Tastes

Nose - springbank funk well placed with the lovely sherry notes, jam, perhaps a white chocolate, Taste - Oloroso and springbank funk. I know that's a simple statement but it's such a wonderful way to think about this one. Touch of chocolate, touch of vanilla, oak (much more noticeable than the 13 year, I only had the one of 12,000 bottles which I believe was the 2017 bottling). This is a great whisky, really special. Also rumor is this is the last of these "older" casks, hope it's not true but it's a pretty reliable source so buy a second if you see it. Anyway my tongue is fried for the week. I'll get back to reviews friday night.

Decades. I'm not sure which batch this is, i'm under the impression there were two and I also get the impression one was seen as the better and older option. Nose - had to really give this one some time, it's overwhelming when you first pour it. You can already nose how thick the whisky is, it comes in at 104 proof but the nose has the body of something closer to 120. I get rich caramel, citrus notes, cherry, some aged oak and then some younger more unfinished oak notes. Taste - I get that vanilla, leather, cherry oak that I often get with older whisky. I'm actually amazed at how much this bottle seems to change each time I go back, each time it comes off a bit older than the last. There's some sour notes, some fruity notes, and it finishes with a big puff of well behaved oak. Really good stuff, but I have to ask myself is it better than Rare Breed or Kentucky Spirit? That's where this one somewhat drops off for me a bit. I'm really not sure it is. Really nice bourbon and I'm going 3 stars. If you're ok with the 130, get it. If you're not, get rare breed and you won't be getting all that different a bourbon. Wild Turkey spoils us with just outstanding lower priced bourbons, but as a result their higher end stuff really doesn't punch any higher.

Nose - This brings out so many spices, not the more standard wood price, but nut meg, cinnamon, pepper, and then it adds in this sweet oaked oak. It's lovely. Taste - There's a subtly sweet body here, very middle of that road with caramel and light oak and then it brings out just a puff of smoke and then it finishes with this explosion of spices and alcohol heat. It's even a touch spicy hot on the finish, and that's not the alcohol. I have a feeling this bottle is still opening up and maturing, it's only been open a few weeks maybe a month (ok I can't remember when I bought it, but it hasn't been here that long). Already it seems to have mellowed out some of the spice kick and gotten sweeter. I'm a bit torn, it's a bit expensive at 170 though I know talskers can be greatly different in price, had a friend get the 30 year for 300 for example. It's rather tasty and rather good, but despite having a lot of different flavors and a nice transition to the finish I still feel it is a bit one dimensional and a bit too heavy on the spice and oak. Score 2.5. Very good whisky but lacks the quality I'd want to make this a firm recommendation. I haven't had the 10 in some time, but I don't believe I can fully support buying this based on being a huge fan of the 10 (the 30 I'll fully endorse at 300, it was awesome). I'll certainly come back to this as the bottle opens and see if it warrants a adjustment (I have a few bottles in mind for updates).

I feels like in 2019 you can't drink whisky without being bombarded with these Texas whiskies. So I'll save my views on some of the others and lets focus on Balcones which I believe is the most well distributed and it's not terribly priced either. Nose - fruity, cinnamon, toasted oak, and just a very nice funk I get on Amrut and Balcones, I have to assume it's perhaps a result of the speed aging. Taste - There's this berry and oak and cinnamon, and just perhaps just texas malt. It's really different. I'm giving this is a solid 3.0. I honestly don't really like where this one went, but it's such a clear high quality malt and so well made I can't score it any lower.

Sees odd that I know I've had this a handful of times, even done a few side by sides and the bottle is still above the label even after this pour. Clearly one I've been taking safe pours with. Nose - Dark berry notes, some musty oak, young spirit, alcohol. A bit of chocolate at the end. Taste - fruity, oakey, young. Water brings out really just a lighter version of the same. I really can't think of anything nice to say about this one. It is ok outside of some younger notes. The sherry flavor is pretty good but it's young. I hate to say it but for over 100 bucks, this isn't just a pass but a hard one. Bonus points for what seem like quality sherry casks and cask strength, but I still am stuck feeling this is a 1 star whisky.

Oh peat week - you were the surprise thriller of 2018 scotches for me. But are you still THAT good? Nose - soft smoke billows off the glass, sweet smoke, candied smoke, and yet so clean. By contrast the 2004 "week of peat" is much more malt forward with perhaps a bit more wood. 2003 is all smoke, light mint, and all the sweetness is in background. Taste - Soft up front bringing in this light malt, so gently and subtle. Then the whisky turns and you feel the smoke building up, filling your mouth with just this very clean shall we say "Balvenie" like smoke. Peat Week has both the level of peat you'd expect from the big boys in Islay but yet does it in a such a way that it captures that quintessential lightness of a Balvenie malt. This experssion of peat week is soft, gentle, and it really doesn't let the malt stand out, it is there to enhance the smoke. If you compare it side by side to this year's the malt is much more pronounced, more assertive and seems to get in the way of the smoke. I have said since i first tried this, there's just no whisky more dangerous, even when pouring it I can't seem to get less than an oz in the glass (most reviews I do are on 1/4 oz and are whisky I have experienced prior). This is a scotch you can DRINK and I've had a few days where I did just that. I don't think I've bought more than 3 bottle of any scotch in the last 2 years and with the exception of Woodford Double Oaked any whisky. I bought 5 of these and this is the 5th bottle. I simply love this whisky. It seems odd giving a 14 year old whisky a score this high but 4.5 out of 5. I seriously considered this for my favorite whisky of 2018 and through half of the year I think it was the front runner. This is a perfect example of how balance can really push a whisky over the top. This very well might be my favorite peated single malt and that's even when considering Ardbeg 23 and 22.

