Tastes

Very thin all over from the mouth feel, to the nose. Grasses, hay, roses, strawberries, mint and white grapes were the notes. The palate had a nice, but too quick, sweetness from light fruits, sugarcane, vanilla, and butter. However, then it exploded into both a white and black pepper collision. The spicy, short, and dry finish might entice some, but this one to me is just so-so. 2.75. Thanks for the try on this one @Scott_E! The theme of this dram needs to also have an explosive ending. “Sheer Heart Attack” by Queen will do.

The theme to this dram was the easiest to decide. “Punch Up at a Wedding”, also known as “No No No No No No No No” by Radiohead really says what I feel about the whole experience. The song is great, but the words fit. Sorry, @PBMichiganWolverine but at least you saved me money from trying this offering later down the road. The nose and palate had this ultra-funk. Not the good funk like from a Springbank, Ben Nevis, Pittyvaich, or Bowmore 15 Darkest even. I am talking like a three month old sweaty gym shorts kinda funk. Not cool. This might give Girvan competition with being my least favorite distillery. Well, I hope they scrap the inaugural, and completely start over. Go back to the drawing board. Not for me. For the finish, to make the taste stop, I took a HUGE swig of Laphroaig Cairdeas Fino 2018 from the bottle.

This came courtesy of @Generously_Paul. I was hesitant on trying it because I really disliked the 7.3, but this is a completely different beast, all to its own. Brown sugar was the first note on the nose I got, along with maple syrup, and more spicy than sweet though. Cinnamon, nutmeg, candied bacon, and kielbasa come to mind also. Palate is also fantastic, with mouthwatering peat, deep ruby fruits, barbecue, and steak. Sounds like a damn good dinner to me! It has a really long finish married will with savory and sweet notes as well. Water adds some maritime characteristics as well. Extremely well done Bruichladdich! Only more age (this is about a 5 year) would maybe help this one, but it doesn't need it. 4.75! This one is lovely, complex, and deserves your time. The theme of this dram needs to scream summer... "She Bangs the Drums" by The Stone Roses will do.

This is more of an earthy Caol Ila... The color is light, but the vegetative notes and peat are up front. Sweet and floral notes show up as well on the nose. Pears, apples, vanilla, peat...slight though. The palate is heavier on the smoke. This also reminds me a little bit like a Glen Scotia. It has some maritime, savory goodness. Almost like a mushroom gravy... A medium finish of seashells... Salty brine. I do like the standard 12 a little better, but to me it's a hell of a lot better than their unpeated offerings. On the thin and light side for Islay, but not shabby. Going to give it a straight up 3 stars. A little overpriced because you have to get if from overseas. The theme for this dram is "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock.

This one gets a holy hell yeah. Thanks @PBMichiganWolverine for making me open my eyes to an American distillery that actually does a single malt. Wow, the nose gets up right in your face with a sherry bomb explosion, and you can smell the spices, apples, and other ruby red fruits in there as well. A heavy mouth coat that also brings out both milk and dark chocolate, espresso, maple syrup, hot buttered popcorn, and cinnamon on the palate. I've never touched a muscat grape (from muscatel wine) but it's damn good. It's too bad on this being a rare bottle, but I would definitely have no issue with trying something else by them. A little more age might make it even more interesting. A fat 4.5 from me.

This reminds me of a good batch of Aberlour A’bunadh right away even from the nose. Thanks so much for the chance to try this @PBMichiganWolverine. Nutmeg, cinnamon, gingerbread, and ruby fruits jump out at you. The palate is a great Christmas fruitcake. Really, the only thing I think I would “ding” it for would be some slight bitterness from the walnut finish in the end, but that’s such a “first world problem” lol. You get some other nutty notes and cloves too that balance it, so I think it deserves a 4.5. I really nice ABV, and I wish it wasn’t so damn rare.

A nice intense nose that brings dried banana chips, vanilla custard, subtle lemon, more cream, and floral properties, like jasmine. The palate is hot for 40%, but it's on the nice sweet end, reminiscent to a Monkey Shoulder blend. I am not sure if that's good though since we are comparing that to this single malt. The finish is sadly non-existent on this one with a thin and dry mouthfeel. 2.5 for me. The theme is "The Sound of Settling" by Death Cab for Cutie. Thanks for the sip @LeeEvolved!

@LeeEvolved, where in the world did you find this... black gold... texas tea? This is the darkest whisky I think I have ever seen. Black jellybeans, dark fruit, floral properties, and honeycomb. The palate isn't like anything I've ever had. Mocha, espresso, cola, vanilla/caramel cream, concord grapes and sassafras notes follow, but a thinner mouth coat than expected. A real surprise though that it's overall better than I thought it was going to be. The short finish brings on milk chocolate and black pepper, but no fruit or herbal notes to speak of. Far from being a typical scotch, and is close to my experience of the Auchentoshan Three Wood. I think a 3.25 is fair. The theme of this dram is "Mirage Rock" by Band of Horses.

You can tell it's going to be young from the first sniff. Faint pears, vanilla, straw, hay, cinnamon and sugarcane. Thin mouthfeel, but 40% ABV, so not surprising. The palate is a little better, with white grapes, pears, and your other typical vanilla, woody notes flavors etc. Decent 10 year, but a short and dry white pepper finish to me. It needs some smoke, peat, or sherry... something else. 2.75 for me. Thanks for the taste though @Generously_Paul. The theme of this dram needs to be a bit of a boring song. I am thinking "Tom Dooley" by the Kingston Trio. LOL.

The nose on this guy brings pears, apples, vanilla, cream, and some blended spices. The palate is hot for 40% ABV. I can taste the elements of the bourbon cask, royal icing, grassy notes come through, savory pastry, sour dough, peaches and finally herbal notes. Complex to me for a 12 year old, and seems to be well-rounded. The finish brings in more shortbread cookies, almonds, but was a little short. I actually liked this one guys, so I will give it a 3.5. Thanks so much for @Scott_E for the chance to experience this one. The theme to this one is going to be "Amorphous Surprise" by Guided by Voices.