Tastes

Very sweet and easy to drink. Vanilla and brown sugar. This reminded me of sweet tea.

Very quaffable even at cask strength. Dark fruit and strawberry on the nose and palate. Has a very strong salty jam note that I found pleasant. Reminded me of a nice continental breakfast. Which is to say that it was perfectly fine and got the job done but you’re gonna be hungry an hour later.

This is an excellent bourbon, one of my favorites so far. It checks all the boxes for a cask strength quality bourbon...vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon/rye spice. Considering the proof it goes down very nice neat and just as well with an ice cube or splash of water. Drank this right after makers cask strength and it just wasn’t fair...quality stuff.

This is a contender for my favorite rye although I’m still a bit new to the category. I’ve had maybe 12-15 so far (mostly highly rated ones) and it’s between this and the willett 4yr. What I find so unique about this bottle is how clean and crisp the rye spice is, with cereal notes and a winter spearmint spice that doesn’t turn into the heavy chewing gum/breath mint aftertaste many ryes have. It takes water well and some of the underlying notes of vanilla and apple come out with a teaspoon or so. But don’t overdo it. Shared a bottle and had to buy another one when I spotted it. grab one if you see it while you still can.

Tasty. I didn’t pick up any notes that aren’t widely observed but I would note that the rye (spearmint side) definitely comes through on this one and I thought on tasting it the mash bull might have a 20%+ rye. I’d be interested in trying this at cask strength. 86 proof is pretty low for a bourbon IMO and this comes off as a bit weak. I enjoy the port wine finish and think it helps smooth out the rye edges. My biggest complaint is that it’s overpriced and allocated in my state. It’s just not good enough for that. I was “lucky” to get this for $49 and that’s an ok price but I see if often for 2x that.

Musty library. Drinking this made me vicariously nostalgic for reading a leather bound book in an old abandoned study even though I’ve never done that. I really like this idea...taking a spirit with a very unique and specific characteristic like Arran after aging for 16yrs then moving it to cognac casks for 7 years in France. And it’s the cognac that takes the lead on the nose and the arrival with its sweet grapes and mild honeyed cloying texture. Then the Arran spirit comes through and takes over through the middle. Thin, fruity and covered in cognac sweetness. My only nitpick is in combining two very different spirits with very different roles they ended up a little bit in between a cognac and a scotch. As a niche bottle I have only once in my life I really appreciate it. But I doubt I’d ever buy another bottle. Glad to have experienced this one and encourage more distilleries to do this more often!

This is a good sherried speyside. I enjoyed it well enough and the age and proof both show up in the sample I had. My only issue is that I don’t get anything unique from it. And given that it’s somewhat hard to find and not cheap I’m not sure I’d buy a full bottle. However it was good enough that I’ll keep an eye out on the distillery’s other offerings.

For an islay peated sherry at cask strength this is average. But that’s of course saying something as that is pretty much my favorite profile. It’s also not cheap, selling in a 1/2 Liter bottle for a pretty penny/pence. I had a sample of this (Netherlands version) and was glad I didn’t spring for the full bottle even though it was perfectly fine and I enjoyed drinking it. It’s pleasant on the nose, with the notes you’d expect from the label. The palate leaves a little to be desired, hitting a bit too much of the burnt rubber notes that average peated islays have. I won’t be buying a full bottle.

A new favorite. It’s stunning. Even had it side by side with the 21yr port wood thanks to a generous friend. If I am lucky enough to be able to have another dram I’ll post a more thorough review but I just wanted to savor this with good company. It encapsulates everything I love about Balvenie...rich, complex, no gimmicks. Just high quality malt in high quality barrels, married together by a distiller at the height of his craft. I’d love to try other batches to see how they stack up.