Tastes

Nose: Zesty red wine, nuts with almonds at the forefront, malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla and hints of cherry. Palate: Somewhat viscous and rich, it is spicy with more red wine, maybe old vine Zinfandel, nuts, caramel, toffee, vanilla, honey, malt, a little musty, hints of barrel spice and cherries. Finish: Lengthy and a little peppery, with malt, dried red fruits, hints of nuttiness and shortbread. Seems a little out of balance with the red wine overpowering the base, but still very tasty. I would like to have a full bottle to explore. Thanks to @ContemplativeFox for the sample!

I kept telling myself, “I’ll review this later, just enjoy drinking it for now.” We’ll, now the bottle is empty and I have no review 😞. What I remember is a well balanced, delicious rye, more bourbon like than other ryes. Velvety with notes of caramel, vanilla, toffee, citrus, marzipan, leather, brown sugar, oak, light fruit and barrel spices. Pretty good neat and fantastic in an old fashioned.

Thickly buttered cinnamon toast with vanilla and caramel. Rye notes are subdued. Hot as heck. Big splash of water mutes the heat, not the flavors. I don’t know that I want to drink this neat, but it is delicious in an old fashioned.

Nose: Initial blast of burnt match sticks gives way to sherry, orange zest and marmalade, mild tobacco, sea salt and barrel spices. Palate: Slightly viscous and silky, mildly salty, semisweet, light orange marmalade, chocolate, stewed red fruits, tobacco and barrel spices. Finish: Longish with an initial blast of sulphur, then peat, chocolate, sherry and barrel spice notes take over. This bottle is now half full (or empty, depending on your viewpoint). It still challenges me each time I take a dram. The initial blast of sulphur is just not appealing. As I sit with it, the better notes almost take over and almost redeem the whiskey, but the sulphur never fully disappears. That makes me rate it lower than want to. Even a second dram, dulled senses and all, can’t compensate for the sulphur. 7/11/24 Almost two years have past since last tasting this bottle. Time and oxidation have been kind. The sulpher is mostly gone, allowing the best notes to shine through. A nice caramel note has arrived, but no other new notes have presented themselves. Bumped 1/4 point.

Nose: Orange zest, chocolate, raspberries, baking spices, vanilla, syrup, tobacco, hay, meaty sulfur and light smoke. Palate: Somewhat syrupy with honey, berries, raisins, vanilla, toffee, light amounts of chocolate covered orange candies, peat, baking spices, nuts and oak. Finish: Medium length with chocolate, vanilla, toffee and baking spices. Interesting, enjoyable whiskey. I would buy a bottle if I could find it at retail. Thanks to @ContemplativeFox for the sample!