Tastes

With great trepidation I write this review, at the sheer fear of the reprisals and wrath I know I’ll incite from those fake news characters and their pet lizard. Or ferret. Maybe was it a parakeet ? Thanks, and I use that word with a moderate amount of liberal bandwidth, to @LeeEvolved for this sample. Better than expected, but let’s face it...it’s no Four Roses, even if it was diluted with a silly amount of water. Corn kernels, with a hefty dose of that cheap movie theater butter. With a tinge of Milk of Magnesia, minus the large intestine cleaning attributes. Just barely tolerable and borderline drain cleaner material. I think this is $25. Take your $25, walk over to the wine aisle, and get a superb Chilean red for the same price and triple the pleasure. Maybe “pleasure” is too strong a word, since that’ll derail those news guys and one of their sex addict mothers.

After just having that Speyside Beinn Dubh, this was a total about-face 180. That Beinn Dubh was a strange curiosity. This here is something normal; maybe better than normal. It’s like going from dating that weird girl who always wants to show you her knife collection to then dating a cheerleader. ( yes true story,,,although truth be told the knife collector was much more crazy fun). Ashy, sweet, lingering lemon custard finish. Can’t really tell it’s sherry matured...the wood has clearly taken a back seat to the distillery character. Well made Springbank again.

Another sample as part of our SDT team...this one courtesy of @LeeEvolved. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any whisky as dark as this. It’s black. It can be easily mistaken for Guinness. Minus that heady foam. I was actually apprehensive to drink this; that color is borderline mesmerizing/ scary. Okay...so let’s take a sip...what’s the worst that can happen? It’ll turn out to be oil, and a little oil never hurt anyone. So...the taste...it’s like cola. Like a stick of licorice dissolved in a can of soda. I’d give this a one star, or lower, if it wasn’t so damn of a curiosity. I don’t know what the hell this is, it’s not whisky, but for some strange reason, I can’t stop sipping this.

Chocolate covered oranges, fruity, rich. Slightly tannic, like high sulfite red wine. I like Dalmore, but a slight bitter finish leaves it from really being a top 5 star player. It’s like a NBA Star that excels at everything but bricks the free throw (Shaq?). I know I’m being picky, but It’s a premium malt...so expectations are high. Excellent whisky, but just a tad short from greatness. Thanks @LeeEvolved for the pour !

I’m generally ambivalent on Glenfiddich...some are pretty bland, others are solid. This here is one of their solid ones, especially if you’re a fan of rich orchard fruit palette and aroma. Peaches, apricots honeycomb waxiness. Not sugary sweet, but fruity sweet. Thanks @Generously_Paul for the sample.

Thanks to @Richard-ModernDrinking for providing a pour, this is my Friday night dram. If Hedonism, Phenomenonology, Asyla, and Great King St Artist Blend all had a love child, this is it. Pears, lemon, shortbread, a tinge of grain heat, lingonberries. Summer in a bottle. This is good stuff. At $150, it’s pricey though. If you’re a fan of Compass Box, it’s a no-brainer buy just for that uniqueness factor. If you’re ambivalent, then the $150 can be spent better elsewhere like a bottle of Hedonism or Great King St, with cash left over. So, ranking Compass Box favorites—-I’d say The General by far in the top spot, then No Name, Circus, a tie between this, Hedonism, Phenomenonolgy, and 3, with Asyla and Great King St closing it out . Thanks Richard for the pour!

This was one of my contributions to our trading team for round 6. You gotta be in the mood for this...it’s sweet. I’m not a dessert fan at all...my dessert is usually just an espresso. To me, this came across like biting into cheesecake made with Splenda, not even real sugar. If you’re a dessert person, worth trying. If you like savory...keep away. ( @Generously_Paul —-thanks for adding this )

I had a sample of this last night, while waiting at the Denver airport during a 4 hour flight delay. Sample courtesy of @Generously_Paul. I actually bought the sample with me to Denver, hoping to have it while working in the hotel room...but am instead glad to have as solace during a ridiculously long flight delay. This really reminded me of the Macallan Ckassic Cut. Probably in every sense except the price. At $20-30 less, this is a better VFM. Classic sherry cask profile—-hazelnuts, creamy vanilla. Deeply rich and flavorsome. Thanks Paul for the sample—-came in immensely useful considering the circumstance

The best thing about staying at the same hotel during my monthly business trips to Denver is that the staff gets to know you. I was given a free pour of this by the hotel bar-lady. She had just got this, which according to her is not that easy to procure, since it’s a low yield and local allocation only. I liked Deerhammer’s original whiskey, but this seemed like it was more experimental and loosely put together. It’s aged for about 2 years, followed by 1 more in port casks. I loved the color—-this burnt sienna hue. Aroma holds promise. Dark cherry pie, butter slathered bread. But the palette...kinda falls apart there. Sticky oily mouthfeel. Very sugar-y, almost dessert like quality. First sip is just too astringent. A mash of different flavors coming at you, all claiming the center stage. And hot. Quite hot. Honorable start, but needs more time in the barrel.

After 2 attempts tonight, both of which I couldn’t get past 2 sips...hoping for a success on this one. Courtesy of @Generously_Paul , as part of our SDT. Starts off well, with aromas of apples and whole wheat bread. Goes south quickly past the aroma into palette. 0-3 this evening. This is one of those that needs to be on the finance guy’s radar there at Royal Brackla to see if it should be shut down.