Tastes

It hits me on the nose with that typical caramel, vanilla and honey smell-very sweet on the nose. That follows through on the tongue with that typical blended Scotch sweetness with a touch of smoke or peat. The rye adds to that secondary flavor bringing some spice to the start and end of the drink. It reminds me a lot of another blended scotch, Famous Grouse. Outside of having a bit of that acetone smell and being very middle of the road there aren’t many true negatives. It’s a fine sipper that won’t wow you but fits in perfectly with the price range while adding something different to your usual lineup.

Very middle of the road triple distilled Irish whiskey. Little bit of spice and the usual toffee or caramel up front but it all quickly disappears. If you like regular Jameson this may be an okay replacement since it comes in at the same price but it lacks the same smoothness.

This rye isn’t like most others on the shelf and for once that is a good thing. Lots of caramel and butterscotch up front but still a good rye spice with some wood notes. A great sipping rye that while toned down a bit to sit closer to bourbon, Koval still tastes like rye for a change.