Tastes

Sweet on the nose, lots of alcohol (more than I would expect at 45) some glue, vanilla....and wine cellar. You know those old damp cellars with the big barrels in it, that's what this reminds me of. Taste is sweet corn, few spices, vanilla, and a hint of apple flavored tobacco. Not as sweet as a Shisha but goes in that direction. Aftertaste is straight corn. Not a bad bourbon, but also nothing to write home about.

It's fireball. You drink it to get wasted. What else is there to say about this? I put it on a level with Baileys. Sweet, pleasent, not that bad in taste actually. You know, stuff you drink when you don't care about a good dram and just want something soothing and alcoholic in your hand while having a good time with your friends. For that is has a right to exist, still, for the price you get actual good whiskey.

Well...I was feeling brave today, so I decided to crack open the Laphroaig 10. This has been hyped up quite a lot so I was nervous, but it went pretty damn well. On the nose you get slapped by the smoke and what I presume is the peat. The first smell is just like "holy shit what just happened". Intense burning rubber and the smell of antiseptic cleaning solutions. Vanilla and pear after a long time of smelling, but even then very faint. The first sip chokes the hell out of you. Been coughing for 5 minutes strait after that. A lot of initial burn, and then it tastes like liquid smoke. After a while sweeter notes emerge. Like a very heavily smoked chilli-honey beef. Emphasis on chilli. Getting a destinct salt note too. For me, this whisky went from "Holy shit how can humans drink this stuff" to "damn, that's actually not bad" in about half a glass. And keep in mind, until about 2 weeks ago I was a bourbon and light speydie only drinker. The aftertaste is still very smoky, but with a nice sweet note. Not sugary sweet, more fruit sweetness. Not something I would enjoy every day, I still like my lighthearted stuff, but I will add a bottle of this to my collection. The hype was right, this time.

Next one in my tasting line up (got several miniatures of whiskey and rum to test so expect some more in the future) The Black Bottle. Cool design, nice price (can get them for only a few euros more than a bottle of Jack Daniels). They look good on the shelf, but more importantly, they back up the looks with taste. On the nose I get a fistful of smoke with a stron smell of honey glazed grilled apples. I also get a grainy smell...like sweet full grain bread toasted. I really like it It almost reminds me of fresh toasted bread at the moment you but butter on it and it starts melting.Makes you want more. The taste backs this up, to a degree. I get salted caramel, a dash of peat, honeyed saltwater and also the faint taste of black tea with milk. It leaves a sweet aftertaste combined with salty sea air and hints of bitter smoke. Just enough to let you know it's there. For fans of heavily peated Islay stuff this is probably too friendly and sweet, for people slowly getting there I say it is a great start, especially for the price. One of the best budget whiskeys I had. Definatly gonna add this to my collection soon.

Bulleit is a classic bourbon for "everyday use". It's not expensive, you can get it pretty much everywhere, and it actually tastes rather nice. On the nose you get intense notes of cinnamon and vanilla, a hint of oak and below all that dark cocktail cherries. The taste is pleasently sweet, definatly getting that brown sugar note. It got quite a bit of peppery rye in there, and you can feel the 45% ABV. The cherry vanilla cinnamon mix from the nose makes it's way onto your tongue as well, giving it just the right balance between sweetness and spice. The aftertase stays for a while and reminds me of Mon Chery sweets. dark chocolate, cherry and alcohol. All in all, a good bourbon for a good price. I would prefer this one over the usual suspects Jack Daniels and Jim Beam when it comes to a "standard bar bourbon".

A rather lighthearted scotch. Intense notes of pear on the nose, combined with a hint of orange. cinnamon and slight raisins. Reminds me of applestrudel. In the taste, pear is dominant. Sweet, fruity, a splash of honey. Does have some bitterness to it, reminds me pear shell. This bitternes stays with you long after any sweetness is gone. Not a bad whisky, but far from my favorite. The sweet fruity notes are awesome, but I could do without the bitterness.

This is definatly a step up from Highland Park 12 if you are new to peated whiskys like I am. The inital smell is acutally rather unpleasent, but that changes quickly. Nose: For me it reminds me of a hookah. The smell when you light the coal, this is exactly what I get here. Below that is the destinct aroma of BBQ. Charred meat. You can almost feel the heat of the grill. And for some reason I get just a touch of citrus in there too. Taste: It is surprisingly sweet. Not sugary sweet, more like...honey glazed ribs. Some smoked meat in there. My brain start pictureing grilled flank steak with pepper. It burns and is hot, but at the same time soothing. And just before it goes down I get a hint of dark chocolate. Aftertaste: For me the chocolate is the predominant aftertaste, but there is still a good amount of smoke in there. Doesn't last all that long, but the images of a nice BBQ with friends stay in your head for a while. All in all a rather tasty whisky. If you are new like I am, don't let the initial smell discourage you. While this whisky has some bite, it's bark is worse. Would not recommend this as the first whiksky you try, but if you like stuff along the lines of Highland Park 12, this will probably work just fine.