Tastes

The nose settles with time. Very ethanol forward showing its young age despite the Texas heat supposedly hastening the aging process. Once it sets in the glass for 15-20 min, the nose improves with lots of vanilla, tannins and menthol coming through. There’s also a hint of lime peel on the nose as well. The palate shows the cask strength heat leading the way to a creamy mouth feel and the flavors of apple pie. Caramel, butter, apples, cinnamon and pie crust, salty/buttery goodness. The finish is long and satisfying for what starts on the nose as a young whisky. Leather tannins and burnt sugar finish.

Nose is sweet vanilla, cinnamon and baking spices. Once it rests, stone fruits start to come through. The nose is more rounded than typical Glenmorangie The palate stays true to the baking spices especially nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. There’s some sweet short bread, caramel and brown sugar as well The finish was surprisingly long and creamy with an oily almost buttery mouth feel at the end To me this was a departure from Glenmorangie’s signature notes and brightness. The age even seems longer than the stated 15 years. Reminds me of a well aged Irish whisky but with a more potent finish!

An excellent dessert sipper! More elegant than the 12 but not as creamy as the 18 year. The nose is sweet with the typical but muted orange peel. There is a sense of standing in a vineyard with very light hues of fresh cut hay. The palate starts sweet with hints of honey, over ripe pear and sweat wine. The finish is slightly salty with light cream. Not a super long finish but great!

This whisky is currently an enigma to me but I haven’t made it to the shoulder quite yet. The nose starts out very much like traditional Laphroaig 10. Youngish peat, briney iodine, sherry fruit notes and baking spices. Once it rests in the glass, vanilla, apple, pear and cardamom start to waif out. The palate is almost like a Smokey bourbon instead of typical scotch. The peat is there but seemingly young for a typical Islay. Closer to Ardbeg Wee Beasty which is only aged 5 years. The vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove come through somewhat muting the sherry fruity influence. It truly is as though the liquid is having an identity crisis. Is it a smokey bourbon or scotch?! The finish is long but again, just a little young for the peat. Tart green apple and sherry finally show up on the finish with a hint of pepper added in. Hoping the bottle improves as it depletes and figures out what it is! Of course, this may be what I’m looking for on those evenings when I can’t make a decision between scotch or bourbon!

Absolutely one of the best bourbons I’ve ever tasted! The nose is fairly complex with lots of oak, vanilla, cherry tobacco, cinnamon, nutmeg and caramel The palate is true to the nose with a coating mouthfeel like none other! There is a creamy, chocolaty, dreamy goodness that rarely is seen with bourbon. The finish is the longest I’ve experienced even when put up against higher ABV bourbons. The Kentucky Hug lasts for days and allows you to relish the dram for a long while. It’s a shame so many will hold on to theirs and never crack the cork! This bourbon is meant to be enjoyed!

I can see why this 14 year old just didn’t make the “cut”. The nose is bright for a 14 year old whisky. The peat comes through but very singular with just campfire. There is no astringency or smoked fish or hints of the sea. There is a small hint of vanilla and cinnamon. The palate follows the nose with pretty muted tones of peat and vanilla but the cinnamon didn’t make it through. The finish is like a firecracker. Hint of pepper and gone as fast as it started. Price point on this bottle is about $25 too high