Tastes

This shows off the new make character of BR. Its just a solid speyside single malt. Nose is fruity and soft with apple skins and a light floral quality. Malt and barrel come along as well but its all easy going. Palate is more of the same with malty apple and woodsy spice. Its friendly and flavor albeit not complex is warm and inviting kinda like an apple pie cooling on the window sill. Finish dries out a bit but the barley and gentle fruit with spice sustain just enough. I prefer their peated and sherried offerings but this is good scotch. It reminds me of a lesser version of Glenfarclas 10 which I enjoy quite a bit. Im glad I found this on sale for $35 and though I liked it I dont think I would rebuy at normal $50s pricing........85/100

On sale at TW for $35 from 50. I have enjoyed bourbon barrel finished scotch before but was let down by this. Nose is canned pear, malt, vanilla and barrel. Its all very light though. Palate has some vanilla coconut creme, barley malt, a bit of pencil lead and charred wood. Sounds good right? well its a bit watered down and thin, flavors are surface only. Finish is mildly sour malt with some bitter tannins. There is a fading coconut thing which is kinda nice. Perhaps I got a bad bottle(mine is much lighter looking than pics ive seen online) Overall it does not work for me even at 35 bucks nevermind 50......69/100......still some single malt qualities to keep score out of the cellar

Have seen this one many times but at $50s I passed over for more well known/regarded single malts. It was on sale at TW for $35 so figured Id give it a shot. Let me tell you its well worth $50s this is delicious scotch. Non chill and natural color shows the way to the quality of this distillery. Poured neat with a drop really opens it up, nose is peach marmalade, dried apricot, thick malt and toasted oak with sea salt. Palate is creamy rich malt, blended yellow fruits and a stick of salted butter melted in for good measure. Light barrel oak and char on the outskirts. Finish is lingering malt and salt, fading fruits and gently drying woods. This strikes a wonderful balance between sweet and savory with excellent texture and strong malty presence(which I like). Deep flavors despite NAS. I got a steal but recommend at normal pricing without hesitation.......87/100.....This one surprised me and score could go up as I go through bottle

I am a huge fan of Garrison Bros bourbon. Cowboy and Balmo are sensational. I enjoy Honeydew and even the small batch. Thus despite warnings I lustfully pursued this bottle. I did find it listed online at a few stores but upon arrival they would not sell to public (saving for bar purchase). This seems like real bullshit to me but whatever I reached out to my whiskey connection. My "source" delivered yet again that same day from an undisclosed liquor store at MSRP. After all that hoopla I expected to be let down and I was. Neck pour wasn't that much better than small batch. Certainly nowhere near the vaunted Cowboy. Pissed off I overpaid back on the shelf it went. Second outing was better and by the shoulder break I was a happy camper. This is a nuanced sensitive Garrisons that needs time to open up allowing the port casks to be released. Poured neat/drop (be very careful with water as it washes out the cask fruits easily) nose has the Garrison flour/sawdust funk with maple oatmeal, black raspberry jam, melted caramel, raw cinnamon and lotsa barrel oak. Its hiding in the glass you have to coax it out. Palate is not the flavor bomb of Cowboy or Balmo. Its rich and delicious but doesn't assault the taste buds. Abundant caramel and oak accompanied by aged dried dark fruits courtesy of casks from Portugal. Leather and Gfunk round it out leading to finish of heavy barrel, dry spice, cinnamon, sweet pipe tobacco, fading caramel wrapped fruit and dark chocolate. This is an easy drinker even at 107 pf and tastes older than 6 yrs. Im sure the unbelievable Texas freeze in February has affected all the state's whiskies in 2021 in some way so I would imagine there will be variation to contend with. With all that said I do really like this bourbon but do not think its worth $130's nevermind secondary pricing(put that $towards Balmo or Cowboy). If you want a wine cask finished bourbon Belle Meade Sherry is amazing for much less money. Alas this is still very enjoyable so despite pricing ....90/100....if Garrison would only make more it would cost less yadda yadda...they know exactly what they are doing

Ive heard this called a hybrid of Bourbon and Scotch but it doesnt taste like scotch at all to me. Its more similar to their bourbon with some added flavors. Still get lotsa cherry but now there is sweet/sour apple too. Its like a jolly rancher explosion and I really like it. Pot still texture is present which is a big plus imo. Im a scotch hound so I love the extra malt presence here but it is not taking over. Plenty of bourbon oak and vanilla rounded with sweet/sour fruits and barley. Finish has expected barrel notes and char but lasting malt support is a twist. I thoroughly enjoyed this and at low $30's its a slam dunk repeat purchase for me. Not complex but good depth and richness....86/100.....If you are a WR fan this will most likely work for you

