Tastes

The Bottle: Kitschy, but not nearly as good as some of DL's others. Timorous Beastie, for example. Now that's a bottle! In the Glass: Pale straw. I'm the Nose: Smoke & brine with a touch of tar. Alcohol. Youth. Taste: So, this is a "baby" Islay and it makes no excuses for it: smokey, sooty, sweet and salty. This reads as predominantly a young Ardbeg. I know there are some others in the vat, but to my palate, Ardbeg is playing lead fiddle. Not a lot going on in the development, but the arrival and the finish are quite pronounced. Smoke up front, turning to a prolonged "coal soot" sweetness. For the money, I prefer some of the standard single malt bottlings from Islay; but I do not regret my purchase. There are a lot of good things going on here, despite the perceived youth. Worth a look!

In the Glass: Dark, golden syrup. On the Nose: Strong. This is fairly high proof stuff, so add some water. Corn sweetness, leather, orange peel and a touch of nondescript spice. Not terribly dissimilar from other well-made bourbons. Taste: Thick and sweet. The orange peel and leather notes from the nose carry through here into the development. For me, the finish is really where the cask shows its stuff. Well integrated vanilla and a touch of oak. This is some really good quality spirit that was well served by spending seven years in the cask. Very tasty neat, but this stuff seems made for an old fashioned. I haven't tried Booker's yet, but of the other small batch "Beams", this is my favorite.

In the Glass: Liquid bronze. On the Nose: A great balance of sweet and smoke. Sticky dark fruits, campfire and Christmas cake. Taste: Ok, so…this is straight-up delicious. This has so much going for it that I look for in a whisky: sweet, smooth, smokey, complex. It has a swift sweet arrival that develops into a really nice "candied" meat note with some campfire smoke. It's almost chewy. The finish lasts for quite a while, slowly turning dry and taking on a slight smoked meat note.

In the Glass: Light amber. On the Nose: Peat. Sticky dark fruits like dates or dried figs. The sweet and smoke really go nicely together here. The Peat is more restrained than in the standard 10 year old bottling. Taste: Yep, that's an Ardbeg. More coal than campfire(though you get the typical campfire smell going if you exhale through your nose after a few sips), more soot than than vegetal. There's the sweetness that you'd expect with the sherry influence, but it's far from a sherry bomb. There's definitely a road-tar kind of note to this stuff, but I don't necessarily count that against it. Swift arrival, sweet and smokey development that turns toward a bitter finish. I do think that the younger whiskies in here dominate the older ones a bit, especially on the finish; but overall it's quite good. The cask strength plays well to this kind of expression, but I do think that I prefer the standard 10 if I had to pick one.

In the Glass: Light gold. On the Nose: Wood spice. A sweet brown sugar note with a "breakfast-like" quality. Not quite maple syrup, but you can see it from there. Dried fruit. I haven't ever come across a whisky quite like this, actually. I don't have anything that I can readily compare it to (in a very good way). Taste: Whatever casks these guys are using, they are really doing a fantastic job. There's no age statement on the bottle, but it doesn't taste terribly young. The spirit and the wood arrive hand-in-hand quite slowly, but then turn towards a prolonged, full development. More of that wood spice, leading to a drying finish. Lingering cinnamon and dried fruit notes. Great stuff! Well worth the $25 for the 200ml bottle that I picked up. Hopefully Tasmanian sprits become more common and more affordable here in the States.

In the Glass: Chardonnay Gold. On the Nose: Sweet, cereal and vanilla. This isn't terribly complex, but you don't expect it to be either. Taste: Arrives sweet and with that cereal note again. Think "Whisky Corn Flakes" and you're on the right path. Short development and a syrupy fruit and vanilla note to finish. There is not a lot going on here, but for under $30, it's a very approachable and drinkable whisky. It's nice to see it at 43% ABV, but I would use it more for cocktails than just as a sipper.

Edit: the following review is for an older release at 43%ABV, purchased in 2008. In the Glass: Golden syrup. On the Nose: Big. Maritime Sherry with a backdrop of sweet smoke. You can tell that this is an older malt, as it smells exactly like what I would expect Laphroaig's maturation warehouse to be like: wood, smoke, Sherry and the sea. It's like finding your grandfather's old jacket where he kept pipe tobacco, years after he's last worn it. Taste: Echoes a lot of the nose , but the smoke is actually downplayed. The peat here is more bog than fireplace. Long development of flavors, with the Sherry notes taking the lead. Dried fruit. Dark brown sugar. The finish turns pleasantly bitter, which sets up the sweetness of the next sip quite nicely. It clings to your tongue, lasting minutes after the glass is empty. Exhaling through your nose after a sip reminds me of the dying embers of a campfire. This is totally Bowmore 15's older, classier brother. Absolutely brilliant stuff. I have a very hard time imagining a better whisky experience than this.

In the Glass: Light gold, apple juice. On the Nose: Young. It definitely has some of that Bowmore maritime influence to it. Taste: The flavor follows the nose pretty closely, but the youth is even more apparent. There's a slight touch of citrus rind in the mix as well. It quite honestly almost has a synthetic note to it, even after its had a chance to open. There's a reason why Bowmore does 10's and 12's, and this whisky is a really good example as to why you'd be better off with those.

In the Glass: Dark amber, maple syrup. On the Nose: Sweet, bourbon notes are the first to hit the nose. Vanilla, rye and then the sherry with some faint baking spices. With the sherry in there, it almost has a dark rum quality to it. Neat, there's some heat on the end from the 45% ABV. With water, the heat on the nose disappears. This is likely a younger blend, and at the higher strength it can certainly take a few drops. The nose gets sweeter and the baking spices come more to the forefront. Burnt sugar, and some caramel. The water tames the rye and amps up the bourbon influence. Taste: Sweet, hot, spice. You get the bourbon and the rye immediately on the arrival, with the heat of the alcohol through the development. The finish is all about the sherry. It almost seems like cheating to simply add sherry instead of finishing the whiskey in a sherry cask, but it's also kind of genius too. The sherry is only 1% of the total blend, and that seems like just the right amount. With water, this becomes a lot more fruit-forward on the arrival with the development and the finish showing off the rye. Sweet and spice. The alcohol still plays a role here, but it's pretty well integrated for a younger blend. This is like the Canadian cousin to some black, spiced rums that I can think of.