Tastes

It has been a long time Distiller. I dont count the gin, because reasons... Time for another product of my home country albeit not my province. This one is one I waited to review because I couldnt find a bottle from the batch I wanted (the 66% ABV one). Sadly, I didnt find the batch I wanted and I got a 63,7%ABV one. Again I repeat this is the 63,7% ABV. I would love for the distillery to begin to do like any other distilleries when it come to cask strenght/barrel proof and to put the rick/warehouse and what's not ALSO NECK POUR On the nose, it is litterally almost non existent after the pour, which is kinda weird. Give it a minute or 2 and it opens up immensely . Why, I have no idea ? I smell a woody caramel, followed by kind of a creamy vanilla. There is something herbaceous (mint-y) and bright about this , but I dont dislike it at all. There is also some sweet fruit (honeydew , yep) ,leather, sweet tobacco and some allspice. Maybe some kind of dark chocolate, but very faint. Interesting nose for sure. I feel no alcohol burn at all. I feel like the alcohol will be in the palate. Layers are revealed with air. Everytime I did go back to I got more. Palate : There it is the alcohol heat , but it is not directly at the start. The mouthfeel is quite nice but it is a little bit drying. Still kinda mouthwatering. It is so front forward with spice (hell of a lot of cinnamon), followed by the woody caramel. Here comes the dark chocolate with mint. It is like I eat them but they are not overly minty. Such a nice feeling. I still feel some sweet fruit, but harder to pinpoint which one . There is a dark brown sugar too. Maybe something a little bit tannic (green tea) too ? Finish -Certainly a very dry finish in oak . It is also tannin too .. Some rye spice in there.Lingering tingle/heat, , some simple syrup . This is a wonderful rye IMO. It is very balanced and very full of flavor. Very bold . On the nose, you couldnt tell about the proof. I would like to compare it to Whistlepig but just cant get some here in Quebec Why ? The SAQ prefer pushing the bad Quebec products.. You should probably still test this with water, because this is a very bold one, but I do like bold flavor in rye it seems. I still think more years would make it pop and be more delicious but as it is , I still quite like it. I would probably re-review it once the bottle open more and with water next time. 70$CDN here

Hey it finally came the time when I could taste this bottle I got from allocation about 2-3 months ago. Will it live up to the hype or not.I decided to share the experience with my best friend. He also liked it, and probably more than me Firstly, I have to say that the packaging of it is really top notch. Everything seems top quality except for the stupid fishnets (it looks cheap just detracts from the experience) . Time to unpop it. The smell coming from the cork is wonderful. Kinda maple sirup-y with toffee. Oh before I forget, this was dumped on 1-29-21 from the barrel no. 239, warehouse H , rick no. 53 , proof is 93 Once in the glass, it looks dark amber and kinda have some nice legs that stick (please let it be a little bit more oily than normal BT) Nose : The sweet toffee, caramel and honey from the first pop is coming up first, with more leather than I'm used . It also has a citrus-y element to it. Orange like ? It is followed by the normal vanilla, cinnamon and oak from most bourbon but in lighter/subtle notes than what I'm used to. I think there is a small hint of tobacco. There is a barn, wet hay hint to it behind all of that . The nose is interesting enough Palate : Oh the feeling of the palate isnt ultra thin but it is not as oily as I hoped it would be. You can definitively feel the Buffalo Trace influence on this bottle. The palate hits with an initial sweetness, housing notable flavors of light caramel, honey, muted vanilla, and brown sugar. It is very sweet, albeit a little more bland than I expected. I can definitively taste the "leather/tobacco" from the nose but less subdued. It is not overwhelming. I dont really get the citrus/orange from the nose. Shame. On the back of the tongue , I can definitively feel some kind of spiciness, chili like, with the cinnamon building up. It is really the typical bourbon notes, but done well. I can't find a fault, but it lack characters Finish : Spice, lot of spice that warms you and offer the same kind of "I'm used to it " feeling. Can still feel the leather. It is more "dry oak" than what I'm used to. Also sweet , but more burnt sugar-y. It is really one that end too fast and don't build up a lot To be honest, I'm kinda dissapointed with the bottle. It is good , I wont deny it and being able to get it at 65$ CDN is probably worth the money. It is just nothing special. It is really well done and the flavor are all super balanced. The nose is really the best part about this. Sure it is typical, but there are no really weird funky notes to it. The palate is really the definition of classic bourbon. You cant do wrong with that, but for a single barrel at this price , I hoped for more. The finish is really the lackluster part of this. It is too short and dont really add anything to it. I'm not sad I bought this allocated as it is still good and enjoyable, but I'm just dissapointed for nothing more. The experience is fun, but Buffalo Trace should really stop focusing on the marketing ploys and more on doing something different from the typical Buffalo trace, because it is not that far away from it taste wise 7.3/10

