Tastes

As described. Rich and full. Peanut and cocoa.

Fabulous especially for the $$. Rich and decadent. Tons of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Must be hi rye. Long. Dark fruit also. Batch 20-38.

Plenty of smoke and peat. As it opens, peat recedes and it smells quiet, with a hint of pear and cinnamon. After 30ish minutes of being open, does become pretty unique. On palette, smoke is present and strong but so is lots of cinnamon. I do get a hint of pear and of course, malt. Ends oaky, much more bourbon and oak then sherry - can’t really pick up the sherry. Finish disappears faster than most from Islay. Very salty on the finish with just a touch of orange and camphor.

Nose of fresh fruit and hint of coconut. Young rubber. Simple. Nice though. Palette continues that. Well balanced, straightforward barley and honey, young. Walnut and a touch of vanilla. Really nice to drink. Ends with nice touch of salt. Warm. Good one that doesn’t require much thought to enjoy.

Nose that is young and some rubber. Then raisins. As it opens, chocolate appears with honey vanilla and light ester. Maybe even some rye? On the palette, the youth comes across. Sure, barley is present - cereal dominates. Spicy. Some black pepper and ends salty with touch of chocolate. Short, and definitely heads off pretty quick. Quite dry. I get it though - a young whisky treated well, that shows off the barley without being overly influenced by wood. Simple and well made.

Pale Gold. Aroma of smoked pear. Touch of airplane glue, but not in a bad way. Some toffee sits in the back and evolves into full-on maple syrup. Some orange spice. Taste, brings the smoke but subtler than I was expecting. Present, and more of a burnt smoke but mixing quite nicely with a cereal flavor. Fruity on the back end, definitely some sweet orange and green fruit. Smoke turns into ash. Finishes medium long, not quite as long as expected. Does disappear a bit mid palette.

Of course, starts with strong sherry. Opens a bit and some airplane glue. Dried fig and coconut as it opens. Smell does begin to improve as the airplane glue dissolves. Let it open further, and more dried fruit, after about 40 minutes. Oh yea, the caramel is now there with light chocolate! On palette, surprising spice appears with baking spice and even some pepper. Vanilla in back. Liking it now more than I was expecting! Also raisin. A nice toasty fruit cake. Yea, kind of didn’t want to like this one so much as I am annoyed with Macallan, but it is a mighty fine drink.

Straw+Gold in color. Nose punches well above its weight class. Lots going on, touch of peat and some salt, with plenty of honey. After open for a while, more appears including some raw meat and fresh vanilla. Let this one stay open for an hour plus, and it continues to evolve. The orange turns to cherry and apple. On palette, again - great value going on here. Some estery orange, with Cambletown sea spray, toffee. And enough smoke. Orange, almonds, and butterscotch. Touch of black pepper for sure. That smoke and salt comes on just perfect. Gets sweeter as it opens. Just a ton going on and really good value. Really rich. $ for $, one of the best. Could drink it all day. Hard to find a better value at this price.

The light straw color belies the power of what is to come. Ocean air mixes with baking spices and wonderful fruit and opens quickly. Fruitcake, with a mix of fresh and dried fruit. Vanilla mixes in in great balance. Honey. At the end, plenty of salt and just a hint of smoke. Wonderful.