Tastes

Tasty, if slightly understated, juice right here, and quite smooth. Noses a little spicy with some caramel and vanilla sweetness. The palate offers up a lot more than the nose, as the spices, caramel, and vanilla meet up with buttered popcorn, orange zest, and a little old leather book cover. Buttery and rich mouthfeel, but never heavy. I've certainly had bigger, bolder drams, but sometimes a little restraint can go a long way.

Like the Victoriana, it's been quite a while since I sampled this whisky, but I just found my notes from the tasting again and wanted to post them before they get lost on my desk again. On the nose...grape soda, dried fruit, nuttiness, salt air. Palate...Cracker Jack caramel, salted nuts, dry malt, and raisin notes at the finish. It was good, very good even, but I preferred the Victoriana.

I will say, up front, that it was a good while back that I sampled this at a tasting (along with two million other Loch Lomond, Inchmurrin, and Glen Scotia drams...it was a GREAT night). That said, I saved my notes, and this was definitely a favorite from the night - possibly best in show out of quite a spread. The nose opens with a grapey/wine quality, followed by salt, caramel, and nutty notes; the palate is super smooth for the ABV, with dried fruit, nuttiness, salted caramel, dark chocolate, and a hint of pepper. My last word in my notes: "Long, luscious, rich, very tasty." Well, there you have it. Maybe I need to pick up a bottle and refresh my memory as to just how great this one is...

I remember really enjoying this once, in Edinburgh, with my wife and our still in utero daughter, in a lovely little pub. It must have been the overall experience talking, because this is easily the weakest link in the Glenfarclas line that I've tried. The positive: Well, it IS Glenfarclas. The dark sherry fruit, the nuttiness, the wee hint of a distant campfire that you really want to be enjoying a dram beside...they're all here. Unfortunately, they're also joined by WAY too much young spirit; you won't need the campfire to stay warm because there's enough burning already on your palate. Now, if this were priced at or below the price of the entry level 10 year, I could forgive that. But, at $80 a bottle? You've got to be joking. A disappointment from one of my favorite distilleries.

I will be the first to admit that I seldom cotton to bourbon as much as I do to scotch or Irish. Bourbon feels predictable and (too often) heavy handed. This is not one of those. I've never really tasted a whiskey of any sort quite like this before. The nose only offers a partial glimpse into the complex palate, but the deep, rich vanilla, caramel, and earthy woody funk is awfully appealing. The palate is at once sweet (vanilla and clover honey), woody, spicy, herbal (almost medicinal), and earthy, with a lingering rye spice and bitter herb note. If all bourbon brought this much to the table, I would probably drink a lot more of it.

I realized that I have become one of my college profs when it comes to my scoring. You have to be good to get an A, but you'll get a B as long as you show up and don't suck, basically. Let's just say that Rowan's Creek shows up and doesn't suck, but it also doesn't wow me...even if it is really tasty. The nose reminds me of French toast with an orange syrup - custardy vanilla, light citrus, a bit of maple sweetness, and a toastiness from the wood. On the palate, it's a remarkably smooth dram for a 100 proof bottling. Flavors of orange peel, candied cherry, and vanilla are balanced out by a dry, woody finish. Not quite an A grade, but maybe there's nothing wrong with making a solid B, either.

For a ten year old bourbon, this is impressive in that it's not overly woody or leathery. The age shows on the nose, positively, as youthful corn has long given way to a rich, almost fudgy caramel and cherry-chocolate. The richness continues on the palate, where caramel flows into chocolate covered cherries, vanilla, and spice. I try really hard not to fawn over bottles of intentionally "rare" whiskies that resell for several times their list price, but this one is just so tasty that it's hard not to like it.

One of my adopted hometown's claims to fame is really good popcorn mixes. Buttered with cheese, cheese with caramel (the best, especially if you get more cheese than caramel corn), and what I'm now just gonna call the George Dickel. The nose here is buttery popcorn and caramel corn together, with a pinch of spice. The palate keeps the buttery texture and puts the caramel popcorn flavor forward, with baking spice and black pepper at the end. Smooth, easy to drink, and a good value.

Solid stuff right here. Nosing turns up spices, orange chocolate candies, and a little caramel; on the palate, it's waxy, spicy, and slightly leathery, with a surprisingly unsweet caramel and chocolate character. Very dry on the finish.

It feels like slaughtering a sacred cow to say that this is merely good rather than great, but...it's good, not great. The nose is spiced orange creme patissiere smeared over leather; the palate is aggressive, woody, and leathery, with caramel, spices, orange peel, and a cherry-tinged finish. For me, this is the date that's very attractive, but comes on just a little too strong. Water brings out a milder, smoother palate with a little nip of salt amidst the leather, oak, spice, and cherry. Improved, but still not the best bourbon I've ever had, either. Then again, I'm the oddball who prefers Baker's to Booker's, so maybe it's just my palate. Still worth drinking, and quite good...just a bit overpriced and overrated.