Tastes

Price: $37.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset curled up next to me. Color: I’ll call it amontillado sherry Nose: There’s a lot going on here. Honey, light peat, a fruity note I’ll call pear, faint smoke and brine. Every time I sniff I get different peripheral notes. (20/25) Taste: Caramel, peat, brine, a hint of smoke, honey, perhaps a little citrus. (42/50) Finish: Medium length. Lots of honey. (17/25) Conclusion: Highland Park 12 is an interesting whisky. It’s kind of a jack of all trades in terms of flavor profiles, but also a master of none, and I personally like my peaty whiskies peatier and my sherry whiskies sherrier. The nose is nice, and the taste is pleasant, but I find the finish rather short and not particularly interesting (the honey is tastes good but it’s the only note I get). It’s certainly worth trying, but I don’t fully understand all the hype for this, and would probably not buy another bottle. 79/100

Lagavulin 16 was the first Islay I ever tried, and I remember thinking it tasted like solvent. Thankfully, my palate has developed since then. Onward, to the review: Price: $84.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound resting in my lap. Color: Amber. Nose: Peat, campfire smoke, band-aid, leather, caramel (18/25 points) Taste: Smoke, peat, band-aid, meat, tobacco ash, caramel, and toffee. There is a fair amount of sweetness mixed in with all the savory peat-related notes. Nice mouthfeel, with a fair amount of heat for the ABV. (45/50 points) Finish: Medium-long duration. The peaty flavors make a quick exit, leaving a refreshing minty flavor that lingers. Really pleasant. (23/25) points) Conclusion: Lagavulin 16 is a fine whisky. It's got tons of complexity, excellent mouthfeel, and a refreshing finish. All that being said, I don't love the price. I've seen people on here pick this up for ~$55 USD, which I'd say is good value, but it's ~$85 USD near me which feels a little overpriced. 86/100

**Price:** $21.97 at Richard’s in Houston, Texas **Setting:** Neat in a Glencairn, with as fat basset snoring next to me. **Color:** Copper. **Nose:** Baked apples, oak, vanilla, and cinnamon. Really nice. **(22/25)** **Taste:** Classic bourbon flavors of oak, cherry, apples, cinnamon, vanilla, corn, and some heat. Sweet and very easy to drink. **(46/50)** **Finish:** Short. Oak, cinnamon, and a slight alcohol burn. **(16/25)** **Conclusion:** This is a great bourbon, especially for the price. It’s fairly one-dimensional, but it hits the classic bourbon profile and tastes delicious. It was the first bourbon I started drinking with any regularity and remains one of my staples, as it handily beats most other $20 and under bourbons. **84/100**

For those of you unfamiliar with Grangestone, it is one of Total Wine’s house brands, and they have both NAS and aged offerings, as well as blends. It’s a William Grant & Sons product, with the word on the street that it is likely distilled at their Kininvie distillery. I think Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is the only other rum finish I have tried, so I picked a bottle up, as it sounded kind of interesting and unusual (and was pretty inexpensive). **Abv:** 40% **Price:** $28.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas **Setting:** Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound half in my lap. **Color:** Orange **Nose:** Tequila with salt, rum, baked apples, and baking spices. It smells really promising, with two different profiles that duel it out: one that is a dead ringer for tequila with salt, and the other that is more rum-like in character. Both of them are pleasant. **(18/25 points)** **Taste:** Oranges, baked apples, baking spices, and cloves. Well that went south quickly. The rum flavors are there, but everything tastes dull and flat. **(25/50 points)** **Finish:** Short. Alcohol, honey, and cloves. Blink and it’s gone. **(7/25) points)** **Conclusion:** This is pretty terrible stuff. The nose starts out promising, and then the taste and finish really go off a cliff. I do wonder if it degraded some in the bottle, as I opened this particular bottle about five months ago and I remember it being more mediocre than bad. I’ll still finish the bottle, but this experience has turned me off to Grangestone. If anyone else has tried any other Grangestone products, I’d be curious to hear your experiences. **50/100**

Tasty and very smooth. I tried it both neat and with a high ball - it was definitely better neat. That being said, I don't think this is worth the price, and I can't imagine buying this on my own dime.

Pleasant but unremarkable.

Price: $51.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset running in its sleep next to me. Color: Reddish amber, with some green hues in there. Nose: Fruitcake, toffee, raisins, orange rind, baked apples, and cereal. It really is a fantastic nose – I could sit here enjoying the aromas of this all evening. (24/25) Taste: White grapes, caramel, dried fruit, cereal, oak, and some slight smoke. Its good but could benefit from a higher ABV. (42/50) Finish: Medium length. Gingerbread, white grapes, dried fruit, and cinnamon rolls. (17/25) Conclusion: Macallan 12 is good stuff (particularly the nose). It, along with Talisker, were what got me into whiskey, and I’ll always have a soft spot for it. That being said, you’re paying for the name, and one can do better for the price. I’d love to try this at a higher proof, but don’t know that I’d want to pay Macallan prices to do so. 83/100