Tastes

Nose: honey, caramel, banana, lightly toasted oak, dark chocolate covered apple, clove, cinnamon Palate: sweet tea, melted toffee, salted butter, unripe apple, brown sugar Finish: charred oak, maple syrup, peppercorn, pine, roasted peanuts Value: B, not a huge fan of “Tennessee Whiskey” but this is quite pleasant. A good balance of sweet and wood with some unique notes with the most prominent being a slightly bitter sweet tea on the palate and roasted peanuts on the palate and finish.

Nose: pear, white grape, toffee, toasted grains Palate: honey covered nougat Finish: cloves, black pepper, vanilla, Value: C, This whiskey seems to be the perfect mixer. Drinking a glass neat, it’s the definition of dull, flat and bland. Very little complexity if any at all, the flavors are there but extremely plain and straightforward. Not bad, but not something I plan to sip on.

Nose: loads of campfire smoke, toasted barley, lemon zest, pound cake, tobacco leaf, touch of coffee grounds and burnt caramel Palate: candied orange, prunes and raisins on the front, sea salt, smoked fish, and cherry tart on the back Finish: salted salmon, lemon and pepper tart, burnt marshmallow, ash covered toffee Value: A- Wow. This is my first heavily peated scotch (most peaty up until now was lagavulin 16) and I must say this is beautiful. I could spend an hour describing the nose and I recommend drinking this with a mouthwash like rinse. The palate really transforms from an unpeated sweet Sherry forward flavor to a peated campfire and medicinal flavor. The finish is not subtle in any way but it comes in phases from a salty charcoal beginning, to a tart and puckering middle and a malty sweet ending. I think when comparing to lagavulin 16, they’re on an even playing field. Slightly lighter mouthfeel with more subtle hints of smoke and a big malt complexity? Choose lagavulin. Smokier, meatier, saltier with hints of sweet along a very thick and pleasantly heavy mouthfeel? Choose Ardbeg. Either way I don’t think you can go wrong. Personally I’m choosing lagavulin because the finish on this is a touch heavy for me but I can respect how good of a scotch this is for those peat lovers. Edit: Added 4 drops of water and the nose has a touch more Sherry influence with some raisin and the finish has a peppermint and licorice subtlety, imo about 3 drops of water is perfect for this.

Nose: grass, apple, cereal malt, flowers Palate: apple juice, pear, biscuits Finish: vanilla, sea salt, grass Value: C-, definitely nothing special here. All the notes of the nose, palate and finish are quite mild and dull. Probably the lowest grade whiskey I would ever sip on. It’s really not worth the bottle when Tullamore Dew is a similar price and far superior.

Nose: plum, apricot, cereal malt, toffee Palate: honey, shortbread, touch of cardamom Finish: peppercorn, vanilla frosting, light spearmint Value: A-, probably my favorite Irish whiskey to keep in stock. It’s somewhat complex with a very low price tag for its depth. This makes me want to try the other redbreast expressions a great deal. The nose is a good balance of sweet and floral and the palate has a nice thin oily mouthfeel. One of the few whiskeys in which you can actually taste a “flavor” of pepper on the finish that isn’t purely reminiscent of the ABV.

Nose: hay, flowers, lemon pepper spice, vanilla. The more you sip the more the nose turns into caramel and butterscotch similar to a bourbon Palate: thin and oily caramel apple and cereal grains, light amount of black pepper in the back end Finish: more lemon pepper spice with a light amount of cereal grains and cinnamon Value: A+, I’m sure this is my Irish whiskey bias, but I love this. This is not very complex or refined however it offers good floral and sweet notes. At $27 this is essentially free when you compare to other Irish and scotch whiskeys which is why I have to give it such a high value. For being this cheap, I was really expecting something quite harsh and this isn’t by any means.

Nose: moderately peaty, light amount of seawater, orange bitters, honey Palate: figs, sweet caramel, dried apricot, walnuts Finish: oak tannins, peat, allspice. The only part of the finish that seems to last at all is a peppery peat flavor which becomes slightly unpleasant as all of the sweetness and oakiness fades immediately. Value: B+, to me this is pretty good for its price range. It’s a bit watered down and the nose and finish aren’t too complex, but for only $40 you can’t expect much more. I had to try this again as I tried blue label a few days ago and want the memory of tasting it fresh. After having this I can say without a doubt that blue label is a GOOD scotch, but there is no way that it should cost the $245 that it does. I’m more curious about green label now.

Nose: gentle peat, caramel dipped green apple, grass Palate: mouthfeel is exceptionally silky with dark fruit, nougat, toffee, and peaches Finish: gentle peat, light oak, red hots, that fades into warm butter and vanilla, the more you drink the more the light oak finish lingers I don’t like describing whiskey as “smooth” as that can be interpreted many ways, but this is. Silky mouthfeel with very little burn. Value: C+ this is a good scotch but in no way is it worth over $200. I do see why a lot of reviews mention it being too low an ABV with slightly dulled aromas and flavors as the whiskey seems to be a little muted. I personally think this needs to be 45% to let it shine. If anything is special about this, it’s the silky smooth mouthfeel. Note to self: First time I’m trying a true top shelf whiskey. Prior to this the most expensive bottle I’ve tasted was woodford reserve batch proof ($130) and no scotches over $100.

Nose: caramel, black pepper, tobacco Palate: almond, honey, cherry Finish: orange, ginger, cinnamon Value: B-, good bourbon, nothing amazing but not too bad either, the palate was very bland and the nose was much better

Nose: vanilla, toffee, spearmint Palate: honey, caramel, fruit cake, little hint of pepper Finish: starts with black pepper and rye spice, moves to vanilla and cinnamon, then ends with spearmint and pine Decent nose, palate is dessert like and the finish has very distinct phases moving from peppery to silky and a touch sweet. I’m very impressed with this (especially the finish) for it’s price. Value: A+, I don’t think you can get a much better bourbon for $50 that you can easily find at most liquor stores