Tastes

Nose: sweet fruity (plum and cherry), oaky, chicory, peppery but more like green peppercorn not just black pepper, (buttery maybe?). Taste: sweet sherry/wine up front with the plum being the primary fruit flavor, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, oaky tannin, as it fades the oak becomes more pronounced and the spices really take off, pepper comes on at the end and oddly a sort of cola-type flavor without the saccharine sweetness of drinking soda, but it works really well with the rest of the flavors so not at all unpleasant.

Nose: sweet, powdered sugar upfront turning to caramelized sugar at the end of the inhale, vanilla, charred oak, Taste: acidic upfront (citrus? can’t pinpoint), grassy upfront if I exhale through my nose, charred oak, burnt marshmallow, smoky as it fades, earthy like beets.

Nose: plum, caramel, chicory spiciness, apple cider Taste: oak, grass, apple, honey, little spice heat at the finish, so smooth

Nose: raisins, gasoline Taste: earthy, raisins

Nose: grapes, oak, honey, baking spices? Taste: cherry, nutmeg, oak, wine

Nose: sweet and fruity, apple, creme brûlée, nuttty like pecan, earthy. Taste: oak, toffee, punch of citrus as it fades Far superior to the Elgin Classic. Worth paying a little more for this 12yr.

Nose: oaky gasoline Taste: sweeter than expected, oak, vanilla extract, a little peppery, not very complex. Would work fine as a mixer, won’t drink neat.

Solid average daily scotch. Noses fairly strong alcohol with oak and some vanilla. Getting oak, vanilla, and tea? on the palate. Like the cheap black tea you make in bulk and drink gallons of in the summer... but very alcoholic and malty. You can feel the 46% on this one. Recommend a few drops of water to tone down the sharp alcohol and brighten the flavors to the forefront.

Peat, oak, and vanilla on the nose, in that order. Mild peat, strong oak, citrus, then more peat at the end as it finishes slow and the smoke flavor really releases in the back of the palate at the very end. I thought I didn’t like peat at all, but this might be just the perfect entry level peaty scotch. I may have to get another nip later and see if I feel the same way. Pleasantly surprised.

Another in the perfectly average category for me. Floral and citrus on the nose with the barest hint of earthy. Fruit I can’t place and toffee up front with a strong oak finish. Standard alcohol burn.