Tastes

Grows on you. Initially the typical speyside tastes of caramel, toffee, spice and so on were in hiding. It was all a bit flat. A bit of warmth from holding the glass opens it up. Good balance, some sweetish dough. Nuts. So... A bit shy but puts out at the end!

Very sherry! For the price, a good speysider. Caramel and toffee and nuts. Slight burn but doesn't distract at all. Shortish finish but an aftertaste of Christmas pudding leaves you happy! A fine everyday drop.

Something different. Light, refreshing and clean. I get banana and cereal on the nose. The taste is tropical but not cloying, maybe mango? Nothing citrussy. No alcohol burn, smooth and subtle but not without character. There's not much after the event but I didn't mind; this is a short hit but an intriguing one. At around the £40 mark this is a delight and I'm sure another bottle will arrive at some point. I am aware this divides opinion but I'm on the yes team

Oh nice! Sweet but not sickly at all. Honey, cinnamon and a herbaceous edge. Alcohol is there but not hot. Hint of Christmas cake. A touch of smoke, quite gentle. Overall a well priced, entry level taste of speyside (even though it isn't).

Oh this is both good and interesting, a happy marriage of subtle peat smoke and the soft sweetness of Irish whiskey. Easy to like and very drinkable at a modest cost. Touch of flora. Smidgeon of honey. Smooth with a gentle aftertaste which is agreeable if short. Did I detect a homely touch of apple crumble? Not predictable but not a game changer, I will have this again just for the craic.

There was a time, decades ago, I was fond of this mostly because Irish whiskey was an almost unknown quantity and it had novelty value. These days it tastes uninspiring and generic. Time has moved on, this hasn't. Granted it is cheap but that's about the best I can say. Vanilla. More vanilla. Some vanilla. Touch of apple if you try hard. No real after taste. Better than Powers, worse than Bushmills. Not awful, just bland.

Flavoursome but no real finish and a touch harsh. Vanilla and mild spice. Clean but no kapow moment which would be expected at this level.

Undemanding, sweet and pleasant. Slightly harsh at the backend. A reasonable choice if on offer.