Tastes

Having gone through half a bottle, I've thoroughly enjoyed this juice. It took a few pours to get used to, but it's settled into a fine bourbon. It's got a wonderful nose with hints of cherry, fresh chopped firewood, and anise. The palate is full of rich notes of oak, honey, caramels and spices, with added oily texture to round it out. It finishes very long and the flavors slowly retreat to nothing but a hint of apple peel and oak. At $35, I would run back to this bottle every time.

Color: Medium/amber Nose: Very sweet. Candy and toffee note, most likely from the single grain in the blend. Arrival: Gentle, but slowly builds up with heat from the 46% abv. Nice light fruit and oak flavor. The oak is not overbearing. Development: Melon, apricot, and pear type fruits really take flight with malt beginning to take over following. Finish: Nice balance of oak tannins and sweetness that lingers from the grain. Apple peel type flavor on the tongue about a minute into the finish. Overall: A very nice Irish whiskey to buy and enjoy. I like how the experience changes from one dram to another b/w the nose and the palate.

Color: Light Amber. Nose: Cool, fresh air by the ocean. Crisp citrus fruits and malty notes. Arrival: Sweet on the tongue and spicy as you exhale through the nose. Development: The malt really immediately starts up b/w arrival and development. Oak influence starts to show up. Finish: Burnt buscuits and oak tanins linger. Bitters more towards the end. Overall: Quite complex for 40%. A nice scotch to start a flight with. Very even keel.

Color: Medium. Amber Nose: Very velvety and buttery. Sherried. Dark fruits. Very soft and pleasant. Arrival: Sweet, malty, earthy, and grassy. Development: Sherry doesn't really last. Toasted notes show up. Then charred meat. Malt lingers then bitters Finish: Light to medium finish with low complexity; however bitter malt and fruit peel remain. Overall: Very nice and gentle. Also a very good expression for the price. Would say this has just as much character as Glennfiddich 12 for $20 less.

Color: Amber (probably color added and chill filtered) Nose: Medium-dark, plum, buttery brown sugar. Not a heavy nose. Arrival: Buttery, sweet toffee, malty Development: There is sort of a coffee note coming around with some spice. Finish: More of the drying coffee note, along with a sort of apple peel flavor. Really great bottle for the price.

Color: Bright and golden straw. Nose: Fresh distillate with oak, honey, melon, and hay. Hints of citrus. Arrival: Sweet on the tongue, like light fruits and malt. Malty on the retronasal smell. Development: Oak begins to become more prominent. Finish: Maltier and begins to bitter towards the end. Lastly, hints of bitter citrus fruit peel.

Allowing myself plenty of time to let this whiskey settle in my glencairn glass. The whiff of alcohol is intense right away. 10 minutes later... Nose: (Suprisingly) old oak; almost like a dusty oak. Hints of vanilla, spice and caramel. Some sort of fruit I'm picking up; almost like artificial banana. Prominent nut and grain flavor. Quite nice, once the fumes dissipated. Arrival: You feel the high a.b.v. right away, but it's not overbearing. New oak and char flavor. Slightly solventy, but with hints of dried fruit. Classic Booker's taste and burn. I believe this is the sweetest part of tasting this whiskey. Development: Goes from woody/oaky and nutty to bits of spice and dry cellar wood. Finish: Lingering finish and medium mouthfeel. I get hints of leathery/oily oats. Tails of on the bitter side, but that's okay with me. Overall, I feel this is a very enjoyable bourbon, though I wouldn't consider it in the dessert category. It's a very complex bourbon, which I like, and should be given time to open up and linger in the glass a bit. I'm looking forward to seeing how this opens up while in the bottle a year from now. 91/100