Tastes

Tons of sweetness on the nose and palate, predominately honey. Delicate, sweet spices as well, making for a mellow finish. This would be a fairly perfect whisky for the holiday season, as it’s got a winter-y warmth about it. Not particularly complex, but very easy to drink.

The Fine Oak 15 is easily one of the richest Macallans i can remember. The flavors are incredibly bold and deep. The palate is dominated by dried fruits, but with a strong chocolate finish. Yet another top tier dram from the titans of Speyside. It’s a shame the Fine Oak range was discontinued. The Triple Casks (the spiritual successors) are close, but don’t quite match. Not that they’re any worse…just different.

Light, fragrant, fruity and overall very summer-y. Really solid for the price!

Mizanura Oak will always be one of the more interesting elements in whisky-making. Here it lends a nice fruity quality to the palate - touch of plum, pear and even peach. On both the nose and the palate, it’s more briny than one might expect. Finish is dark and just a touch bitter in the most pleasant way. Overall, really strong and flavorful whisky, and well worth the purchase.

Strawberries, vanilla, and whipped cream on the nose. Very sweet palate but with just a bit of kick to it on the finish. For the price, this is outstanding.

On the nose, almost no peat is present. Instead, light fruits, including pear and gentle notes of lemon. There’s sweetness, but not a ton. On the palate, the peat finally shows through, but it’s not very strong at all. Finish is, sadly uninteresting. Surprised to be saying it, but I prefer the taste of the NAS. That said, the 12 is notably smoother with a better nose. So take that for what it is.

Incredibly interesting expression. The signature Laga briny peat smoke is as present as ever. But there are three major differences between this and the 16. Firstly, the meaty smoked-bacon quality that’s present up front on the 16 sits back more towards this finish on this one. It’s also more present on the very rich and lively nose. Secondly, the Guinness casks impart a certain chocolate-y note onto the palate of this expression. And the last, most notable major difference is that while the 16 finishes on a cool, minty note, this whisky actually finished with more of a peppery, spicy chili note, the perfect opposite. Really glad i picked this up. Yet another killer release from the great Lagavulin.

Nose is heavy with cherry, pear and sweet vanilla. Palate is very robust and oaky with a touch of plum. Most impressive part is the very long but super gentle finish. Had several bottlings from different barrels and can safely say, regardless of the barrel variation it’s always top notch!

Suuuper floral on the nose, with almost a rum-like sweetness as well. On the palate, that rye spice is present but it’s much more tamed and mellowed than most, and it’s met with a chocolatey, dark, prune-y finish. Very gentle and rich, especially for a rye. Among the best Jefferson’s has ever made.