Tastes

I tried a sample of this along with the 17-year-old. I don’t have any specific notes on it but it was OK and nothing that stood out as bad. It felt a little thin and I think the low ABV lets it down. It wasnt spectacular or really memorable and I wouldn’t buy a full bottle. The 17 however was amazing: thick, oily and full of flavor.

It's a little young, maybe a little green and minerally but it is powerful and full of flavors. I like it with a little water. Glengoyne is just making tremendously good whisky over the last couple of decades and it shows across their lineup.

I've tasted over 230 different expressions of Bourbon, Rye, Scotch, Irish and Japanese Whisk(e)y since I discovered my love of it 18 months ago. How this is overlooked as an amazingly good whisky at a fantastic price, I don't know. I like sweet, less dramatic bourbons and this fits. Carmel, Brown Sugar, Maple, Vanilla and tiny oak spice cinnamon. It hits the notes I like in a bourbon, smells good and the value is off the charts. One of the best kept secrets in Bourbon today (2019-2020). I know it is getting younger and it is single barrel so maybe an occasional off barrel but the one I have is good.

Muscular whisky. The abv is almost overwhelming and it takes water well. The nose is dark chocolate and espresso with maybe some dark fruit. The taste is all dark chocolate and maybe some coffee, water just makes it more so. I like it. The finish is more dark chocolate and maybe a little bitter oak but not too much. Billy Walker is brilliant. I am just getting to know this whisky and look forward to exploring our relationship over the next year. I think we will be good friends.

Daily drinker. Not a complex dram but there is an art to such a mellow and refined dram. It smells sweet like honey and vanilla and it is sweet and lovely on the palate. Fresh and malty with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla from the casks. Balvenie in general does not overwhelm or blow you away, they kind of sneak up on you like a cat, stealthy and silent. I am really enjoying many of their expressions and this is a great, affordable whisky. Absolutely a classic and must try for any whisky lover.

I wanted to love this so bad but it is a sherry BOMB and that is not my jams. It smells good. Sweet and fruity nose with a hint of sherry and sufur. It is very strong sherry flavor. The finish is drying. I will save it for my sherry loving friends. If you love Parliament 21, Aberlour Abunadh, this is your drink (at least a 3.0 rating for you).

Young and hot. Not my thing. Got a sample from a friend. Not sure if he really likes me now...

I opened this on St. Patrick's Day 2020. The nose is beautiful, sweet and fruity. Maybe tropical fruit, perhaps banana, mango? It has a nice abv and is sweet and malty on the palate, turns a bit bitter and oaky on the finish but also spicy. It's a nice, inexpensive Irish Single Malt. Lots of flavor and a little heat. It's permanent on my shelf now. The aroma is the best part of it for sure but the mouthfeel is good, not too thin. This is very different from the traditional Irish Pot Still or Grain/Pot Still mix and is really like a Scotch. Here is to cheating, stealing, fighting and drinking! If you cheat, may you cheat death. If you steal, may you steal the heart of another. If you fight, may you fight for a brother/sister. If you drink, may you drink with me! HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY! sláinte mhaith!

Bad Diageo! Bad. I had this at a friend's house. The marketing tie in made me nervous as did the requisite chilling. The bottle and graphics are truly amazing. It would be a nice collectible but how does it taste? It was really awful. I could not finish my dram. After a couple of sips, it was a drain pour and now that drain hates me like Gollum hates Bilbo. Forever! I hope Diageo is making this for the suckers to fund really good and affordable Talisker! I am starting a SpartaTodd rule that the graphics and bottle design is inversely proportional to the quality of the juice inside. If the goal was to make a whisky that matched Season 8 GoT then... SUCCESS!

Black Barrel is a mix of pot still (80% I read somewhere) and grain whiskey that is decently aged, more than you would expect in a $38 bottle of whiskey. I love Irish pot still so I had to try this. It has a fresh fruity smell typical of pot still. In the mouth it is very creamy and has fruit, citrus and a bit of grain taste. The finish is a little spicy with a taste of char, not smoke. Apparently they char the heck out of ex-Bourbon barrels and age the potstill/grain mix in them. You can absolutely taste that char but it doesn't take over. It's kind of like a poor man's Midleton Very Rare and I really like it. The low abv (40%) works in its favor if you want to drink it neat. I didn't have it over ice but it would probably be good in that role, abv be damned. It is not very complex but tastes good and makes a great daily drinker!