Tastes

Nose: barrel char, wet stone minerality, caramel, ethanol Palate: orange blossom, vanilla, stone fruit, nutmeg, white pepper Finish: leafy green vegetables, spearmint, white pepper With water: vanilla frosting. The empty glass retained hints of jasmine (Flaviar Advent Calendar)

Nose: citrus, chocolate, white cake, oak Palate: cane sugar, cereal, oak, vanilla Finish: hot With water: gets sweeter but develops a funk on the nose. Tames heat. Weirdly, ok on rocks. Best served neat, however. (Flaviar Advent Calendar)

Nose: spiritous, char, faint apple and cherry in the distance Palate: sweet heat and caramel Finish: earthy heat With water: much improved. Heat toned waaay down. Nuttiness on the nose appears, fresh red fruits with powdered sugar and nutmeg on palate, and on the rocks the apple jumps forward. This really improved with water and was enjoyable on the rocks which is how I’d take it if offered again. (from Flaviar Advent Calendar)

Had this last night while out bar hopping but going off memory: -nose was a bit closed and spiritous -palate sweet and and a little rough for the proof -fininsh long and warm wirh baking spice However, a little water transformed this into an entirely different bourbon: With water nose was a butterscotch bomb; palate was intense butterscotch cream and very little oak which surprised me because of its age. Some brown sugar and mild walnut in there too. Fresh red cherry lurking here and there. Super soft with no burn now. Finish didn’t change much but may have had a little more oak on the tail end. Really good bourbon if you have a sweet tooth. This really improves dramatically with water and I highly recommend adding water to this one. Not as oaky as you would think for being 18 years in the barrel.

Nose: maple infused dark fruit with a hint of peaty iodine Palate: candied nuts, brown sugar, citrus, oak Finish: white pepper, orange rind, a small whiff of smoke at the very end Really good 12 yr old sherried single malt with a bit of everything for everybody. Well made at a great proof with no chill filtration and natural color. Great one to always have in the liquor cabinet.

Nose: oak, maple, sweet citrus. Very sweet. Palate: caramel, juicy sweet orange, baking spices, oak, brown sugar Finish: orange menthols, green apple (surprising), ripe cantaloupe, mild fresh cracked black pepper, white chocolate This is a sweet, decadent rye that drinks smooth for its proof with robust flavor.

Nose: floral lilac, maple syrup, a little spiritous sting in the nostrils but that calms down with time. Palate: oak, bitter dark chocolate, mild roasted walnuts, strawberries, vanilla (but not a sweet vanilla), a trace of brown sugar. Not as sweet as nose would suggest. Finish: bitter oak, strawberry, slight menthol Staves: 0 Baked American Pure 2 Seared French Cuvee 2 Makers Mark 46 3 Roasted French Mendiant 3 Toasted French Spice NAS 53.85 ABV Bottled Nov. 2011 for Downtown Fine Spirits & Wine in Colorado Springs, CO

Nose: initially spiritous, a little nail polish. After it sits in the glass that dissipates. Roasted walnuts, milk chocolate, strawberries, some brown sugar. But it’s BOOZY. Palate: citrus peel, some fresh red fruit, white pepper, menthol, a little oak astringency and slight charcoal. A little thin. Finish: the walnuts reappear, the white pepper transitions to cayenne, strawberry menthol, and lemon juice. Hot. The heat lingers and drinks even a little hotter than its proof of 113.7 would suggest. With water: nose is much improved amd I get dark fruits like prunes. Nice. Palte is calmed down and the heat geeatly controlled and vanilla carsmels come to the forefront. Finish has a lot less heat and oak makes an appearance. A little more balanced. This is massively improved with water, but while a solid, quality bourbon, its price is hard to justify.

Nose: fruit cocktail, freshly struck flint Palate: vanilla, mild pineapple, heathery peat Finish: short and clean, the mild coal smoke arrives, hint of white pepper, vanilla, and waaay in the back strawberry menthol and orange blossom. This is simple, good, and smooth as glass at 43% and is an excellent 12 yr old daily drinker. (As this sits in the glass for about 15 minutes the pineapple shows up on the nose and after several sips begins to build on the finish as well. Finally, as the flavor builds with multiple “chews,” the finish finally picks up some baking spices like cinnamon)

Nose: band aid, freshly opened tennis ball can, mossy peat, and lurking underneath cinnamon and strawberries. Some walnut develops as well. Palate: fresh plastic toy covered in red fruit syrup. Finish: strawberry menthol, hint of citrus, beach tar, mossy peat. More vegetal than smoky. After a minute the red fruit syrup and fresh plastic toy re-emerge. A fruitier and somewhat tamer Laphroaig. Nice sweetness from the sherry cask. Complex.