Tastes

2021 edition - not sure why we haven't moved these towards year or batch numbers but here we are. This one is 50:50 sherry and bourbon. Nose - Old school sherry giving off grape notes which I adore on sherry casks. Gives me vibes of old world sherry. The springbank is turned back, still sea salt and light baked sugar cookies come through but they're pushed back for clean vanilla and that amazing just outstanding sherry. Taste - The bourbon casks really jump out here. You get sherry and vanilla heavy bourbon and then more sherry. Grapes, figs, raisins, chocolate, perfect oak enhancements, goodness...I can't express how great this is. This takes the second batch from 2020 which was this dirty old school springbank funk bomb and goes the opposite. Almost old school macallan or cadenhead HP sherry casks. Sadly this isn't 100% those epic sherry casks but perhaps we're being saved from our own stupidity as the bourbon plays wonderfully here. Anyway 4.0. Springbank is just getting better. Sadly god knows how many people are going to just buy these to invest.

This will make my 3rd bottle of Glenallachie...a distillery I haven't yet bonded with. This time around it is the 7th edition of these 10 year old CS bottles. This one had a staggering 60,000 bottles made, massively up from what was already a huge release for batch 6. I've already got all kinds of concerns about quality with that kind of production increase. This has the same formula of the last few release. PX, Oloroso, virgin oak, and some kind of red wine cask (I think it's red). Sounds a bit messy, but I'm hoping it's going to impress me. Nose - I smells like some kind of medicinal oak to start and then I start getting rancid red wine notes. There's horse hair and blankets. I'm unfortunately not thinking "oh something went wrong" because I had the 15 year which while much more enjoyable, certainly gave me some similar profile notes. Even the 29 year old single cask I have gives me similar "WTF" oak notes. Powering through the unpleant oak and wine, I get nice berries, hints of chocolate, and frankly a nice sherry element. I'm starting to think some of these off notes are their malt though I seem to recall having an ex bourbon IB that was fairly nice. Taste - The taste thankfully is much less difficult. Sweet, warming, rich and complex flavors really rush to you surface, I'll need some time to address these. Right off the batch it's chocolate and sherry goodness with a thick sweet malt. That then meetes some umami/wine and heavy oak...this combined with a nutty and barn like malt element. I'm thinking some kind of steak sauce meets farm elements, meets baking chocolate, and then just big old oak elements. I can't say I hate it, but I can't say I want to drink it either. Heavy water brings it into more of a chocolate oak with a bit of still and butter scotch and still some barn funk. I think I like it more with the heavy water? Guys I have nothing on how to score this. I'll give it a 1.5. It's under 100 bucks in the UK. It's CS and the color is at least natural. For that alone I guess it's ok. But I don't really understand who is looking for this whisky.

Fresh off the presses we have a new series frmo Balvenie, a french oak series. This spend 16 years in traditional casks and then a few months in french oak pineau casks which seems rather short but even on the nose here, it did it's job. Nose - The nose is surprisingly bold and unbalanced for a balvenie. There's the classic Balvenie with honey malt and rich sweet candied malts. Then you get some fairly rough oak notes, perhaps even a short maturation brought in some french oak spice but wow if that's where it is coming from, that got into the whisky fast. Then there's this very strong white wine note. Sweet and sour with fairly strong oak elements. I get some honey comb cereal, vanilla, almost slightly sour frosting, There's a very rich dessert note that seems to blend that rich vanilla frosting and some kind of sour fruit preserve and grains. Really strong aroma and very interesting. Taste - it's exactly what you'd expect. Classic Balvenie malt, that dark honey and sweet play off the "traditional" oak casks. Good spice from oak. Very nice oak levels, more than expected. The wine is clearly sweet with sugars and distinct white wine. I'm not getting any distinct wine notes I can pull out but to be frank, I'm not a wine guy so there's more here, but I can't really draw out any special notes. Though I'm not just not a wine guy but I've never even bought a white wine, a few red's but never white. Toasted oak on the finish as well. I have no idea how this has this much oak character. It makes me assume the french oak marketing isn't just bs. 2.25. It's perfectly fine, just above average whisky. I like it and we'll see how it develops, but for now that's a fair score. I like it, I'm glad I have it, I won't buy another bottle but this finish isn't my favorite thing.

