Tastes

On the nose, I got buttered biscuits, honeysuckle, lemons/peaches, medium citrus fruits, slight spiciness – cinnamon, white grapes, with a pear on the back end... For the palate, it is a lovely, heavy, waxy mouth coat. Drinks well neat, and not overpowering at cask strength. Wave of oranges, butter, ginger, black pepper, and red chilies. Decent, but short, dry finish with more of the wax with a bitter rind. White pepper, and orange marmalade. Well balanced overall. After a couple drops of water, the nose had tobacco, tea, and leather. The palate brought out additional notes of cream, buttery toffee, and caramel. The waxy factor diminishes a little. 3.5 out of 5. Not a beginner’s whisky. It is worth it at regular price, but not worth the secondary market prices, unless you bought it to resale. The theme to this dram is "John the Fisherman" by Primus. Chunky but gooooooood.

Telex - COVID 19 edition...Hope everyone is safe, and staying inside... I pray for everyone's businesses and employees as well... The nose was full of mint, spearmint, basil, and pine needles. On the back end were citrus fruit like lemons and oranges, along with some tropical notes like pineapple and coconut. For the palate, we get caramel, dark chocolate, buttered popcorn, white pepper, all supported by a foundation of white ashy peat smoke. The finish is long, filled with espresso, mocha, toffee, and honey tones. Wow! What an overall complex, yet approachable scotch. The only "complaint" that I can see one can put on this bottle is the feeling of it being quite disjointed. When you pick a 5 course meal, you do want to there to be a flow, in which here the nose and palate are separate. With that said though, the quality of each piece here is exquisite. The cost of the try is a bit much, but remember the true artisan experience from Springbank you are experiencing. The theme of this dram should also be a little haphazard in tone, but be a quality work. "Cirkus" by King Crimson, it is.

The nose brought out cherry compote, deep peat smoke, dark chocolate, creosote, no sulfuric tones, and deep floral tones; like roses and marigolds. For the palate, we get medium red fruits like strawberries/raspberries, a ton of cream, caramel corn, candied lemons/apples, and milk/white chocolate. Oh yeah, that finish is long... More butterscotch with strawberry syrup... A bit like the Springbank Burgundy, but without the trademark funk they have. A sweet dram, but the florals and bitters balance it out. No sour tones here. After a couple drops of water - more anise, black/white pepper, spice and oak properties. The theme to this dram is definitely "Strawberryfire" by the Apples in Stereo. Adore it! 4.25 of 5.

Beautiful! The nose is filled with cinnamon, rich ruby fruits, confection sugar, slight basil, trademark leather, and nutmeg. Palate brings luscious strawberries/raspberries, star anise/all spice, black pepper, sulfur, slight woodiness, but the sherry shines. The finish is nice and long with dark/milk chocolate and black currants/cherries with slight tobacco. Is able to hang easily with the Balvenie 15 Single Barrel. Exquisite dram! The theme should be equal of the song. This one is “Pneuma” from Tool. Damn, I wish it wasn’t limited.

Well well well .... time for review 201! Wanted it to be something special after my break. The nose had a lot of lavender/florals along with the trademark TCP/iodine loveliness. Peat smoke is there, along with light fruit. For the palate, rhubarb was prominent, along with overly bitter dark chocolate. To “fix” this, I added a couple drops of water from an eye dropper. This brought out more of the first fill bourbon cask oaky properties, as well as some caramel/honey and creme brûlée for better balance. The finish is medium but dry. A bit too tart without the drops for me, but I liked the peanuts/cashews aftertaste. 3.75 of 5. The theme needs to be a classy classic. “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel will do.

Great nose from the get-go! Roses and medium level fruit are prominent. Subtle tropical notes are even there. Marshmallow and sawdust on the side, and a nice segue to the palate. White pepper, a little brine, caramel, vanilla, and a little mineral note on the tail end for the finish. It's not too off-putting though, and the finish is a medium one, and it has an overall nice medium mouth coat. With it being non-chill filtered, as well as not having any added color, I think @LeeEvolved got a nice deal on the price, even around 200ish. A nice 22 year old indeed. Solid 4.25 and the theme to this dram is "Disco 2000" by Pulp. Starts out happy enough, but sad when it's over.

I am going to preface this by saying that I am not a grain guy. The nose brought out sawdust first, which is not what I am looking for, along with some apples, pears, vanilla, hay, and other light floral properties. This was a gift from @PBMichiganWolverine as we venture through all what Scotland has to offer. Thanks again. After letting it set out for about 20 min, I thought it definitely could handle water, but let's go in neat first. The palate is much better than I anticipated. Citrus notes really explode with tangerines, oranges, lemons, and even a few cherries on the palate. The taste lingers a bit on the finish, but is a bit dry for me. This makes the Girvan look shameful. Not something I would necessarily buy at all, but if a friend poured it, I would flash a quick grin. One of the best grains I've tried, so it deserves a 3.25 from me. No song though since it's not a malt. =D

Birthday review! It has a very awesome nose. Cherries, both black and regular. Sweet corn, smoke, peat, and vanilla. Medium mouth coat of a nice spice, hint of black pepper, smoky, vanilla, and toffee on the palate. It’s like a scotch, bourbon, and rye in one sitting, thankfully without the dill. Solid performance if you like a sweet buttery long finish too. 4.0. Age could make this more complex, but why bitch.

The nose brings red delicious apples, pears, and light floral properties. Very crisp and bright. Thin mouth coat and the palate brought vanilla, custard, more apples, butter, and the finish was short and dry. Thankfully, there aren’t any off putting notes, but there’s nothing much to set it apart from basic highland or speyside 10 year olds as well. The theme to this dram will be something equally simple, but pleasant. In honor of hoping the Red Sox win this year, let's make it "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. 3.0. Thanks for the sample @Scott_E !

Hmmm...Apple pie with cinnamon on the nose along with sawdust, and pears. The palate wasn’t as sweet with more of a toffee, butterscotch, white grapes, and mineral water. The mouth coat is medium but a long buttery finish, but the mineral note still lingers and kills it for me. Such a shame. Thanks for the try @PBMichiganWolverine. The theme to this dram should be a simple pop song. Maybe that “I Gotta Feeling” song by the Black Eyed Peas. Blah... lol. 2.5. Can’t believe the age doesn’t show here.