THis one was the first pour of my night with my friend and I still remember it well enough but not as much as the Talisker 10. I always wanted to taste a cask strenght scotch and I know it is generally the more recommended one for beginners to intermediate whiskey drinkers like me. Nose : Weirdly enough I dont really smell the high proof on this at all. Maybe I'm used to it because of the Knob Creek 9 y.o 120proof. Who knows. It is certainly very sherry forward. You certainly smell the dried fruits, but maybe more cooked, of fig,plums , cherry, apricots, raisins , etc. You also some kind of zesty orange behind all that frontload of sherry cask influence and maybe some hint of marmelade. Let's add some splash of water (after first tasting) and let it open at air. Still smelling all the previous , but add to that some kind of nutmeg, allspice, vanilla. Maybe, I smell a little bit of honey behind all of that ? What a complex nose it was. Certainly not dissapointed at all Taste : OH.. I thought I didnt smell the high proof, my buds certainly felt that at first. It wasnt definitively harsh, but I felt it. This is certainly even more of a sherry bomb at first than the nose was. The mouthfeel IS SO OILY, "smooth", creamy and coating the inside of your mouth. I never thought this was even possible. The palate is certainly dried fruits-like with apricot, , prune , peach, and raisin, with hints of fig. It is more toffee like than the mentionned marmelade , honey of the nose . It is more spice forward toward the end , similar to the nose, plus adding maybe some kind ginger pepperiness ? Finish : The finish was a very long one with a lot of the same dried fruits one, but more toward the same spiciness of it that build up overtime. Maybe some kind of oak , dark chocolate ? It is certainly not overwhelming For my first cask strenght whiskey I wont say I was dissapointed. This thing is full of delicious flavor which arent overwhelming. It certainly is a very good one, but I thought It would feel more "tart". Maybe, my expectations were a little bit too high, but anyway, it is probably another bottle I would get. At 101$ CDN for a bottle, it is certainly good for the quality of it.. I know this product is "batched" but I doubt there is gonna be that much of a difference . P.S It was 12,50$ for 1 oz (Dont know how to input it here)

Lucky me.. Finally found a whiskey bar with reasonable price somehow near where I live (1 hour from me XD ) .. I will probably be able to taste more frequently but at the same time, it still cost more than if I had a bottle.. Anyway, this was the second one I tasted during the night and the one I remember the most. It is at this point in time, my favorite whiskey. I need to get a bottle ASAP :) Nosing : The first thing that came to mind when I nosed this was if I were on a beach near a campfire. You have the breeze of the salt water while having fun with friends near a campfire . Campfire smoke, sea salt, seaweed , brine and some kind of sweet background come.. Pinpointed the sweetness as a mix of honey, toffee and vanilla . Maybe honeydew ? Who knew. I try to remember my feeling from last night so it is maybe not accurate.. What a succulent nose it was. Added a little splash of water later just to see and I thought it made the iodine, brine-y come more forward. Taste : Holy moly , this is a sweet one at first. The honey, vanilla , toffee like feeling come forward to me at first. It is followed by some kind of spicy-ness , kinda chili like?. I didnt remember nosing it , but I clearly remember I was surprised by it but it was super pleasing. The seaweed, sea salt, brine and campfire smoke are still present from the nose but more toward the end/finish. Great. Nothing was overwhelming and everything was balanced as far as I remember Finish : Yep. The finish was the one I expected knowing the end of the taste was more brine, seaweed, campfire smoke. It sure continue the little bit of spiciness of the tasting notes, but add to that maybe some baking spices ? For a basic expression , I dont think you can go wrong with this one. Like I said, I'm getting a bottle. Sure, the bottle isnt overly complex, like air , water and time dont add really much to it and the notes stay the same during all of it , but goddamn , the thing is just delicious . My friend got the Lagavulin 16 (which I just took 2 sips) and it wasnt as enjoyable as this one for me even though it was also very good. I checked the price of a bottle where I live and for 79CDN$ I think I will 100% get one. It is less costly than almost all Islay as far as I know and it just seem it is less "full smoke" at front which I really enjoyed. P.S It was 6,50$ for 1 oz (Dont know how to input it here)

