Tastes

I see there's some debate on if this is exclusively sherry finished or bourbon and sherry. If this is all sherry, I seriously wonder what kind of cask they were. Nose - Heavy vanilla and butter with a light fruity finish. A touch of sour fruits. Taste - A touch sour, some wood funk, vanilla. Spices on the end. Finish - here the sherry comes out leaving a nice sherry finish and some good spices. This is a great deal when the question is "oldest whisky for the price" but is it a deal at 150 dollars? On that note I have to say overwhelmingly no. This just isn't very good. Bottle has been open for about a week. Pour was let sit out over 40 minutes. Water was added after initial tasting.

Continuing to go through my current bottles - about 120 or so left to go. This will be fun! Going in, I've had this opened since release but I've not had too many pours of it. My first impressions were pretty poor so lets see if it's gotten better or I've changed. Nose - peach and mango with an oily waxy back. Some earthy tones as well on the finish. There's a nice vanilla and spice note at the end as well. Much more sweet and vanilla than citrus or spicey. Taste - Up front the fruits and vanillas stay in the very dessert pastry level. The finish overwhelms with an explosion of alcohol, spice, and a swirling of cream fruit cocktails. There remains a woody and bitter finish that really pulls this together. Finish - medium-medium long without much nuance or changes. There however is a nice lingering finish, really nicely done. This has really come along for me. I early on was pretty disappointed, but I've come to really like it. The sweat notes are well balanced. There is nice complexity. I thought I'd paid about 200 for this, but looking at prices it seems I paid 180. Worth it at that price? I have to say, I think it's well worth it. If you're into sweater scotch you really should seek this out.

One Compass Box's more interesting bottle designs and I love these clear cases they put their nicer bottles into. Nose - There's certainly a lot of alcohol on the nose which given that less than 25% of this is 21 years and younger is a bit surprising (and 20% is 21 years old so only 3.6% is less than 21 years old). There's a nice bit of vanilla. I get the sherry notes come through bringing but there's a lot of alcohol with them. Water cuts into the alcohol and brings out a bit of floral notes as well as some green apples. Taste - The mouth feel is super creamy. Vanilla, nutty notes, cream, some kind of custard. It's really hard to explain this vanilla, and cream and nutty notes with a heck of a lot of heat still on it. More water brings out more of these nutty note and this old antique store wood finish. I've always really said I loved this but with some time away and more whisky, I must say this is incredibly unique, really different, and a really must try whisky for whisky geeks. But at 300 a bottle it is a hard recommendation. Thus a solid 3 score.

Release batch 2. Bottle 586/700 Open for about 7-9 months. "This blended bourbon would be about 18 to 20% of a 9 year old light whiskey, with the majority of the blend being 12 year old bourbon, followed by some 19 year old bourbon to give it more depth and complexity. " From Nancy herself on this batch 2 blend. Of course I'll leave out the notes on the wine finish, well beyond me wheel house to discuss. OK so color has that dark old bourbon note. A touch cloudy perhaps even, very viscous. Nose - rich, dusty, I get a lot of cognac notes, and yet there's a white sweet note. Once opened - huge vanillas, tobacco, oak, leather, and that white sweet note from the finishing. Taste - Rich, oaky, dry, yet has a sweet over tone. Rich sweetness, coating the mouth, it's really good. I remember this being better when i first opened it up. The pineau des charentes casks are really one dimensional at this point. Sweet, long, lingering but not really adding what I recall. The bottle is still past the half way point, it seems this bottle doesn't oxidize well. That said I'm still giving this 4 stars. It's really great bourbon but it's missing out on complexity to push it higher and the 160 price is well out of line for most bourbon drinkers.

It won't be long until we'll all be longing for the days before the marketing department ruined Balblair. These vintage statements as a brand staple were truly awesome and really set Balblair apart, sadly we'll now be getting boring age statements and the premium value in the brand will fade a touch. Nose - light honey, vanilla, pepper, baking spice, and light citrus. Taste - Plenty of vanilla, butter, spicy (european oak is shinning on this area), and apples. Just a really nice complex whisky but I get a nice oily and buttery note that kinda brings it all together instead of leaving the flavors dancing around. This was my first Balblair and it has had me seeking out more expressions. Sadly I've only been able to source younger ones without the sherry casks. I really like this one and I'm deeply saddens to see the brand leaving their roots in the pursuit to raise prices through marketing tactics.

