Tastes

Smell: Medium intensity smell. The fruits are the most apparent right off the bat with classic apples and pears but also apricot and red berries with strawberries and raspberries from the red wine barrels I would suppose. Then, you get honey, granola and a light malt funk (from the youth maybe?). Light menthol and general coastline smells. Light vanilla and floral notes in the far back. Taste: Just like in the smell, the fruits are at the forefront of the taste with apple, pears, apricots and the red berries are still there but not as strong as expected. Then, it's a quick shift into honey, flowers, vanilla and granola with the funk not as strong as in the smell. A little amount of iodine. Despite the number of different flavors, it's all quite coherent, surprisingly so for the age IME. Adding a little water really helps balance the flavors well (at the cost of the mouthfeel), a little white chocolate even appears, and is a strong recommendation from me. With even more water, a rye like menthol comes out. Finish: Medium to quick finish. Little menthol and general maltiness with cheap vanilla frosting. A little floral-bitter. The low point of this whisky. Mouthfell: Medium to viscous, no apparent oiliness (despite the non chill filtering). Impressive mouthfeel for 50 ABV. Overall: This is a very solid whisky for the price and a great entry in Bruichladdich offerings. Despite being classic flavors, it has a distinct identity. It's very good but expect the mouthfeel, it doesn't really wow me much.

Smell: Medium intensity smell. Appears like a very balanced mix of marmalade, caramel and vanilla. Then, there is a decent amount of cinnamon, leather and straight oak. Very much prototypical bourbon. A little floral. Taste: Leather, oak and vanilla are the front in the taste. Then, it develops sweet with caramel, brown sugar, brown butter and marmalade. Again, a little floral. Its description is nothing exceptional, but it's all extremely well balanced/coherent and nothing really sticks out. Mouthfeel: Medium body, slightly creamy and quite soft. Finish: Medium length and intensity, which is impressive considering the proof. A tiny bit of rye comes out in the finish with light menthol, a solid amount of cinnamon and general spice. A little buttery at the very end. Overall: This is a straightforward whisky. It's a nice, smooth, bourbon from Buffalo Trace. It's nothing out of the ordinary but it's executed extremely well (considering the proof, age, etc...). It won't wow anyone but it will please almost every whisky drinker on the planet, and that's quite the feat. At the price I paid, it's tremendous value.

Smell: Smell intensity is light to medium. There are pears, green apples, strawberries and honey. This means it is quite a bit malt heavy for this whisky. There are some rye spices with mint, cinnamon and cardamom. Light notes from the corn with light marmalade, corn, vanilla and light colored caramel. Some maple and light oak. Taste: The corn is more apparent in the taste with strong vanilla, marmalade and caramel. Then, the fruits come in with the pears, green apples and strawberries. Ends up with the rye notes with the cardamom and mint mostly. Ends up with maple and some oak notes with cinnamon and light pepper. Finish: Finish is all a very floral honey with a light vanilla note but doesn't last a long time at all. It's good but too short. Mouthfeel: It is very light an watery. Overall: This is a very good whisky for the price (even though I don't consider that in my reviews). On taste along, it would have been a 3.75. But the shortness of the finish and the very watery mouthfeel brings the whole score down. It still is very good for the price IMO. One thing I have to note about this whisky is how incredibly drinkable it is. I could down this dangerously fast. It is very very "pleasant". Incredible as a daily drinker you don't have to pay too much attention.

Smell: Medium light intensity smell. Floral, minty, dark roast espresso, minor dark chocolate. On the second sniff, I get more almonds and dried fruits (raisins, figs and dates). Somewhat soapy. Taste: Follows the nose pretty well with a ton of dark chocolate and dark roast espresso. A ton more almonds and dried fruits than the smell. The mint and floral notes are still there but much more minor in here. Some candied oranges and light brown sugar. Finish: Finish is loaded with cacao, some oak tannins and pepper. Decent intensity and last decently long. Not particularly complex finish but still decent. Mouthfeel: Medium to light body and little to no oiliness. Quite disappointing but considering it's only 43 ABV and chill filtered, it was to be expected. Overall: They say this is aged 16 years in sherry casks but there is no doubt to me at all that those are refill recharred casks. There is a ton of roasted notes, so much so they almost come off as slightly smoky even though there isn't any peated malt in this. Not necessarily a bad thing but this whisky doesn't have the sherry bomb-ness and complexity I expected. At least it explains the super dark color. This is pretty good but has a couple of faults that cost it in the overall score. The light soapiness, low intensity smell, just okay finish and disappointing mouthfeel are all problems. But, at least, the taste is very good. Would have been much better at 50 ABV and no filtration.

Smell: Medium intensity smell. Granola, honey, pears and honeydew are quite evident straight out. There is some rubber, earth, pepper and light smoke for the peated notes. Light cream and almonds. Taste: Follows the nose quite well with the granola, honey, pears and honeydew. But, the peated elements are much strong with a lot more pepper, earth, rubber and smoke. Much creamier than expected as well as the almonds. It really is just like the smell but the minor flavors are much more upfront in the taste. IMO DO NOT ADD WATER, it really brings out a medicinal taste that really isn't that good. Finish: Medium length. Creamy, almonds, pepper and rubber are the main notes in the finish. Quite a good finish but the rubber stick out like a sore thumb. Mouthfeel: Medium to light body, the no chill filtration helps here I would suppose. Overall: At 46% with no color nor chill filtration, this young whisky punches way above his weight. The youth doesn't appear too much and the peat is at its max strength even though this seems like it's only about 15 ppm. This is damn tasty honestly.

