Tastes

Act 8, Scene 2 Nose - Dark sweet brown sugar syrup, hint of dill, cinnamon, hint of sweet cloves/anise, dark cherries, stewed plums Taste - Dark chocolate, nice dark brown sugar syrup sweet, rye grain/bread spice, hint of red wine stewed plums, cinnamon, sweet clove/anise, dark red cherries Finish - Gentle warmth, sweet rye bread, minty herbal sweetness emerges, light red wine stewed plums, tart sweetened rehydrated dried cherries, cinnamon spice Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This one was quite tasty and I guess I can really taste the rye in this one as I've recently been baking a few sourdough breads with a bit of rye flour in them. This reminds me of a few of those loaves with the sweetness and gentle rye bite. The dominate feature of this is the stewed prunes/plum notes that you get from start to finish that just scream mulled winter wine. A very warming dram and perfect for the colder months although this is something I'd probably enjoy year round. Not sure if the High West distillate in this one is a bit older than previous versions, but it seems a bit more rounded out this time through. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Longan, cedar, honey, chestnuts, whole wheat toast Taste - Fairly thin mouthfeel, whole wheat brioche toast, unripe apples/pears, generic sweet syrup Finish - Super short, light fruity bitter, simple syrup Score - 53/100 Final Thoughts - Best thing about his is the nose, & that's being very generous. There's not much going on here, mouthfeel is quite thin, an overall experience is quite boring. After everything is said & done, I nosed the glass again, & I get this odd aroma that I can only describe as this Chinese cough medicine that looks like a bunch of tiny red spheres. Regardless, pretty boring & I'm not even sure this would be worth mixing into a highball even. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Very light, wisp of floral notes, plain oatmeal, dehydrated apples Taste - Light, thin, watery, generic syrup sweetener, bitter wheat vibe, corn syrup sweet Finish - Odd generic syrupy sweet, light warmth, kind of off-putting grainy bitter sweet Score - 49/100 Final Thoughts - This isn't drain-pour worthy, but it's not great? I'm not even sure I'd want to use this in a highball or anything else. It just doesn't really have anything going for it other than not being horrible. It's drinkable, just super boring and nothing really stands out. It's as a generic & watered down a whisky as you can really get. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Grilled pineapples, grilled sugarcane, light wood, almost like a balsa/cedar Taste - Fairly thing mouthfeel, lightly oaked sake/shochu, toasted rice syrup sweetness, light fleshed fruits, apple, hint of lychee, grain/dusty bitterness Finish - Fairly short finish, light drying heat, hint of wood bitter, sweet rice syrup Score - 71/100 Final Thoughts - I'm not 100% sure, but this tastes like a rice grain whisky. It's not very complex & I'm not sure if it's meant to be sold/marketed as a mixer or if they truly intend people to sip this neat. I can see this doing fairly well in a highball as it has some characteristics that I think might pair well with some seltzer/soda water and a hint of lemon or yuzu. Otherwise, sipping this neat isn't bad, but at the same time it's not very complex & kind of boring. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Rich dark dried stone fruits, dark raisins, prunes, hint of sweet leather, chocolate, orange Taste - Clean fruity heat, sweet dark raisins, prunes, hint of dried sweet cherries, sweet spicy chocolate mole sauce, ginger juice heat Finish - Lingering ginger spice, sweet dark raisins, dark apple/pear cider sweetness Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - This one was quite good, excellent sherried Scotch. Nice balance of dark stone fruits without being too extremely sickly sweet or off-putting sulfur funk. A bit on the sweeter side though & possibly more of a dessert dram, but quite tasty nonetheless. A tiny bit of water doesn't really change the profile much, but does help reduce the sweet a tiny bit. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - If I could find it around the $60-80 USD price point

Nose - Rich fruity caramel, ripe apples & pears, sweet golden raisins, grape gummies, pineapple, light saline Taste - White pepper spice, red berries, golden raisins, dark apple/pear cider, hint of saline, sharp ripe pineapple, light fruity bitterness of grape/apple/pear stems at the very end Finish - Lingering fruity berry/apple/pear cider, saline lingers, fruity bitterness & white pepper spice/heat re-appear Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this one is amazing as it seems to come & go in waves & is just goes on & on. Classic Bruichladdich saline notes, although this one is a bit more subtle, but has loads of rich ripe apple/pear notes with a hint of this fruity red berry note. This transitions to the palate where it makes you feel as if the makup of this was primarily ex-bourbon, but there has to be some sort of wine cask in there & maybe even a refill sherry or something too. Altogether a magnificent dram. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe if I could find it for around $150ish USD?

