Tastes

Maybe it's just that it's Girl Scout cookie season around here, but my initial thought was that this is exactly what a Samoa (or Caramel Delight...apparently there are regional variants for the names) would taste like if it were a whisky. Given that Samoas are my favorite Girl Scout cookie, I would call that a positive association. As soon as I poured myself a dram, I could pick up a rich, fudgy chocolate note. It's joined by caramel, vanilla, and coconut, and maybe even a little cherry cola. We're already talking my language here at the end of a long, stressful day. The palate doesn't disappoint, either; rich and full, it's full of chocolate, caramel, a slightly salty nut (pecan, maybe) accent, and bit of black pepper. The finish is reasonably long, with a slightly dry nuttiness to round things out. It's not the most challenging or complex dram of all time, but it is as pleasant as they come. This is a hell of a find for less than $30 a bottle, and it is certainly not the kind of anemic, characterless mixed drink fodder that's typical of mass market Canadian whisky. Definitely going on my list of go-to house whiskies!

Regular old blended Powers is a good, cheap-n-cheerful Irish blend.This is an entirely different story. A pure pot still offering, this is what I wish Redbreast were. Full, oily, creamy, brimming over with fruit and spice and toasty oak. A really great dram.

Move over, Powers - The Rev's got a new go-to Irish tipple. Now that it's available here in the US, I figured I had to try it out since it's St. Paddy's weekend in Chicago. You can do worse for ways to ring it in. The nose is exuberantly fruity - ripe apples and pears, some lemon peel, honey, and vanilla. The palate is lush, rich, and smooth, with the classic Irish hallmarks coming through loud and clear. Fruity, spicy, with a bit of grain and vanilla...and a happy St. Paddy's it is indeed.

I briefly toyed with giving this 5 stars, but it's not *quite* there...but holy smokes, this is a really good rye. Youthful enough to have plenty of spark and spice, but aged long enough to come across as smooth, with plenty of barrel-inflected vanilla and caramel, and a cherry quality, too. After my letdown earlier in the week with Pike Creek (same distillery), I didn't expect to be wowed, but this is some great rye whiskey for a good price.

This should be a 4 star Canadian. This should be a full, rich, beautiful port-finished whisky abounding in berry and dried fruit character, with a hint of nuttiness and sweet vanilla. And, in fact, those things are there on the palate...which, at 40%, is so damn thin that it wastes what could be a outrageously good whisky for the price. I'd kill to have this at 46-48%. Really frustrating to be able to see the Promised Land of whisky perfection from here, but to be kept from crossing over the river.

At three stars, I feel like I have to lead by stating that this is not a bad bourbon by any means. It's actually quite easy to drink - deceptively smooth for 94 proof, light (almost refreshing, even), with a sweet vanilla and caramel corn profile, lightly dusted with some baking spices. And...that's about it, and that's the issue. Imagine you're out on a date with someone who is nice enough, and kinda cute, even...but has zero personality. Are you going out on a second date? Yeah, me neither. THAT'S this bourbon's fault - it's just kinda nice. You can do worse, but you can also do so much better.

This is a strange critter...which, to be fair, is why I took the risk on getting a bottle. I grew up helping my dad smoke brisket on the pit in the backyard, and some of my best memories of growing up involve the smell of a whole lot of smoky hardwood. The idea of non-peated, smoked whiskey is one I find intriguing and am starting to explore a bit. I gotta tell ya, my first whiff of this was not encouraging - "burning rubber shoe sole" was my initial though. A few minutes in the glass, though, and it opens up to an assertive smoke that can only come from a wood like hickory, and a pronounced cereal sweetness. It's like if you had a bowl of Lucky Charms around a campfire. The palate, much like the nose, is this bizarre yin-yang of slightly acrid wood smoke and sweet, gentle, vanilla-tinged grain. If you like setting Grape Nuts on fire, finding a bottle of this is going to be the day your ship came in. For me, it's an intriguingly bold experiment. After sleeping on it, I'm giving this three stars for now - I love the boldness and chutzpah, but there's some growing to do. I'm also hoping that, perhaps, the bottle opens up a bit more with time and sheds some of the initial harshness...and, if it does, I'll bump up the score accordingly.

On this side of the Atlantic, I'm having a nip of Dualchas rather than Legacy...sounds like trademark issues were involved. I had rock bottom expectations here; I didn't love the 12 year when I had it in Inverness over the summer, but after hearing the Scotch Test Dummies rave about Dualchas as a tremendous value, and then catching their livestream with a couple of guys from the distillery (worth finding on youtube), I had to try it. And, at $25 for the bottle...why the hell not? I can hardly order takeout for that much anymore. On both the nose and palate, it's a very light, delicate dram - the nose has a milky breakfast cereal quality, with a bit of vanilla and honey. Cereal with vanilla yogurt, maybe? The palate is fairly grain-forward, but speaks to the distillery's stated goal of creating an entry-level NAS that was profoundly different in taste profile from the 12 year...and it is that. The bourbon cask influence here does come through with a bright, sweet vanilla quality, though it's a bit thin in terms of mouthfeel. This is a perfect gateway scotch for someone who "doesn't like" scotch, but will drink Irish or bourbon. I don't see it becoming my go-to, but at $25, at least I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

I'm not sure it's entirely fair to cast this as "flavored whiskey." That, to me, suggests a certain heavy-handed forcing of alien flavors into a whiskey. This isn't some kind of science experiment or adding flavored syrup, though. Clyde May's simply adds some oven-dried apples to the barrels...it just feels like a different kind of mindset than, say, Rebel Yell's root beer flavored "whiskey." Of course, maybe the difference here is that I like this one, but would generally turn my nose up at the genre of "flavored whiskey"...so, perhaps I'm just trying to justify myself. At any rate, it certainly is not an unnatural flavoring - it smells like taffy apples, and tastes like a green apple inflected, spicy bourbon with a buttery mouthfeel and a surprising cocoa note that pops up. Personally, I enjoy it; the higher proof for the Special Reserve does give it a bit of extra oomph than the standard bottling (including a richer mouthfeel), but it feels a bit hot at 55% ABV. Not sure this is worth the usual $50-60 price tag, but at the 40% clearance rate...well, that I'm willing to pay.

The regular Connemara is good, if not great, as far as peated whiskies go. The cask strength...now we're talking. An earthy, woody peat smoke dominates, but an appealing vanilla cream helps balance out the smoke. It's a dry malt, too, reminding me more of Cambelltown than Islay in that regard. Worth tracking down!