Tastes

Most whiskies tone down as you sip them, Oban 14 actually perks up more and more as you sip it. It’s almost like it knows it was meant to be drank. A nice orange citrus spritz like nose to palette scent to flavour sensation. A bit of a mint like spice as well make this a summer dram for a patio with your friends. Enough smoke so you know this is Scotch not a flavoured whisky.

This may be the first whisky I’ve imbibed that nosed red licorice, or at least that’s what popped to mind. Sweet nose, sweet palate, on the finish the spice and slight smoke arrives. This would pair nicely with a dessert after a meal with some spice or a steak/roast with lots of flavour or smoke. This costs $320 in BC but is $160 from the Zyn.ca site.

This is Christmas in a bottle. There is cinnamon and nutmeg and spice and salt and butter on the nose that can remind you of walking into grandma’s house as she bakes up her famous recipes. The smoke taste on the palette reminds you this is a dram and not a date square but so well balanced you can be in two places of memory at once. Nice soft finish where everything comes together is joyous harmony.

The most earthy whisky I’ve ever had. It tastes like the smell of fresh tilled earth and loam, clean and pure and natural. Many whiskies can taste like something processed, smoked meats, stewed fruit, baked goods, etc but Green Label tastes like you went foraging in the woods and plated your findings. Very unique and pleasurable.

This dram has a bit of everything and every sip is a new revelation. This is a very warm and smooth sipper. If you want to taste what a wood paneled library stocked with old books with a merry fire crackling in the hearth while you enjoy your pipe and great company, this is for you.

This is an “a little bit” whisky as it has a little bit of everything in it. Peat and ash, apple and smoke, vanilla and honey, simple and complex, nice and smooth. Nothing overpowering despite all the flavours you can find within. You can drink a lot hunting that taste on the tip of your tongue and never be upset you have to pour another and can’t nail down all the flavours.

Tasted it May 25,2021 with my whisky club. Very smooth, clean drink. Tasted like caramel apples or apple crisp, vanilla and sugar on the nose and palate but not a sweet drink. No burn on the finish a dram you can have daily and not tire of as it doesn’t wear out your tastebuds.

It’s a nice, smooth bourbon. Vanilla and leather of course, and a sweetness in the finish I wasn’t expecting. No burn but a hint of the oiliness in some Scotches. $60 CDN is good bang for buck.

If you’ve ever wondered what a bonfire tasted like, here is your answer. Amongst the smoke at times you discern the cedar or hemlock or pine spices, Port Askaig 8yo likewise has its flavours emerge from the smoke that tickle the tastebuds. It’s earthy from nose to finish, like being outside, instead of some whiskies that smell like inside a bakery with all those crafted scents. This is naked and raw and there for you to discover. Delightful.

Most ryes have that pepper bite where palette becomes finish but whether age or some other means, this is a very smooth, almost sweet rye. At the price a very worthwhile 20yo to have in your bar.