suspect it’s a young scotch in age), finish is medium in length. For a budget friendly rum finished scotch, it’s not bad. Better than some other budget entries.

Nose: light honey, apple, pear, hay, some light vegetal notes, light cereal notes, fairly simple but pleasant. Taste: generally the same as the nose, mild barrel spices, white peppery note, hint of an herbal quality, light ashy note on the finish, rather short. Overall, it’s a decent Highland, but slightly thin on both the nose and taste. However for a budget offer, it’s worth a try and is solid for the price.

Nose: honey, pear, Golden delicious apple, light vanilla and oily orange citrus, an almost minty like clove perhaps?, the light brown sugar and cherry essence of the bourbon cask comes through nicely on the backside with a gentle nosing and after it sits for a moment, carries a wispy light perfumy floral note (carnations, rose, etc,) on the end of those bourbon qualities, not an overly complicated nose but pleasant enough. Taste: sweet honey and crisp orchard fruits, bourbon makes it’s presence known but in a complimentary way and not dominating, barrel spices, nice light ashy finish, medium in length. Not bad considering this is a budget friendly contribution from Trader Joe’s.

Nose: pleasantly peaty, sea salt, light to medium smokiness, malty almost buttery brown sugar note, dark dried fruits, plum, fig, hint of cherry, lightly toasted vanilla/almond essence, overripe citrusy orange notes, hint of newer slightly dusty leather. The smokiness from peat and sherry finish work well together, but the Marsala wine finish almost seems like a third wheel at times. Not horribly, but it pokes in and out a little enough to give it an interesting touch. Palate: wonderfully peaty (not heavy) up front that gives way to those dark fruits laced with citrusy orange notes, malt, peppery spices that builds nicely after you swallow but never gets overwhelming, transitions into a peaty ashy like smoke quality that’s almost cigar like, medium to long finish that lingers nicely. Not a bad take with the three cask maturation approach. This is one of those that people will range broadly enough on the rating due to personal preference, imo.

Nose: honey, heather, vanilla, medium malt, soft but rich fruity notes, pear, apricot, well rounded sherry touch, lightest wisp of peat and iodine, not an overly broad or wide nose but very pleasant. Taste: malt, ripe fruitiness, lemongrass, some herbal qualities, hint of brine, has a peppery finish with a light peaty ashy smoke. Quite smooth, very drinkable. A very good quality 12 year old that I would recommend.

Nose: fruit heavy, dark ripe orchard fruits, dark cherry, hint of orange citrus, sherry, cinnamon, allspice, baking spices, malty almost molasses quality, almond or amaretto, some slightly dank cereal notes, dusty leathery notes, tobacco, old oak, light ash char, deep and rich. Taste: just about everything mentioned above, a pleasant medium peppery note, brown sugar, dark fruits with that orange citrus note, nice oily coat on the palette, finishes well to a light ashy smoke. Another solid old Speyside in the Kirkland lineup. Yes, I’m sure you could cherrypick another well known brand that could “drink way better” than this. But for the price, this is pretty dang good.