Tastes

Peat smoke, wood and sweet sherry dominate this, and secondary strong flavors are earthy, salty or briny, slightly bitter, and savory -- a very complex expression. It is quite smooth but I feel like it could be smoother for its age, 16 years, having been bottled in 2009 and distilled in 1993. Still, it's one of the best whiskeys I have ever tasted -- the best being Bowmore 15 year Darkest Islay (now simply called Bowmore 15 Year), which I consider a fantastic value at $100 per 750 ml bottle in Michigan. One caveat: this bottle is now 2/3 empty, which I'm sure affects the flavors but I couldn't tell you in which ways. Rich sherry and mellow wood flavors are mainly what rockets this whiskey almost into the amazing, super-delicious, stratosphere category for me -- a rare treat. The peat, smoke and complexities I can't even put into words add fascination and uniqueness to a whiskey I could never afford without it being gifted to me, probably purchased before its current online asking price, $525-712 USD. It starts in the nose with the sweetness of sherry from the Pedro Ximenez casking (not sure what double matured means, I suspect it's a marketing term rather than something that adds greatness to a whiskey) and a complex, olden-seeming woody almost finished wood furniture aroma. (Some of the Macallan Editions 1-4 have similarly woody, finished furniture characteristics.) On the tongue, sweet sherry (and a little mint, orange peel perhaps?) hit first. Suddenly a rush of peat reek exhausts into the nose and throat, rising and expanding as from a cozy wood-burning fireplace. A slight burn on the middle of the tongue and mid-palate is the only downside to this fabulously balanced Islay expression. The finish is unexpectedly a little bitter yet also sweet and woody, medium long I would say without knowing how long average whiskey finishes are, joined by a smokey residue at the end. If I could afford it, I'd buy several bottles and probably go through them within 2 to 5 years when hankering for an excellent, verging on great peated, sherry-casked Islay whiskey! FYI, most of the flavors I tagged were mere hints, likely because my palate is coarse and diminishing with age. That doesn't diminish my enjoyment of an excellent whiskey though! I just wish I could taste more complexity and details, if the latter is the right word.

The predominant flavors are spice as if it were made partly with rye, and an intense flavor I can only describe as dirty copper, both in the main tasting and the aftertaste. All Irish whiskeys taste coppery to me, which I assume comes from the copper still. Very hard to distinguish other flavors except perhaps mint and anise and a little bit of oak. It has an oddly opposing smoothness and sharp spiciness at the same time. I would never choose this as a daily drinker and won't have it again. Not worth the price of a $14 pour.

Very heavy on the barrel char, initial scent of strong medicinal alcohol. A deeper taste, on ice, adds oak and sweetness but a bit overwhelmed by barrel char. Char fades with further dilution, making this a strong contender for the carafe as a nearly daily drinker I'm surprised barrel char isn't a flavor tag! It's the reason I usually don't enjoy bourbons but this one has plenty of sweetness and a little fruit and richness to compensate. Maybe figgy, caramel and vanilla.

If I didn't taste myself I would think this was Old Pulteney Navigator. It has the same copper-still mineral taste, 46% ABV and is aged in Sherry casks. Very good, a solid whiskey for the price, apparently $70 -- But I received it as a gift. I'm sure in Michigan, with high spirits taxes, this would top $100 a bottle which would make it unaffordable and not worth it.

This is distilled in copper pots like Irish whiskey, and it tastes similar. I believe the pots impart a smidgen of copper/mineral taste. A splash of well water made it foggy in a snifter (if that's the right word). Very light on peat, slightly sweet and spicy but not anything like a rye bite; strong alcohol overtone, salt, medicinal. This is a 46% ABV expression. A solid, good-tasting low-mid-priced scotch.

This well constructed (maybe because it tastes balanced), high value-to-price Japanese whiskey with no age statement boasts a pleasantly perfumey, old-and-new wood character with an oddly pleasant, slightly medicinal wood alcohol overtone that reminds me of Macallan Edition 4. (Maybe it's Edition 3, because it's hard to remember which is which. I've had 3, 4 and possibly number 1.) It doesn't bother me that the aromas and flavors aren't complex. I don't have the sensory apparatus nuances like "hint of Scottish whimsy and berry-mincemeat fruit pie," only strong (bold and overpowering, even) aromas and tastes. Macallan Editions compare favorably against this Japanese whiskey -- a huge compliment to the distiller, since it runs only about $35 in Michigan vs. over $105 (yes, an oddly specific price, but it's what I remember being quoted by the store owner) for any Macallan Edition as of Fall, 2021. Overall I've had only good experiences with whiskey from Japan! (Taster's word to the wise: you should try the vast landscape of sakis, because the overly strong, sense-blasting dreck they sell here for sake is such a poor imitation, it may be only a toenail off the skeleton of the huge range that exists!) Hibiki's Toki is on my potential "daily drinkers" list. Hibiki Japanese Harmony is of course the best under $85-100 here, and three bottles later I stand by that statement with boots firmly planted in the mud, or earth, or even in a river! I've been told the 21-year is incredibly tasty, complex and amazing in every way.

For a rye, which I'm not particularly fond of in general (except well-aged, like Lock, Stock & Barrel 14- and 18-year) because of their excessive spiciness, this is a sweet and welcome and warming treat for the senses, especially in winter. The maple and sweetness ride clearly up front, but the rye character predominates. There's no hint of excessive woodiness, as noted in the official description, but a very pleasant taste, a spicy but welcome soft burn -- an enjoyably warming, sweet yet spicy experience well worth repeating!

Mild and delicious and spicy with none of the intensity noted in the description here on Distiller. It's like a cinnamon bun, peppered with... erm, pepper, in a whiskey! But there is only 1/20th of the bottle left so probably much of the biting alcohol evaporated? That will be my strategy if I buy this bottle -- leave it open a day or two!! Then, VOILÀ! Perfection!