Tastes
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Nauti Plundered Blended Whiskey
Blended American Whiskey — USA
Reviewed October 6, 2020 (edited December 12, 2020)Nose - corn, light vanilla and caramel, bright oak, mild ethanol burn. Taste - corn, caramel, cola, vanilla bean, black pepper, buttered popcorn, mild alcohol bite, finishing quick with fading corn and ethanol flavors. Not great. It’s certainly a high corn mash bill and very young. The taste is closer to Mellow Corn than a traditional American whiskey. -
Nose - banana milkshake, vanilla, honey, caramel, sawdust, mild ethanol burn. Taste - banana, vanilla, sweet cream, caramel, honey, candied fruit, mild alcohol bite, finishing quickly with vanilla, caramel, and banana flavors. This is a nice rum, with flavors of candied tropical fruits. There’s a bit of ethanol on the palate, but overall very drinkable.
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Nose - juniper, mint, cucumber, vanilla, mild caramel, sweet and spicy herbal and floral notes, ethanol burn. Taste - juniper, black pepper, vanilla, sweet cream, sweet and spicy herbal and floral notes, low alcohol bite, finishing fairly long with lingering juniper and vanilla sweet cream flavors. I’m not a gin expert, but I find this one to be very palatable with a pleasant natural sweetness that I haven’t found in other gins.
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Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 5, 2020 (edited December 11, 2020)Nose - corn, chocolate, clove, dry caramel, vanilla bean, pear, honey, brown sugar, leather, high ethanol burn. Taste - corn, rye spice, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, tobacco, leather, brown sugar, high alcohol bite, finishing reasonably long with corn, brown sugar, and chocolate flavors. Very good sipper. This drinks much more like a rye than a bourbon. It’s hot, but not in a bad way. -
Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed October 5, 2020 (edited December 11, 2020)Nose - honey, raisin, white wine, peanut or walnut, vanilla, caramel, oats, sweet oak, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - grape, honey, creamy vanilla, Granny Smith apple, pear, black pepper, sherry barrel spice, moderate alcohol bite, finishing quick and with fading honey, vanilla, and sherry flavors. My first Balvenie, and it’s pretty solid. Nothing spectacular, but I’d definitely order it again. -
Nose - menthol, licorice, black cherry, chamomile, cardamom, floral and herbal spice I don’t have the vocabulary to identify, low ethanol burn. Taste - menthol, spearmint, cardamom, chocolate, chamomile, licorice, more of those elusive herbal and floral notes, mild alcohol bite, finishing long, minty, and naturally sweet. This is very interesting. The mouthwash sensation is definitely present. Not sure I would reach for it again, but the sipping experience was pleasant.
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Château de Briat Hors d'Âge Bas-Armagnac
Armagnac — Bas-Armagnac, France
Reviewed October 4, 2020 (edited May 10, 2023)Nose - butterscotch, peanut, burnt caramel, brown sugar, toffee, coffee, vanilla, black cherry, raisin, plum, dark chocolate, marked barrel spice, high ethanol burn. Taste - sweet peanut, butterscotch, brown sugar, burnt caramel, vanilla, raisin, cherry, chocolate, tannic oak notes, high alcohol bite, finishing fairly long with notes of dark fruit, burnt sugar, and bitter, tannic oak. The nose is great. The taste is good. The main detractor is that it drinks very young and hot, which is surprising given the 12 year age statement. This is my first Armagnac; I’m looking forward to trying more of them. -
Grangestone 12 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed October 3, 2020 (edited December 2, 2020)Nose - honey, orange zest, banana, pineapple, apple juice, mild earthy funk, oak notes, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - apple juice, honey, pineapple, overripe fruit funk, barrel spice, black pepper, spearmint, moderate alcohol bite, finishing quickly with a sour, mint fruit funk. Pretty middle of the road and underwhelming. The sour apple juice funk flavor is slightly off-putting. -
Nose - maple syrup, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, melted butter, butter pecan ice cream, raisin, high ethanol burn. Taste - butter pecan ice cream, french toast, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, hot crossed bun, brown sugar, caramel syrup, boozy raisin, moderate alcohol bite, finishing longer than expected with all the dessert flavors above mixed together. Another reviewer wrote that this tastes like all of your childhood’s worst nutritional decisions, and I completely agree. This is so dosed with chemically, artificial flavorings that it is almost pleasant. At the very least, this would make for a tasty, sweet mixer. It’s arguably a small step up from the VS and VSOP offerings, but that isn’t saying much.
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E&J VSOP Brandy
American Brandy — California, USA
Reviewed October 1, 2020 (edited December 2, 2020)Nose - cherry, vanilla, sweet cream, powdered sugar, toffee, light oak, high ethanol burn. Taste - cherry syrup, pineapple, apple, pear, caramel, vanilla, sweet cream, sweet oak, powdered sugar, cinnamon, baking spice, high ethanol burn, finishing fairly quickly with syrupy sweetness and barrel spice flavors with a significant amount of heat. This is a step up from their VS offering, but not quite into sipper territory. I think it would make for a good cola mixer.
Results 381-390 of 510 Reviews