Tastes

Nose - rich banana pudding, vanilla, Nilla Wafer, baking spice, ginger snap, maple syrup, sweet bread, light ethanol burn. Taste - banana, allspice, clove, vanilla, cloying caramel, maple syrup, light alcohol bite, finishing very quick with fading spiced banana and young alcohol flavors. Slightly better than the No. 7 but largely underwhelming. Bottling at 80 proof makes it taste diluted and overall fairly boring.

Nose - deep, sulphuric, volcanic peat smoke, iodine, brine, salted dark caramel, brown sugar, tennis ball, seaweed, plum, pear, apple, grape, rocky minerality, decomposing grass, leather, burnt rubber and electronics, and strong ethanol burn. Taste - strong peat smoke, salted caramel, medicinal iodine, brine, seaweed, musty, earthy grass, sweet cream, grape, lemon zest, leather, stewed pear, strong alcohol bite, finishing long with lingering sweet, smoky caramel and brine flavors. It’s extremely nuanced and complex. Amazingly bold and delicious. My first cask strength scotch and I never want to go back.

Nose - same distinct, gentle Lagavulin peat smoke, but even more subdued; the smoky, musty, briny undertones of the original 16 are obscured beneath deep fruit tones (plum, black cherry), caramel, mild nuttiness (pecan, walnut, cashew), and even milder cinnamon. Taste - smoke, but less than the classic, caramel, walnut, chocolate covered raisin, plum, sweet cream, port wine. For reference, this is a review of the 2019 Distiller’s Edition. Wow. Wonderful expression of the brand. It’s beautiful and deep and complex. There may be scotches that are better for my taste, but I haven’t come across one yet.

Nose - banana, vanilla, Nilla Wafer, sweet cream, butterscotch, spicy oak, creamy cereal, strong ethanol burn. Taste - strong banana, vanilla, toffee, cereal, sweet cream, pepper, cherry, bold spicy oak, tannic (due to the high proof), sweet pipe tobacco, strong alcohol bite, finishing long with lingering cherry cola and spicy oak flavors. Definitely my favorite JD, although it borders slightly on the cloying sweetness of the No. 7.

Nose - plum, honey, black cherry, salted caramel, smooth chocolate, sherry bomb, extremely mild ethanol burn. Taste - smooth caramel, honey, toffee, vanilla sweet cream, milk chocolate, plum, raisin, honey, highly sherried, super smooth (I hate to use the word in a review and don’t think I ever have, but this is fitting), very mild alcohol burn, finishing reasonably long with lingering creamy toffee, chocolate, and raisin flavors.

Nose - plum, brandy, port wine, nutmeg, stewed pear, rum chocolate, caramel, hazelnut, mild ethanol burn. Taste - caramel, black pepper, plum, black cherry, nutmeg, rich chocolate, green spicy wood, moderate alcohol burn, finishing reasonably long with lingering spicy chocolate wordiness. Surprisingly complex for a Japanese whiskey. I find the wood flavor very interesting. Nothing like American oak; the mizunara imparts a spiciness that is really pleasant and interesting.

Nose - licorice, eucalyptus, minty honey, allspice, clove, baking spice, caramel, vanilla, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - eucalyptus, licorice, baking spice, spicy rye (but not too prickly), spearmint, caramel, vanilla, dark cherry, moderate alcohol burn, finishing reasonably long with lingering sweet eucalyptus flavor. Really solid rye and an extremely good value at less than $30 a bottle.

Nose - mild peat smoke, musty brine, sweet cream, caramel, orange, plum, raisin, oak notes, light ethanol burn. Taste - peat smoke, brine, lightly burnt oak, toffee, vanilla, allspice, coffee, chocolate, mild alcohol burn, finishing very quickly with short lived oak and toffee flavor. I can taste the Lagavulin coming through most prominently. However, I only like this one slightly more than the red label, as it doesn’t have the strong burnt oak bitterness. It generally tastes too diluted and largely forgettable.

Nose - sweet peat smoke, brine, pear, honey, toffee, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sweet peat smoke, brine, pear, honey, toffee, burnt bitter oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fairly quickly with lingering salty and bitter flavors. Honestly, I was expecting this to be much worse based on all the hate it gets. It’s definitely not a good scotch (the burnt bitterness in the taste is the biggest fault for me), but it’s not completely undrinkable either.

Nose - peanut, leather, caramel, orange, light rye spice, vanilla, allspice, mild cinnamon, strong ethanol burn. Taste - rye spice, cinnamon, peanut, caramel, vanilla, black pepper, allspice, black tea, moderate ethanol burn (less than expected given the proof). This was better than I anticipated. I found it pleasantly complex and a great value for the price.