Tastes

Some pine, vegetation notes on the nose, almost a bit sour. Malty cereal finish. Included in a Bourbon Charity blind tasting. Voted number four for me out of 5 AZ whiskies. This compared to the other Arizona whiskies was quite the enigma. Liked that I couldn’t quite peg it but wouldn’t really order it if other options were available. Sampled at home.

N - Fruit/banana, cereal, vanilla T - full, malty, toasted oak, toffee F - ash, butterscotch Included in a Bourbon Charity blind tasting. Voted number three for me out of 5 AZ whiskies. Sampled at home.

N - honey, dark cherry, new oak T - cherry, licorice, mouth deal kind of maple syrupy F - slight tobacco, nutty/woody Included in a Bourbon Charity blind tasting. Voted number two for me out of 5 AZ whiskies. I’m a big fan of San Tan as a brewery and am excited to see them continue to grow as a distillery. I prefer their single malt to their bourbon but both are interesting and different than what some others are doing regionally. Sampled at home.

N - vanilla, mint, potpourri, raisins T - woody, caramel, leather, plum F - breezy/mint, tobacco, pepper Included in a Bourbon Charity blind tasting. Voted number one for me out of 5 AZ whiskies. I’m a big fan of the smoked version of Del Bac so was fun to try the classic - found some similar notes too. It was very complex especially up against other AZ distilleries. Sampled at home.

N - Brine and Pear T - salt water taffy, charred wood with hints of cherry F - same earthy peat that I love from the 10 with light pepper I think for the price point this is a solid whisky. As I’ve seen others say it’s not as nuanced as the 10 but that’s ok. I enjoy the brininess of this expression. The charred barrels give me a small bit of cherry hidden in there. The Talisker style peat is very comforting and that rings true here too.

Springbank 15 N - sea salt, fig T - brine, creamy vanilla, frosted corn flake F - slight smoke, spice, sweet dark fruits Has a bit more barrel spice from the 10 from what I remember (would like to try them side by side next time). There are plenty of dark notes but the brine stays strong in this one which I personally enjoy. Only had one ounce - would love to explore over a longer period of time.

Ardbeg Dark Cove N - brine, cherries, nighttime ocean breeze, moss T - peat, sherry, wood spice F - smoke, dark chocolate strawberry Ardbeg has such a unique taste that really stands out in all of their whiskeys. That is true in this version as well. I enjoy the contrast between the nose which seems more crisp and the taste which is more dark notes (as the name implies). Haven’t had an Ardbeg I’ve disliked yet but my favorite remains Uugeadail.

Longmorn 16 | 54.4 abv | Duncan Taylor collection N - cherry, coconut cream, with water get citrus maybe orange, open field pollen T - fruit, wood spice, with water some hidden floral notes F - so much pepper, sweet hard fruit candy Overall liked it, the nose was a bit more exciting than the taste. Lots of spice on the taste and strong peppery finish with more delicate notes hidden beneath. With this being harder to find I wanted to give it a try. For the region I think it stands out as something unique.

N - fall spice, tobacco, slight vanilla T- a meaty bbq smoke, wood spice, dark chocolate and some cherry sweetness F - a bit astringent, dry leather and lingering smoke So glad my home state Arizona is coming out with a smokey single malt like this. Does really give you a desert campfire feel. Less salty and earthy than Scotland peat but still packs a smokey tobacco punch. If you can get ahold of it, it is certainly something unique to try.

N - vanilla, light fruits, creamy T - banana pudding mixed with those circle vanilla wafer cookies. Rich and sweet F - light spice like a light bourbon followed again by a rich sweetness I haven’t really had a whisky like this before but it is fantastic. Can see novice and experienced whisky drinkers alike loving this. I’ve tried King Street before and this is more special even considering the cost difference. First bottle of Compass Box I’ve purchased and I’m glad I did!