Tastes

Nose: Dark chocolate, nutmeg cherry, berries, wet wood, slightly sour yeast. Taste: sweet hot berries, lingering warm cinnamon, orange peel, ending in a lasting and slightly bitter chocolate finish on the sides of the mouth. I wasn't too impressed when I quickly tried this after some other bourbons. However if you sit with it (especially as the only poor of the night on a fresh pallette, maybe the first pour of the week) it grows into a mature and complex dram. The chocolate notes on the nose show up as cocoa but on the palate the flavor hides until the end hitting the sides of the mouth as dark chocolate, and not the 50% stuff but 90% dark, the bitter lingering stuff. I'm really pleased I grabbed a bottle after my unimpressed initial impression because it's a joy to sit with and break apart. Just have it on its own or the subtle flavors might be missed.

Nose: Honey, pear and other light fruits, light baking spices, dusty malt, almost a lemon zest. Taste: light and refreshing, honey wheat, slightly fruity with a warm spice filled finish. A fantastically affordable summer pour. Nothing too unique or mind blowing but what is there is well done and worth the price.

Nose: baking spices, pepper, apple pie. Taste: red apple, cinnamon, baking spices yet again. A very solid pour but not anything I've never seen before.

Nose: toasted oat, dill, cinnamon, marshmallow, caramel apple, pie crust, wet grass, black pepper, and the slight smoke, like a candle jar blown out. Taste: hot cinnamon spice, more baking spices, dark fruits, cherry cola, and red hots. The nose is very good if not too unique for a rye. The mouthfeel is good but with a shockingly hot finish for a sub 50% whiskey. A long lingering heat is felt on the tongue and in the cheeks. I love it. You are paying a premium for the gimmick but rest assured this is tasty stuff.

Nose: spices, cinnamon, banana bread, pie crust, caramel, fruit jam. Taste: sweet with dark fruit, then cola and pepper, leading to a full green apple finishing with spices and mild heat. Solid. Way more than "not bad" but not quite blowing my socks off. The Honda Accord of whiskey.

Nose: cherry, caramel, dusty maple. Taste: A bit watery cherry, slight baking spices (cinnamon/nutmeg), ends with a nice numbing heat and some barrel wood. Solid but not mind blowing.

Nose: herbal, rye spice, cream brulee, toffee, caramels, all the burnt sugars. Taste: sweet and herbal, then some heat with baked fruit, nutmeg, dark chocolate with a looong cinnamon pastry finish. It leaves your mouth warm and slightly numb in a good way. Impressive pour and very excited to try in AZ where we don't get distribution.

Nose: cherry, chocolate brownie, pie crust, fruit Taste: sweet and salty and very full bodied. Melted chocolate, cinnamon, pie crust, tart cherry. Experience: eating cherry pie with fancy rich hot chocolate. A really fine dram.

Nose: Apples, grapes, winter melon, a practical fruit salad, vanilla, dust, black pepper. Taste: honey, citrus, vanilla, nutmeg, and a black peppery finish. A good solid Speyside at a respectable proof, something of a rarity. It's a bit more simple than I like my scotch but packs enough punch to make up for that. I think if it had some more age it might break into the five star realm for me. Until then this is a very solid 4.

Nose: Heavy citrus, maple syrup, dark fruits, piecrust, burnt sugar, and salted caramel. Taste: caramel, baking spices, maple syrup, black pepper, ending with nutmeg and heat. Experience: hanging behind a fall fairground's main stage at night. The air is cool and a bit damp with all the smells of caramel apple, baked goods, spiced nuts, alcohol, and machine oils mixed together. It's a lot all at once but somehow it all works well together, you breath it all in as muted base notes echo from the other side of the stage, it's a good night. This isn't your standard celebrity whiskey, effort and care was put into it first by the late Dave Pickerel and now by the fine folks at Willett. It's a bit steep at $150.00 (or more) but most whiskey is running higher than normal. I think it is unique and good enough that if you are a fan of Willett, Metallica, Madeira, or Dave, you won't be disappointed.