This is batch 5. This will be a quick review. Nose - You'll hate me but it's bourbon lol. Vanilla, charred oak, and clean clean bourbon notes. The age comes out with almost magic black art swilling and glass exchanges to get this out. This isn't a negative and if anything wow we have classic bourbon without any real flaws or bad character and it's good bourbon notes. Nothing special but it's good! Taste - Here the spice and bite of oak aren't being held back. Thought the finish is starting creamy then dropping to watery and it's all yummy vanilla and oak and spice. There's a fruit here and while barton gets the apple fruit note and cinnamon spice.....I can't make any of those official claims here. It's not a clear flavor. It's sweet and balanced and the alcohol notes aren't offensive. But man, it's kind of generic. There's smoke, bit of Tabaco, Just kinda hot alcohol. Yeah it's well... final notes This is about as good as average bourbon gets. And that's what this is. This is your gold standard for good bourbon at an average level. I like that this doesn't scream barton but it doesn't scream it isn't. I love the balance. I just like this whisky, but it's pretty average. 2.25 score seems about right. This is a whisky to drink and maybe get drunk on. But it's a drinker not to be taken seriously despite the price. Not one to save or savor. But it's lovely for that goal.

Lagavulin 12 is BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After having the 2019 lagavulin 12, I was legit concerned that lagvulin has simply lost their way. It's now been nearly a decade since their last epic release (the 25 year from 2015) and it's been a rough few years for the brand. So i'm here to gleefully tell you all, lagavulin is BACK! Nose - OMG...it's lagavulin 12! Sea salt, slightly almost fishy oysters, that rich powerful classic lagavulin malt, fresh fruits, oils and wax, huge peat as only lag can do, vanilla, smoke, and yes a touch of youthful still malt still is barley here. Taste - Huge lagavulin malt, biting bitter levels of peat, alcohol, touches of oak, huge vanilla, huge smoke fire, clean, aristocratic levels of peat....everything you want in a damn laga 12! Lag 12 is not a whisky imo that the tasting notes or nosing notes really explains. It's a HUGE whisky. It's giant, it's bold, and it's truly amazing as an experience as much as it is a taste experience. This is almost a sensory experience. And this does it better than ANY lag 12 I have had. I actually even compared this one to the 17 and 18 releases and while great, this blew them away. So what's wrong with this whisky? Well, it's still a 12 year that's aged in refilled bourbon casks. You can still tell that and that brings some light sour notes, some of that as I like to call it sour lacose/milk, but it's so subtle here that it's like a nuance vs a flaw. It's a bit more salty than I'd maybe ideally want? But lets do the real test, lets water it down to hell! So I'm now looking at a roughly 50% water mix. Upfront yes that youthful still note is there. God, the finish is still nice lol. It's boring now but I can't detect any real missed flaws either. Wow, normally these younger expressions with this much water start to really show some tannic or acidic or just off elements. Nothing here. OK so score? You ready? 3.75 and I'm debating 4 stars. Buy 2 guys!

Picked one of these up a few weeks ago, I doubt mike and I get to reviewing it....we might? I'm torn on us doing a few quality entry level bottles or not. They do well but you know...brand stuff. Anyway. Nose - worm wood in the house! Funky, vanilla, chewy chocolate, plastic, hints of sulfur, toasted toffee, artificial caramel...i can't really do this justice. It's that worm wood element with not much age, not much barrel char, no peat, and playing with these sweet non fruit elements. Taste - Well now I get some peat like notes. Great rich complex funky nutty oak and weird hard candies you'd have found at your grandmother's house. Hints of sour, hints of bitter, with good sweet without being sugar driven elements. Honestly, this is really dang dang good stuff. I'm at 3.0. It's just really enjoyable. It isn't old, it isn't high abv, it's nice.

