Tastes

I don't think I've ever tasted a sherry finished rye whisky. TBWC has taken which sounds like a below average spirit based on reviews of other James E Pepper efforts and transformed it to something not to bad. I'm not going to get carried away and start raving but TBWC are a good IB and they've done a decent job here. The only criticism is that rye plus oloroso is a slightly on the sickly sweet side but generally the oloroso and peppery rye marry well. Solid 3.5.

"The virgin oak influence is strong with this one"...DV. Minty peat as RMD indicated. I'm with LE on this one. Nice drop but it'd have been good to see the other casks which I also think have been refilled to nth degree take a front seat. I do struggle with anything '....mint' as well. Benriach peat + great cask finish is often amazing.. this is good but not at that level. I'd rate the 22 yr Moscatel, 18 yr Albarize, single cask port efforts well ahead. Started at 4.25 but that spearmint/ peppermint is really a bit overpowering, slightly artificial and irritating me. Usually it's in bourbons i encounter it but given it's first fill virgin oak heavy it makes sense. 3.5 it ends up at and if I had a bottle I'd have a feeling it'd fall lower as I'd get real tired of it. Interesting I do notice quite a bit of variance in the tasting note descriptions as well...personal taste buds or batches blended differently? If you love minty peat and you have the same batch as this you'll be in love..if not....

Definitely one that needs time and a few drops of water. The official tasting notes are spot on. Caramel, toffee, marmalade etc. Finish is warm and slightly drying and astringent. I like this one and think it's a distillery whose offerings improve with age. Solid 4

This one has been very well reviewed by the gang. Sandlewood, cinnamon, and other flavor notes I agree with. I think you can however often tell the measure of a cask strength whiskies maturity and complexity or lack thereoff by the way it handles water. I think this was better cask strength personally even if it was a bit hot and slightly out of balance at that abv. A bit of water and time bought out slightly bitter characteristics and diluted the flavor and a bit more overpowered it and turned it into watery ethanol. Interesting to experience Japanese wood influence though. I'd like to try the 46% offering to see if the offical watering down is more successful than my haphazard method.

Interesting I've seen people who have tried both the CS and 46% version and prefer the latter. I think I have to agree with Joe C on this one. I found the CS version a bit hot and bitter until I watered the shite out of it...and still the bitterness remained on the aftertaste more so than the 46% version. If the 46% is a 4 to 4.25 this is a 3.75 to 4. I was thinking I'd love to try it too see how they compare, forgot I had a sample and then when I went to randomly grab a dram it was this one! As for notes, similar to the 46 but the balance isn't quite there.

Kavalan has always been a mixed bag for me. One not great (TWE single cask strength sherry) one awesome (ltd run Soloist sherry cask)...and the rest slightly on or above average in the 3.5 to 3.75 range. This one I really like. With a few drops of water sweet toasted vanila coconut banana are the predominant and pretty much only characteristics. It's well balanced, short dry but only slightly bitter aftertaste. I could definitely drink a fair bit of this given I'm a sucker for first full whiskey offerings which I suspect this is in whole or part. Fair price at $90 USD. If it had a better aftertaste itd be up to the 4.25 range.

I had to google who woodwinters were. They are a wine and whiskey merchant in Scotland and this particular whiskey is a 16 year Bowmore. I knew this was going to be a good one as the customary sip just after cracking it open before adding water and time was a good one so given it was cask strength and very drinkable straight and non-oxidised I knew it was going to be a winner. I added the bottle on distiller a short time ago and someone else also agrees. This is Bowmore done right. Great casking and beautiful spirit. Caramel, salted raisins, xmas fruits, smoked maple syrup, dark bitter chocolate..just perfect albeit slight hint of sulphur coming through which adds character and a herbal aftertaste..Bar the slight adversion to the sulphur and herbal side I really can't fault this one at all. I do love the Bowmore characteristics it's just the spirit is often badly handled. This is from a single oloroso cask apparently..my favourite sherry type. This is definitely my top 10 of the year.

4.4 average rating albeit from 12 reviews screams amazing. It's a lovely dram. With liberal dosing of water and time...marmalade, white pepper, sweet vanilla heavy salty peat bursts forward. Lighter and more refined than the 10, like it's older than it is. I'd say I'm in love....does it get to the top echelons of whiskies... Initially a 4 I thought..then definitely a 4.25 then definately a 4.5..this just gets better and better with time. Is it on par with the 10..yes..different but on par I thought. I cracked open the 10 to compare....definately the 8 yr wins on the nose. Palate it's a hard one..the 10 is richer but slightly harsher although it hasn't had the advantage of time open...the 8 year so full of flavour and refinement. The 10 is a fraction of the price so even if the 8 takes it in pure taste then once vfm is factored in then it's a draw. The 8 yr is what I wish the 18 had been (I definitely got a dud bottle). Again a great example of older isn't better as it smokes the (dud) 18 and 25 yr bottles and drams I had. 4.5 it is...maybe 4.75....if I could get hold of a bottle I'd buy it (a rarity these days). Make sure you give this one water and time sitting in the glass to get the most out if it.

Maybe it's cos it's no. 2 and my palate has adjusted but I quite like this one and goes against the grain of my earlier statement of disappointment in the 3.5 to 3.9 distiller rating range...there are always exceptions I guess! Nice spicy rye, caramel, black tea as Joe c noted. It's not a blow you away rye and aftertaste is slightly astringent but it's my type of rye, a solid effort and one I rate higher than the average score (which isn't a frequent occurrence). 3.75

Fruity, spicy, wood polish, bitter oakiness sasperella. I wouldn't say I've had a great bourbon run recently especially the rye ones to be honest. This screams youth and astringency. Not to much mint which is a plus. Once I work through the remnants of my sample collection I'll be forgoing purchasing any dram without a 4+ rating. To many average ones in the 3.5 - 3.9 range I've wasted my taste buds and liver cells on especially in the newer distillery and rye categories.