Tastes

Life just isn’t freakin’ fair. It really isn’t. After having that surprisngly good Glenlossie as part of the standard tour offering from @Telex , I now close out round 6 with this final pour, again courtesy of @Telex . So...that’s one hell of a surprisingly good pour followed by this one which I expected to be good. It’s like having that night with your college girlfriend and her best friend, only to have later next day a rendezvous with an ex-girlfriend. You simply shouldn’t be allowed to have two nights back to back like that. So goes this pour. I expected it to be good. I went in knowing what the pour might hold. Caramel, dark chocolate. A bit of smoke. Earthy smoke, not briny. Yeah...it’s good...but I expected as much. Afterall, it’s a Kilkerran.

Final few pours from round 6 of 7, this courtesy of @Telex . Never heard of Glenlossie till today...and surprisingly decent. Probably the best pour of our standard offerings in round 6. @Generously_Paul will say I’m a spoiled brat, but...I actually drank this one fully. I didn’t know what I was in for, but it was a nice surprise with twists and turns going from aromas of fresh cut oak, citrus peels, and some sort of melon...honeydew? Watermelon? WTF, that’s a surprise. It’s like spending a night with your college girlfriend and her best friend. You know you shouldn’t. Can’t possibly end well. But it’s surprisngly good. Not sure you’d want to try it again though, just might be too much of a good thing, Thanks @Telex

Pour 3 of 4 for the evening, as I’m trying to finish up round 6. I’ve been dragging my feet this round, I’m one of those “special” kids in the back this round, that need the extra help and tutoring. This is courtesy of @Scott_E as part of our trading team. Round 6 of 7. Quick hit review: you can do better. Spend the $45 elesewhere...

Thanks to @Scott_E for this sample. I’m gonna do a quick review on this, since I’m lined up to finish round 6 (been dragging my feet this round). Here it goes: pour 2 of 4 for this evening. I can still type. This is about $50. I’d not buy it. Would I get a pour at the bar? Nope.

I find myself severely lagging the others in our little tour group; we’re in round 6, with one last round to go. And I have all of @Scott_E as well as all of @Telex samples to go through still. So...I’m going to keep it brief in these next few reviews today, since I’m probably going to be 4 drams in and not my normal coherent well spoken chap at the time of this writing. So the review: this here...not bad. For $80, would I buy it? Freakin hell no. But would I try it at a bar? Yeah.

I’m out in Denver, staying at my regular hotel where the bartender knows me by now. I stopped over to say ‘hello’ and saw this on the shelf. I asked her to give me a pour, and she promptly replied “ you sure? Okay...fine, but I won’t charge you for it...I need to keep you as a returning customer”. That should’ve clued me in. I’m a huge fan of Crown Royal Northern Harvest rye, as well as their Cornserstone one. So, I was hoping for something similar. I thought it’s like having a Lagavulin or Ardbeg...there’s no such thing as a bad Lagavulin, just not as good as the other Lagavulin but still damn good. Not this. Oh keep away from this one. I took two sips and gave up. It’s just lousy swill, half really bad tequila and the other half really bad bourbon. @LeeEvolved and @Telex I know you guys think I’m picky and harsh...but my 1 Star here is actually really generous. Hell, even @Generously_Paul would give this 1 Star, and he’s normally forgiving. Crown Royal: maybe you can sell this to a pharma company to make into antiseptic wipes.

Light, floral entry; hazelnuts and dried fruits. I’d have thought this was a sherried Lowlander. Well made; unique if nothing else.

Salty, smokier HP with a bit of heft. It’s their 12, with a smokier background. For $50, it’s a great buy.

After having a few samples at a Beam Suntory event tonight in NJ, this was the last of the pack I tried. Forgettable.

@Richard-ModernDrinking and I attended a Beam Suntory event in central NJ, and this was offered in the master class. Way too potent for me. I needed to supplement it with 25% water. Can’t recall exact notes, but it wasn’t striking enough for me to actually want one. Instead the Knob Creek 2009 rye really was the highlight. And the fried chicken. Will be getting more of that fried chicken.