Tastes

Tasted this whisky while on a cruise. A wonderful flavor, smooth, but nothing that jumped out at me. It was a good whisky but nothing amazing.

Wonderful Islay. Smooth but strong peat and smoke flavor. A favorite Islay.

I think I got lucky. I stopped into a liquor store across the street while my car was getting an oil change. I’d been keeping an eye for the Evan Williams Single Barrel as it had good reviews. Found it almost hidden on the bottle shelf of this place. Out of curiosity I checked the dates on the bottles. Most were barreled in 2010, bottles in 2018. However, one dusty bottle showed barreled 2004, bottled 2014!! A ten year bottle hidden amongst the eight years. I don’t know if this used to sell as a ten year, but I grabbed that bottle. Barreled 1.21.04 Barrel no. 1277 Bottled on 9.30.14 Like many reviewers, upon tasting I was pleasantly surprised for the cost. I got some wonderful oak and char, a touch of fruit and spice, lingering into vanilla. In general a well rounded, full whiskey, with a variety of flavor, fairly smooth, and nothing overwhelming. For me, I feel this is a great example of what whiskey should taste like.

It’s that whisky you save for your father-in-law you don’t really like, but want to somewhat impress (assuming he doesn’t really know whisky). It’s a 10 year single malt, but it doesn’t bring anything special. Some floral and spice, certainly good enough to serve neat, but it seems to just sit there saying, “I’m scotch.” Yes it is, but that about all.

After reading good reviews, I picked this up on the way to the weekend at the lake. Store had it on sale for less than $40. Wonderful full body body whiskey with an nice oak and char start, mellowing into a sweetness that delitefully lingered on the tongue.

Good for making a cocktail... not really for sipping.