Tastes

Floral notes in the nose, along with a faint iodine-ish medicinal note; also mixed fruits, vague sherry, and a hint of smokiness. Taste: milder than the nose suggested, I get hints of sherry, honey, a bit grassy, hints of smoke. The smokiness gains a little more traction in the finish, along with a touch of spiciness, and what I'll call a hint of floral. Give it some time in the glass, and it gains a little sweetness. Not overly complex, no "gotcha" moments or dominant flavors. Mildly rounded. Not bad at all for a 12 year old. The peat leans toward grassy heather, as opposed to a more salty, seaweedy Islay peat.

This is similar to the 15 year old Revival, but a little more complexity. The chocolate notes seem more prominent and maybe a little more nutty. I think this is a good whisky, but the 15 Revival is a much better buy.

I get sherry in the nose, along with vanilla and spices. Taste: very much like the nose. Hold it on the tongue for a bit and some oak shows up, and maybe a hint of ginger. Finishes slightly dry, lingering. A good intro into sherried whiskies, I would choose this over Macallan 12.

In the nose, warm vanilla custard, mixed fruits, mild sherry, hints of oak, maybe a touch of chocolate. Taste: molasses on toast with very little butter, hints of sherry, dark or slightly sweet chocolate. Given time in the glass, it gets a bit softer and sweeter. Finish is moderate in length, overall a very good Scotch. Imo, this 15 is a better value than the 18 Allardice.

There's a lot going on with this whisky: I get florals, spices, faint vanilla, maybe a trace of nuttiness in the nose. On the palate, a fruit mix, spices, wine notes, some nuts; an incredible array of flavors that frankly I can't fully sort out. Finishes medium to long, soft and semi sweet. A wonderful whisky! It's not a 5 star in my book, but it's a solid 4 1/2.

Soft. That's my one word effort at describing this whisky. There are no "gotcha" strong flavors that hit you. Smoke is almost not there, a touch of saltiness, a smattering of caramel. It left me wanting a little bit more out of it. This Scotch would be a gentle intro into the marvelous world of Islay whiskies as opposed to the pronounced smokiness of, say, Lagavulin.

Lots of oak up front, with a pronounced note of vanilla in there to give it some balance. For my palate, most bourbons have a distinctive early note that I find a bit off putting. I don't know if it's the sour mash process or the corn, but that singular note is why I prefer Scotch whisky over bourbon. Having said that, the off putting note is almost not there in Woodford Reserve. Finish is moderately long.

Some similarities to the 12 year old, but the vanilla is less dominant, the honey is a little more noticeable, there is a little oak, and the fruitiness shows up, to me at least, as tart green apples, at first. 15 minutes in, and the tartness fades to a more sweet red apple, some nuttiness shows up, and the balance between the vanilla and oak is very nice. There's a little toffee in there at first. A nice dram.

Vanilla, honey, some oak, and florals in the nose. On the palate, I get vanilla, cream, honey, a touch of mixed spices, and a fleeting hint of chocolate. Finish is a bit short. A nice Scotch, especially for the price point.

Although I found it interesting, the smokiness came across more like campfire smoke and tended to overwhelm the rest of the flavors. There is an underlying sweetness that gains some traction after about 20 minutes or so. I would definitely have another (and have), but it isn't a favorite.