Tastes

Nose: caramel, toffee, peat, red apple Palate: more caramel, honey, black tea with cream Finish: cinnamon, nutmeg, green apple, clove, vanilla, smoked almonds Value: B+ This scotch has a pleasing balance of peat and caramel flavors with a slightly unimpressive nose. The palate is creamy and the flavor of the finish shines, however it’s not as long lived as I’d like. Not amazing, but quite a decent scotch for only $60.

Nose: toffee, lemon zest, iodine, smoked fish, salted seaweed Palate: cherry, candied fruit, figs Finish: tobacco, peat, honey, lemon pepper dry rub, chocolate Value: A+, this might be the king of peated for me. Yes Ardbeg Uigeadail has a heavier smokiness but the PX maturation gives this an absolutely delightful balance of sweetness and smokiness. The nose is heavy as expected with saltiness and some citrus-like acidity. Take a sip and peat takes over on the finish but wait a minute or two and a chocolate honey flavor will linger. This is what I think people look for when they try to find a smoky yet balanced whiskey. It’s going to be hard for any bottle at this price range to follow.

Nose: Caramel, nougat, sour cherry Palate: sweet cream, vanilla, roasted almonds Finish: black pepper, raisins, plum, burnt caramel Value: B+ At only $50 a bottle this is a sweet, creamy bourbon. The port wine comes in softly on the finish with some notes of dark fruit and makes this a very drinkable go to.

Nose: A bit muted and flat, caramel, sour cherry, a little walnut Palate: very thin peach tea, cane sugar Finish: white pepper, sour cherry and apple, a hint of vanilla Value: C- It’s a quintessential craft distiller whiskey. A bit thin and muted, with a distilling process that could probably be tweaked slightly with a far better outcome in the hands of a true master distiller. The applewood and cherrywood smoke comes out but it’s quite unbalanced and astringent. It’s okay, but it doesn’t beat the big distilling companies ryes.

Nose: caramel drizzle over vanilla ice cream, green apple, lemon zest, honey Palate: immediate banana and orange, followed by red apple and strawberry marmalade Finish: vanilla, baking spices, clove, honeydew, Value: A+, If you wanted to introduce a friend to Irish whiskey this is what I would choose. It has a very silky nose and a palate that tastes like a basket of light fruits with a finish of subtle sweetness and spice. I think the redbreast and this are even with a matter of preference. If you prefer the notes of cinnamon, cereal grain, and baking spices go for redbreast but if you enjoy light fruit and gentle sweetness this is for you. This is about as good of a value you can get for whiskey clocking in at only $50.

Nose: burnt caramel, sour apple, ethanol burn, mild amount of peat, lemon zest, strawberry, chili pepper Palate: caramel, vanilla, hint of dark drapes & fig, burnt toast, black pepper Finish: cinnamon, chili pepper, black pepper, all spice, leather, honey, after a few sips the peat comes on heavier Value: C-, This is definitely young. It drinks with a harsh nose and finish but once you get past the ethanol, a bit of caramel sweetness, lemon, and oaky char comes out. At just under $50 it’s really not on the list to buy. If this was a much more basic and cheap blend I could see it at $35 but for having a “cask finish” there isn’t anything too special here.

Nose: tobacco, mint, leather, caramel Palate: sweet corn, vanilla, honey drizzled on bread Finish: more sweet corn, honey, mint Value: A, This isn’t the most complex bourbon and is probably the lowest quality I would consider drinking straight. The mouthfeel is a bit thin but it has a pleasant hefty nose of leather and tobacco and the finish is short and quite sweet. It’s not complex at all but with such a low price tag in VA it’s easily worth the money.

Nose: fig, plum, dark cherry, apricot, light peat, just a smidge of black tea, white grapes Palate: slightly viscous honey, dried fruit, cranberries, almonds and pecans Finish: moderate amount of peat, butter toast, burnt caramel, candied ginger, bittersweet dark chocolate Value: A, Easily the highest quality whiskey I’ve tasted and also the priciest. The nose has hints of both light and dark fruit with almost a tiny shred of bitter black tea. The palate is not quite as complex but the mouthfeel is slightly viscous with almost a creamy texture and the finish is the star on this one. This has the perfect amount of peat for someone that loves the flavor but wants it paired with other sweet subtleties. The only downfall for me on this one is the ABV. I really think that for over $300 a bottle in the US, this should come in much closer to barrel proof. This would be so much better around 45%. Will I buy a bottle for a high quality dram every once in awhile? I’m still debating but I’m leaning towards no with the low ABV.

Nose: almond, hazelnut, raisins, plum, green apple, lemon zest, cherry tart Palate: sour apple, vanilla, oversteeped sweet tea, lemon juice, caramel Finish: barrel spice, white pepper, cloves, honey, plum Value: D+, The nose is nice, but with some unpleasant sharpness that I can’t quite describe. The palate is almost sour and not very complex and the finish is medium length with some ethanol burn to it. This costs more than a Macallan 12 and I find that far more enjoyable. I will give it to the distillery though as I visited recently. They are a very new distillery and will likely need to sell their bottles at premium price for the next few years to make enough to start a better business model with finer whiskies available and my hope is that these courage and conviction releases will represent what’s essentially the bottom line with the highest price point due to lack of profit. More hopeful for the future of this distillery as the whisky isn’t terrible, but the price for the quality is.

Nose: honey butter toast, orange, peach, hay Palate: weak black tea, vanilla, pear, clove, apricot, golden raisin, fresh almonds Finish: black pepper, gentle whisp of peat, cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, dried cranberry, honey Value: B+, beautifully balanced whiskey with a whisp of smoke on the back. This has a wonderful nose that is sweet however in a much softer fruit-forward way than most bourbons or sherried whiskey. The palate is very buttery but not overly viscous and the finish is my favorite part. It starts with gentle black pepper, a whisp of peat, and a nice sprinkle of clove and cinnamon. A touch of citrus transitions this back to the butter honey toast with a craisin influence and the finish is moderately long. If I had to create a whiskey this is similar to what it’d be. As much as I love this I can’t give it an A value because in the US it costs $150 a bottle and to me that’s a bit overpriced. Seems more like a $100 bottle to me.