Tastes

Very smooth; nice blend of fruity, smoky, woody, sweet honey, baking spices. This is good but it's on the thin side and I prefer the richness of Lagavulin. Edit: the second time I tasted this back-to-back with Lagavulin (both 18 and distillers edition), I actually might have preferred this. It is so light and floral that it makes it a very approachable Islay.

Well rounded, thick, caramel, vanilla, amaretto, cherry, a bit medicinal.

Really complex, smooth and well-rounded. Vanilla, oak, rye, maple.

Floral, honey, oak, vanilla. Smooth and light.

Oak, grassy, a little bit of spice. Not very rich, complex or smooth.

Really like the apricot flavor. Quite strong alcohol flavor & spice- drank with a few ice cubes and still not super smooth. Edit: I like this better on second tasting so I'm upping my rating 3.25-->3.5. It's so rich and complex, with the fruit and spice flavors so well balanced. An interesting brine to it also. Nice and summery to sip with some ice.

Strawberry banana sweetness, quite a spicy finish. A little too much ethanol burn, not very smooth but still yummy.

Rye, honey, mint, vanilla, spicy rye finish. Tastes a little young and could be a bit smoother but good for the price point.

Very smooth and delicious. The smokiness of this one sneaks up on me and really lingers instead of hitting me all at once. That gives other flavors- the sweetness of the sherry cask- a chance to come through.

On second tasting, I don't like this quite as much as I did before. It does have a delicious peanut-caramel flavor (like a Snickers bar?) But it's not as smooth as I remembered- quite a bit of ethanol burn.