Tastes

N: Oak spice first and then a deluge of butterscotch - the most butterscotch bourbon I've ever had. I like it. Caramel, vanilla, Orange Creamsicles. Pineapple, red fruit (slightly sour), cinnamon. Dash of mint. The oak and slightly smoked wood really permeates the entire nose. It's nice. P: Follows the nose pretty closely: oak spice and heat followed by a smooth, creamy butterscotch. Sweet corn, caramel, vanilla, bit of citrus. More red fruit than the nose, not much tropical. Cinnamon and dark chocolate (slightly bitter). Finish is nothing particularly special: cinnamon candy hot, oaky bitterness (with a little lingering dash of that dark chocolate), and a vague sour fruit note that's hard to place - probably red, but I'm not certain. Dash of cool mint closes it out. It's on the shorter side. Pulled this off the shelf at a CVS on a whim and find what could easily be a go-to bourbon for me. Love the butterscotch richness. The wood influence is in that sweet spot where you feel it and can enjoy it, but it doesn't overwhelm. The fruit character is a nice bonus at this price range. Great VFM at ~$35. For the price difference, I think I'd actually take this over the RR Single Barrel more often than not (but not 100% of the time either). Good bottle, worth picking up.

N: Heavy and ripe orchard fruit dripping with dew. Honey, caramel, toffee and overripe red fruit swirl together. Vanilla and red wine. Splash of oak. Milk chocolate. Dash of mint and spice. P: Red wine, chocolate, coffee, plum, dates. Vanilla and cinnamon spice. The fruit on the nose is there, but much more subdued - in the background, generally, but a juicy, ripe peach note occasionally pops off. Big, oily mouthfeel that leaves a hot baking spice taste/feel hugging your tongue. This has some of the bitterness of the Yellow and Red, but that I don't recall from the other Greens (or the Blue, for that matter). That bitter leads into the finish, which has some grassy, herbal notes plus baking spice and a bit of mint/menthol. That all sits on top of a still very big and rich malt roundness - caramel, vanilla, and toffee. Red fruit or red wine mingles with pot still spice and lingers for a long time. Final note is a different bitterness - this feels like that French oak tannin and dry red wine. It reminds me quite a bit of The Glenlivet 14 Year, which is aged/finished (not sure exactly which) in French Limousine oak. The nature of the wood notes is similar, although this is more nuanced, subtler, better. Excellent. This feels a bit more substantive and interesting than the Chateau Montelena version. It slots nicely into the Spot range between the Greens and the Yellow. This presents, basically, a more grown-up version of Green Spot, which is very welcome at times, but it's also just not worth the cost at other times. I still think the brightness, accessibility, quality, and excellent value of regular Green Spot makes it the overall winner of the Spot lineup, but I would say this is a not-far-behind 2nd place. It's easy to consider repeating this bottle. Special thanks to @Whiskey_Hound for pushing me off the fence on this one back in March. I bought this two weeks after your review. Savored it slowly until tonight.

N: Mashed orchard fruit and bubblegum. Tart cherries, white bread pudding, apple pie a la mode. There's a sort of cough syrup nature to it - possibly the ethanol. Might be some almond extract - something with a nut butter smoothness to it. Nose comes across a bit flat overall - it lacks roundness and fully developed notes, or note patterns. P: Light vanilla cream with a tangy mineral water quality to it. Some dark chocolate at the edges of the mouth. Sweet vegetal notes. Honey and tea with something vague grassy behind that. Possibly something just slightly fishy and salty - even if that doesn't seem to make sense for this dram geographically. Finish almost nothing - just a little flash of heat that eventually lingers a bit near the end of the pour. There's a touch of bitterness too. I suppose I can say that's paired with more of that dark chocolate from earlier, but that chocolate is far away and fades fast. About a month ago I reviewed the Game of Thrones Cardhu and thought (out loud) maybe the versions without the TV show marketing tie-in (and maybe an age statement) might be pretty solid... said I might grab one next time I saw it. Well, that day came pretty quick and I spotted this on a shelf on my next shopping run. Decided to follow through. This is probably half a step better than the GOT Cardhu, but it also cost nearly twice as much. So, on the whole, this is okay, and you do get that sense of the Johnnie Walker blended taste - especially early in the palate - but a bit boring and it's a VFM loser. I wouldn't do this again. And I probably won't shell out for older Cardhus either.