odd name change - and worse new bottling art. Loved last year's tube with so much info. Anyway to the whisky. Nose - Balvinie's classic honey with a smoke cloud of wonderful fluffy almost marsh mellowy peat behind it. Has that just touch of oak smoke you get when you roast marshmallows over the fire, only amplified as an intense peated whisky would have. Taste - A bit underwhelming after the nose. Those citrus and honey and vanilla notes over creamy smoked fire. Such a wonderful mix of sweet and peat. Think sugar cubes, candy cigarettes, powdered sugar, and just peat soup. I'll have to do a 2003 14 year peat week after this, I think I have another review in me today, to do this one justice in terms of how good it is. I'm a HUGE fan of these peated casks. They mix the best of peat and the best of balvenie's sweet malty notes. This is both a perfect introduction to peat for those who are new to it and the perfect way to explore peat in a new non islay way for experts. I thought last year's pour was a master piece and while this seems the same to me, I'm feeling this is just a great whisky. Thus a 4.0 and we'll see if I do a review of last years if I'll bump it higher. Either way if you like peat at all, this is awesome and if you don't, this is one to test before moving on from the style all together. Did a quick side by side with last year's peat week and I'm dropping the score a quarter point. It really doesn't hold up next to last years.

So a few thoughts before we get into this. I've had a few store picks of this, this is however the official single barrel. I like it more than the picks. I also live in southern ohio and shop in kentucky....I had to order this online and have a bottle of kentucky bourbon shipped BACK to kentucky almost....explain that? lol. Nose - Cherry wood. Oh man, this is my nose on a bourbon. The oak gives off that sherry and yet it is super sweet. Vanillas and caramel are so intense and fruity. There's a bit of old store oak and leather. It's not super old whisky so it's not insanely complex but it has all those notes you get in complex bourbon just in a more 40 dollar form. Taste - waxy, old books, leather, cherry medicinal notes, oak, and of course vanilla and caramel. This is both simple and complex in such a wonderful way. There's so much going on but yet you could take it all in as if it is just a basic bourbon. That's so unique. Finish is pretty minimal. Just a standard bourbon here. I absolutely love how drinkable this is. I love the sweet profile. I love the fruity notes without the oak bite. This is my favorite bourbon without a heavy oak note. I might even like this one over the full proof which is crazy to say. That said, we're still talking younger bourbon. It's not super special so 3.5 is a crazy high score. I feel I'm just too biased in my fandom of this brand. I only regret I've not had any of their finished stuff.

OK finishing my stock of the unpeated Caol Ila's - until I find more. Nose - this one is complex. it's the salted caramels and vanilla's for sure. But there's something else going on. I get some fruity character which the box has me convinced now is strawberry. Oak is only on the very very back end and so subtle. Taste - Berries, soft sweetness, intense, man. Lets go in for another taste. It's strawberries, salt, and a sweet base that is like a toasted neutral bready note. Water brings forward some vanilla and cream but I'm still missing something on the sweet front. This drinks far under the 59.8% abv while still having so much intense flavor and such a creamy mouth feel. Caol Ila 18 is still a bold and over powering high abv dram like the 15, but it's such a nicer and softer and just better whisky. None of these Caol Ila's are overly complex but instead are over whelming in their intensity and down right great flavors. The 18 uses just american oak vs the 15 using american and european. Perhaps that's what keeps this one so much more enjoyable vs the overly harsh notes of the 15. I'd like more complexity here or just a better overall profile, but none the less great whisky. 3.75 due to how high quality this is. the price at 125 is ideal given 18 years and cask strength while being clearly not the highest quality casks and being a bit of an experiment. I will buy another if they're around for some time.

I've seen this as high at 180 bucks. I bought it on clearance for 100. Is it worth it at either price? 61.5% unpeated Caol Ila. Nose - first off the alcohol on the nose is really hard to get past. Salted vanilla and young oak. There isn't alot of sweet notes. The Stitchell Reserve which I last reviewed was so sweet and inviting, this is dry and a bit off putting due to the alcohol notes. Water (COLD water) tames the alcohol and brings out more of the salty notes and a touch of caramel maybe...it's more sweet oak I think. Taste - Oak and vanilla and islay salted malt seem to really be at issue here. Fighting each other and ending with oak bitter notes. Water brings out more salt, oak spice, hard to enjoy levels of spice. More water and that spice fades a hair but the heat and alcohol don't. It's creamy still, there's that caol ila malt which I'm a fan boy for but everything here is off putting, out of place, and the alcohol and wood are off. This is bold stuff folks. I don't want to say anything too negatives as I'm influenced by their simply FAR better examples of unpeated whisky. Still, this one is very much unrefined and harsh. This will appeal to a lot of people mind you. I'm going to however have to score it a 1.5. Most whisky drinkers won't enjoy the heat and aggressive nature of this. It just isn't a good example of unpeated cask strength Caol Ila. 150-180 is the normal price range and at that, it's a HUGE pass. I paid 100 and at that price, the high abv makes it a much more reasonable splurge. I'm not happy with it however even at that price.