I think what's in here has been well enough documented. So lets just jump in? Nose - So for me at least this is pretty classic compass box, really old in nature, and not much more. I think the low abv is a serious concern here. So yellowed paper, leather, and I guess old wood shelving? I can't say that I'm getting that per say. A bit of leather for sure. Some musty notes, but I'm just thinking vanilla from bourbon barrels. Maybe that's me. Does the grain really come in or is that the macallan first fill bourbon? Who knows. Some hints of red fruits and vague chocolate as well. It's really just well aged and balanced whisky, you'd never think blend otherwise. The peat is minimal. Taste - The proof just doesn't hold up at all up front. Really nice creamy vanilla, white fudge. Really simple up front. Once you swallow the mouth is coated with rich OLD world whisky. There's a LOT of older HP elements coming out here. Good touches of heather honey and light peat. Rich old oaks. Water doesn't seem to do much here. I went light on the pour and the water so there is that. Slight reduction in the oak and leather on the nose, mild push towards more vanilla. Similar changes to the taste. Rich old whisky, muted with age, and not worth this price point for most geeks. This is a whisky for a macallan fan who believes in their pricing and is happy to pay it. Still, it's good stuff. 3.0 and only because of the finish. At this weight and body it really should be closer to a 2.0.

Got a sample and I won't be able to fully get into this one, but I'll start my notes here. Nose - What in the HELL? Blasts me with alcohol, red wine, medicinal, funky...weird...rotting fruits? What in the world? As it opens distinct oloroso starts to come out, still, this medicinal funk and smoke is permeating from the glass. This is about as aromatic as any whisky has ever been. This is SHOCKINGLY bold on the nose. There isn't even 1/4 oz of whisky in this glass. A few more minutes later and smoked vanilla, ash, and freshly burned light oak. Lovely , classic Laphroaig has escaped these crazy sherry casks. Taste - Mineral lemon/lime, smoked to hell in the glass. Transitioning to the most perfect smoked lime funk. This is the 25 turned up on the linger, turned up on the smoke, and just rich. Now where is that sherry? Oh yeah it's there up front. More red fruit forward, perhaps a hint of chocolate ever so subtle, but it's there. Oh god....mint huge mint. I need more time with this but for now 4.25. Amazing well aged Laphroaig with a mouth and body that rivals anything. The real show piece is that mineral laphroiag lemon lime thing. It's so much more chalky mineral than most. Unbelievable punch of flavor.

So, let me give you my thoughts on old carter. Their bourbons are over priced, well blended younger MGP that you don't really want to pay for imo! Unless you LOVE MGP. Their rye to me is pretty good but I don't drink enough rye to give advice. But the AMERICAN? Oh...........that's different. A blend of bourbon and light whisky from MGP, it's been amazing and this is the oldest yet at 14 years! Nose - old light whisky! It's pretty alcohol forward. Very vanilla cream pie meets generic vanilla, meets, some kind of vanilla cleaner. Some oak and pastry. Clean simple wood and alcoholic as heck. Taste - Really good simple light whisky. It's big bold rich and everything you expect from a 14 year MGP light whisky. The problem? It's 240 bucks, it's old carter, and it's not up to their standards. Lets be adults and do a quick comp to their first american, the STANDARD they set for us. The nose is richer more creamy and more bourbon and chocolate forward. The taste and mouthfeel are nothing similar. Butter scotch and viscous elements are all over, a bit more unrefined, it burns, but god the flavors are better. The 14 is really nice, creamy simple vanilla and some just light whisky notes...and that's the thing. This drinks like 14 year old MGP light whisky with no bourbon or no other complex finishing. IT's good it's nice and it's over priced. I'm at a 1.75 here. I love the american 1 and it's way better. This isn't bad, but what in the hell is with this price? I'm sorry but this is missing for me. 240+ behind a 500 point pay wall to get the right to buy. This is a pass imo.

I don't get this whisky...so...I'm going to write a fast review out of my norm. This doesn't come off as a bourbon or a rye at all. Neither make sense. So instead of my normal nosing and tasting notes lets just get into it. This comes off as a youthful without the negative elements of sour and alcohol bite or thin grain vokda elements that many young distilleries do (or even the big boys when they go YOUNG). Chocolates, creamy toffee, caramel, vanilla, and just kinda waxy malt balls are here. This is a youthful without being YOUNG grain forward whisky, with a nice abv, good body, and well done product. I just don't know what this is....it doesn't taste at all like a bourbon or a rye. It's a unique product. Score? Oh man, I do tend to spend money on new riff, but I can't say I think they're more than just a distillery who is finding a way to make young whisky come off rich, creamy, and sometimes flavorful. This nails all the quality mouth feel notes and all the yummy new riff things. But it's kinda generic too. 2.50. I'm scoring this so heavily on the mouth feel but it's an experience whisky and for that they get a good score.