Tastes

So it’s been a minute since I’ve had Glenlivet 12, so I poured a little as a comparison. But I’ll mainly be focusing on the 15. The nose has a nice pear and citrus fragrance that jumps out along with some dried mango. There is a light nuttiness and light vanilla icing and some baking spices. The palate is lightly sweet and juicy with more dried mango, some pear, a buttery walnut note along with spicy oak and a nice black pepper catch in the back of the palate as you swallow. The finish is medium with lingering dried mango, sweet vanilla and black pepper. There is a faint whisper of that walnut note from the palate as well. This is definitely an improvement over the standard 12. Possibly it’s the finishing I’m French Oak? This one is darker, more rounded and slightly more interesting than the 12.

I had great luck with some picks in 2019, but I’m afraid those days of 15yr picks are over now. Everyone I have seen this year is right around 9yrs old. The only other noticeable feature is the pretty new label (3rd label in the past 3yrs lol). This is a barrel pick from a local store Center Point Wine & Liquors. It is 9yrs and 5mos. This store has great picks, so let’s dive right in. The nose has a beautiful classic Jim Beam Nose. Plenary of roasted peanuts with rich caramel, dried oak, leather, heavy baking spices, milk chocolate and a slight waxy note. The palate Is very sweet and oily with dried apricot, roasted peanuts, a decent amount of oak, baking spices with some rye poking through. The finish is long with an initial hit of leather, dark cheer and oak and then transitions to ton of vanilla icing and some caramel for the remainder with a nice tingling all over the tongue. Very very nice! I am surprised how much this reminds me of one of the 15yr picks I had last year. That musty leather note is what made it stand out, and this one has it, just a little less. Definitely better than other 9yr picks I’ve had in the past.

Here is another single barrel store pick review of one of my favorite consistently good products, Russell’s Single Barrel, picked by Pour Vous! In Hendersonville, TN. This is from Warehouse A, Floor 4 at 8.5 years in age. The nose is sweet with some nice cinnamon and rye spice upfront. There is also some rich caramel, dusty oak, classic wild turkey funk, and vanilla icing. The palate is sweet and oily with a decent amount of oak, caramel, vanilla/confectioners sugar, plenty of baking spices, and a hint of some dried fruit in the back. The finish is long with an initial hit of cinnamon and rye, followed by lingering vanilla cake sweetness, oak and some classic wild turkey funk. Another fantastic barrel selection of Russell’s!

I’m glad this finally showed up in Nashville. I’ve been waiting for this for almost a year after I heard the product announcement. Time to see if it holds up to my hopes and dreams! The nose is sweet with plenty of dried fruit like raisins and prunes, as well as rich caramel. There is obviously rye in here which comes across in a more earthy/herbaceous way along with a decent amount of cinnamon and some peppermint leaf. There is also some dusty oak in there. The palate is fairly sweet with a slippery oily texture. There is plenty of rye spice, rich sweet caramel, plenty of dark fruits like raisin and plumb, cinnamon, vanilla and a slightly oaky bitterness that counteracts the sweetness a little bit and causes a slight drying effect. The finish is long with an initial hit of raisin and caramel and then quickly fades to lingering rye and cinnamon on the back of the palate and vanilla and some oak on the mid palate. Wow, I’d say this met and exceeded my expectations! This might be my new favorite rye, next to Wlliett Family Estate Rye, which is completely different. Rare Breed Rye is just so caramelly sweet like a bourbon but the rye is is still very pleasant an pleasant.

I expect this one to be a brighter version of the 16, though I don’t have the 16 to do a proper side-by-side assessment. Time to see how it stands on its own. The nose is bright and smokey. The peaty smoke is more savory smoked meat type of smoke than campfire. There is a brininess and some medicinal/iodine to it as well. Underneath all of that there is some sweet pear, crisp apple and vanilla. The palate is juicy, salty-sweet with smokey ash and smoked meat, malt, more iodine, vanilla, spicy ginger. The finish is long with fruity sweetness at first but mostly savory smoked meat, medicinal/iodine with slight latex gloves, vanilla and spicy ginger tingles the tongue on the sides and back for a while. Does not disappoint! I expected nothing less, actually it exceeded my expectations for the age. Smokey, savory and lightly fruity Islay goodness. Can’t wait to compare it to the 16 to see what 8 more years can do to Lagavulin.

Another one I have heard good things about. Let’s get to it. The nose is fruity and sweet with orange marmalade, raisin, pear, malt, light milk chocolate, some oak and hint of yeasty bread. The palate is sweet and oily with more orange marmalade, oak, musty malt, light baking spices. The finish Is long with rich vanilla cake, musty malt and a nice spiciness lingering on the back of the palate. I like this one. It’s rich on the caramelized fruit. I’m curious what even more age will do.

All I know is they age this using sherry casks, not just finishing it in them. So I’m expecting a decent amount of sherry in this. The nose is sweet and fruity with candied orange, raisin/prune, rich malt, brown sugar and vanilla icing. The palate is slightly oily and sweet with more candied orange and raisin/prune, it is fairly malty, and sweet vanillla. A spiciness appears after consecutive sips. The finish is medium in length with lingering raisin spice cake, malt and tingling spiciness. Fairly rich and tasty. You can really taste the sherry cask influence on this one. Tons of rich caramelized/cooked fruits.

Here is my last budget/standard blended scotch review, at least for a little while. Let’s see how it goes. The nose is sweet with some nice orange marmalade, slight floral note, vanilla and light oaky bitterness. The palate is sweet and fairly watery in texture with light vanilla icing, orange peel, and bitter oak. The finish is medium in length with lingering vanilla, hint of orange and bitter oak. I really like the sweet caramelized orange note I get on the nose, but the rest of it is a little bitter underwhelming. I guess I wasn’t expecting a lot from this bottom shelfer. I guess I was more impressed with a few others in the same price range.

Alright, time for some Irish Pot Still Whiskey! I have heard good things about this. I’m excited to check it out. The nose is sweet, rich and beautiful. There is a buttery note up front along with sweet dried fruit like raisins and prunes. There is also some coconut vanilla syrup (if that is even a thing), a little pear juice, oak, light leather and a hint of baked bread. The palate is light and sweet with a buttery texture. There is raisin, coconut, buttery fluffy biscuits (american), some peppery spice, sweet vanilla and oak. The finish is medium in length with an initial hit of sweet leather right was you swallow, followed by a little bit of raisin and then vanilla cake that lingers until the end. Wow I am impressed! This one reminds me a lot of a gentle sweet bourbon in a lot of ways. I don’t get very much malt on it, which is usually what gives away an Irish and definitely a Scotch. Just a nice buttery rich whiskey that keeps me wanting more. Now I can’t wait to get the cask strength!

Here’s another standard blended scotch for you. 12 years old, alright. The nose is sweet with light fruit notes of pear juice, light citrus and apple, slight peat edginess, a little malt, vanilla and some other grain whiskey like corn. The palate is sweet and slightly oily and juicy with more pear, malty nuttiness, corn spirit, vanilla some black pepper on the back of the palate. The finish is surprisingly long and has some lingering peat, spice and vanilla. Very pleasant and well known blended scotch. I do pick up the other grain (corn) in this, I assume that is part of the 40 different whiskey blend. I know this is supposed to be on the more peaty side, but I’m honestly not getting much of that. Probably because I enjoy and am used to really peaty whiskies that hit me over the head with a heavily charred campfire log.