Tastes

Nose: pear, honey, buttered rolls, malted grain Palate: honey, grain, wood spice, pear Overall, a decent whiskey. The spice comes out on the finish and ends with a distinct sweetness. It’s nothing incredible, but definitely worth a try.

Nose: dried herbs, moss, peat Palate: peat, sea salt… Overall, there is absolutely nothing special about Red Label. Is it bad? No. Is it complex? Absolutely not. There are very, very few distinct flavors to come from it. I suppose if you’re looking for something very lowkey to start inching towards peated scotch, it’s not a terrible option. Beyond that though, meh.

Nose: apple, pear, orange marmalade and honey Palate: malt, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and honey Overall, the mouthfeel was incredibly buttery and smooth. Monkey Shoulder is an extremely palatable scotch that is perfect for anyone trying to break into scotch and definitely worth the purchase.

Nose: cherry, banana, vanilla, caramel and cinnamon Palate: baker’s chocolate, vanilla, caramel, allspice Overall, incredible. One of the best whiskeys I’ve had the pleasure of owning and definitely one to keep on the shelf. The chocolate notes show up more and more the longer you drink it and it goes down beautifully. Not even a hint of an ethanol burn. Well done Buffalo Trace, well done.

Nose: wheat loaves of bread, clove and cinnamon, vanilla, caramel, and maple with a touch of cereal from the malted barley. A hidden note of apple and cherry lingers in the background, dominated by scents of dry hay and wood. Palate: sweet and sharp, with black pepper, barrel tannins, and cherry dominating. The finish is somewhat long and leaves behind memories of dried hay. Overall, not an incredibly complex whiskey. There are plenty of flavors to appeal to a broad audience. The wheat is not extremely dominating, leaving the wheated whiskey to come across more as a bourbon than anything else. At a reasonable price point, it's worth a try, but nothing jaw-dropping.

Nose: banana pudding. It's spot on. There are banana and vanilla notes right at the start, followed by grain notes that remind one of the vanilla wafers. It may seem odd to take a sip and think "yep spot on", but this bourbon nails it. Palate: (strong) banana, cinnamon spice, vanilla, corn, brown sugar I haven't tried Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 in a long time, but I thought I would revisit it for the sake of having it on my bar. It's a classic. I think it gets a lot of hate simply because it's so renowned. It's the "cheap" bourbon that everyone drinks to make themselves feel better. However, I disagree with this assessment. Is it interesting? No. Is it complex? Not really. But is it a classic whiskey that you can't go wrong with? Absolutely.

Nose: young (green is a good adjective) wood, vanilla, honey, caramel, spice Palate: oak (strongest), sweet corn and caramel, maple, cinnamon spice Finish: ends with a spicy orange citrus As is my favorite way to discover whisk(e)ys, I randomly picked up this bottle of Hirsch Small Batch off of the shelf. For the price point, I was very pleasantly surprised. On the nose, the ethanol smell is a little off-putting. However, once you get past that there are some beautiful notes that appear. However, many of these notes are pretty typical "bourbon" notes. It's the taste and the finish that truly make the bourbon enjoyable. On the palate, it's bitter at first but gives way to delightfully sweet notes. The finish completes the experience with a fiery burst of citrus that comes from deep in the throat. Overall, very much worth a try.

Nose: grain, apple, honey, pear, nutmeg Palate: brown sugar, pear, honey, vanilla I grabbed the bottle because I was curious—never had a single malt whiskey that wasn’t a scotch. It tastes very much like Glenvlivet 12 (or any other Speyside for that matter) which is intriguing in itself. Overall, not a bad pick! And not particularly expensive, so certainly worth a try.

Nose: wheat bread, cinnamon, vanilla, cereal, burnt sugar and leather Palate: creamy with notes of vanilla, burnt sugar, bitter chocolate Finish: quick and sweet with a touch of cinnamon Honestly, a whisky that doesn’t deserve any hate. It’s inexpensive, serves as a classic wheated bourbon, and could very easily be a daily drinker. Have friends over and want to share something with them?Maker’s Mark is a great go-to.