Tastes

I was initially unimpressed by what I thought was a very one dimensional nose- oak. A few drops of water opened it up quite a bit- still oaky, but a nice bouquet of dark fruit. Heavy sweetness and oak. Nice. All it took was one long sip and it revealed everything from the nosing, just on a fuller scale. Sweet, dark chocolate and fruit fills every corner of your mouth with a burst of vanilla that lingers on the tongue. A nice, medium to long finish that warms just a bit on the way down. A very enjoyable highland single malt that isn't hard on the wallet. I can't wait to try the 18 year old I have in the cabinet, but this 14 is perfectly fine as an after work pick-me-up, too. Cheers.

Nice and smooth. It worked very well as a palate cleanser at the bourbon & scotch tasting earlier. I could see myself settling in with this on movie night, too. Very "crushable" (if I may borrow a bit of craft beer terminology).

It really is nothing short of amazing. There's a very nice sweetness and what I perceive as brandy on the nose. It's immensely full bodied and finishes with another quick pop of brandy/grapes before washing away slowly. I don't believe any bottle of scotch is worth $1300, but I'm glad I splurged and added it to my cabinet. I'm gonna enjoy finishing this one off with friends over the next several months.

Wow. The nose is amazing. I can see where some may say it is too sweet, but this is something I want and expect from this bottling. No age statement is necessary- this is exquisite and much better than the standard 18 year old. I'm gonna bust open the 25 year in a few minutes and can only hope it trumps this one just for the sake of price point alone.

Another special Laphroaig release, although I don't believe this one was dedicated to their 200th anniversary. This is a NAS single malt that the distillery is describing on the front of the label as "the richest of the rich". Oh boy, I got a feeling I know what I'm in for... Burning embers. The after campfire ash. There's a ton of smoke, but thankfully there's a serious richness to this that makes it hang around on your tongue and make you want more and more and at 96 proof it'll send you to bed early if you let it. If (like me) you felt let down with Laphroaig's last special release- the 200th 15 Year Old, rest assured they totally redeemed themselves with Lore. This is the Laphroaig I know and love.

Bottled for Friends of Lahproaig in 2014. This variation was finished in wine barrels but I don't see much difference between this and the standard Laphroaig (my palate may also be fatigued at this point though). Still solid on its own merits, just not enough of a difference to me to justify a different bottling. Still glad I got to do it side by side with the 2013 port wood Cairdeas

Almost immediately there was a huge surge of medicinal band aid that wafted up the nose as it settled into the tasting glass that was followed up with a heavy smokiness. I was surprised. Then there was another medicinal wash across the tongue with the first sip that also surprised the hell out of me. This isn't what I'd heard about Laga 16. It was kind of harsh. So I let it sit...and then it opened up beautifully. The band aid faded, the the briny sea and sweet smoke filled the glass. The slight harshness washed away and I got more of what I really hoped for: Islay perfection. To be fair, I haven't had much, if any, whisky over the last 3 weeks. My palate needed to be shocked back into it's groove and Lagavulin definitely woke me up. Excellent smoky single malt. Highly recommended.

Just of hint of peat smoke, but expertly blended to make it incredibly smooth. I still think I prefer the Double Black just because of the increased smoke level. This is still an exceptional sipper. Cheers.

My favorite JW "Label" scotch. I prefer it even over the infamous Blue Label. I tend to prefer smoky single malts anyway so this one fits me to a T. Nice, smooth JW medium length finish. Solid and reasonably priced.

While not being a big fan of rye whiskey in general, I was a bit apprehensive about buying this bottle. Rye spices are too overpowering (IMHO) and really keep me from enjoying most American rye whiskeys. So I decided to try this version of the JW Select because I haven't had it before and it was relatively cheap ($40/750ml). Decent rye spice on the nose and palate, while still smooth on the finish. I believe it's 10yo JW that was finished in ex-rye casks for just a month or so. That's all the time it needed to pick up what I consider an acceptable amount of rye-ness. Good spice level that finishes smooth and short. It lingers just long enough until you're ready for another sip. Solid overall and recommended. Cheers.