Tastes

distilled in Sweden this dram was made with Optic barley which was peated to 45 ppm, and left to mature for 3 years in a single bourbon barrel. so that's the blurb bit. In terms of the taste as it is very interesting dram. You really do get to type of malted barley flavour that's different from the usual dram. You also get lovely sweetness from the barrel which blends beautifully with the peat. This all came through even at the 60 + % mark however I did add a bit of water to try and take the heat out of it. It does have a bit more of a kerosene e type flavour profile going on as well which I'm not sure if that's to do purely with the spirit itself but it is a bit of an odd one. I don't know personally if I would drink my way through a bottle but I did enjoy it for it's uniqueness.

As always a quality drop from CB. You really get the aberlour flavor profile coming through. Honey, golden syrup, spice, ginger, orange peel on the palate... nose has sherry, raisin, caramel coming through. It runs hot and you get slight bitter astringency (again an arberlour trait) along for the ride as well which takes it down a notch and mars the aftertaste. All in all nice drop.

in a world of complexity (yes I'm looking at you flat pack furniture) sometimes all you want is some simplicity. This dram is definitely that, honey, caramel, slight nuttiness and there you have it. I really quite enjoyed this for the dram it was, not one I would necessarily hurry back to but it definitely fitted the mood I was in.

I think I've set a new record in the time it's taking me to drink two drams... several hours. to be fair I was attempting to rearrange the kids bedrooms and build flat pack furniture and I think drinking alcohol itself definitely slow things down as there was a fair bit of rework in the flat pack building... a good hours worth I think. it was definitely the latest bedtime the kids have had for a while. I found this one so so, and I think I preferred it's 14 year old brother. you do get the heavier wooden influence here , burnt caramel and other aspects coming through but I preferred the freshness and vibrancy of the 14 year in comparison to this. I think by the end I was too tired to even finish it off before I went to bed.

I think I'm one of the outliers on this one. It reminds me of the Balcones I had... the taste profile being quite full on, one dimensional and artificial. The spearmint profile of which I'm not a fan doesn't help. I got varnish and wood glue on the nose. Taste was better but didn't help I had after Bunnahabhain 25 I guess with all its complexity and subtlety. I'm struggling to see how this won so many awards, maybe like Balcones I missed the glory period. That spearmint is just way too overpowering for me..

It's been a while since I've had JD. This is my 2nd in as many decades just about. It was an occasional drink of youth when I liked the sweeter drinks (yes even those terrible RTDs). Now it's a bit to sweet for my liking. Tastes just like JD blended with a mild rye bourban. I warmed a bit more to it as the dram progressed but walked out of the bar without finishing.

I'm with the distiller reviewer and @AntonioSchmid on this one in terms of tasting profile. I personally find however whilst very nice it's not a mind blowing experience by any means. It's a pretty well balanced dram albeit heavier on the slightly bitter wood and leather and the aged oloroso sherry coming through well as dark fruits, prunes etc. I really quite enjoyed this, with a couple of drops of water and pared with some food the flavors open up nicely. If not for the bitterness and slight cat pee flavour it may have rated slightly higher than the 4 to 4.25 awarded.

interesting dram, the flavours are slightly muted but open up over time. burnt toffee and caramel is the predominant characteristic accompanied by slight aniseed, marzipan, grass and green apple, spicy oak notes. A fair bit going on here and it definitely grew on me the more I got into it. I tried the Laphroaig An Cuan after and this dram made it taste pretty one dimensional so I bumped this up a notch and downgraded the Laphroaig.

I have tried a few in the Glen Scotia range including the 15, 18 victoriana and now 25. I'll say overall whilst a very pleasant distillery it isn't one that has made much of a lasting impression. the minor exception is the nas statement the victoriana which was a lot more punchy in terms of flavours. vanilla honey and green apple are the predominant flavour characteristics here , accompanied by a slight ethanol bent which makes it slightly out of kilter and makes for an average shortish finish.

Another very good Benriach effort. Blood oranges, caramel, sultanas, dessert wine. not in the same league as the 18 yr Albarize but still very nice. a few drops of water opened it up nicely. started at 4.25 but by the end it was up in the 4.5 territory.