Tastes

NOSE Banana’s Foster, vanilla custard, dried fruit, green mango and some notes of oak and spice with a nuttiness that threads through it all. I’m not too impressed by the nose. It’s fairly sweet and flabby with little oak to speak of. PALATE Banana’s Foster, vanilla custard, dried fruit, unripe “green” fruit, corn cakes and some bits of oak and spice with a nuttiness that threads through it all. So similar to the aroma with a few extra notes kicking up, this is barely average. FINISH Medium -> Corn sweetness and a touch of oak and spice fade out to a vanilla custard and green notes.

NOSE Cherry-heavy dried dark fruit, oak, coffee cake, vanilla, brown sugar and touches of cinnamon. Not super-expressive or dense, but the aroma is enjoyable. PALATE Caramel, dried dark fruit, oak, biscuity, maple frosting on a donut, cocoa and some baking spice. Like the aroma, the palate is soft, easy and enjoyable. FINISH Medium -> Maple donut, oak, corn and dried dark fruit.

No idea what barrel # this is, not on the label. NOSE Butterscotch, copper, vanilla, cereal grain sweetness, oak and touches of orange peels and silly putty. Not digging this barrel so far, the aroma is odd and a bit off. PALATE Copper, butterscotch, orange peels, stale spice and a watery bit of oak and something chemical-like. I don’t know what’s going on with this but I’m not liking it. FINISH Medium -> Copper and oak fade to a chalky chemical note.

NOSE Honey, dried orchard fruit, buttery toffee, vanilla cupcakes, banana taffy, graham crackers, and a slight earthy-farmy quality. It’s not super deep, but dang it’s pleasant. PALATE Buttery toffee, orchard fruit, tropical fruit, honey grahams and more of that earthy-farmy hay-like quality. Again, not super deep, but the SIA Blended Scotch is performing well above many others in the category. FINISH Med-short -> Banana chips and buttery toffee fade to earthy maltiness and a slight metallic note.

NOSE Ripe apples, smoke, spirity minerality, vanilla taffy, marzipan and some light maritime notes. Not super complex, but pleasant. There is a sweetness here I attribute more to Lagavulin than any other Islay distillery. PALATE Salted butter, dried orchard fruit, vanilla taffy, spirity minerality, toffee, iodine and a bit of candy sweetness towards the end. The palate is better than the aroma with a more pronounced sweetness kicking through this South Shore Islay Malt. FINISH Long -> Dried apples and graham fade to and ashy minerality.

NOSE Oak, cocoa, toffee, baking spice, vanilla powder, dried fruit, hazelnuts and a touch citrus and s’mores. This Basil Hayden’s 10 Years is a significant improvement over the standard with a warmer, deeper aroma that’s just lovely. PALATE Oak, toffee, leather, roasted nuts, cocoa, vanilla powder, dried dark fruit, graham cracker, baking spice and bits of orange peel and yeastiness. Again, very nice. It has a warmth and a depth to it that makes it wonderful to just sit and sip. FINISH Medium -> Oak, dried fruit, yeast, nuts and a bit of baking spice drift out a bit biscuity

NOSE Strawberry taffy, honey grahams, cocoa, dried cherries, sulfur and some banana-nut muffins. Not super complex, but not exactly a lame-duck aroma either. It just is. PALATE Strawberry taffy, honey grahams, cocoa, dried cherries, sulfur and some banana-nut muffins with a bit of cranberry and blueberry. Glenfarclas 17 Years’ palate is almost a carbon copy of the aroma but with some interesting added fruit notes. FINISH Medium -> Vanilla taffy, banana-nut muffin, cocoa, sulfur and a bit of leather.

NOSE Banana malted milkshake, honey graham, vanilla frosting, nuts and a light bit of baking spice and lemon peel. Delicate, but not weak, this is a nice, relaxing, and easy aroma I can happily sit and sniff. PALATE Banana malted milkshake, honey graham, waxy vanilla frosting, dried orchard fruit, roasted nuts, baking spice, toffee and touches of leather and hay. Woah. The aroma does NOT give you much insight into the palate of this Old Pulteney 15. It’s so much richer and fuller. FINISH Med-long -> Waxy vanilla+banana, malt, earthy hay and graham fade to honied grahams.

NOSE Cherry-heavy dried dark fruit, dried corn, oak, candied nuts, citrus peels, milk chocolate, baking spice, walnuts and caramel with a hint of menthol. This aroma is outstanding. I’ve only had one or two other George Dickel’s with this much sticky dried dark fruit before… wow. PALATE Butterscotch, oak, cherry-heavy dried dark fruit, dried corn, candied walnuts, black tea, milk chocolate, baking spice, brown sugar and a bit of citrus and leather. The George Dickel Bottled In Bond 13 Years’ palate bows to the aroma, but only slightly. This profile is why people love Dickel.

NOSE Smoke, grilled pears, salty minerality, dried orchard fruit, vanilla candy, honey nut cheerios and some dessert spices and malt. Octomore 12.3 has a wonderful coastal quality that really sets it apart from the 12.1 and 12.2 on the aroma. PALATE Smoke, grilled pears, sweet BBQ, herbal spice, toasted malt, buttery toffee, honey nut cheerios, vanilla candy and hay-like malt. There is so much weight in this palate it’s ridiculous. It’s like an earthy-peaty-sweet-and-spiced syrup. FINISH Long -> Smoke, toffee, fruit and honey fade out a bit oaky.