Batch No. B1/20; 57.6% ABV; 115.2 Proof. N: Coconut with pot still spices right up front. Rich milk chocolate, dark red fruit, swirl of vanilla, fresh orchard fruit (especially pear and apple). Dash of dried peach and/or apricot. Another wave or layer comes with soft citrus (lemon, I think) and then a sweet tropical note - more floral than fruity. Pot still spice hangs with and colors every different note that comes. There's a huge richness in the nose. Excellent, bordering on incredible. P: Juicy and fruity right at the front of the tongue - bright red apple and something almost like a cross between strawberry and raspberry (and a little sweeter than both). A little further back on the tongue you get that milk chocolate, a big coconut note, and vanilla marshmallow cream. The chocolate shifts dark and bitter just about the time the pot still spices hit, which in turn hits the marshmallow cream and gives it a toasted nature - like a toasted vanilla marshmallow cream, which sounds like an amazing idea. Finish is toasted coconut - and toasted like it had been set on a hot charcoal grill and left there until it caught fire - more dark chocolate, dried red fruit, dried cereal grain, and obviously pot still spices. The spice has some heat, but it's less than your average cinnamon bomb bourbon. This is much more subtle with a narrower range of baking spice notes - a little cumin, a little cardamom, maybe a dash of allspice, a little ginger heat, just enough cayenne to let you know it's there, and then all of that cooked together in a light brown sugar syrup to sweeten it all up. Mouthfeel is actually a bit thinner than you might expect from a cask strength whiskey - this is not one of those thick, oily, viscous single pot still whiskies. It is a bit coating, but nothing more. The overall effect is entirely pleasant and delightful. I think Irish Single Pot Still is my favorite type of whiskey. There's something magic in the unmalted barley, maybe. Or it's the oats. I don't know. Anyway, I think this is my favorite Irish SPS. I don't think that exactly makes it my favorite whiskey - I'm not sure how I could even pick such a thing - but it's about as close as it gets. I have no complaints about this: it's delicious, complicated, even thought-provoking the way that good whiskey sometimes is (for me, anyway). It's also relatively cheap and relatively abundant. If I had to say one almost bad thing about it, it would be that it tends to feel a bit straightforward, takes no risks, and lands almost too true to style, but someone has to set the bar: this does that for Irish SPS. Can't recommend this enough.

N: Woody and nutty. Caramel, toffee, almond, oak, peanuts. Pretty straightforward - generally seems to be light on more complex scent combinations. There may be some candy corn and something like a peanut butter cup (and/or peanut brittle) going on. Cherries emerge as it sits in the glass - and they emerge smashed on a dried out piece of firewood (so there is some complication in it). P: Dry with a wood influence that I would call stout - it's not overwhelming, but it does give the bourbon a nice backbone. And it's more wood than I've come to expect from Dickel. Beyond the wood, you get smooth peanut (almost peanut butter), almond, sweet corn, vanilla, toffee, and some mild baking spices. A bit wimpier in the middle with a watery mouthfeel. Finish has a roast coffee bitterness with sour cherries. Wood tannins pucker the cheeks. There's some generally tasteless heat that just burns toward the end of the pour. Relatively short finish. The peanut character is there to let you know it's a Dickel, but that wood backbone is something different for the brand (in my fairly limited experience). The end result is just an okay bourbon. There's nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing really stands out either. In terms of value, could stand to shave a few dollars off the price - $30-40 is a really competitive range (e.g. Knob Creek 9 Year, Eagle Rare (sometimes), Heaven Hill BIB) and this would fare better in the $20-30 range. There's plenty in that lower range that drinks much younger than this. At $25, this could be a pretty good standby, repeatable bourbon.

N: Smoke, bacon grease, caramel, vanilla. Chocolate orange, fresh turned earth, cut flowers. Cinnamon, oak barrel, fresh cut wood, sawdust, pencil shavings, pine. Big, robust, and round sweet corn that, along with a healthy ping of ethanol, serves as the backbone of all the other notes on the nose. Have to let this one open - the longer this sits in the glass, the better it gets. P: Sweet creamed corn, melted caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, oak. Powdered chocolate, toasted marshmallow. Actually, bit of graham cracker in there too, so it's got a sort of s'mores vibe to it. Marzipan, smoked meat, black pepper. Reasonably restrained baking spice on the mid-palate. Some dried fruit: raisin, fig, prune. Finish is a big hit of bitter dark chocolate that lingers past everything else. Floating on the chocolate is more of that restrained baking spice - getting hotter and leaning cinnamon now, but still restrained. Some charred oak or even fresh stained wood. Little bit more of that dark dried fruit fades in and out, then the chocolate is left alone to close it out. This is a fantastic bourbon. It delivers the classic bourbon profile, but then riffs off that to bring in the smoky, meaty, earthy notes. And all of it is done with subtlety and excellent execution. There's not an off note in this. And it's kinda scary easy to drink for being just over 130 proof. I can't think of anything bad... oh yeah, the price. Honestly, I have not regretted paying the markup. I do find it annoying that the markup is all over the map. I've seen this locally anywhere from $120 (rarely) to $200 (sadly, getting more common). I may end up doing this again at the $160 mid-point I paid, so I guess I'm saying VFM at that price is okay, I can live with it. The high end seems excessive - I'd find something else to spend it on. The low end isn't exactly a steal, but I passed on it twice, including at the place I ultimately purchased - they raised their price by $40 between visits - and obviously wished I hadn't. If you happen to get it for $100 or less, you've done quite well.

