Tastes

Malty and light fruit on the nose. Palate continues the cereal and white grape party with a bit of lingering spice. There’s an herbaceous peat that comes out on the taste I didn’t sniff but it’s not domineering.

Nice nose. Cereal, light fruit, grape and some mild peat jockey for attention. They all show up in the palate although it’s not easy to pick them out individually. A bit of lingering wood spice and a sweet aftertaste. It would make for an excellent digestif.

Very spicy. Strong mint, with a bit of eucalyptus. Can smell the malt and musty leather but it’s overpowered by the rye spices on the palate. This is an enjoyable rye but I think I prefer those that meander more towards the cinnamon side.

Briny.

Batch 11: 58.6% - Remnants of a Bonfire on a beach. Heard this was the 10 turned up to 11. Didn’t disappoint. Sea salt, brine. Smoke ash. Wood. In that order. Laphroaig 10 was the first scotch I really fell for. I still go back and sip it from time to time but I find the low abv leaves something to be desired. This remedies that and then some. UPDATE: Bumping up to 4.5. The fact that I’ve bought 3 more batches of this since the original taste says all you need to know. Particularly given the relative value at $90-100 near me. For quality age statement cask strength this is indeed a bargain, and worth a lot more.

Distiller: Update your review. This is out of line compared to other similar whiskies. I respect Stephanie’s reviews in general but to score under 80 when almost every bourbon gets an automatic high 80s/low 90s is a travesty. this is a solid highland, UCF and bottled at a respectable ABV. Although it may be fair to dock this for not having an edge or anything outstanding, I’m taking the other side of this. these days it takes guts to roll out an integrity malt without any special finishing or play the NAS roulette wheel. And it delivers exactly what you’d expect from a 12yr highland aged in bourbon barrels. Malt forward. Honey. Light fruits. The oak barrel spice from the 46% abv keeps it interesting. A bit of vanilla and sweet lemon custard. Finally, this is a decent value at least where I am at $50-60. I wouldn’t mind keeping a bottle on the shelf when I’m in the mood for a solid highland.

Review for Batch 19: 57.1%. My first SB CS thus I have no basis for comparison with other batches. What I do know is this is a luscious, meaty and flavorful scotch. Rested for 20mins in my glencairn with a splash of water which brings out a lot of nuanced flavors. Don’t overdo it though it doesn’t need much to open up. Classic Springbank nose - earthy vegetal peat, light tobacco smoke, and dried fruit. Smells like sea air oddly enough. Cigars on a beach? Bit of sweet brown sugar that takes the edge off the peaty leathery notes. So many flavors on the palate. Sweet and savory. Dark dried fruits. Funky peat. Limestone. A sense that something has mildly turned. It’s the Springbank Hinted at by the 10 but full in the face. Lingers on the tongue and in the chest. I could sip and smell this all night.

Easy drinker with heavy vanilla and brown sugar flavor. Nice wood spice but overpowered by the sweetness. Bit of licorice lingering around the edges.

This is a solid dram. It has the signature iodine and salty peat frog is known for with the wine interacting with the base spirit to create a meaty malt that has a juiciness to it. Ripe red fruits, jam hit the palate throughout. And with just a hint of tannin at the end. This developed into a bit of a bitter, dry finish the first time I had this from the neck pour but that’s calmed down a bit. It’s a bit thin and I feel it’s missing something that keeps this from the lofty heights of previous port finished cardeis.

The king of smoke deserves the crown. It starts immediately on the nose and smolders all the way down. There’s a sweetness that opens up with a few drops of water, complemented by medicinal herbs which immediately try to turn the palate bitter. Reminds me of a rather strong lemon menthol cough drop. I’m overdue to do an ardbeg vertical to see how this compares with the others in the core range.