Tastes

Leave it to an american distillery to take the idea of a "sherry bomb" and make it a nuclear one. Nose - Dusty wood and huge sherry notes. You can't get any classic bourbon without really digging deep and looking for it. There's some of that vanilla and oak...caramel isn't here. Taste - oak, red fruits, funk, must. Really intense and it has a whole lot of flavors. This best reminds me of westland sherry with more of a bourbon note. This is a must get for those who are more experimental in their bourbon drinking or for scotch drinkers who want to branch out more. The musty and funky oak notes might be off putting for some. I'm loving them. I'm debating going into the 3+ range but I don't get transitions or the level of additional complexity I'd want. Instead it is more of a one trick pony which is keeping thing one from the higher scores.

There's a part of me that doesn't even want to review Macallan whisky just in part due to their strange marketing as of late and down right perplexing ever sky rocketing prices. Macallan 21 triple cask or fine oak or whatever they're calling it today. So this is I believe sherry seasoned and bourbon seasoned. I've honestly never heard of someone doing a bourbon seasoning. I'm not sure if it is just cheaper or if they did it in part to avoid the char of a first fill bourbon barrel. The whisky also comes in at a painfully low 43% so we can assume chill filtering and in general it's going to look a bit on the cheaper side. I feel like whisky consumers should come up with a term to properly explain these more extreme low proof whisky expressions. Nose - I know it isn't all sherry but I'm getting sherry bomb like amounts of it on the nose. Super complex, when i first just gently nose it, all I get are dark fruits and berries. When I dig in more i start to get vanilla, toasted oak, and a baked bread. Taste - Vanilla, oak spice, a bit of a berries and dark fruits (very light), Water brings out more of the vanilla and oak and kills the fruity flavors and kills any hints of peat. Complex but extremely light massively lacking in mouth feel. Finish - there is actually a touch of peat and salt over vanilla on the finish. A touch of leather and it does have a nice oak whisky note, I'm not good on explaining that note but I really enjoy it. I paid 488 which I'm told is becoming a "value". I'm torn on score. It's complex and has great flavors, but it's light, thin, and just frankly so under proofed that it is seriously hurting the experience. So my scoring system 5 stars - life changing, the rarest of the rare 4 stars - even if not your style or a bit out of your price range, you need to get. 3 stars - a must buy if in your price range or your wheel house. A try for those where it's a bit out of that range. 2 stars - good whisky but not one to go out of your way for. Worth having on the bar if it's well within your means. 1 star - this is now a whisky you likely should pass on if you're a connoisseur but might be an ok starter whisky or something to mix. If cheap enough for you, nothing wrong with it, maybe one to give to people you don't like that much to save your good bottles. less than 1 star - bad whisky, just avoid even if free. I have to say the flavor is a 3, nose is a 4.25, the finish is a 3.75, and the mouth feel is a 0. For me that's a 2.5. Mouth feel REALLY matters.

Nose - Sherry notes, a touch of brine, salt, peat, a very craft baked bread. This is the nose of scotch, it's got everything you'd get in almost any top expression. If you love peat, there's a drop or two of it. If you love sherry, that's here in full force. The malt notes give it balanced sweetness. Taste - Oak and vanilla up front and then give way to sherry fruits, spices, and then finishing with some peat and overwhelming just oak leathers and antique furniture. Water brings out more of the fruits and moves the sweet vanilla notes back. Finish - this just heats the mouth with oak spice, sherry, and it just has a nice friendly old oak finish. HP 25 has everything, a reasonable ABV, great mouth feel, a bit of peat, great sherry, and that old oak and leather finish. If you're looking to take the step into 25 year old scotch and spend into that 400+ barrier I can't think of a better "starter" scotch to get there. It's just a complete experience of the world of scotch. I can see why some have given this a perfect score and why I have friends who buy multiple bottles a year. For me I'm just waiting a bit more peat or a bit more sherry for a 5. The middle of the road direction HP takes makes it the most approachable and step into the higher end pool but for me the 5's are more focused on one area and they perfect at that.

Bottled 2/25/2019 (oddly they use our backwards american month day system) - so yes this might be 24 year old scotch or at least 23 and a lot of change. Having just had a 1992 single cask, cask strength, this isn't all first fill but god it's lovely. Nose - berry's, figs, cherries, touch of chocolate, and a bit of nuts and some oak. As I let it open up I'm getting some baked goods. Taste - Oh my, this is old whisky. There's this feeling you get in your mouth when you have really old stuff in there. It's the alcohol and the oak seeping into your cheeks and gums, the sweet up front but then leading to this transition where oak comes about...oh my. Chocolate, dark fruits, a touch of spice, walnuts, oak dusty oak. Wonderful. So here's where I am. I just had, but couldn't review, a 1992 glendronach. That's a 5 sherry bomb. This isn't close to that. But it's crazy good too. 160 bucks (I know you can get it way less in the UK). Is it worth it? Yes. If you like sherry this is a must get. I'm going 4.25. It's just that good.