N: Peat and smoke right away. But this is a different kind of peat smoke - not like Islay or the other island Scotches. This smells like fried motor oil and cooked vegetables with a spritz of paint thinner - and somehow it works. These notes are immediately noticeable, but also light and almost airy and not dominating. Moving on... Behind the peat and smoke, you get vanilla, whole lemons in a bowl, cut grass, and dried hay. Red fruit and orchard fruit linger deeper in the background. White wine, honey, communion wafers. Dash of something floral. Apple juice. P: Bold, rich, immediately spicy. Caramel and vanilla swirl with earthy and hot smoke and cinnamon. Honey, vanilla cream, red fruit, and a splash of lemon juice. Salt and black pepper. Charred wood. Some of the softer white wine and honey notes build back in around mid-palate. Finish is more vanilla, cinnamon, earthy peat, and smoke. Slightly sour and bitter. Chili pepper spice builds and lingers for some time. Little bit of dark chocolate and sour fruit mingle into the spice at the end. This is interesting, but a lot of the notes are sharper than might be preferred. That makes it drink a bit young. And also makes it feel like more a curiosity than a singular attempt to make a great peated Irish whiskey. On the whole, solidly drinkable, but not likely to induce many cravings. Slightly overpriced, but worth trying.

N: Campfire smoke. Like, the smell on your clothes the morning after you built the campfire - that kind of smoke. Ash, tobacco, dry firewood. Vanilla, caramel, red fruit. Fresh pear and peach. Earth, pine, and a faint medicine note. Hard swirls release heavier and/or dried fruits: plum, raisins, dried apricot. Smoked vanilla. P: Sweet red fruit, cinnamon candy, smoked chocolate. Campfire coffee, beef jerky, salt. Hint of teriyaki sauce - tangy, sweet soy, plus a dash of spice. Vanilla, caramel, buttered dinner rolls. Honey in weak tea. Allspice, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and dashes of other baking spices. A creamy marshmallow vanilla slides the pour into the finish. More baking spice, dried red fruit, dried stone fruit, dash of sweet oak. Light tannin bitterness. Light, but pleasant spiciness. This is a gem. Perfectly balanced. Great complexity. Smoke, fruit, malt, wood, spice - all are well represented, add something to the dram, and are just about perfectly executed. Hard to ask for more. I only hold back from a perfect score because, as good as it is, I think there's one more gear beyond this that adds a certain WOW factor. This doesn't quite have that, but it's damn close. And a freakin' steal at ~$65. Blows away higher priced, older whiskies. Highly recommended.

N: Oak and sweet corn lead off, but then there's smooth caramel, vanilla, toffee, red fruit, coffee. Peach and pear come in under a layer of caramel. The oak keeps coming back a little different - sometimes sweet, sometimes charred with tobacco notes. Every Knob Creek bottle I've had - which is quite a few, because the NAS version was an old standby for me for years - has something that's recognizable (to me, at least) as the Knob Creek profile. It's hard to put a finger on exactly what it is, but I'll try: some combination of cooked vanilla, little bit of caramel, and an earthy char. This bottle has it in spades and I think it's a really nice expression of the profile - just a little softer and more refined than you would get from the old NAS. P: Caramel and vanilla backbone with a soft fruit underbelly - peach, pear, red apple., apricot - all of it very ripe. Wood starts in around the middle and turns the fruit sour, then cooks it all in baking spices. Then there's some smoke and char that's laced with vanilla. Finish is light cinnamon and other baking spices - only a little burn. The fruit turns tangy and then slightly bitter, combines with more of that baking spice, and then the three - tangy, bitter, spicy - all ride out together. This is a pretty damn good bourbon. The fruitiness of it is a surprise. A good balance of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, oak, and spice with maybe a dash of smoke is what I expect from Knob Creek. This is all that, plus. The fruit shifts across the experience from ripe to cooked to eventually feeling like it's just been soaking in booze for a few hours - it's like eating the fruit mash out of an Old Fashioned that's been sitting on the bar all night. I don't think I've ever done that, mostly because the drink wouldn't last that long, but it doesn't sound like a terrible idea to me.

N: Tropical notes: mango, pineapple, and a splash of banana - plus something less familiar - starfruit or dragon fruit maybe. Lemon citrus with a mild kitchen cleaner vibe to it. Sour red fruit that changes to sour candy over time. Nutty, bready. Little bit of vanilla, maybe some almond extract. P: Semi-sweet with traditional caramel and vanilla mixed with a muted smoothie blend of the tropical notes on the nose. Short flashes of toffee, chocolate, and light roast coffee. Heavier middle with raisin, plum, and fig. Finish begins by layering cinnamon on top of the heavier fruits - really nice transition. Cinnamon and baking spice leave some lingering heat, but otherwise give way to more vanilla and some bitter almond. A nice, cool mint builds in way late. Super solid and completely inoffensive in any way. It's almost boring - in that good, comforting, familiar way that we all probably need sometimes. It's a solid entry-level for the brand. Also feels like it might be a good entry point for someone curious about Scotch generally or single malts - reasonably priced and abundant, easy to drink, just enough complexity to be worth a dissection.