Tastes
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Highland Park 12 Year Viking Honour
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed November 23, 2018 (edited September 21, 2019)In my opinion Highland Park whiskey exemplifies everything a scotch can be. The peat on Orkney is unique. It is still recognizable as peat but has a vegetative quality that other regions don’t seem to have. The sherry cask aging gives depth and complexity to the sweetness. It has a richness that others don’t match. There is just enough spice on the finish to keep it interesting. All of the flavors are perfectly balanced. By far my favorite distillery yet. The 18 year takes all of these things to the next level, but when the budget doesn’t allow for that the 12 year is still one of the best scotches for the money. -
Ezra Brooks 90 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 9, 2018 (edited January 3, 2019)Nose: sweet, vanilla, floral, banana Palate: a little hot initially, spicy, fruity, banana, floral, sweet Finish: medium to short length, mild spice, sweet, fruity Sweet and bananas are the main characteristics. Not as much wood influence as I prefer to see in a bourbon, but for the price it is good. -
Evan Williams Green Label
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 31, 2018 (edited January 21, 2021)Nose: sweet, mildly fruity, a little bit of oak spice, a faint deet smell Palate: a hint of bananas, sweet Finish: short, spicy, some lingering sweetness You really have to search to get much aroma from this one. The taste is fleeting and not complex at all. There just isn’t much to it. Nothing about it is offensive but it’s not that interesting either. It’s cheap, but so is the black label from the same brand, and while it’s not outstanding either it is more interesting and enjoyable. -
Speyburn 10 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed October 18, 2018 (edited October 22, 2019)Nose: sweet, honey, mild fruitiness Palate: sweet, honey Finish: short to medium length, sweet A very easy drinking scotch with sweetness as the main characteristic. -
Nose: rich oak, spice, sweet, a hint of bananas Palate: spicy, sweet, bananas Finish: medium long, alcohol heat, spicy, sweet, a little fruity This is a complex bourbon with a lot of barrel influence. I really enjoyed the aroma and taste but the alcohol heat and spice on the finish were a little much for my taste. Overall very good. I see why it gets a lot of good reviews.
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Caol Ila 12 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed September 26, 2018 (edited September 30, 2018)Nose: medicine peat, sweet, fruity (apple/pear), mild spice, crisp Palate: peat predominates, spice, sweet, a little fruity Finish: peat, spice Definitely an Islay. It tastes more nuanced and refined other Islays I’ve had. It is a heavily peated scotch, which I like, but manages to still have a delicate nature to it that most Islays don’t. Overall very enjoyable. -
John Barr Blended Scotch Reserve Blend
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed September 20, 2018 (edited December 22, 2019)Nose: sweet, mild peat, a little bit of malt, mild spice, very little of the grain alcohol astringency Palate: mild peat, spicy, sweet, a little bit of malt Finish: medium length, spicy, a little bit of peat, kind of a toffee/oak flavor Overall a lot better an more complex than I was expecting for a $23 blended scotch. A lot of similarities to Johnnie Walker Black, which is what it appears they were going for. Without trying them side by side it’s hard to say which I like better, but the John Barr I think is a better value since it’s about $15 less.
Results 41-50 of 96 Reviews