Tastes

Lovely little bottle of the good stuff, it doesn't cost too much and it does the job quite well. It is not an outstanding bottle, but I have casually enjoyed it by drinking a small glass each night over the past few weeks. And I liked every single one of them! Fruity nose with hints of fresh apple and apricots, alsof a bit sugary but mostly fruits. Light. Beautiful light brown color, very clear substance. Nice. Thin mouthfeel, quite strong and a bit dusty but I quite like that. Liquorice root. Loads of wood. Honey. It has a small burn, especially the first sip. Clear and fresh afterstaste with a hint of anise seed. Lovely. It has all the colours of emotion and it ticks a lot of boxes. Is it an amazing dram? No, I mean, it is not that distinguished. But it is very likeable. Would buy again.

I like the regular Tomatin 12 years and thus figured that the Antiquary would be nice as well. It turned out to be a tiny dissapointment and it even took me some more time than average to finish this bottle. Light and slightly sweet nose containing melted sugar, syrup and a whiff of campfire. Smells beautifully and becomes a bit richer once it has had some time to suck up some oxygen. Fruit appears. But then the dissapointment comes for me when the first sip is taken. Fairly flat taste with brown sugar, a bit of toffee. Liquorice. Hint of metal. But it just doesn't come out. It's too shallow. No depth or layers. Bitter aftertaste. Bit floral. Grainy. No, not my bottle. It ain't completely terrible but there is much more to get for this price.

Irish whiskey is not really my cup of tea, but I have never drank a single pot whiskey before and thus I decided to give this one a try. I must say, I finished the bottle over the weeks with pleasure. It might be the first Irish that ticked the boxes for me. Light in color, it almost looks like water when put in a dark glass. It's quite light and thin in the nose too, slight hints of mangosteen, almond and white chocolate. Opposite to the scent, it's actually bursting of flavour from the moment it hits the tongue. Soft and sweet, tasting of acacia honey, clared butter, cane sugar and a touch of elk wood. Beautiful flavours, mostly sweet. Aftertaste is practically burnless, lingering wood and a touch of earth. I think there are more layers of taste to discover, making me remake my taste notes with every glass. It changes based on what you've eaten during the day. Will buy it again for sure. Beautiful dram!

My nose is confused when it enters the opening of my glass. This whiskey is practically scentless. A far away hint of ripe yellow fruites. Vanilla and a whiff of kale. I do not expect to find much taste at this point. The taste suprises me fully. Very light and quite vibrant. Loads of fruit, raisins, dates, MonChou cream cheese. Theres a bit of acidity in there, like a unripe raspberry. Very smooth. Oak. Nice dryness. Aftertaste gas loads of wood, some tannins and liquorice. Quite strong but the burn is friendly. I mean, this bottle is nothing special at all but it's quite uncommon because of the lack of nose and the acidity in the taste. 3.5 start, with the last .5 being there because of the surprise :-)

Never heard of this bottler before, but I found the bottle in a small online liquor store. Welcoming and sweet nose containing chocolate and honey notes with vanilla and cane sugar. I thought there was a little whiff of smoke when sniffing the bottle, but in the glass this is almost undetectable. Strong mouthfeel, this is actually where the smoke does kick in. But it's not a campfire, it's a burning twig. Sweet and delicate, creme brulee, liquorice root, salmiac and a glazed carrot. In the far distance there is a strawberry, but it's mostly sweet notes. Therefore, it's also a little layerless. A bit boring. What I do really like though; the aftertaste is very mellow and smooth, nice and fresh ocean breeze with a flicker of bitterness. Short linger, in a good way. Sweet. Yes, not bad, but definitely not great either. Fun to drink when you are in the mood for a night cap, or to pour at parties.

Slight acidity in the nose, hints of apple, pear and lemon zest. Sweet & sour, quite fruity with some underlying spice like mint and basil. Exciting! Nice amber colour. Suddenly a hint of banana. Let's take a sip. Thick mouthfeel, dusty first taste and spicy on the tongue as well. Earthy. Prunes and cinnamon. Wood. Pear. Very sweet. Undeniably a bourbon, actually. Swirling it around in my mouth, that acidity reappears with a whiff of orange and dark chocolate. Too strong to keep in your mouth for a long time, your tongue will start to tingle. Nice minerality as well. Leather. Not bad! Long and slightly bitter aftertaste, lingering wood and earth tones. Very 'foresty' bourbon this is. It's a good spirit but it's not an easy drinker. Nice whisky after a long and hard day of work, or to mix in a cocktail. Not special enough, though.

Yeah, this is nice. It's not that I like it this much because I am Dutch. It's just that this is exactly the type of whisky I prefer, ripened in wine- or sherry casks. Frysk Hynder is expensive, but definitely worth it if you like wine barrel whisky. Sweet and fruity nose with red berries, chocolate and fresh creme. Banoffee. Light and dry mouthfeel with an immediate hint to the red wine barrels. Grapes and cassis, combined with a ton of sugar, tamarind and spices. Great aftertaste with liquorice root, a good chunk of wood. Good linger, soft burn. It could get a 4.5 or 5 star rating if it would have a few more layers. It's very good, sweet and ripe, but also a little too flat. The mouthfeel is so sugary that you can almost feel the granules of sugar on your tongue. It makes it too boring on the long run. Nevertheless, Frysk Hynder Red Wine Cask is a very approachable whisky and in my opinion: worth it's value! Really like it!

I mean, yeah. What can I say. It's not expensive, even when exported to Europe. But I know that some bottles can be surprisingly good, even the bottom shelf ones. Let's see if it can compete with my standard cheap-go-to-bourbon: Bulleit! Nose is kinda bland, light whiff of caramel, thin. No layers. A few earthy notes maybe. Thin mouthfeel. Slight bitternes of the wood. I must say that the flavour is not so bad at all, actually. Dark chocolate. Coffee. Baked bread. Few layers, but very sweet though. It could do with a fruity note. There is only a very, VERY tiny lemon in the last lingering bit of the aftertaste, which mainly tastes like wood, some tannins. It's okay I guess. It's kinda smooth, not bad at all. But it will never be a bottle i'll be excited about. So can it compete with Bulleit? For me, no. Only Buffalo Trace came close to the taste if the Bulleit Straight Bourbon in this price range. It's a pity, but the search will go on :-)

Being greatly and pleasantly surprised by the Starward single malt, I decided to buy a bottle of Nova, ripened in red wine barrels. I expect a lot from it actually. Lovely, sweet nose of vanilla and chocolate, with a hint of soft, red fruit and tangerines. Mint. Taste is a bomb of fruity sweetness, actually bringing the nose back into the flavour. Citrus. Vanilla yoghurt. Baked cookies. Very good taste overall. The aftertaste is a complete different story, because after swallowing, a strong whiff of wood and liquorice root hits the mouth. Dry mouthfeel. No burn. Hint of bitterness. It's a great composition alltogether, the bitter aftertaste brings a balance to this sweet and fresh whisky, which would otherwise be too sweet. Not too difficult, but special enough for the price. Very nice malt!

Japanese whisky can be great, but can also be disappointing like the Suntory Toki I had last year. The nose is a bit flat and too alcoholic, which makes it hard to divide the scents. Lightly sweet and smoky in smell. In the mouth a tad bitter but opens up to a sweet combination of fresh pears, woodchips and pie bottom. Still a bit bitter, though. Hints of coffee. There is a lingering whiff of smoke throughout the process. All together the taste is flat and uninteresting. Bitter aftertaste as well, with a little bit of anise and brown sugar. It's just not interesting. Boring flavours, barely any layers. Will not buy again.