Tastes

Dug this old boy out of my long-deceased grandpa’s liquor cabinet. Apparently it’s from the 80s. It’s fairly plain, as have been the other younger Glenfiddichs I’ve had. Malt, butter, ethanol. Kinda cool to drink history though.

Caramel vanilla wood nose. Very nice savory corn character on the midpalate. Toasty dusty oak. Wood spice reminiscent of chai. Nice long finish from the high proof.

Musty malty, kinda muted. Definitely get some red fruit and smoothness. Plenty of flavor. Right down the middle Speyside.

This is a great little $31 bourbon. Primary notes are caramel corn and a little raisin. There’s some cherry, vanilla, cola, and toast in there too, but the caramel/buttered (yes, both) popcorn is the star of the show. Fairly rich and decently long finish that brings oak. It does have a slight tinge of bitter ethanol at the end, but it is otherwise a standout among budget options.

It’s a rich, dense [slightly undercooked] brownie with caramel ribbons through it. Warm malt and spice meets the dessert on the midpalate. The finish is oily and decadent. It gets creamier and more complex with a few drops of water. Think of mocha, malt, tiramisu, oak, fig.

This was surprisingly enjoyable for a $19 bottle I bought on a whim. It had robust sweet wine character, but was not cloying. Not even close. It had some nice light spice in the realm of cardamom. Aside from that, not terribly complex. It was obviously Dewar’s in my mind. I could taste the grain alcohol, but all snoot aside, this was an enjoyable bottle that did excellently with cigars and on its own.

It’s woody and mature. Toasted wheat bread with fig jam spread. Lots of red fruit and oak tannin. Cola and brown sugar on the tail end along with some classic Texas dust. I blinded this along with Laguna Madre and Balmorhea, and it won. Am ver hap that I got eh bottel

It’s actually not as smoky as I’ve heard. It smells peaty and marshy. The palate is fresh and herbal on the arrival and savory-malty as it develops. It’s not terribly complex, but it’s a pretty down-the-middle savory, briny, orchard fruit Islay. I would compare it to the Port Charlotte, but not as rich and not as peaty.

Mine is the 2008 single cask 52.9%. Roasty, mocha, slightly smoky, marshy, tobacco, spiced plum, velvety oak.

The bottle I got is 48% and 13 years old. Almond butter, licorice, Red Hots, red fruit, sweet pepper, earthy malt, spicy butterscotch, leather, rich and flavorful, relatively quick finish.