Tastes

Aroma is that warm, familiar, GD profile, but lighter than the GD we know and love – though it’s not weak and carries a sweet fruitiness with a distinct warmth making it fun and easy; Palate is also a bit lighter and fruitier than, say, the George Dickel 12 – but again it’s not weak and carries a nice, moderately complex, profile of fruit and grain sweetness; Finish is a semi-quick brushing of the palate and the only place oak really makes itself known.

Aroma is unpleasant and off, yeasty, like the oak and the spirit never fully connected and they just sat at odds with each other in an underground bunker at a constant temperature to prevent anything more than surface contact; Palate follows the same spirit-forward, bottom-rick, raw grain profile that just.. doesn’t… feel… right; Finish is thankfully short, though grainy and cloyingly fruity in its short miserable existence.

Aroma comes together like a caramel pie with a touch of corn and orchard fruit with a light vegetal quality, but for the most part comes through like a standard bourbon; Palate hits with a high-rye-style profile with a good hunk of spice coming through and hits just the right “standard bourbon” notes; Finish is sweet and simple with just the right amount of spice and oak to keep it interesting.

Aroma starts soft and darkly sweet with a touch of spice but turns more bready as it opens and brings with it a touch of copper and dried fruits; Palate picks up a touch of pie crust as it opens, but retains that spicy, citrusy, oaky goodness you want in a nice rye – it’s not bold, but it’s not delicate either; Finish carries the most oak with a softly sweet and spicy character playing through.

Aroma is incredibly subdued with nothing much happening beyond some sweet smoke and a touch of fruit; Palate follows suite, but it’s missing that bit of earthiness from the aroma; Finish is quite nice, but shockingly short.

Aroma is deeply complex, interesting, fun and just good all-around with a nice delivery of citrus, spice and fruity profiles wrapped in chocolate – I need a diffuser that smells like this, I want my house to smell like this when I walk through the door; Palate holds a perfect malt and beer balance with that same warm chocolate note threading through with the spices and fruit; Finish is the most like the regular single malt, but with that cocoa note weaving through here as well.

Aroma is exciting and robust with a heavy presence that’s equally malty/dessert sweet and rustic/spicy; Palate blows me away and gets better each sip bringing a heavier, though not as complex, delivery of what the aroma promises; Finish is a long slow fade that’s warm with copper, fruit and some hop-like funk.

Aroma is an oily rich delivery of balanced, sweet, rustic and coastal notes that starts out warm and turns a tad sharp as the coastal notes grow and evens out with the sweet BBQ smoke – it’s like a coastal bonfire BBQ party; Palate carries the same oily rich delivery of notes holding a nice balance of fruity, coastal and homey rustic notes; Finish is warm and carries the most earthiness to it but doesn’t lack any coastal or sweet notes.

Aroma is an intense burst of sweetness that hugs the peaty smoky earthy notes that develops into a “smoked custard” profile as it opens; Palate is warm and fruity as well with an even heavier smoke and saline character; Finish is a muted version of the palate that slowly fades. This is some tasty whisky.

Aroma is sweet but not in an overwhelming or cloying way – more like darkly dessert, fruity, cereal sweetness with earthy touches wrapped in smoke; Palate is lovely and fruity with dark sweets and a sticky BBQ style smoke layered over roasted fruit; Finish lacks complexity but hits that charred smoky road we love.