Tastes

A lot of rye spice with nice brown sugar notes. Good, long alcohol burn with rye and burnt sugar. Pleasant, if not overly sophisticated.

Strong spiciness with a full-bodied, oily, round sweet flavor with black pepper and caramel notes. Some woody notes in the finish but well balanced with alcohol and a long burn. Some hints of leather and vanilla.

Fudgey. A bit of peat. Drinkable, but not exceptional. Worth trying, but not going to buy again.

The more delicate, herbal side of Highland Park. This is actually pretty great - I think that I prefer the 12 in flavor and price, but this us a nice whiskey... it also has a strawberry flavor which blows my mind, because it's something I've never found in all the many whiskeys that I've tried. It does have a green herby finish with some dark chocolate hints.

Strong robust flavor with a lot of the signature Highland Park flavor. Really good, it's probably stronger/bolder than Highland Park 12, but less nuanced. Really good, but I think that the 12 is great, and quite a bit cheaper.

I've never noticed the dark chocolate in Highland Park before, but it's front and center tonight. Beautiful peat, smoke, honey, heather. Rich and spicy - the flavors blend beautifully and harmoniously. A bit of apple and dry herbs.

Pleasantly smokey, much more than I expected. I can taste the port, but it's nicely blended, it doesn't dominate or overpower like port often does - it really works here, it's balanced by the smoke. This whiskey is much spicier than I expected, I get a nice warm pepper. There is a sweet center, it has some port, but something else I can't quite put my finger on. A little dark chocolate in the finish, a bit of wood, but not too much. It's nice and oily. Raisins toward the end. This is MUCH better than I expected, it's been years since I had Glenmorangie, and I felt that it was average - nice, but it didn't stand out. Well, this stands out!

Some coastal elements on the nose with very faint hint of smoke. The palate is round and sweet, a decent amount of toasted malt, a hint of smoke. There is some vanilla with a nice round honey at the center, a touch of caramel, with a dry finish that has dark chocolate notes. There is a bit of brine and a bit of salt. Most of the flavors kind of come and go, without any one lingering too long. There is a bit of woodiness, but not too much. There is actually a lot going on here. For the price, this is fantastic. Even if it were $15 more, it'd still be worth buying. It actually reminds me a bit of Highland Park, not as bold or spicy, but some of the same elements

Banana and hints of brown sugar. Walnuts. There is a lot to like here, I just wish it had a heavier, oilier mouthfeel. Lingering woody finish. I feel like this is "technically" good, but it's definitely missing something that I really want to find. I can't call it bad, because it's not, it's just lacking a certain something. I'm enjoying this, there are things that I really like about it, but I wouldn't buy it again if that makes sense, particularly not at $50/bottle.

Apricot on the nose. Sweet, fruity, brandy like flavor followed by a sharp, spicy rye, with a long fruit and rye finish. Unusually fruity for a bourbon.