Tastes

Light colored dram brings a honey/vanilla forward nose - soft oak on the edges. Nothing complex...simply calm and inviting. More honey/vanilla on the palate - sugar cookies, hint of caramel, and soft toasted oak. This is too easy to drink for the price! Happy to enjoy this now/then as a treat - great example of the pot still!

One of the more intriguing pours I've had in recent years. Love the look of the bottle, if that matters. Not surpringly, the nose is smoke-heavy...either a very peaty speyside, or a very sweet islay here...the notes of vanilla are evident, and there's a good dose of burnt oak here. I can see some finding this offensively smoky, but it really is balanced wonderfully - and there's none of the bandaid/iodine stuff whatsoever. Flavor is sweeter than the nose, but also with some spice on the edges. Plenty of charred oak, sherry notes, orangey/tropical notes. Feels chewy on the palate - this one has some brawn. Really enjoyed this dram...my rating incorporates the uniqueness going on here, as it isn't a daily sipper, but I'll happily pull this down every few months and always savor.

Completely serviceable rye whiskey with enough spice to make a wonderful cocktail. Will stand on its own, but relatively simplistic.

Have to put this rating in posthumously...killed a bottle of this, with friends, at a blind tasting of bottom shelf offerings, and this was the 'prize' at the end. $150 for 375 ml, this is one of the priciest pours I've ever had... Nose is complex - smoke, leather, orange marmalade, and sherry all evident, and the PX notes come through on the flavor. Smoky without being oppressive...tobacco, more leather, and dark fruit all on the palate. Easy drinking - smooth, yet rich. Was this good? Absolutely! Was it great? Borderline... Hard to justify this price with what else is out there, but if you're looking for an experience, this offers one!

One of my first bourbon loves...before it became crazy to find and people started gouging (and also before I started to appreciate whiskies that weren't necessarily as sweet). Nose is vanilla, dry wood, and provides an overall sweet profile with just a bit of burn on the nostrils. Flavor is similarly sweet with brown sugar, vanilla, more wood, and a bit of dark fruit. Easy drinking, and bonus points for a great bottle that, regardless of what may come, still looks wonderful on the backbar.

Mild ethanol on nose (low for proof) gives way to apple, other fruit, wood, notable spice (don't know what, if any rye content here). More sweetness emerges with a few swirls. Flavor shows off the spice...and in a great way. Oak char, more fruit, and some brown sugar also come through. Finish remains spicy...some heat, but reasonable for the proof. Water doesn't open up that much, but also doesn't detract. Nice pour...maybe looking for a smidge more for the price, but this is a quality whiskey

First rate in a while - gonna try and do a couple a week. Recent pick up. Straw/gold pour. Light, floral nose with mild tropical citrus notes, sweetness...nothing overly complex, but delicate and inviting. Can catch the sherry notes more with the sweet palate...more floral notes...honey...hints of wood. One you could drink quickly with zero ethanol burn, but also one that does well savoring and exploring. Water does not improve. A very nice dram that continues to drive me to expand my suite of Japanese whisky.

Well, I'm progressing through bottle #3 of this gem, so might as well throw down a taste. Mildly spicy 4R nose is prevalent to offset the caramelized sweetness - vanilla is notably present...inviting, even with the apparent heat. Mild char notes. Flavor is a gem - a nice, pleasant nose evolves into a gem on the palate. Sweet up front with loads of vanilla and creme brulee...hints of butterscotch - moves into a more spicy, woodsy, oaky flavor mid sip. Very full mouthfeel. Lasting flavor is incredibly smooth and the proofing seems damn near perfect - water doesn't hurt, but is not needed - this is a great pour to enjoy neat. This has been one of the best pours I've had in the past couple years...

Been a while since I've put together a rating - such is life sometimes, but I've had a handful of new tastes, and its time to get back at it. This has a truly unique nose - if you brought this to me blind, I wouldn't be able to identify it as an Irish, but at the same time wouldn't tag it as Scotch, Bourbon, Japanese, or any other style - its out on the proverbial island. Somewhat floral, slightly resinous...mild sweetness, moderate spice, and quite complex. I think its safe to say I enjoy the nose, but it feels somewhat youthful. The flavor is similarly unique - wood-forward, and lacking the sweetness of, well, basically any other pot still Irish I've consumed (which admittedly isn't extensive). An easy sip, but not one you consume quickly. This is an intriguing bottle to have on the shelf - I'm happy to have it, but it will admittedly be an 'every so often when I'm looking for something unique' type pour

Truly intriguing pour to ring in 2021. Great contrast to the kirkland 20 year, and admittedly I sway back and forth on which I prefer (both are superior to the 18). Dark fruit (raisin, plum) dominate the nose alongside baking spices. The nose is soft...almost too soft, but inviting nonetheless. Dark brown sugar and leather notes round it off. Flavor is similarly soft, but damned if this isn't one of the longest finishes I've experienced in my neophyte scotch career. I literally typed that entire sentence and it just keeps evolving. The dark fruit is evident and depending on how long you hold onto the sip it drinks at 80 proof or 115 proof. Mild marmalade/ tropical fruit flavors with the ending sherry giving the full ride. I've nipped better drams, but this is pretty damned nice for the price