Tastes

Nose - buttercream frosting, almond, butterscotch, cinnamon, corn, maple syrup, vanilla, honey, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, cinnamon, buttercream frosting, honey, vanilla sweet cream, maple syrup, corn, almond, low alcohol bite, finishing quick, bright, and syrupy sweet like an unhealthy breakfast, similar to the E&J XO brandy I recently tried. Overall, it’s better than I expected. Granted, it’s massively dosed with flavorings, but doesn’t present as cloyingly disgusting as you’d imagine. I could see this being a good cola mixer, but not much outside of that.

Nose - green apple, freshly cut grass, dry vanilla, maple, caramelized brown sugar, sweet and slightly peppery barrel spice, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sour green apple, cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, maple syrup, black pepper, brown sugar, marked barrel spice, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast and bright with sour, woody caramel notes. Not great, but certainly much better than their Black offering. It drinks a bit young and hot, but not entirely terrible.

Nose - pineapple, tangerine, lemon zest, vanilla bean, floral notes, honey, mild peat, peach, green apple, mushroom, tar, nutmeg, high ethanol burn. Taste - honey, tangerine, green apple, citrus zest, creamy vanilla, peach tea, floral notes, caramel, toffee, pineapple, mild peat, mushroom, nutmeg, baking spice, high alcohol bite, finishing long and with deep citrus (almost like biting into a lemon rind) and toffee notes. I was very excited to pick this up so early after the release. This begs for a bit of water to be added to open up the nose and flavors, as it’s very concentrated and closed off right from the bottle. Overall, I think this is a decent, but disappointing HP cask strength introduction into the American market. Unfortunately, the mushroom notes are a bit unwelcome, and it slightly misses the mark for me.

Nose - raisin, white wine, grape, almond, cashew, milk chocolate, orange zest, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, allspice, subtle oak, mild ethanol burn. Taste - raisin, plum, vanilla sweet cream, milk chocolate, cashew, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, peanut, honey, honeysuckle, black pepper, barrel spice, mild alcohol bite, finishing pretty quick with fading raisin, chocolate, and honey flavors. Solid entry offering. Nothing special, but a very easy, pleasant sipper. I think the Double Cask is slightly better, but not by much.

Nose - licorice, banana, clove, spearmint, barrel spice, cinnamon, allspice, cherry, honey, apple skin, barley, butterscotch, vanilla, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - clove, allspice, licorice, cinnamon, buttered popcorn, butterscotch, honey, cherry, spicy oak notes, black pepper, moderate alcohol bite, finishing sour and spicy with some rye spice sweetness. I expected much worse, given many of the scathing reviews. It’s a bit hot, sour, and slightly cloying, but overall not terrible. At ~$40 a bottle, there are better high rye bourbon options, but I think the cost/value is reasonably aligned.

Nose - nutmeg, cinnamon, tobacco, leather, clove, dry vanilla and caramel, apple, cherry, brown sugar, yeast, corn, light barrel spice, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sweet tobacco, leather, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla bean, corn, apple, cherry, moderate alcohol bite, finishing quick with caramel, rye spice, and corn sweetness. It hits all the right high rye mashbill bourbon notes, but it’s nothing special, particularly given the high price. I think it would benefit from a higher proof.

Nose - honey, apple juice, grape, raisin, whiff of smoke, orange, oat, white wine, subtle nuttiness, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - honey, oat, sweet caramel, vanilla cream, raisin, light smoke, orange, hay, apple, grape, cereal, walnut, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing fairly long with caramel, apple, and honey flavors. The flavors are deeply rich, sweet, and satisfyingly balanced. It’s a bit hot, but the heat suits the experience. It’s a similar profile to the Classic Laddie, but succeeds where the other comes up short.

Nose - corn, dry caramel and vanilla, black cherry, rye spice, strong oak notes, high ethanol burn. Taste - creamy corn, sweet caramel, vanilla cream, rye spice, cherry, berry, apple, cinnamon, allspice, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast with creamy corn, caramel, and vanilla flavors. Solid sipper. Not worth the price of a bottle, but an all around pleasant experience.

Nose - lemon and orange zest, dry grass, honey, banana, apple, oat, mild ethanol burn. Taste - honey, orange zest, apple, oat, hay, cereal, vanilla bean, banana, sweet caramel, faint chocolate, mild alcohol bite, finishing fast with sweet caramel and fresh citrus notes. Nothing special, but very pleasant and refreshing.