Tastes

Nose: Briny, salt water, light peat, salted ham, pineapple on the retro. Palate: Peppery spice, salty, caramelised pineapple. Finish: Dry, smokey with a distinctive juicy pineapple finish. Notes: Dare I say it, this is like a Hawaiian pizza in a glass.

Nose: Light peaty smoke, barrel wood, some sweeter vanilla high notes. Palate: Sherry, golden sultanas, subtle citrus peel, developing peaty smoke. Barrel spices towards the finish. Finish: Decent length. Salty-sweet, fruity, smokey BBQ sauce. The sherry lingers on the aftertaste. Notes: I sense that it's a young liquid but it's enriched by the quality of the maturation process which gives it a fuller, richer body than it might otherwise have as a single maturation.

Nose: Shortbread, vanilla, banana bread, light sweet maple syrup. Palate: Warming spice, subtle vanilla and toasted coconut. Chocolate comes round every now and then. Finish: Short. Oak, citrus peel, traces of maple linger.

Nose: Sweet sherry, squishy green grape, overripe red apple, golden raisins. A slight leathery note occasionally appears. The nose is fantastic. Palate: Surprisingly soft, dried stone fruit, a building spicy pepper. A little oakiness. Finish: Lovely dry sherry and raisin flavours. Cocoa appears some time after the swallow. Notes: I enjoyed this one a lot. It's pricey so not something I'll have all that often.

Nose: Heavy on the cedarwood, a briny, seaweedy twist. Palate: Spicy cedarwood initially, with a fruity almost tropical flavour underneath. Finish: Lingering white pepper and sea salt. Borders on becoming savoury. Notes: a mixed bag of things. The palate, nose and finish all sound like I'm describing 3 different whiskies. It's interesting but not something I'd have in my collection.

Nose: Sweet vanilla, light honey, corn, spice. Palate: Light body. Honey and sweetcorn, cinnamon, oaky. Finish: A good length of oaky spiciness. A cherry flavour appears as an aftertaste.

Nose: toasted oak, buttered popcorn, vanilla, orange zest, candied orange. Palate: Warming rye spice, lots of orange citrus, cinnamon, light brown sugar. Finish: Orange and cinnamon continue with the spice gradually fading for a medium length. Notes: it's not something that blows your mind but it is a good staple and good value and for many (like me) a good entry to bourbon.

Nose: Vanilla, honey, toffee apple, caramel drizzled banana. Palate: Vanilla beans, baking spices but with a kick, huge sherry fruit notes, caramel. Finish: Oak, barrel spices, touch of pressed green apple.

Nose: Smoked salty bacon, light medicinal notes, pear drops but not that weird acetone chemically smell, the sweeter side of pear drops, or maybe just plain old pear? Palate: Light smoke, buckets of spicy black pepper, briny. Green fruit emerges later, apple most prominent with the sensation of having just bitten into a pear. Finish: Really good length. A smouldering smoke lingers as the pepper spice subsides. There's a dryness to this but it's the sensation of moisture being extracted by salt, not a tannic dryness. Retro: A bit of caramel makes its way to the nose. Notes: Pears all over the place on this one! I like this but think I preferred the Port Ruighe. I need to A-B compare.

Nose: Rich smoked meat, some salted caramel notes, sea breeze, barrel spice. Palate: Sherry really comes through with dried light fruit like sultanas and apple, big hit of pineapple towards the end, the smoke is present but never centre stage. Finish: Good length of dense smoke builds with a gentle residual heat. Notes: On retro nosings the meatiness subsides bringing out the fruit from the sherry.