Tastes

Full-throttle bourbon. Natural maple syrup color. Complex, effusive nose with fruity orange peel, red delicious apple skins, vanilla, Chinese five spice, and leather. Assertive, mouthcoating palate with a notable rye spice typical of Wild Turkey, along with a cool spearmint element, and a satisfying bourbon burn (58.4% proof). Despite the heat, drinks smooth, with no hard edges. Great balance, with nose, palate, and finish each firing on all cylinders. Great value for a top-notch barrel proof bourbon at around $50. Easily a top-10 bourbon for me, and top-5 on a value basis.

The Mercedes E-Class of bourbon: neither ostentatious nor gaudy nor showy--no Ickey Shuffles or Griddy Dances here. Not the biggest or the quickest or the best handling, but performs seamlessly. A benchmark of excellence; iconic. Deep, clear amber. Wonderfully complex nose with caramel, candy apples, orange zest, pipe tobacco, vanilla. Fruity palate with chocolate covered cherries, finishing with tobacco and leather. Not just no hard edges, but rather everything in balance, including a soft bourbon burn at 93 proof. Quintessentially smooth and easy drinking, but if you're reading this, you already knew that.

Clear, burnished saddle leather color. Sweet, resonant nose of maple syrup, apples, a little molasses, chocolate, a touch of cigar wrapper, fresh coconut rind. Full-throttle, mouth-coating palate with lots of dried cherries. Long maple syrup finish with vanilla, cocoa powder, and a lingering tobacco element. Noticeable but expected and nice burn at 122.6 proof, but comes across not unbalanced with the robust aromatics and flavor profile.

Talisker Distiller's Edition is the same as the 10-year-old Talisker expression, except that it spends several months in Oloroso sherry casks to finish. Clear, deep orange. Lightly peated (estimated 15-20 ppm) and very complex nose: light smoke, saddle leather, orange oil, cocoa powder, faint briny seaweed. Incredible balance: 45.8% ABV melds a flavor profile consistent with the nose, ending with white pepper. Long finish, fading to pure malt. Autumn in a glass. I prefer this to the regular Talisker 10-year, but the 18-year is hard to beat. A top-10 scotch for me.

Tasted immediately following a tasting of the 2018 release. The former has a more pronounced nose, whereas this one has a fuller palate. The 2019 nose is muted in comparison to the olfactorily profound 2018, but still shows the sherry influence with dates and honey, and cinnamoned apple pie. Modestly higher ABV (52.9% vs 51.2% for 2018) is virtually unnoticeable on the palate compared to the 2018. Noticeably pleasant vanilla on the back end of the finish. Tasted in Glencairn glass.

Crystal clear burnt orange. Unmistakable sherry nose, with other elements: brown sugar, strawberry preserves, thyme, creosote, lemon custard, a whiff of butterscotch, and iodized salt. Has some of that Springbank peanut brittle, which in a blind tasting might fool me, absent the clearly higher ABV. More brown sugar on the palate and some very fine tannins. 51.2% ABV is well integrated, marrying well with the unapologetic flavor profile. Tasted in Glencairn glass.

Deep burnt orange, consistent with an older (10-year) bourbon. Vanilla wafers, toast with orange marmalade, cocoa powder, and a cool eucalyptus note. Good length, with rye-driven spicyness and a lingering woodsy vanilla and stave char, followed by an oreo cookie note. Tasted in a Glencairn glass.

Deep amber color. Chocolate layer cake, dates, some sweet pipe tobacco. Vanilla apparent on the palate. Not as "fleshy" as the Heaven Hill 7-year Bottled in Bond that preceded it; palate is more focused, like a tightly-wound cab--only this isn't going to unwind with age. A very slight bitterness at the end, but more like a dark espresso or dark chocolate rather than being offputting per se. Tasted in a Glencairn glass. I've never been a huge fan of this bourbon. I traded for a few bottles with Hibiki 12 a few years ago. It's good to have in your collection because of its rarity, but there are plenty of bourbons I'd like to drink more.

Fantastic bourbon. Clear orange mahoghany. Chocolate-covered cherries, oranges, cinnamon stick, vanilla, pine rosin, Chinese five-spice. No heat on the nose. Good length; pleasant, gentle burn on the back end. Delicious: great combination of flavor and proof. Not available in CT; would buy a case on sight if it were. Sadly, just finished my first of two bottles. Tasted in Glencairn glass.