Tastes
-
Chattanooga Whiskey Barrel Finishing Series: Islay Scotch Cask Finish
Other Whiskey — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed June 13, 2023 (edited July 30, 2023)This is not what I expected. I expected a layer of peat over a sweet corny bourbon. Those flavors are in the mix, but as others have suggested, this is more than the sum of its parts. It's vegetal, sweet, earthy, vanilla, woody, briny, smoky. And somehow it doesn't just taste like a poorly planned infinity bottle. It works and it's interesting and enjoyable. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample! -
Bunnahabhain 2004 Mòine Pedro Ximenez 17 year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed April 23, 2023 (edited June 23, 2023)On the nose strawberry scone, smoked meat, charred oak, ocean water, then back to berries. Quite a captivating nose. Continued nosing brings out some cinnamon and vanilla extract. The sherry hits first on the palate, thick, rich and fruity. The peat is there, but the balance is heavier on the PX casks than I expected. In fact, second and third sips I'm not getting much of the peat at all until the back end, then it does come on heavy along with some dark chocolate and leather. More time on the palate brings some other fruits - pear, pineapple, and also a creamy custard. Unfortunately the sample ran out before I could find some more notes, as new flavors seem to emerge with each subsequent taste. This is complex, full of flavor, fruity, smoky, delicious. I've only had a few Bunnas, and they've all been very good to great. Really grateful to have the opportunity to try this one. Big thank you to @pkingmartin for the sample. -
Bought this for what seemed like a reasonable 120. It’s batch 2, which I believe is from 2016. On the nose sherry comes forward with raisin, orange, floral, along with salty peat and some industrial funk, almost Springbank-ish. The palate is wonderfully complex. Sherry flavors, vegetal peat, salty ocean, spicy pepper, tobacco, cinnamon. There’s a little funkiness of unknown provenance. There’s sweetness, but it’s in balance with savory, spice, salt, peat, and oak. I liked but didn’t love the 10-year, so wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one. But the extra age has made this one a masterpiece. Delicious and complex. It’s a little dirty, but also refined. Highly recommend.
-
Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey
Rye — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed April 15, 2023 (edited June 23, 2023)Comes across as a somewhat more approachable version of MGP 95/5 rye. It’s not aggressively dilly, although the herbal flavors are in the mix, balanced by sweet caramel, cinnamon/clove, and floral notes. I’d say overpriced, but it’s still a nice rye. -
Two James Spirits Johnny Smoking Gun Whiskey
Flavored Whiskey — Michigan, USA
Reviewed April 15, 2023 (edited June 25, 2023)Small taste. What stood out most to me was acetone and maple. Wasn’t offensive, but wasn’t particularly good either. -
Clynelish 14 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed April 13, 2023 (edited September 1, 2023)On the nose, honey-covered orange, sprinkled with salt. Slight ginger. Not getting any peat, unless it’s the salty note. On the palate I get all of the above. I could be convinced the palate shows a tinge of peat, especially on the back end, seems a wisp of smoke. The flavors are fairly full, and the texture is nice. It reminds me of Old Pulteney. Found this for $57, and feel it’s a good value at that, but I’ll probably look elsewhere when I finish this bottle, as it looks like new normal prices around here are about $15 more. Update: by the end of the bottle, was enjoying this more. Almost like a fuller flavored version of Johnnie Walker Green. Bumping a quarter point, and the current price is sounding more reasonable now.57.0 USD per Bottle -
Glenfiddich 15 Year Solera Reserve
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed April 12, 2023 (edited May 10, 2023)Single pour at friend’s house. Sherry-forward on the nose, fruity with raisins, nuts, other assorted dried fruits. The palate has more vanilla and toffee along with the dried fruit. Not especially complex, but more flavorful than i expected for only 80 proof. It’s not one I'd buy considering this seems to go for north of 80 bucks, but I enjoyed the pour. -
The peat seems somewhat more integrated on the nose than I typically expect for Ardbeg. It's there along with lighter fruits like white grape and lemon/lime. Cake batter. Burnt bacon. The palate shows more smoke. Lemon cake. Salt. A little sooty. Smoky finish. In comparison to open peaty drams on hand, I'd put this as clearly above Ardbeg An Oa, slightly ahead of Port Charlotte 10, but below Laphroaig Lore. Going with a high 4. Big thanks to @pkingmartin for the sample. It's not one I'd previously heard of, but then it's hard to keep track of all the Ardbeg special releases.
-
I wasn't crazy about this on the first few tastes, but it's started to come around about halfway down the bottle. The flavors seem to occupy a sort of middle ground between Wee Beastie and Uigeadail. There's a little bit of fruit and chocolate on top of the peat, but the peat is quite meaty and tastes somewhat ashy and younger like the Beastie. I bought the bottle for $47 and the Beastie was only a couple dollars less, so this is definitely a better value. It's tasty enough, but I'm not sure that I'll be itching to buy another right away when i finish this one. At the same store, the 10 year is only $2 more, and i think it's a bit better. I'm also currently able to buy the 9 year Lagavulin GOT version for about the same price and i enjoy it more, so peatbucks will likely be going that direction for the time being.
Results 61-70 of 389 Reviews