Tastes

Neat in a glencairn. Aroma is hard to pin down, but mostly leather and something akin to aftershave. The palate is a bit of clove and oak. Finish is short. This not bad, but not terribly complex or deep, either.

Tasted side-by-side with Talisker 10. Neat in a glencairn, rested 10 minutes. Nose is damp wood, grasses and cereal, low tide funk. Palate is spicy and drier than the Talisker, with cultured butter, herbs, machine oil, lavender, and iodine. Medium body with a long, piquant finish.

This one is surprisingly layered, which I’ve only come to appreciate after spending some time with it. Neat in a glencairn, rested about 10 minutes. The aroma is heavily spiced, chai tea with hints of vanilla and overripe banana. The palate is like a sampler tray at a bakery: at first it’s a Christmas spice cookie, followed by banana nut bread, and finishing with a mildly sweet oatmeal raisin cookie. Medium to full bodied with a slightly tannic finish.

Poured neat in a glencairn; rested 10 mins. Aromas of malt and sweet corn cereal. Flavor is not so sweet as the nose suggests, with golden raisins and porridge up front, followed quickly by cinnamon and a hint of ash. Medium bodied with a longish dry finish. Not the most complex whiskey on the shelf, but definitely a value at $35ish.

Batch #18/427 Shocked I hadn’t reviewed this yet. Poured neat in a glencairn. Aromas are buried under ethanol, but are of cereal, sorghum, warming spice and fresh straw. The palate is also cereal heavy with notes of honey and a suggestion of brine. It has a nice, round mouthfeel and a long floral finish.

Neat in a tulip. Aroma is cherry, invert sugar, and something vaguely resinous. Flavor is dry persimmon, plum, and hints of smoke. Medium body, short, dry finish.

Neat, in a glencairn, rested 5 minutes. Nose is rich and buttery, with hints of brown sugar and spice. Spice is much more assertive on the palate with strong clove and Sichuan peppercorn notes followed by nougat. Despite the flavor notes, this is not overly sweet. Finish is oaky and slightly tannic.

Neat in a glencairn. Aroma is butterscotch, burnt sugar, and buckwheat honey. Flavor is very oaky at the start, then warming spice, ending with a round sweetness.

Neat in a glencairn. Smells like whiskey, but tastes like oxidized coffee. Chilling it gives it the texture of cough syrup and mutes what flavor it has. No dice.

Aroma is overwhelmingly oak. Flavor largely echoes the nose with a hint of vanilla. Finish is clean with hints of clove.