Tastes

Hazelburn 13 Oloroso 2004-2018 / 47.4% ABV Fresh & Refill Oloroso Sherry Casks Distilled October 2004, Bottled April 2018 | 9000 Bottles Nose - Bright, vibrant dried stone fruits, candied ginger, ripe plums, hint of cinnamon, white wine poached pears, hint of sweet teriyaki meatiness, light saline Taste - Fruity smoke, faint wisp of super clean smoke, gentle cold smoked ripe plums, ripe pears, buttery mouthfeel Finish - Gentle fruity smoke, black pepper spice, saline, gentle fading ripe plums Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - This has a spectacular nose that does take a tiny bit to open up but once it does it's amazing. The smoke on this one is so gentle that it probably picked it up during the malting process of the barley used for Springbank & Longrow. Great balance of fruit that isn't overwhelming and great sweet/savory influence that just draws you in. I've always heard the term "Springbank funk" & I totally get that here. There's this sweet/savory/lightly meaty "funk" throughout this dram that just works. Light saline on the palate & finish that just ties everything together. Excellent from start to finish (although the finish is a tad bit short). Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Dark caramel, fruity vanilla, orange/orange zest, salt flakes, dried blueberries, whole grain cereal flakes Taste - Fruity super gentle smoke, saline, black pepper spice/heat, blackberries, ripe black pepper & sweet white wine poached pears, hint of raisin, liquid caramel Finish - Lingering gentle tingle, dried berries, caramel, cereal flakes with dried blueberries Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This is a pretty nice dram from start to finish. The smoke I get on this is super gentle & I only really got it on the initial taste. It seemed to almost disappear on subsequent sips. After it airs out a bit, I get additional notes on the nose of those dried Chinese dates that are often used in the herbal medicine mixes added as a natural sweetener. It's slightly medicinal, but pleasant. On the palate, a slight salinity appears which is nice along with dried fruits. Honestly this kind of reminds me of a cereal I've been eating recently which is the Kashi flake cereal w/ dried blueberries. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Yes NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Hint of hay, unripe apple, light tea Taste - Floral apple juice sweet, ginger, clover honey, hint of vanilla, gentle heat, hint of lemon pith, light nutty skin bitter Finish - Lingering heat/tingle, light sour floral apples Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - This is a fairly pleasant dram, nothing overly complex & I honestly wouldn't have pegged it as having any sherry influence if I didn't know in advance. This tastes almost like a pure heavily reused ex-bourbon casks as the vanilla notes are very light, overall experience is floral with a hint of apple. Light ginger spice & hint of acidity that I liken to lemon pith. Overall quite drinkable, but not overly complex where you'd want to really sit down with it. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Bimber Ex-Bourbon / 51.8% ABV Batch 01/2020 Nose - (w/o water) Sweet tropical spices & unripe tropical fruits, tropical vanilla, ripe fruit "funk" sweet, sharp dusty grain sweet/sugar/syrup funk (w/ water) Softens it up a bit, but no major impact Taste - (w/o water) Hot dusty grain heat/tingle, tropical honey, tropical vanilla, baking spices, dried apples, unripe banana/plantains (w/ water) Reduces the heat a bit & reduces the baking spice vibe a bit, but retains the odd sweet yet unripe fruit funk Finish - (w/o water) Lingering floral fruity sweet "funk", unripe bananas/plantains, gentle heat (w/ water) Pretty much the same, but without the heat Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite interesting as it really reminded me of the cask strength Amrut, but without the heat. It has this very unique nose & taste which I hate to describe as this funky tropical barley. It's got this sweet "funk" to it that isn't unpleasant, but isn't pleasant either. It has a tropical vibe while at the same time having this dusty barley & I hate to say it artificial, but not quite splenda sweet. It handles water quite well where it just softens the ethanol burn & that's about it. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Sweet bright raisins, hint of fresh oranges, dark syrupy sweet apple juice Taste - Sweet bittersweet raisins, oily rich mouthfeel, gentle heat/tingle, stone fruit pit bitter, almost medicinal but not quite, almost metallic but not quite Finish - Lingering heat/tingle, weird almost bitter/medicinal/metallic fruity red berry sweet, almost like cynar but not quite as bitter or intense Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this one had so much promise. Not the most complex nose, but nice strong classic sherried whisky aromas of rich juicy dark raisins & a hint of orange that promised so much. Sadly, once it hit the palate, it had this fantastic mouthfeel and initial burst of pleasant sweetness, that sadly had this very strange medicinal/metallic/bitter tinge to it. It wasn't very strong in either of those flavors, but it reminded you of each & every one of those & it was quite distracting. Sadly