Tastes

It’s nice. Aroma opens with a pleasant profile that sits as honey and malt with some dried notes and a touch nutty; Palate holds some big malty notes which kind of die-off but then come back through as it opens, pulling in some fruity notes; Finish is also pleasant.

Aroma is simple, soft and grainy in a way that’s approachable and carries a custard-like sweetness that increases alongside the young woody profile as it opens; Palate, again, is simple and fruity light with a grain dominant profile and raw wood – the two have yet to integrate; Finish is sweet and woody.

Aroma is basically a fruity new make profile with a touch of wood and spice; Palate is basically the same; Finish follows suit. It smells and tastes exactly like you’d imagine a 6-month-old bourbon from MGP would taste and smell like.

Smells and tastes like most other young craft whiskeys out there. The Aroma is raw and woody with that sawdust smell that is so prevalent in young craft whiskey; Palate carries the same but picks up a bit of spice; Finish is a muted expression of the palate.

It’s not gross, it’s just young, raw and spirity. Aroma is muted, light and spirity and a tad woody – it’s not well integrated and comes through quite raw; Palate, like the aroma. is just light, raw and reminds me quite a bit of the California Clear White Whiskey; Finish is done in a flash leaving mere traces of raw corn.

The lower this bottle gets the more complex the whiskey becomes – oxygen is its friend. Aroma is a complex ball of fruit with layers of oak and dark sweets; Palate mimics but with even deeper fruitiness and heavy slabs of dark sweets lead by brown sugar; Finish hits with a fruit bomb that echoes on and on.

Lots to mull over as the Knappogue Castle Marchesi di Barolo Cask opens and rolls out. Each sip and sniff I find something new to enjoy and it had me scrambling to find a bottle locally. It’s going to be tough for anything to ever compete with that Knappogue Castle 1951, when it comes to being unique and interesting, but this makes a valiant delicious effort.

I like it. Aroma carries a warm sweet and rustic profile with the wine notes pairing nicely with the bourbon notes; Palate is also sweet and rustic withe some tartness – it carries a nice complexity; Finish is lively and heavy and goes on and on. The wine and whiskey notes come through on equal footing.

Not terrible. The Aroma is soft, light and not very complex, but what’s there is pleasant; Palate is a similar story but slightly more complex; Finish is a light fade that ends with a citrus punch.

Not bad, just a tad young and spirity. The Aroma is a touch raw and young but has a great velvety sweetness; Palate has the same raw graininess but a richer sweetness and carries only a light touch of raw spirit; Finish is soft, smooth and sweet. The grain notes start low but build as it opens.