Nose - is fresh apples, pears, citrus, vanilla, and just all those golden fruits and light sweetness that comes with them. A nice alcohol burn and then a light woody note just brings it all together into an incredibly nice whisky. Taste - A lot more spice and a touch of that apple sourness. A lot more vanilla and yes honey. If the opening was citrus summer, the flavor profile is late October citrus. It's no longer a hot summer where you want those fruits, but you're ready for a touch of spice and cider with your apples and pears. I've had this one open for nearly a year now, and it's just gotten better. A really light dram that is as complex as you could hope for but is incredibly light and fruity. This isn't my normal wheel house as I tend to enjoy more of the darker flavors and deeper notes, but I'm absolutely in love with this. As I ponder this more and more, I am getting a touch of smoke I originally thought was spice and oak. But no, I'm wrong...there is a light hint of ever so slight peat here to add that additional complexity. What an incredibly well thought out addition. 200 dollar price points should scare off a lot of buyers but if you're into this profile, even if 200 is out of your comfort zone, save up for a bottle if you can find it. If you spend 200 on bottles regularly, even if this isn't your wheel house get it. I know I'm giving a lot of 3+ scores but I'm so far reviewing some of my best whiskies. I have no intention of making 4's a common score.

Hands down the best thing Wild Turkey has done. Nose - cherry, vanilla, oak, bready, jam, pie crust. It might have a touch of medicinal note as well though i see that as more a jam thing. taste - opens sweet and fruity with jams and dark fruits. then shifts to a nutty almost beam like nut. then it shifts back and gives me that wild turkey oaky finish. This bottle has been open about 8 months and is just below the halfway point. It's just great bourbon. It's not exceptional, it's only 13 years, and wild turkey really isn't a premium bourbon brand imo. Still, the sherry finish really hides some of wild turkey's cheaper flavor points. I'd get another bottle at the 130 range but I think that ship has sailed. If you like sherry bourbon this is a must get even at the premium pricing. If sherry bourbon isn't your thing BUT this price point is in your wheel house and you're not against sherry notes in your bourbon, I'd consider this one as well.

The appearance gives me the impression this is heavy on the refilled sherry casks. Rather light in color for a sherry bomb, still a strong amber color that's 3-4 shades darker than golden. Though with scotch, it's always iffy to even discuss the color, this one thankfully lets us know it is natural color! Nose - I've never gotten so much butter scotch on a nose before. Just a huge bomb of butter scotch with light milk chocolate behind it. I have to dig deep to find the dark fruits behind that just absolute dessert bomb on the nose. At the end I get the lightest bit of bready oak to finish it off. A drop of water brings out more of the sherry notes, the figs, raisins, dates, etc. That said there's far more dessert still on here. There's also a distinct cherry like note, I almost want to describe a Manhattan without the bourbon oak. Taste - A total and complete dessert scotch. I'm just getting wave after wave after wave of flavor. Every time I think the scotch is done, I just get another wave of flavor. I've had at least 6 distinct waves just on the first taste. Vanilla, chocolate, butter scotch, dark red fruits, perhaps a cherry, baked cherry pie crust, maybe a touch of ginger. Water oddly brings out a bit more of an alcohol spark and brings in some spices with the oak tannin. I have no idea how I've managed to not kill this bottle. It's absolutely incredible. Make no mistake this is not an older scotch but this is a darn near perfect example of a CS scotch. 4 point score is not something i give lightly, but unless you hate sherry or the 70-90 price points is well outside of your price range, this is a must buy.

Longrow 14 year Sherry Cask - 57.8% if that doesn't sound like heaven, I'm not sure what does. Amber color, slow forming legs, very much what you'd expect. I however don't believe this is a first fill sherry cask (bottle confirms, refilled). That said it has a nice color, these aren't overly used casks for sure. The nose gives off that springbank funk, peat, meaty salty savory, then finishes with dark fruits raisins, plums, a touch of chocolate powder, and a touch of sour notes from the sherry. A touch of water brings out more of a candy fruit note and pushes the funk and salt notes back a bit. That sour sherry note really comes out in the opening, followed by bitterness, funk, salt, and springbank's barely notes. I get hints of soy sauce as well. Water is bringing out some vanilla but the fruity soy sauce and now that springbank BBQ is coming through. Not much of a finish. Just somewhat fades from the super powerful opening. Leaves a bit of vanilla and oak on the back end. so let me walk through my rating here. A 3.0 is a whisky that you buy if it is to your profile and it is in your price range. Anything above you start to step out of your standard choices or you go a bit over your conformable spending zone. Below that and you start need a sale or perhaps you just pass on it all together. This is the saltiest springbank product I have had to date, it's dry and not overly sweat, and while it gives me all the notes I like in a longrow they're not shining through. As a result it's just a touch below a 3. I however think anyone who's a huge fan of these will still want to get this one.

I was never going to buy this after their odd comments, but a friend sent me a sample and I had a bottle the next day. Nose - Salt, vanilla, peach, cream, and a touch of green apple. Taste - Soft alcohol, fruity, vanilla, and tonight I'm getting a fairly decent amount of toasted oak. I'm getting a bit of a mix between a white bread and a light pastry with vanilla icing on it. Then there's that touch of citrus jelly almost like a jelly filled doughnut way in the back. There's a touch of bitter from the oak on the end, perhaps a touch of tea. Finish - here those salty and savory notes come back in with a rich vanilla. Compass Box has had a few misses lately and their prices are certainly creeping up as the age of the spirit goes down, but this one really is one of their best from the last few years.