Tastes

This bottle really opened up for me, started pretty thin but by the end I was enraptured. Cinnamon apple pies, chocolate covered cherries, a farmhouse thanksgiving table spread. Can’t tell if I’ll still pick this over 101, but it really had a great arc for me and I’ll continue to pick up bottles.

Full bottle came in a pack with tastings of the 15 and 18 for $25, which is a pretty solid deal Nose: pears, dried strawberries, vanilla cream, some honey wheat bread, autumnal spices. A bit of malt must. Quite nice if not a little familiar Palette: light honey, green apple sweetness Finishes with some more dried strawberries and apples and a very little tannic note Very easy sipper. I like to start the night with a scotch like this, and then move into more robust bourbon for the main event

Nose: mostly caramel apples, Cinnamon, has the classic Wild Turkey “farmhouse table dinner spread” thing Palette: honey, cinnamon, caramel sweetness, a little spicy, proof reads Backend/finish is pretty long, has some Cinnamon Toast Crunch and more crisp green apple. This is really tasty and nice. The barrel proof makes it a more exquisite experience. As someone with less of a budget, it might be a little overpriced at 50 for the bottle. But I do love the Wild Turkey profile and what it’s bringing here

3 or 4 pours deep into the bottle. Really nice and robust. Nose has some berry, some char, oaky/cedar. Palette goes crazy. Blackberries, toasted marshmallows, black tea, apple cider and autumnal on the finish. Lovely stuff.

Really evolves from the 12 in a big way. Much more rich and deliciously oaky. Refines the notes of the 12. More raisin.

Got a Balvenie sampler pack because I was curious about this one. It’s got a really nice balance between the oaky char of the bourbon barrel and the dark fruitiness of the sherry. My experiences with Speyside scotch has been kind of mixed. I think some of it reads too much like green tea and grassy herbal fruitiness, but this is a really nice exception that has those notes but also gets into some nice warm bourbon elements. Like it. Would buy the full bottle.

“Neck pour” neat Nose— toasted marshmallow, some bready spice from the rye, sweet corn, a little cherry cough syrup. Inviting but also kind of thin Palette— really quite thin. Proof is coming across. Classic notes, some of that bready spice. Nutty on the backend. Hoping this opens up with the rest of the bottle because it’s decent but I really wish it was richer/thicker.

Nose: Cherry pop-tarts, as in fruity, spicy, bready. mostly classic notes on the palette

Chocolate covered cherries all over this one. Some breadiness from the rye. Affordable and really tasty! A classic

A lot of dusty corn, some substantial heat on the nose. A few sweet notes. Pretty thin but not dissatisfying.