Nose: Medium intensity. Pears and litchi comes to mind at first, followed quickly with white pepper and cedar wood. Light sherry notes with almonds and general vinous notes. Light cloves and tiny bit of baby powder. Taste: Starts fruity with the pears, litchi, plums and green apples but is at the same time balanced with the cedar wood and white pepper. Vanilla, caramel and dryish cherry appears in the taste from the bourbon barrels I suppose. The sherry is more apparent in the taste with distinct nuttiness and vinous notes. A little raisins and strawberries. Some light peat with notes of rubber and smoke. Slightly salty with soy sauce (which comes I suppose from the little amount of peated malts in this). Not a lot of super apparent grain in this. WITH WATER: A little bit of water will definitely bring up the fruits, sherry notes and tannins. Becomes a little bit medicinal. Finish: Medium to long finish. Finishes slightly salty and smoky/soy sauce (from Yoichi) with cinnamon, orange zest and a little nuttyness. Somewhat dry and a little floral. Mouthfeel: Medium to light feel. I wonder how great it would have been if it weren't chill filtered. A little prickly Overall: This is truly excellent stuff and tremendous value. Super complex but none of the flavors are very "deep". Considering the youth, the color added and the chill filtration, this is a testament to the incredible talent of the blender.

Nose: Medium to low intensity smell. Red delicious apples and candied lemon are the most apparent notes. There is some youth edge, minerality and quite apparent graininess/corn. Quite a bit floral (bordering on perfumy) with honey notes. There is also a tiny bit of butter and cream in the far "back". The beer shows up a tiny amount in the form of vague maltiness and the faintest note of coffee and dark chocolate (might even be placebo at that point). Palate: Starts with overripe red delicious apples and cream. Then the beer takes center stage with definitive beer malt as well as coffee and light chocolate. Then, it's slightly tart (candied lemon), buttery and floral. Tastes definitely young (no shocker here) but the grain isn't as apparent as in the smell. Somewhat medicinal. Mouthfeel: Very light and watery. Finish: Quite short but is mainly mineral with the apples and cream all throughout. Tiny bit of biscuit/shortbread as well as some ginger. Overall: This isn't entirely bad. It's interesting but the flavors don't blend together very well. The beer notes really don't complement the base whisky. I think I prefer the "original" Jameson to this release.

Nose: Medium to low intensity smell. Raisins, plums and prunes are quite evident in the nose. Then there is a good amount of vanilla, charred oak and cinnamon. Light cherry. There is a light amount of leather too. There is quite a bit of ethanol and some flowery/varnishy notes too. Palate: Feels much hotter than the ABV suggests. Starts with the fruits from the nose with raisins, plums and prunes with a solid amount of vanilla, charred oak and leather. Quite spicy with a lot of cinnamon. Mouthfeel: Medium body with medium oiliness. Pretty good IMO. Finish: The light maraschino cherry, leather and the rye spices (mint and cardamom) combines to produce a cough syrup-like finish with flowery/varnishy notes. It's pretty good in length and intensity for a younger whsiky, but the notes are just okay. Overall: This is an okay whisky with strong qualities but also many faults. It's just good enough for a passing grade for me. I think it needs more time in the barrel to get to its full potential.

Smell: The first thing I notice is the sherry notes with raisins, almonds, leather and chocolate. There is also apples and pears from the base spirit as well as vanilla from the bourbon casks. Maybe light cinnamon and rosewater. There is an ethanol note in this and it does smell younger than it actually is. It's messy and discordant. Taste: Again, the sherry notes are upfront with raisins, almonds, leather and chocolate. But, they feel a bit "cheap" and not as refined as other sherry aged or sherry finished whiskies I've had. The base spirit seems fine enough though with pears, apples and oat with vanilla from the bourbon casks. Some light cinnamon and nutmeg. There is a milk-like note in there too. Again, I find the flavors to not meld together very well but it is smooth and pleasant enough. Mouthfeel: Very light, very milk like. No oiliness at all. Finish: Quite short with almonds, chocolate and leather. The flavors are nice but the length is just too short. Overall: This is a good (just good) whisky. It feels like the sherry casks used are pretty low quality as the sherry notes are unrefined. Also, the flavors don't blend very well (lacks coherency). The base spirit does taste very good it seems, so the issue I have is mostly with the quality of the casks used. It's quite expensive these days too (90 CAD) and for that price I can get MUCH better whiskies easily. All in all, I feel like this is quite overrated and overpriced (I don't consider price when rating though). It's complex, pleasant and smooth (inoffensive) but the nose, finish and mouthfeel are disappointing. Although I've been quite critical, I still think this is a good drinking whisky.

Nose: Peppermint, cinnamon, cardamom and white pepper comes in for the rye spice. You get a nice juiciness with notes of blackcurrent, apricot and pear. The apricot, white pepper and peppermint combine in some kind of band aid note which isn't super pleasant. There is some light new oak and vanilla in there too as well as some light caramel. Taste: The peppermint, cinnamon, cardamom and white pepper are pretty strong in this one. The fruity notes are again strong with blackcurrent, apricot, pear and candied oranges. The caramel is stronger than in the nose and balances the spices quite well. A nice oak and vanilla flavor wraps things up. Some artificial banana in the retrohale. Mouthfeel: Medium body and medium to light oiliness. Finish: The finish is strong on the peppermint with a general fruitiness that combined with a minerality (from the water I guess) blend together in a "juicy fruit" (the chewing gum) kind of note. White pepper and oak lingers quite a while. Medium to long finish. Even without considering the price, this is a damn solid whisky IMO. I think this is underrated because it was named "best whisky in the world" once and I agree it doesn't deserve it. But, this is an original, complex, very well built, 45% ABV 90% rye whisky from Crown Royal. It's an oddity and is an incredible value for Canadians.