Tastes

Aroma of caramel or caramel corn, vanilla, maybe a little brown sugar. Sweet but a bit hot on the palette due to the high ABV. A little briny in the finish, with a hint of smoke. 3 cl sample from the 12 Drams of Christmas Premium (2019 Edition).

Clean aroma, no smoke. A bit of apple flavor, and then oak wood and spices appear in the finish, with the barest hint of smoke. 3 cl sample from the 12 Drams of Christmas Premium (2019 Edition).

Slightly sweet, with medicinal and moderately smoky aromas and flavors. The finish is relatively dry and short. It’s nice enough, but nothing about it is exceptional. 3cl sample from the 12 Drams of Christmas Premium (2019 Edition).

Significant peat smoke. It’s very hot neat. The alcohol burn overpowers everything. It’s much more pleasant on the rocks, though. 5 cl sample, part of a three-bottle The Loch Fyne gift set.

A hint of buttered popcorn, and maybe a slight hint of toffee. 5 cl sample, part of a three-bottle The Loch Fyne gift set.

Sweet, with the typical Laphroaig Band-Aid, medicinal, or more properly ortho-cresol aroma in the nose, and more of the same, plus brininess and gobs of intense peat smoke on the palette, followed by a little vanilla. This is one of the smokiest scotches I’ve had so far. 3 cl sample from the 12 Drams of Christmas Premium (2019 Edition).

It’s peated, but lightly so. Smoke and a bit of orange peel or marmalade appear in the nose. It’s sweet on the palette, with vanilla, caramel, and spicy pepper standing out. Gentle smoke continues in the relatively short finish. 3 cl sample from the 12 Drams of Christmas Premium (2019 Edition).

Peat smoke and medicinal (Band-Aid) aromas in the nose. Rich, complex smoke flavor, a bit sweet and reminiscent of beef jerky, on the palette. Medicinal flavor appears in the finish, followed by smoke that lingers for a long time. 3 cl sample from the 12 Drams of Christmas Premium (2019 Edition).

Complex aromas in the nose and flavors on the palette. Classic bourbon that doesn’t taste as hot as expected considering it’s 100 proof.

Cherry and paint thinner in the nose. Moderately sweet, usual bourbon flavors, with some cherry and walnut, and an element that brings back memories from my childhood, of when my parents used to hang wallpaper, like wet wallpaper or even wallpaper paste. I don’t have a name for it, and notice it to a greater or lesser extent on different days, but I don’t find it pleasant. There’s also noticeable menthol that leaves the edges of the tongue feeling slightly numb after a bit. Old Forester is okay in an Old Fashioned, but I don’t really enjoy drinking it neat. Entry-level Wild Turkey is much better tasting at a lower price.