Tastes

Less sherried than expected. Hard to nose from Hyde Park rocks glass, but taste was demerara sugar and mild oak. Faint cage fruitiness. Like Chivas but a touch less fruity and without the grain note or bitter overused oak. A great lightly sherried speysider. Firm Christmas dinner.

Sweet, thick, and astringent. Not as hot as I’d think it would be. Also not as much of a sherry bomb as I would have thought. More sherried than Balvenie 12, less than Macallan. Demerara sugar and vague fruit. Will have to revisit. Thanks to Ticknor for the sample!

The nose is a sweet, spicy affair with that same peppery smell that I associate with Canadian whiskeys and seldom get on American ryes. On the palate it is sweet, but not cloyingly so; balanced by rye spiciness: cinnamon and nutmeg. A little hot, but to be expected at 100 proof. Finish is long, spicy, and sweet oak. With water, it becomes lighter and spicier, and more complex. This has to be one of my favorite whiskies, and at the price point is hard to beat.

Of the five tasted tonight, probably my second favorite. A little spicier than the others, except Noah’s Mill, and a softer, rounder profile. Good stuff, friendly.

Compared to everything else I tried in my flight, this was gross. It seemed to have a lot of competing flavors going on: vanilla, strawberry, mint, oak, brown sugar. It ended up feeling a bit like cough syrup.

As with the others from this flight, couldn’t pick up the aroma from this glassware. Still, a lighter body than the Johnny Drum, thicker than Old Bardstown. A lighter, spicier flavor profile, too. Perhaps more rye? I liked it better than Old Bardstown.

Like the Johnny Drum before it, a sweet and corny taste, but with a thinner mouthfeel. Satisfying but unremarkable one way or another. Nose was hard to get from my glassware.

Had a flight of five bourbons; this was the first, and the best. Had a husky, grain like palate. Sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Oily texture. Hard to get aroma from this glassware.

Nose is all peat reek! Both smoky and peaty, but missing the familiar iodine and maritime character of a Scottish islay or island malt. Palate arrives mildly sweet, herbal, peaty, honeyed, vanilla, shortbread. Reminds me of a less-smoky Ardmore. Gentle, sweet, and peaty. Finish is long: vanilla wafers, smoke, and earth. I like this a lot, and I typically don’t like Irish whiskey. There is no pure pot still taste in this. Could drink this regularly.

Nose is mild, malt, oak, butter, golden delicious apples. Palate arrives mildly sweet with a slight grain burn; delicate balance of oak, malt, vanilla, and grain. Finish is moderately long. Reminds me of Dewars 15 or Chivas 18 but a touch spicier, livelier. All told, a great blended whisky, but might still get Monkey Shoulder over this. I can only imagine what my host paid for it!