Tastes

Good classic bourbon. I get apple and cinnamon on the nose. Perhaps some caramel. Taste has some barrel oak, corn sweetness, apple-cinnamon spice, rye spice, barrel char. Oaky, astringent finish with some peanut notes. Not the most sophisticated whiskey, but it's got a great flavor. What it does, it does well, and at the current price, you'd be hard pressed to find a better whiskey around $20. Pleasantly drinkable as is, strong enough, and currently cheap enough to make a great mixer. It's a budget gem and great daily drink!

This is definitely a sherry forward whiskey, and it's not subtle about it. I get barley malt on the nose mixed with sherry notes - some nuts, some raisins, some of the wine elements of sherry. Perhaps a bit grassy. This is a sweet whiskey, but not PX sweet. I can taste the malt and the sherry, but it has sort of a funky sherry flavor that is a mix of raisins, walnuts, with a slight winey/sherry sourness, almost like a fino. I get a blend of caramel, burnt brown sugar, and cocoa. There's also something very herbal and grassy in the mix. I also get a bit of barrel, perhaps a bit of char, and oak spice. The balance is not perfect, it could probably stand a few more years of aging, but that doesn't stop this from being highly enjoyable. The finish is a mix of the barrel spice, perhaps barrel char, sherry funk, and cocoa. The sherry is really a tension between sweet and dry sherry flavors. I don't know what kind of sherry barrels it's aged in, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's a mix of sweet and dry - I get something that reminds me of fino, despite it being sweet overall.

A great standby for a sherried Highland. Nice sweet sherry with some pleasantly soft malt to back it up. I get a bit of barrel spice. It's got a sweet finish with a hint of raisins. I'll need to do a more thorough tasting - I had this with some rich chocolate cake, so it's hard to parse out all the notes in contrast with the chocolate. Though the chocolate and the whiskey make for delightful companions!

The nose is toasted malt, and some fruit, banana and apple skin. Rubbing alcohol. On the palate, lots of caramel, strong cereal grain, burnt malt. Perhaps a little marshmallow? Definitely some mint. A slight hint of green apple. The dry cereal notes dominate the finish. It tastes like having a mouthful of grain. There is a lot going on here, but I feel like there is no balance- everything is just all over the place. It's better than any other Irish whiskey that I've had. I like it, but it's just ok. I have to confess, Irish whiskey has repeatedly failed to impress me. Every bottle I have bought, in every price range, really struggles to justify its place in my collection. For the price, I can probably think of a dozen bourbons, a dozen ryes, and 2 dozen single malt scotches that I'd enjoy more(some of which are even cheaper). It does add something different to my collection, which is ok, I guess.

The nose is barrel char and fruity notes - banana? Rubbing alcohol. On the palate this is very chocolatey, bitter dark chocolate, rubbing alcohol, char, dry oak. The finish is long with bitter chocolate, wood, and grass. Some of the more bitter flavors run a little too wild in the end for my taste, but I can appreciate this in that it's different. Edit: I normally don't add water to stuff below the mid 50s ABV, but I did in this case, and it makes a world of difference- the nose becomes very malty, with hints of spice, and a little bitter chocolate. The change in taste is even more dramatic. The barley malt really jumps forward, and the bitter chocolate notes take a back seat. It has a nice spice, somewhere between ground ginger and white pepper, and develops a sour apple character. The finish is spice, malt, oak, and just a hint of baking chocolate. I would not drink this again without water, but with it, it's almost a different spirit.

The nose is much less smokey than I expected, but smoke is clearly there. It smells coastal, a bit like a pier. It has a sweet, phenolic character. On the palate I get salty smoke, with a tingly brine on the tip of my tongue. The salt evolves and lingers. The smoke is dry at first and becomes sweet. It has a savory flavor reminiscent of smoked fish. Dry herbs, sage, pine, thyme. A bit of pepper mingles with the salt. The finish is salt, smoke, and is very astringent. I was pretty unimpressed, dare I say dissapointed at the initial experience, so I added a drop of water, something I tend not to do even with cask strength whiskey. I think this needs it. The nose becomes much more pungent- assaulting - more salty than smokey, savory smoked pork, maybe a touch of apple. It seems saltier on the tongue, harsher, more raw, like surf breaking on rocks. The sweet phenol is still there, but it gives way to a savory flavor. I do get a hint of pineapple- I still get sage, pine needles on the forest floor. The finish is long, harsh salt spray, pineapple, lingering smoke, blackened charred firewood. At this price point, it's competing with the glorious beast that is Octomore, and that is a tough sell. This is great(with water), but I think Octomore edges it out.

Raisiny, nutty, very sherry forward on the nose. Caramel and maybe a little powdered sugar. On the palate, this is almost as much sherry as scotch. Lightly sweet, a bit of spice, black pepper. The finish is pepper and wood, with a bit of mustiness. Caramel emerges late and the sherry raisins and nuts return. This is one of the darkest scotches that I've had. The sherry is strong, so it takes a while to acclimate and get to the more subtle notes that make this stand out.

Smells like a musty barrel, peanut shells. Wood spice. Picks up some more bourbony notes. Very barrel forward, but the malt stands up pretty well. Toasted barley on the tongue. Woody and spicy.

Lemon and peaches on the nose. Light grass and grain. Light citrus lemon/lime on the tongue. Barley with a touch of sweetness(honey?) Slight sour, yeasty finish. Malty but earthier. A bit of wood spice. This is a bit of an oddity, but definitely worth a try. The classic Glenmorangie is in there, but it's subdued behind the more unusual flavors.