Tastes

Angel's envy - let's start with the packaging and color as I love both. The dark amber color combined with a shapely bottle reminds me the type of women I love: curvy, sweet but with a hint of strength, and tan. So this is an easy drinking bourbon. A bit sweet for me but a few drops of water dial back just a hint and let me enjoy some of the more subtle flavors like a hint of wood and spice. If this was a song, it's be the Thong Song. A crowd pleaser, sexy and fun. Let me see that dram. I'd give it 4 stars. It’s solid.

Tasted 2/16/2015 - sweet scents are the first thing I smell (honey, vanilla, apricot). To me not a clean crisp citrus scent - more heavy fruits / syrupy. That's it! A maple syrup (real Canadian) flavor and even to a small degree consistency. This thing is a desert to me. But a nice one. I can see where this cleanses the pallette and would pair well with cheese and as an after dinner drink. I originally didn't think it lingered much, but as I keep drinking it I can tell ya that it does indeed hang around. It has a beautiful viscosity on the tongue which reminds me (just the "oiliness" that is) of Old Pulteney Navigator's coating (none of the flavor, just the weight). After tasting neat, I added a couple of drops of water and it toned down the heat a bit. But the last test of adding an ice cube and bringing the temperature down is the one that paid off for me in toning down the alcohol burn and really letting me explore the flavors a bit more. And this is how I would drink this moving forward. I could really enjoy this after dinner. At 92 proof it sure isn't a ballad. But it's definitely closer to a slow song than anything else (listen to Louis Armstrong's version of In The Mood For Love and that's kinda what this reminds me of). For the right moment, a great song. But not one I'd keep in the everyday playlist.

Just starting to explore whiskies, and this one is interesting to me. I agree with others who say that there is a heat and alcohol burn when taking your first sip. The flavor was hard for me to figure out - kind of muddled between crisp/refreshing and woodsie. I'd suggest pushing past first impressions. This is a fun little scotch with some hidden allure. Add a little water and the heat gets taken down a notch. I don't pick up a lot of fruit flavors (but I admit I need to work on my pallete and vocabulary so that one day I can also describe whiskies as having hints of monkey halos sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and a lingering hints of carmelized bee wings). Anyway - for my Neolithic description I'd say it reminds me of the beach. But not a sunny day at the beach, more like a cool Fall day early morning on the beach. Texture is oily - but not in a bad way. I enjoyed the way it coated my mouth and lingered after each drink. Not a lingering flavor, but a lingering feeling. Like a woman you may end up marrying, first impressions from across the room may be best ignored - walk over and say hi. This is a fun whisky. I like it.