Tastes

"From the Valley of the Rocks," natural color and non-chill filtered. A quality dram from a quality company. Nose: Liquorice and stone fruits. Vanilla and coffe bean. Palate: Sweet and spicy. Lots of proof. Finish: Medium long.

"From the Valley of the Rocks," natural color and non-chill filtered bottled at 46% abv. A quality dram from a quality company. Nose: The nose features over ripe pears and plums folded into dark chocolate and black liquorice. Behind them are notes of perfume and oak. The deep darkness of this nose cannot be overstated. Palate: The palate is dry and not nearly as dark or deep as the nose suggests. The palate is where the more delicate notes of Oloroso sherry show themselves. Finish: Medium finish. The finish is drying and mildly sweet.

"From the Valley of the Rocks," natural color and non-chill filtered bottled at 46%. A quality dram from a quality company. Nose: The nose is wildly fruity and extremely sherried. Behind the sherry there are notes of perfume and honey. Palate: Light mouthfeel. The sherry is more delicate on the palate but the abv is high enough to drive lots of flavor on the palate. A burst of red fruits give way to a hint of spice. A very well done sherried whiskey indeed. Finish: Medium short finish. The finish is on the shorter side but carries the beautiful notes of sherry that arise from the nose, follow through the dram and linger on the tongue.

Nose: Young and sprite nose. Bright citrus, warm vanilla and spicey oak notes are present. Palate: Full mouthfeel. Caramel, honey and stone fruits dance around the palate. On the back end comes a bit of dry oak spice that disappears on the finish. Finish: Medium long finish. Initially spicey but as the spice simmers out a rich sweetness lingers on the tongue.

Nose: Deep charred smoke matched with rich ruby red fruits. A really ripe plum permeates through the char along with sea breeze and a dark chocolate. Palate: Full and rich mouthfeel. Brine up front that coats the palate first then gives way to deep, complex char accompanied by a honey syrup sweetness from the Pedro Ximenez casks. Finish: Medium long finish balancing between smokey, sweet and salty.

Batch No. B1/20 57.6% ABV Nose: Creamy vanilla, honeysuckle amongst a shortbread cookie. Very light sherry sweetness with malty undertones. Palate: Great mouthfeel that coats the palate swimmingly with an explosion of vanilla and raw honey. On the backside, there is a rising spice and dryness that balances out the sweetness. Finish: Medium long finish, perfect ABV on this dram. The finish is syrupy sweet like a honey syrup that dissipates slowly from the middle to the back to the sides of the tongue.

Nose: Plesantly malty with light sherry sweetness and spice. Underneath there are plum notes from the Port casks. Palate: Light body. Lots of red fruits cover a shortbread cookies. A nice balance of sweetness and buttery mouthfeel. Finish: Medium length finish that bleeds into a delicate sweetness filled with stone and red fruits.

Batch 10. Bottle 51/700 Nose: An abundance of charred oak layered on top of dry spices. Hidden underneath is warm vanilla sugar and graham cracker. Palate: A medium mouth feel with light baking spice and drying oak. Almost identical to the nose but lacking the richness. Finish: A medium length finish that fades to sweet oak. Overall, the nose on this blend is old and dignified but leads to an underwhelming palate. At 51.5% ABV it's just strong enough to be satisfying but may leave proof hounds wanting more.

Nose: Cream of corn, vanilla and musty oak. Palate: Intense sweetness balanced by a kick of baking spices and bass from the oak. Finish: Leaves the palate with a coated sugary and oily goodness.

Talisker 10 rounded out with red fruit sweetness. Nose: Bright red raspberries up front, undercut by rich brine and misted thoroughly with peat smoke. Palate: Nice vicosity but a little thin. Meaty with jammy red fruit, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. Finish: Medium length, sweet heat finish.