Funny how a rare whisky in today's market has over 2k tastes! Nose - Well no shocker here but this is citrus fruit out the max. A friend recently showed me a note of peach he got on lag 16...that's here but with grape fruit or some kind of lemon and I'm sorry but I'm getting a bit too much alcohol type notes in there to pull that one out. There's a bit of spice in the background (bottle says clove and I'll go with that). At the finish I get some vanilla and oak. There's also just the slightest touch of a red fruit that has me thinking just a TINY bit of sherry, but I'm pretty sure there isn't any. Taste - I'm still getting something making me think sherry. Citrus fruits. A touch of spice. A lot of vanilla and butter together. There's a red fruit here. Super nice stuff. The finish because these are so popular I guess I must. It's just vanilla, some spice, touch of oak. It's got a nice long lingering note for a 12 year. 100 bucks locally, should have bought more, but would have felt guilty. I really like this, it's darn good but I won't actively chase another bottle. I'm debating in my head tonight if this is better than Westland or not and to be honest, this one is going to be more enjoyed by more people but I don't think it's better whisky. I might come back to this one but for now 2.75. The hype might be a bit too much.

Nose - I'm getting grape bubble gum, oak, christmas spices, and vanilla. Taste - Sweet malt...I can't place this malt note. Wood funk, cloves and other spices, some grass, and fall fruits. On the finish I get some vanilla and more oak. A very unique whisky that has really opened up in the bottle. Gosh just so unique. I want to say this was about 50 bucks and it's a good buy at that price. I'm leaving it at a 2.75, it's very good but it's so strange that some will really not care for it. A must get for the adventurous but all others try it first.

OK here we go. My buddy Mike recently reviewed this bottle and he liked it a good bit more than when I first opened it. Well, lets see how this does now that is has been open a solid 8-9 months. Nose - Menthol, salt, brine, tiny tiny touch of citrus, vanilla, and there is a bit of a bready character at the end. I keep looking for more oak but nothing here. Taste - Lemon lime, vanilla, and menthol / smoke. Chocolate, tobacco and as it finishes a bit of meat and roasted nuts. Water adds a bit of a metallic note but it also brings out a bit of a bitter note at the end and actually adds more "ummf" to the mid pallet. Finish - when I have to talk about finish, you know I'm getting into a great whisky. This thing just keep finishing, it lasts forever with the smoke and a bit of a bite just holding on to you. It's absolutely the best part of the whisky. It is NOT worth 500 dollars, no way in the world is it worth that, but this is special whisky. I'll miss it once it is gone, but it's a bit soft and lacks the mouth feel and the power that cask strength could have done to it. With that, this would be a 5 star whisky but without it, I'm wanting more and I really shouldn't want more on a 500 dollar whisky.

MGP juice...batch proof...I've heard good things, what the heck? Nose - Smooth creams and vanillas over young cheap cheap oak notes. A touch of earth, perhaps some hay or straw. Taste - Butter, oat bran, young oak, vanilla...a bit different but no sharp notes, alcohol is well under control, good mouth feel. 50 bucks. At that price I can't recommend. This is just too young. This is too expensive. It's also not the sweet and oaky mix I like for mixing. This is for the adventurous with money to spend. I'm a bit disappointed given some hype I heard and the price point. That said it's pretty good if you're just comparing it to 3 year old bourbons. Actually very good for that standard.

As always disclosure, rumor has it this uses "organic" barely which is either a marketing tool to steal money or potentially more dangerous. Thankfully they don't say it on the bottle or box so I don't mind buying it! Nose - I get white grapes, freshly peeled, a touch of salt, some grass, and a bit of meaty peat. Then I get a touch of oak way back there, very light. These are not first use bourbon barrels! Taste - it's soft, gentle, opening with white wine, turning a bit to a vinigar/peat/salt/brine type note, at no point is this sweet, always a bit acidic, a bit salty, a bit meaty, but minimal sweetness. i started to think of balvenie 25 year single cask but that has that wonderful honey and more of a tea note, but there's a similar lightness to the start. The peat and so they say Springbank sulfur are really the showcase (I don't think springbank is sulfur but that's how it's often described). I won't shock anyone by saying the sherry finished is on another level. I've got a 19 year single cask, cask strength bourbon barrel version of springbank I'd like to try side by side with this. This comes off much more salty and peaty, but the bourbon isn't really doing much and the oak is pretty minimal. The other springbank to try this next to is the 9 year local barely. This is really just a showcase of the new make and it's a good new make. Maybe letting my bias in, but it's great new make, very good whisky, but nothing special and springbank is going to be polarizing. If you like springbank this is a buy. If you don't, I'd stay away unless you're just looking for something unique.

Said I was done till the weekend but this followed me home and I wanted to get some notes out early as possible on it. Plus...I'm pretty excited. Full disclosure, I have zero idea what this is beyond being whisky and 12 years old and 134.9 proof. Nose - One hell of an alcohol kick here. Oh this is unique. There's a grape/plum type fruit nose over good american oak, and I think some vanilla. Water brings out that butter scotch note I get on the flavor profile. it's still super fruity. Taste - Oh flavor is all butter scotch and then a fruity funky oak finish. Oh man...this is special. I'm getting a nice tobacco note (maybe because I smoked cigars this weekend I'm getting it), touch of leather, and i swear this note could be some kind of soda even, it's this fruity and vanilla. Then I get some nutty notes. I'm really impressed with this. Their rye (batch 2) is decent stuff, their bourbon (batch 2) was really nice but to me a touch young. This is better than the other two. A lot better, but you really have to like this butter scotch and oak.