Tastes

NOSE Sherry sweetness, earthy malt, leather, dried dark fruit, Pixie Stix, oak, OBE, copper, cinnamon and touches of cocoa. Musty/earthy/oaky and fruity/sherry sweet combo that works so perfectly together. PALATE Sherry sweetness, earthy malt, roasted nuts, leather, dried dark fruit, honied graham, Smarties, oak, OBE, copper, cinnamon and touches of cocoa. Comes through a bit tannic and drying here but, oddly, it helps balance the sweetness out. FINISH Med-long -> Sherry sweetness, malty graham, brown sugar, oak and copper fade out to a musty earthiness.

NOSE Coppery complex dark fruit, melon rind, malt, cocoa, vanilla, citrus, dried orchard fruit, touches of oak, cocoa and cinnamon. LOVELY The jump from this to the Quinta Ruban 12 is not far. More like a skip. PALATE Complex dark fruit, malt, leather, cinnamon, vanilla frosting, touches of sulfur, copper and cocoa. Warm and velvety, this is a lovely dram to sip on. FINISH Long -> Raisiny dark fruit, nuts, vanilla taffy, and a touch of oak slowly dissipate with a touch of sulfur.

NOSE Sticky winey sweetness, dried orchard fruit, dried apricots, sultanas and some caramel with touches of oak and spice. The Madeira lands heavy and brings an intense sugary sweetness to it that isn’t quite balanced. PALATE Heavy golden raisin sweetness, wine sweetness, dried orchard fruit, malt, oak and some caramel. There’s something a bit off about it, like the pieces are a millimeter off and it’s not quite coming together. FINISH Medium-short -> Winey sweetness, oak, copper and some stale dried fruit fade out.

NOSE Winey sweet, cereal grain and malty sweet, vanilla taffy with some toasted pastry and raisiny dried dark fruit with a hint of copper. Not the most complex Glenmo, or wine-fininshed whisky, I’ve had. It’s ok, just super light. PALATE Winey sweet, malty sweet, oak, vanilla taffy, toasted pastries and a light nuttiness with some raisny dried dark fruit and copper hint. Again, not super deep or complex, just super light. It gets a tad earthy as it opens, but never passes being “just ok”. FINISH Medium-short -> Raisniny dried dark fruit, malt, cinnamon and oak with a toasted note.

NOSE Honey, malt, vanilla cake, orchard fruit, banana pudding, caramel, Nilla Wafers and a touch of nuts and nutmeg. That is one heck of a nice aroma. Warm and inviting, I could sniff it for hours. PALATE Vanilla cake, banana pudding, nutmeg, honey graham, dried fruit, roasted nuts, light baking spice, malt and frosting sweetness. The aroma was nice, but the palate is the STAR. This is quite delicious. FINISH Medium -> Banana pudding, honey graham and spice fade evenly.

NOSE Fruity-taffy sweet, heavy malt, honied dried fruits, sultanas, raisny-pruny and a light touch of metallic medicinal notes and dry oakiness. Starts with a candy-style sweetness, but as it opens it morphs into more of a darkly fruity/raisiny-pruny style of sweetness. Lovely. PALATE Raisny-pruny, dried orchard fruit, copper, toasted graham, dark honey, blackberry taffy, vanilla frosting and a bit of oak and nuts. Palate switches things around from the aroma and starts fruity sweet and slowly turns to more candy sweet.

NOSE Dried orchard fruit, overripe apricots, citrus sponge cake, vanilla fondant and subtle spice, malt and tropical fruit notes. Not super complex, but elegant and buttery with strong fruity notes that remind me of the Nectar D’ Or in a way. PALATE Malt, dried orchard fruit, citrus sponge cake, vanilla, malt, roasted nuts, nutmeg and some touches of oak, copper and yellow raisins. Based on the name, I was expecting more cake. I get some, and it’s nice, but it’s not a super cakey profile, more fruity. FINISH Med-long -> Fruit, oak, citrus and a nice bit of waxy vanilla as it fades out.

NOSE Golden dried fruit, spiced apple cider, malt, sticky raisiny sweetness, graham, honey and bits of cocoa, baking spice, olde candy. Warm, spicy and fruity sweet with some darker notes holding it in check. PALATE Golden dried fruit, spiced apple cider, sticky raisiny sweetness, coppery candy, malty sweetness and some cocoa and baking spice. Spiced fruity candy oil… if you can wrap your head around that idea you get the palate. FINISH Med-long -> Wassail, dried dark fruit, raisiny sweetness and touches of toast

NOSE Complex dried orchard fruit, honey, toffee, cocoa, toasted bread, citrus peels, waxy vanilla fondant and lighter notes of coconut, nuts and baking spice. I could sniff this all night, the complex fruit brings out waves of apricots, apples, pears and more. It love it. PALATE Complex dried orchard fruit, honey, sultanas, coconut, vanilla cupcakes, oak, toffee and bit fo banana chips and baking spice with a slight earthiness. This has a heaviness to it that rolls through with a noticeable oak profile. FINISH Med-Long -> Fruit and malty graham takes its time fading out to a honied fruit note.

NOSE Malt, graham, vanilla and citrus with bits of sweet dried fruit, banana and oak. Soft and simple it’s a whisky that’s easy and unassuming, but not bad. PALATE Graham, vanilla frosting, dried apples, bananas, honey and a bit of oak. As it opens a touch of cocoa and nuttiness peeks out, but it’s mostly just dried fruit on graham. FINISH Short -> Malty and fruity fade to a light graham.