this continued to the finish and sort of gave you this lingering mouthfeel that is similar if you've ever tried one of those Chinese medicinal herb infused wines. Thing with this is that it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Very subtle pear/Asian pear vibe, unripe apples, gentle honey spiced black tea, gentle lemon zest Taste - Gentle lightly sour/bitter spice, tropical unripe carambola/starfruit refreshing crispness, unripe apple/pear Finish - Gentle warmth/spice, light generic grainy fruit sweetness, fruity sour/bitter Score - 71/100 Final Thoughts - This one takes a bit to really open up in the glass. This one noses fairly young but not off-putting in any way. Once it hits the palate, it's a strange combination of lightly fruity sweet combined with this refreshing bitter crispness. Sadly this bitterness I get seems to be a bit distracting and kind of throws the entire dram off a bit. It's not bad or horrible by any means. It's drinkable, just not something I'd really reach for again. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Vanilla, caramel, candied ginger, orange zest, sweet golden raisins, hint of salt, fresh grape skins, cocoa powder Taste - White pepper heat, caramel, candied ginger, orange zest, bright salinity, refreshing dark golden raisins, light red grape skin dryness, hint of spicy fruity sour Finish - Lingering ginger/white pepper heat, salinity intensifies, refreshing dark golden raisin sweet, light fruity tart, similar to grape skins or cranberry skins Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - I really like this one & I always love having a dram of this because I always try to guess what the blend comprises of and this one leads me to believe there's a high percentage of ex-bourbon, & the other flavors lead me to almost believe there might be either a sweeter dessert wine finish or maybe an amontillado/manzanilla cask mixed with a single cask of a red wine finish because of the tannic nature I get. Regardless, this has a wonderful nose & the flavors get amplified once it hits the palate. Good transition to the palate & I like how the salinity gets amplified as you progress from the nose to the finish. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe not another at current prices NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Vanilla, toffee, honey, baked honey rolls, bit-o-honey candy, light nougat, unripe berries Taste - Vanilla/toffee baked sweet bread, hint of white pepper heat, light bitterness, hint of grainy sour/acidity, charred unripe pineapple Finish - Lingering warm tingle, faint honey/fruit sweet, light tart of unripe fruits Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - This was an interesting dram in that it seems to have a nose that seems to evolve as you take sips of the dram. It starts off fairly lackluster with mostly a tame vanilla & toffee but evolves to add this unripe fruit "funk." This follows on the palate that your first few sips seem a bit boring, but as it sits on your tongue, it evolves a bit to become a tiny bit more complex, but picks up this odd unripe fruit acidity that's not unpleasant, but a tiny bit distracting. Finish is fairly short and you quickly forget what you just had. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Sharp candy red maraschino cherry juice, vanilla caramel, dusty peanut shells, cardboard, cherry twizzlers Taste - Sweet red hots, french burnt peanuts candy, peanut brittle, peanut butter saltwater taffy, generic sweet nougat laffy taffy Finish - Lingering sweet red hot/hot tamales candy, peanut brittle, cinnamon heat Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - So this was an interesting one, it seemed like it was all over the place with the very artificial sweet cherry & peanut vibe. This continued to the palate where this peanut funk dominated in that it was present but not in your face? This was quite a strange one in that it tasted like a mishmash of early 90s candies, but it wasn't unpleasant, it was tolerable? This is something that's unique for sure, but I'm not quite sure if it's something I'd ever reach for. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Rich vanilla, toasted ginger, toffee, dried apples, persimmons, candied ginger, hint of orange zest, plums, sweet riesling Taste - Gentle sweet ginger & honey tea, light tea/oak bitterness, light bitter orange pith, light bitter dark chocolate, vanilla simple, dried persimmons Finish - Lingering light metallic fruity bitter, honey sweetened tea, candied ginger, light toasted/charred ginger bitterness Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this one is quite fantastic really. It's complex, composed, and actually noses like it might contain some older Scotch in it. It has this pleasant "must" that I only get from older Scotches that makes me think of a dusty old cask that's been sitting in a warehouse aging for decades. The initial palate is nice, but then it picks up this slightly odd fruity metallic note that I sometimes get from dried fruits. It's not off-putting, but it's noticeable. The toasted ginger notes are nice and provide this nice gentle sweetness without the heat. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Not at the price it's at NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.