Tastes

Suuuuper sweet, and heavily herbal to the point of being disgusting. Personally I find the nose very unpleasant, though the taste isn’t as bad as the nose. There’s a persistent dirty linen note that simply doesn’t let up, and even if you get past that, all that’s left to find is saccharine emptiness. If you really really like sweet whisky, maybe you won’t hate this. But for me, its probably the worst whisky I’ve ever had. I say that with sadness, not malice, as this bottle was given to us a gift. Avoid purchasing.

On the nose, strong hints of banana, which also persists on the palate. Not very complex on the mouth, and the cognac casks don’t make a big impact. That said, it’s incredibly smooth with a short, if not almost non-existant finish. For the price, not bad, but probably wouldn’t buy again.

On the nose, I’m getting strong notes of Peach. On the palate, a subtle hint of peach with a nice long finish consisting of peach and just a touch of peach. Jokes aside, if you’re looking for a flavored whisky mixer, you could do a lot worse than this.

An immediate note of dried fruit on the nose. Spice across both the nose and the palate. Very full-bodied and rich. The sherry presents itself very differently than it does in, for instance, a Speyside Scotch. Not the most complex, but it is bold and confident, with a long, pleasant finish. Personally, one of my favorite affordable Irish whiskeys on the market.

Barley comes forward across the board. Many of the classically Irish notes are present, but the addition of the peat makes it that much more nuanced and fascinating. Far less intense on the peat than its Islay counterparts, which allows you to pick up the sweetness, most notably on the nose. Best neat. Would make for a great intro to peat as a whole!

The peat comes forth in the most elegant way possible. It’s not overpowering, but rather complimentary to the other flavors. Everything that people love about the 12yr is magnified here, and delivered in a significantly smoother dram.

Super complex and layered. The subtle notes of citrus and dried fruit that come after the heavy sherry taste is worth admiring. Slight notes of bittersweet chocolate and raisin are present. In its complexity, this single malt hits heavy. It’s not subtle and elegant like the 18 y.o. It’s bold and pronounced, and ultimately, very hard to forget. Stunning.

Lemon. So. Much. Lemon. On both the nose and the palate, there’s lemon peel, lemon juice, lemon zest, etc etc. The citrus is undoubtedly the dominant note, mind you, it is coupled with that classic HP peat smoke, some brininess and some buttery notes as well. It’s not boring by any means, but it is relatively simple, especially as far as Highland Park goes.