Tastes

Nose: light malt. Peach, pear,apricot. Light vanilla. Caramel, toffee. Taste: pear, dark honey, light floral, basil, thyme. Heavy peach. Pancake malt. Water brings out dense caramel and coconut vanilla. Also brings out kiwi and intensifies the peach. Second round of water also brings out nectarine and other light fruit notes. Brings up also the herbal notes of basil thyme and sage and cardamom. Also notes of orange and maple syrup. Third round of water also brings out some apple notes. Tbh this tastes a bit rushed on the still but CS 23 years at this price is hard to find. It has the layers but it really needs to be broken down.

Nose: banana. Orange, pear, pancake malt. Maple syrup. Very heavy almond sherry funk. Herbal, bay leaf, sage, vanilla whipped cream. Taste: pear and honey. Heavy malt. Salty and raisin finish with maybe a very light hint of peat. Gets sweeter as you drink to reveal a thin layer of caramel and vanilla and butterscotch. Water makes it all sweet with almost no complexity, bringing a lot of the sherry funk influence to the top. As a malt that’s used in blends it has a lot of flavor but nothing too exciting or strong. Very home plate balanced malt that’s not boring or loud (or expensive). Definitely good for beginners especially if you like the heavy malt and fruit notes.

Nose: caramel, marshmallow, light herbal dusting. Christmas cake with baking spices malt and candied fruits. taste: soy sauce, salt, lemon, light floral, heavy malt, bright honeydew melon, sweet cream, cinnamon. Cardamom. Burnt wood. Mild tobacco, caramel and pear. Finish is surprisingly light and smooth almost wintergreen mint feeling. Water brings up a bright almost bourbony sweetness of corn and cherry. Almost cotton candy but it erases most of the other flavors other than the baking spices Second round of water brought out more oak and all of the herbal umami notes and malt notes as well as light honey, ginger, lemon, and gingerbread. I only had a single 2 oz pour at a bar, and in all honestly this feels like an exploration whiskey. Lots of flavors but they are mostly hiding in each other. Have to really dilute it to pick it apart.

Nose: burnt ham, chocolate truffle, lemon, basil, dark burnt wood, very light powder red sugar sweetness, blueberry / cherry Taste: heavy oak up front, cured meats, honey, light grass and pear. Caramelized banana Water brings out the usual citrus sour notes of grapefruit and lime while pushing the burnt peat flavor to the finish. Eliminates most of the sweetness. Similar to laphroaig rather than ardbeg. Definitely a bit sweeter but lacking some depth. A sherry finished version would be magical.

Nose: cereal malt, heavy apple and cherry juice. light vanilla, black pepper, cloves/ cardamom, caramel, butterscotch. Taste: very malty and watery with a spicy finish. sherry, figs, and cherries with a bit of apricot as well. Almost a pancake / fruitcake malt. Very strong sherry notes. Water turns it into hard cherry candy sweet, maple syrup and grapes. Notes of caramel and chocolate appear as well. Honestly skip this one and go right for the abunadh it's easily 1000 times better

Nose: coffee, rye bread, heavy bready malt. Green apple, cinnamon, nutmeg. Taste: green grass, apples, bread. heavy rye spice. dill. peppermint. peaches. moderate oak finish very strong on the rye notes without being too dominating

Nose: very strong black pepper and malt with a hint of the sherry cask. Honey, vanilla cream, and light caramel as well. Taste: christmas fruit cake with very lightest hint of some peat at the back. Very intensely sherried almonds and grapes. The peat represents itself as cheese and bacon grease after you get past the sherry notes. Very dry oak on the finish Water makes the nose very honeyed and crisp with pear notes. Taste is much of the same sherry notes with a long after taste of rubber

2nd time tasting: Nose - blueberry jam, blue cheese, espresso, chocolate, burnt wood. Taste: blueberries / dark fruit immediately turns into bacon grease and then disappears. The finish returns with that mint after taste but now it has the edition of a burnt hay. Fairly generic vegetation note as well. Very lingering black pepper finish as well. Water intensifies the fruit notes as well as the malt. It turns the taste into what I can only describe as motor oil. The flavors definitely evolved from last time but it’s still a 3.5 from me

Nose: burnt bacon, sweet maple syrup, blue cheese, mayonnaise, pine wood, sap, cherry, strawberry, Taste: ham, espresso grounds, dark chocolate, black pepper. Water brings out the maltiness and a minty lagavulin style mid palette. Not as smokey as one would expect from a young islay.

Nose: Oak, apple, cherry, peaches, nectarines, lemongrass, vanilla, Taste: malt, baking spice, apples, light smoke. chocolate, pears This is interesting in that it is a good whiskey, but the smoke barely presents itself. Its actually a lot fruitier and herbal.