Tastes

Bumping to 5 stars (via 4.6 rating). For what it is, it’s perfect. Just had some along with a homemade bacon, egg, and cheese English muffin for Friday dinner, the combination of which is essentially perfection. ☺️

It’s a solid 4.3-4.4. But not a 99/100. Betters the 12 but is dwarfed by the 25. Lagavulin is a much more naturally-blended flavor profile, where the HP18 is closer to having many conflicting flavors. That’s not always bad but on this day, I put Laga16 over HP18.

Different than, but just as good as, the 16 year. It’s super light in color and wouldn’t be classified as “refined”. But it’s flavorful, fairly complex, and shows very little heat even at a higher proof than the 16 (96 vs 86). It’s between a 4 & 4.25 for me

It’s a 4.25 for me. Nose is harsh neat but opens up nicely with some water. Palate is above average either way, fairly rich and caramel-spice driven. Good one in the cask strength collection

charred leather and oak on the nose with almost no alcohol burn at all. Beautifully rich and complex on the palate with notes of live oak, orange peel, leather, caramel, and vanilla. What a gem. 4.75

Gorgeous seaside nose and salty delicious palate. Just luxurious and rustic at the same time. Classic.

Almost a 5...definitely a 4.5 but I won’t round up. Earthy, rustic, dark fruits, smoke, and minerals. Extremely drinkable neat @59.8% abv

Light, grassy, with an occasional gin-style note poking through. Altogether it’s fairly balanced and complex, this isn’t anything incredible. It’s solid.

Nose: Bright, citrusy start that evolves into seriously rich dried dark fruit, salted chocolate, light caramel and some wispy smoke. 8.5 Palate: Phenomenal immediately. The perfect amount of richness, sweetness, and depth of flavor. Water doesn't change much other than to mellow it out a bit. Not needed, but doesn't take anything away. 9.5 Finish: Rice Crispies, orange rind, and cinnamon bring things home. Not excessively long. 7 Final Rating: 34.5 / 40