Tastes

128 proof Nose: Orange and airy biscuit, smells like a wheater. Specifically, smells like sweet winery biscuit crackers. A little roasty dusty wood right at the end. Palate: Sharp American oak, proof, and creamy caramel, long oaky finish. Tannic and fruity as the dram finishes.

Nose: cherry brown sugar, smooth oak, light spicy leather. Wheater? Palate: toasty, bready, dark fruits, beautiful baking spice, long fruity oaky finish.

Nose: Warm dark chocolate, nutmeg, hazelnut, cherry cola. Maybe even a little cherry Twizzler. This is super complex. Palate: the palate is not nearly as complex. Ethanol, oak, vanilla icing over a Danish. Maybe a little barrel spice on that long finish.

Nose: Mature, cream cheese frosting, flaky pie crust. Going back after tasting, berry and cream cheese danish. Palate: vanilla cream and smooth spicy caramel pudding. Tastes like a wheater, but it’s not, which means it’s just well-rounded.

Nose: coastal, briny, oak, vanilla, orange; going back, it smells more vanilla malty, floral. Palate: buttery, malty, honey, red fruity. Medium finish.

I’m tasting a barrel pick that’s 120 proof. It’s good classic bourbon. Lots of caramel, vanilla, wood, and brown sugar. Rich and deep. Long finish.

This malt was fruity, earthy, and sweet. My bottle was a little bitter on the finish, perhaps because of sulfur in the Malaga cask. Excellent scotch with a cigar. It gave plum and cocoa to the tobacco as a complementary gift. Nice, long, oily finish.

Oaky vanilla, apple, saltine cracker, buttery barley. Relatively quick finish. Kinda thought it was a highland blind because of the earthiness, but it’s a good briny unpeated malt from Islay all the way.

We dug this out of my grandma’s liquor cabinet after her funeral. She bought it in the early 80s while aboard the Queen Elizabeth and then lost it, never having opened it. It’d be real cool if whiskey continued to age in the bottle. Nonetheless, it’s big and rich. Dark color, heavy oak and vanilla bean up front. It’s very musty on the development. Earth, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon spice, light smoke, and ethanol. It has a strong woody finish that lingers for a good bit. Very unique as scotches go, and I’m glad I got to sip on some history.

Not too bad for a NAS Deanston. Vanilla, buttercream, barley, white pepper. Nice long toasty finish. Good easy drinking on vacation.