Tastes

I discovered this at a bar from a resort i was staying at in Key West. Made locally and named after the famous writer. I must say i was quite impressed with this. So much so that i requested another pour afterwards. The nose contained a mix of elements. Namely that of the brown/burnt sugar variety. A hint of vanilla as well. The combination gave off a slight creme brulee essence. The palate detected more of the vanilla with a dash of burnt sugar. What made it more worthwhile was the rye spice that was quite prominent that later gave way to the oak and leather towards the lasting finish. There was tickle of ethanol that subsided after the first couple of sips. It was smooth sailing afterwards. I spread the word with fellow drinkers and we almost crushed the whole bottle. If you're ever in the Key West vicinity, I recommend you seek this out and give it a whirl.

I surprisingly received this bottle as a xmas gift from a very generous and lovely colleague at work. I'm not fully versed on scotches, but this is a great example of one you would try when getting introduced to this style. It was super approachable overall and not very complex. A perfect example of a daily drinker you don't have to think about. The nose was fresh pears and grains. The taste was somewhat similar with hints of oak and a kiss of honeyed sweetness. The finish was light and abrupt. I'd definitely recommend this to those wanting to dip their toes in the world of Scotch whiskeys. Just be wary as to how easy it is consumed.

I received this bottle as a xmas gift from my brother in law. I must say this wasn't too shabby at all. The nose put forth a strong rye spice and caramel character. The taste had a fairly potent mix of corn bread, crushed nuts, leather, and oak that seemed to pop at various times throughout the sipping process. The proof provided a nice warm hug during the finish.

I came across this libation in the hotel I was staying at in Virginia. I never had anything from Mr Magnus. The name intrigued me as well. "Cigar Blend". I must say this was very good indeed. The nose yielded characters of brown sugar, baking spices, and warm vanilla. The sipping experience was lovely. At first, I got obvious notes of oak, dark fruit, and corn. Then after a few more savoring sips the palate settled and out came leather and tobacco. These were more prominent on the finish. I enjoyed this so thoroughly, I almost ordered another. Thankfully, I refrained because I later discovered it had cost me $35 for the pour! Now I'm not a cigar expert by any means, but i can only imagine it pairing exquisitely well with this. Especially, since it was more than fine on its own.

I had no idea the masters behind Legent released this unique cask version of their already solid regular bourbon. The flavors were a bit more pronounced here. An inviting aroma of honeyed fruit and cinnamon. Hint of char. The barreling came through nicely with the whole east meets west theme. Red fruits, vanilla, rye spice, corn grain, and red hot cinnamon candies made up the complex nature residing within this tasty brown fluid. Last but not least, the smoothness factor. This might just be me, but I could've sworn this went down as easy as their previous lower proof offering which is quite impressive! This turned out to be a lovely bday present from the wifey. I highly recommend this to those willing to spend the coin. It won't disappoint. At least in my humble opinion. 😉

I have to say that luck has been on my side in regards to certain aquisitions. A few months back I was able to find a bottle of the previous batch (Act10) of this High West liquid gold. I never would have thought I'd score another bottle of the current batch (Act11) both in the same year. So it's no surprise I dug right in to see what differences there may be between the two. The nose was a bit light having perhaps an essence of rye, ethanol, and fruit of some sort. The flavor is where I noticed more separation. Instead of the cinnamon and fruit I got more of an herbal and earth combo amongst the rye spice kick. Hints of baking spices also resided within flavor environment yet more towards the finish which was less sweet and a touch drier. A very solid batch indeed, but I feel Act 10 edged 11 out slightly. That being said, I'm still going to thoroughly enjoy every pour of this till the end.

I've never had anything from Hillrock in the past so i decided to have myself a pour at a work outing. The aroma had a mix of vanilla, oak, honey, and rye spice. When beginning the tasting process, I immediately got a rye spice and a slight heat kick. In the following sips there was some dried fruit and oak probably from the sherry cask. The finish was dry and on the shorter side. Not too shabby overall.

I was stoked to have found this because I'm a big fan of Lag 16 and tequila in general. Upon first sniff, the smoke factor reminded me of Lag 16. But after letting it sit there were additional characters of oak and agave I get usually from tequila. This intrigued me for what to expect for the sipping experience. At first the peat hit home solidly with a nice warming effect that gave it that fireplace feel. The finish was enjoyable and enduring with a hint of said agave a la the the unique don julio barreling. Definitely an impressive offering from Lagavulin. Looking forward to revisiting the bottle.

It seems distro has improved quite a bit by me as I have been acquiring some nice offerings. Unfortunately, the pricing isn't as forgiving. But not ludicrous. Shortly after pouring the nose yielded a sort of dried fruit character. After some time it transitioned to a fitting fall bouquet of apple and baking spices. The flavor provided a warming spice kick of said apple, oak, grain, and a dash of cinnamon. The finish was fairly durable. In addition, I could swear there was an essence of cherry at the tail end. This wasn't always the case I might add. Maybe just me. All in all this was very well made and should be in every bourbon lover's stash IMO. As long as you can obtain it at a fair price point.

This is by far High West's best work. Their other entries can be hit or miss even though i enjoyed the regular bourbon and rye. My first experience with this series happened about 3-4 years back. I remember not being able to put it down some nights. Unfortunately, exclusive bottles such as these are hard to come by so I didn't see another again till the beginning of this year. I purchased it immediately! I must say this may be one of the best iterations of rye whiskey I've tried. It contained a unique aroma that can be described as cinnamon sticks in cola. The rye spice hits hard on the palate with a lingering finish containing dried fruits, said cinnamon, and the slightest hints of vanilla and leather. All this tied together with a warming hug makes it the perfect choice on a cold night. I am most certainly saving the rest of the bottle for the upcoming change in seasons. Unless I score another bottle.