Tastes

Got this as a Xmas gift from my wife. I gotta tell ya the presentation was top notch! Superb quality on the bottle itself and the attractive Samurai armor. I was hoping the liquid within would match my emotion towards the exterior since I love the culture. When I undid the seal, I got a quite noticeable woody aromatic. This had me excited. Unfortunately, it was a one trick pony and could never get the same intensity again several pours later. The nose from the glass yielded light oak and vanilla. The flavor had a similar effect, but with a touch of earth and spice. This is where it lost points for me. The finish seemed to be very short-lived and tasteless. At times I did get the trademark japanese grain character, but was very inconsistent. The smoothness salvaged it a bit. I'm not a Japanese whisky aficionado by far, but have tried a couple others such as Nikka Coffey and Suntori's upper echelon Hibiki. This doesn't really compare. Not to say this is to be avoided, just nothing to rave about. That aside, this definitely can be a casual drinker. Or better yet, a fair intro for dipping ones toes in the Japanese Whisky waters so to speak. I definitely appreciate it enough to finish the bottle, but it won't be a go to or must have.

Been a while since my last post. Frankly, I've just been enjoying pours in my inventory that I've already shared along with plenty of craft beer hehe. I digress. First I'd like to say how lucky I am to have received this as a bday gift from my wife. Any bottle from Weller is highly difficult to locate around me. That being said, I was ecstatic to try and compare this with my bottle of 12. The higher Abv in the Fullproof was surprisingly close to the smoothness of the 12. There were similarities and differences alike. The nose brought forth a pungent essence of freshly cut spiced apples and faint vanilla. The flavor is where things get interesting. Up front baking spices come barging in and fade into a substantially long finish consisting of oak, leather, and chocolate/caramel candy here and there. In addition, there was a drying effect that added to the duration. The 12 was sweeter and oily in comparison with an elevated level of cinnamon. Less leather as well from what I remember. Would make for a lovely daily/anytime pour if it wasn't for its exclusivity.

Scoring a bottle of this in the wild locally is a tall order. Thankfully, one of my local spots received a 3 bottle allocation the day I visited. Of course, many of you have already had this by now and heard plenty about it myself. Which is why I couldn't wait to crack mine. Halfway through the bottle now and I can say truthfully that the hype was real. Just a shame the price was driven so high from MSRP. Not Pappy pricing, but significant. The aroma yielded a familiar cast of characters. These were our friends warm vanilla, citrus peel, and oak. These 3 continued on to the flavor as well. A welcomed addition was a dusting of cocoa ending with an essence of leather. My guess is that the finely tuned wheat mashing and barreling provided less sweetness. Giving it a nice dryness/grain/grassy feel at times. This also catered to the lengthy enjoyable finish. Lastly, the lower Abv made this dangerously approachable. That being said, I will now put this in the back of my shelf so as to not empty its contents too hastily. Who knows when I'll come across it again. 😉

I decided to withhold my review of this till some time passed and I got through at least half the bottle. I am very satisfied for making this decision. Close to opening, the strength of the heat subdued the lovely intricacies within. 8 months post the potential of this beautiful liquid has been fully realized. To me at least. Let's start with the potent yet involved nose. Out of the bottle I got so much leather I thought I was smelling a designer coat. Baking spices and red fruit took a back seat. After adding 4 drops the leather backed off a bit and allowed more aromas to emerge. I got sweetened grains/nuts, said spices, cherries, oak, and vanilla. The tasting notes granted me a wonderful and complex experience. Minus the H2O I got mostly char and cherry. Post drops it opened it up in a similar fashion as I witnessed with the sniff test. Additional notes of what reminded me of chocolate candy came through along with a touch of orange peel. The oily mouthcoating I felt was quite nice. It made the long, slightly dry, finish possible. I always loved the regular and rye versions of AE, but this took it to an elevated level. I understand now the costly price and fancy box it came in. A fine example of why there's segregation amongst these many spirit choices we encounter out there.

(Batch T-1796) When I saw this at my local Costco and the price, I decided to give it the ol college try. I must say the nose wasn't half bad at all. Great balance of vanilla, spice, and oak. I was intrigued and looked forward to tasting it. Unfortunately, the heat from the proof wasn't as balanced. It seemed to overpower the flavor notes that desperately tried to make themselves known. I did add a couple drops and it helped slightly. What was smothered beneath the burn was leather, corn, cinnamon, and some barrel. In addition to the alcoholic presence was a prominent bitterness towards the end. A shame. IMO this had potential to be much better if the it wasn't off kilter booze/bitter wise. Still ok in a pinch if nothing else is available. Served great as an Old Fashioned though which was my primary interest in it anyway so I won there. That said there are a tad bit cheaper options with an increase in quality for both sipping and cocktailing it. Elijah Craig Small Batch came to mind. Cheers all!

@Ctrexman this is for you. Finally got around to grabbing a bottle of this to compare with my recent review of Proper 12. Did a side by side. Off the bat, I can say this is practically an amplified version of the Prop. Nose was substantially more potent on the Jameson which was nice. It contained plenty of the bourbon barreling influence along with grains and fruit of some kind. The taste was fuller and somewhat smoother as well. The slight ethanol I got from the Prop was more or less absent here. I didn't really get loads of char I was expecting which was dictated on the label. Some yes. Instead it was more along the lines of burnt sugar/caramel. Vanilla as well. The mouthfeel had a pleasant oily texture. Came off a touch sweeter. The 12 had a smidge drier/bitter finish. All in all it was an improvement to the Prop, but not miles apart. The extra $10 I paid for the Jameson compared to the Prop went towards the raised sensory intensity for me. I'd still give the P12 a whirl considering its price. Also for poops and chuckles as well. But to answer your question the Black Barrel definitely won out. I honestly enjoyed it a bit more. I'm looking forward to the next pour. Cheers my friend. 🥃

Purchased through a store recommendation. The guy wasn't kidding when he told me how good this was. Lovely baking spice aromatics. Complex flavors await the palate once the sipping starts. Obvious citrus and orange peel started things off. Midway till the end a welcomed array of leather, subtle tobacco, and warm vanilla lingered on. A touch of dry/bitterness emerged on the aftertaste. Another thing to point out is how ridiculously drinkable this is to have neat considering the proof. $80 well spent IMO.

Finally pulled the trigger on this one mainly cause of the last UFC. But I have been curious about it nonetheless. Not only being a Conor fan, but Irish whiskey in general. Didn't expect much going in based off propaganda and unsavory (most likely biased) reviews. Celebrity attachment aside, this surprisingly wasn't half bad! Before you pass judgement, I have tasted, loved, and reviewed the Green, Yellow, and Red Spots. Not an Irish whiskey connoisseur, but know some things. This got the job done and can be an easy daily/anytime sipper. Straight forward formula. Notes and aromas of vanilla with a touch of ethanol. Some corn character. Medium sweetness and a bit of wood from the bourbon barreling on the back end. Simple yet effective. Definitely nothing complex or spectacular, but for the price of $25 what did one expect anyhow!? Definitely would purchase again for casual drinking, guests, future UFC fights, etc.