Tastes

Nose: maraschino cherry syrup, grandpa’s old chair, old books, forest floor Palate: dark cherries, almond cake, christmas spices, vanilla custard Finish: long Dry, tannic oak Comparison: Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 8 - Both are expectional cask strength sherried whiskeys. However, the 12 is much darker in color and it shows on the palate and nose. The Batch 8 tastes quite a bit younger and hotter. Batch 8 is very vanilla forward with a spicy oak finish. The 12 has more going on. The depth of flavor is very impressive. It even has some leather and mustiness that usually shows up on much older age statements.

Nose: bright sherry notes (plums, figs), maraschino cherries, honey, oak, and vanilla Palate: oaky vanilla up front, evolves into the plums and figs I found on the nose. The Sherry influence is a little darker and deeper than what I expected from the nose. Finish: medium in length. sweet at first then a little oak tannic For $55 (local price) this is fantastic. It is right up there with my much loved Glendronach 12. Personally, ill take as much sherry as I can get in a whisky so the Glendronach beats it out as it contains a deeper sherry flavor. However, I can see how the richness of Glendronach's core line can be seen as too decadent for an everyday pour. The Doublewood is my current weeknight pour, partly because of how balanced and easy it is to drink, but mostly because of the price. I will definitely keep a bottle of this on my barcart for guests, but mostly for myself 😅.

Nose: vanilla bean, tar, charred wood, coconut, milk chocolate, almost an almond joy, balanced in the consistency on the nose, very full. The peat is very present, but not accompanied by any brine or medicinal notes. the charred wood is definitely stronger than the peat. Palate: charred oak, burnt vanilla, toward the backend the peat shows itself more in the form of almost tar (in the best way). Extremely thicccc mouthfeel Finish: long, creme Brulee sweetness, and strong peat Overall, I do not think this is the most complex Islay I've ever had. That being said, I think this is the most full and high quality peated scotch I've ever tried. I personally don't think a whiskey has to be complex to be good, but in my mind I do think it has to be well executed. While I'm no peat head, I can say that this release is well put together and extremely balanced, despite aging in casks supposedly charred by a fire breathing dragon.

Nose: very fruity, grape, citrus,some sherry notes but brighter, slightly perfumey, butterscotch, sweet malt Palate: light on the palate, grape, floral, slight malty towards the backend Finish: not much here, short and brittle The nose is definitely the highlight of this malt. The nose is wonderful and reminds me of a sherried scotch but with more floral and perfume notes. The palate is simpler with some light fruit and floral notes. However it falls of a cliff with a short and slightly metallic finish. It is a fairly inexpensive malt so I would still say it's worth the money.

Nose: almond, dark stewed fruit, dates, fig, plum, maraschino cherry, custard, mocha, tobacco. thick and viscous even on the nose. There is a tart note here that contrasts all the dark bass notes that elevates the nose. Palate: cherry, plum, raisins, chocolate, slight spicy oak shows up towards the backend. Thick mouthfeel as was hinted by the nose Finish: the age shows itself here with a long dry oaky, with almonds, and chocolate notes This is a 2019 bottling, which is rumored to be well older than the 18 year age statement due to the closure and reopening of the distillery in 2001. Due to this mothballing 2019 is theoretically the last year before the new stocks reaches the minimum 18 year age statement. With that in mind the nose was surprisingly easy on the oak and was instead filled with what I would describe as low bass notes (dark red fruit, tobacco, coffee and chocolate). The palate matches the nose closely, but is a little simpler with a wonderful viscosity. Overall this is my favorite expression of Glendronach's line. Having tasted all but the 21 Parliament, it is also the most unique. I attribute this to the aging solely in Oloroso Sherry barrels, whereas all other expressions in the line are a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez. I love whiskeys that showcase dark and bassy notes and this expression turns them up to 11. While I will admit that the nose is a bit more complex than the palate, that is just a small flaw in a sea of good.

Nose: coconut, green apple, fresh cut grass, powdered sugar, sweet malt Palate: ginger, coconut, tropical fruit, malt and slight ethanol toward the end. Finish: medium-short with cereal notes and a ethanol ding Green Spot is an outlier Irish whiskey to me. It has very unique nose and palate that I have never come across in another whiskey. I don't usually associate tropical fruit and coconut candy with Ireland but they somehow put it in their whiskey. The only weak point is the finish which is short and has a slight ethanol ding. I can probably attribute this to the 40% ABV. However, unlike most 40% whiskeys, it stops short of feeling thin. Overall, this expression is light and delicate without being too simple making it perfect for both seasoned whiskey drinkers and newcomers.

Act 8 Scene 2 Nose: Baking spices right up front, tons of clove, cinnamon, light anise, but it's there. Fruity sweetness follows with strawberry, dark cherry, and raisins. There is a base of brown sugar sweetness that shows up in the background. Palate: Just like the nose the palate starts spicy with the cinnamon and clove as well as classic rye spice. Then dark fruit sweetness takes over with brown sugar towards the end. A little hot on the first sip, but mellows out as you keep drinking. Thicc mouthfeel Finish: medium long dry finish along with dark chocolate. Warming. Leave it to Utah to create the perfect whiskey for cold weather. While it drinks hotter than 98.6 proof I can excuse it because the warmth as it goes down is perfect for midwinter nights 😉. The baking spices mixed with the wine finish creates a great balance of sweet and spice that tastes like Christmas. I was surprised by the dry finish but I think if the finish was sweet it would definitely be a little much. I think the dryness helps it, if that's your preference. High West continues to add more of its own distillate into it's blends as the years progress. While I have not tasted previous years' releases, if the quality is anything like this year then I will definitely look forward to more HW releases.

Nose: strong tropical fruit mixed with iodine sharply contrasted with deep smoke and burnt sugar. Along with Notes of rubber. Palate: starts tart with tropical fruit. A peppery spice accompanies the fruity tartness and continues throughout. A strong rubber note shows itself on the midpalate. oily mouthfeel. Finish: Long finish. The oil sticks around with notes of black pepper spice and band-aids.

Nose: dark dried fruit, malt, vanilla and slight strawberry Palate: all red fruit at first which turns into a black pepper spice. Finish: medium-long with lingering notes of malt and oak tannins.