Very popular blend without dreaded grain whisky. Neat has moderate legs in glass. Nose brings sweet speyside fruits drizzled with honey. Peach, apricot and mandarin oranges in syrup. Also has nice healthy bubble gummy malt note. Its quite enticing. Soft on palate with fruity malt(think juicy fruit gum), light vanilla and white chocolate. Maybe a whiff of smoke. Long finish with lingering malt, oak and some light char. Balvenie new make is present in the flavor while Glenfiddich rules the finish. I can see what all the fuss is about. This stuff is juicy and succulent. Love that its a vatted malt, no grain . Great value at $30 too. I highly recommend this to people new to scotch. Soft, sweet, malty and easy drinking delicious. I dont mix but this should excel there. While well suited to a beginner this offers enough for scotch vets to enjoy as a strong value malt......86/100

My first Indian single malt and have to say Im impressed. Got it on sale at TW for $29.99 cant beat that. Poured neat nose is fruity and spicy. Plenty of melon, nutmeg and allspice alongside some malt and a curry like note(don't know if Im mentally getting this cause its Indian but I think its truly there). Palate is a bit youthful but vibrant with the spicy cantaloupe, malt, barrel and cumin heat all coming together nicely. Finish is lasting with spiced woody malts and fruit rinds. This is a surprisingly good whisky despite NAS sizzle and lack of Scottish terroir . It reminds me of a spicier Auchentoshan. If you are a Scotch fan but a little gun shy about Indian whisky as I was don't be. This is very tasty with solid flavor depth and obvious quality. Im very keen on trying Amrut now as well......86/100

Found this Hazelburn 13yr Oloroso Cask at Specs. I paid $106 on sale and feel I got a bargain based on reviews Ive read...lets find out. Triple distilled sherry bomb Springbank juice. No coloring or chill filtration and 100.6 pf pot still yes please. This stuff is stacked. Poured neat/drop nose is nutty maple fudge, dark plump prune/raisin, buttercream frosting with malt and light oak. Its not jumping out of the glass so be patient. There is some prickly heat getting in the way. Oily mouthfeel brings palate of rich sweet cookie dough and dark sherried fruits with a nice malty undertone. There's some raw honey, semi sweet chocolate, quality pink Himalayan salts and leathery oak. Good complexity and depth to flavors but its a bit bright. Finish is loaded with supple leather and sweet pipe tobacco transitioning to tannic barrel and salty malt. Just a hint of smoke. This has such a crisp cleanness throughout being pot stilled and triple distilled. It gives you that special Redbreast flair with so much more flavor. You can tell there's Springbank funk in the dna but its been filtered down. That sounds like a bad thing but its not, its just a different take on the absolutely wonderful new make. Springbank is such a high quality cant miss product you can pretty much buy anything they put out. This Hazelburn (9900 bottles produced ) is no exception. I bought this because of stellar reviews by dhsilv2, pkingmartin and Jose Massu Espinel so props to them. Im just here to pay it forward..........93/100....I get an overall old-timey fabric note from this I cant quite put a finger on. Its like a vintage linen(tablecloth/napkin) or cracking the vacuum bag after sucking fibers from an antique rug. Its dusty and aged and I love it

Ok so Ive never heard of the smallest distillery before. I read some good reviews and like something different so why not. This is one of the best 10-12 yr single malt I have ever had. I wonder if someone screwed up during bottling as this is so dark it looks like an 18 yr. Nose has dates and prunes with raisins all meshed together with some malt and barrel. Very refined with no ethanol interfering. Again seems way older than 10 years. Oily mouthfeel leads palate of heavy dark malty fruits, macadamia nut butter with some silty earthy farm like peat, light wispy smoke and some toasted barrel. Its rich and succulent and (broken record) tastes much older. Finish gives a little bit of tannic bitter note but the sherry cask wine notes and spicy barrel offset. Malt and gentle smoke help as well. I got this for $54 and feel its amazing value and an absolute blockbuster for a 10 yr. This dominates with excellent flavor depth, complexity and a rich smoothness usually reserved for much older scotch. I am going after everything made by this distillery .......91/100........as crazy as it sounds this reminds me of the Glendronach18 profile( lesser version of course)........Here's a bold statement: I'll take this over 12 yrs from Glendronach, Macallan and Highland Park........I will say again I seriously think there may be an error as this shit is so dark I cannot believe its only 10 yrs and yes it clearly says natural color on bottle