Time to update the Knob Creek 9 years Single Barrel Reserve like I said I would 1 month later (and more). Let see if it has evolved and I like it more . Still continued to drink it.. Bottle is about 3/4 full. Nose : First quick nosing , I smell the a lot of cinnamon and vanilla, like the first time, with quite a bit of toasted oak, more than first time (and less ethanol than first time tasting). On the second one, I feel a little bit of maple (meaty kind) not as faint as first time, brown sugar and the typical Beam peanut brittle. Adding water, I smell a little bit of cherry ? . As it open up in the glass, I feel less the cinnamon, vanilla, toasted and more of the sugary, maple-y and fruit-y. It is really more interesting and balanced than the neck pour and subsequent tastings during the week I bought it. Palate : I feel quite a lot of spice (pepper like) and oak at first (same type than first time , but It is not as overwhelming but still very strong) followed by some corn sweetness (not faint this time). Adding water really made it smoother. The spice is still there but it make it more balanced with the toasted oak and add to the sweetness but more on the maple-y side of it. The palate become richer for sure with time. Finish : A quite long finish that "hugs" you with a lot of Oak , cinnamon and sweet notes more akin to the maple-y and cherry-esque ones I did smell on the nose I still think the bottle is overhyped , but it is damn enjoyable for sure. I'm not really dissapointed about it. It really feels more balanced than the first time and more complex. The savors are more mixing with each other, none overwhelming each other. It still dont drink like 120 proof though. It did get better with time and now I would recommend it, but probably for a lower price tag . I would still recommend trying the "normal" 9 years before, because it is still a challenging whiskey for novice drinkers (like myself). I would probably recommend "resting time" and not a neck pour Adding water makes it more enjoyable for sure like most high proofers, but unlike the first time I think I didnt "drown it" so it is still a unique enough bourbon Let's hope it will still continue to evolve a little bit more .

Finally another time to do another bourbon, since it has been a long time. Pretty unsure how it will goes, let's hope it will be the best one I tasted until now Eye/Look : Amber brown that seems to stick to the glass. I'm hoping for a oily feeling in the mouthfeel Nosing : First thing that came to my mind is while nosing it : Ripe Banana Bread with a touch of cinnamon. It is followed by a sweet mellow honey, sultana raisins, orange and a kinda sugarcane feeling. There is something mint-y about it too but the ethanol begin to be overwhelming (weird for a lower proof product). You can also find vanilla, butterscotch and oak notes but it is expected from a bourbon but they arent the main attraction there Palate : Nope not the ultra oily feeling I expected , more akin to a dry one. Sweet butterscotch that bring a lot of spice (cinnamon) and black pepper. There is not a lot more to it sadly.. The wonderful nose I got is all but lost in the typical run to the mill bourbon notes Finish : Moderate finish that is a smoky oak one with a lot of spice but not overwhelming. Also, getting vanilla and a sirup-y feeling to it. Nothing really more to it It is probably between a 3.5 and 3.25 . It is kinda dissapointing considering a lot of people recommend it when starting. Nothing evolve in the experience when drinking it. For something that is litterally selling as midrange bourbon it has the quality of a lowshelf one while still being more interesting than the low shelf one. I would still take WT101 or Buffalo Trace over this I still wanna try the Double Oaked version of this one day, but if it is as unevolving as that, I think I will keep myself away from it

I got this bottle for free because my friend didnt like it so no complaint there. First thing, smelling this directly remind me of a stout beer which is a good sign because I love those. Let see if I'm gonna be disappointed or not by the first impression. Color of it is borderline bourbon like. (Do they use colouring ?). Nose : First thing that hit me is that the stout-y feeling has completely disappeared . Uh oh. It became a sweet, aromatic and kinda buttery nose. I smell some orchard fruits at first (mostly apple, sliced pears) and honey. It is followed by some buttery caramel. The more you nose it , the more you get the darker tones of it. It smell like a chocolate (but maybe more on the syrup side) and coffee beans. Palate : The mouthfeel is pretty thin to be honest, when I compare it to the last 2 whiskey I tasted. This is definitively a creamy dark chocolate at first followed by some bitter hoppiness. It is coffee like. It really remind me of a stout. Kinda a campfire, dark winter feeling coming as I drink it more. It kinda have the metallic tang of Jameson though. Not overly complex. Tried to add some water, it kinda toned down everything and made some of the orchard fruits on the nose come out Finish: It only is a small finish. It is bitter , but "bad McDonalds coffee" like (damn) Still have the dark chocolate feeling of the palate, but the feeling is worse It would be a damn enjoyable dram if every flavours weren't so imbalanced. I applaud the experiment and I still enjoy it, but wouldn't recommend it for sure. They need to work on the balance next time. It is pretty comparable to standard Jameson and as inoffensive, but I definitively wont buy another bottle.