Nose - (w/o water) Rich chocolaty caramel, hints of dark chocolate covered espresso beans, faint hint/wisp of chocolate mints, almond roca (w/ water) Mint vibe goes away & gets replaced with more cherry coke, sweet toasted oak. Taste - (w/o water) Intense cinnamony dark caramel/toffee sweet, dark chocolate, cherry coke syrup, dark chocolate almond roca candy (w/ water) Dark chocolate flavors turn into more of a cinnamony milk chocolate, other flavors remain constant Finish - (w/o water) Pleasant warm gentle heat, lingering dark toffee sweet, hints of cherries & mint, effervescent cherry coke (w/ water) Lingering dark chocolate mocha, light cinnamon spice, similar to a Mexican hot chocolate & cherry coke finish Score - 93/100 Final Thoughts - Always hate to rate these so highly, but the GTS in particular hits on all the notes I love in a bourbon. This one is no exception as it has the nice dark chocolate, coffee, cherry coke bits I love seeing in a bourbon & the fact that it's so well balanced for the higher proof too. Adding a touch of water to it opens it up a bit & removes a bit of the heat/bite, but I'm torn on if I like the softer milk chocolate versus the dark chocolate notes I get w/o water. Regardless, I'm really glad I was able to snag a bottle at close to msrp. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Pleasant floral pear cider, hints of cherry blossoms, light cedar wood/sharpness, light coconut, toasted white sesame seeds mixed with white sugar Taste - Fairly thin, nice gentle floral/fruity heat, hints of coconut, macadamia nuts, buttery toffee, hints of cinnamon, light clove bitterness Finish - Lingering gentle heat, waxy/buttery clean sweetness, light flora/fruity cherry blossom scented simple syrup Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This was fairly enjoyable from start to finish. It definitely noses like a blended whisky with the grain proportion being on the higher end or even being just a blended grain whisky. Regardless, it's a fairly easy sippable whisky. Nice floral backbone and buttery toffee backbone. It's tasty, but nothing spectacular. I'd say this is best enjoyed neat or in a highball. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not at the price I paid

Nose - (w/o water) Very pleasant & light grassy & floral notes, ripe green pears, lightly oaky undertones, thickly sweet with a hint of oak aged dessert white wine, light mint/herbal vibe (w/ water) Adds a new component of vanilla mint custard to the nose Taste - (w/o water) Fruity heat, intense sweet pear with a dessert white wine vibe, faint wisp of clean smoke, light grass, floral, crisp light fleshed fruits (w/ water) More of a white pepper heat, lightly ashy, drying pear cider, floral, less grassy, more dry ashy/dusty golden raisins Finish - (w/o water) Lingering green grass, light fleshed fruits, pear vibe lingers, lightly metallic (w/ water) Lingering heat, green Anjou pears, light ashy/metallic vibe still present Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this one is quite nice. Good balance of sweet and crisp pear, very floral, sweet dessert wine like influence. This transitions nicely to the palate with a surprise wisp of ash/clean smoke, like it was aged in barrels that often had campfires near them or something. There's this faint wisp of ash/smoke, but I don't think any of this malt has been peated at all. The only real downfall of this is the finish where after everything sort of settles, you get this light metallic taste on the very backend which is a bit distracting & I guess is good since it makes you want to take another sip to get rid of it. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Nose - Warm cinnamon & cherry caramels, hint of sweet toasted oak, cocoa powder, sweet leather, hint of sweet cream Taste - Rich caramel, dark toffee, wisp of cherry, dark chocolate covered cherries, dark chocolate covered toasted coconut strips, hint of sweet espresso bitterness, light sweet hot peppers, bananas Finish - Lingering cinnamon tingle/heat, caramel transitions to tropical fruits, coconut milk, banana, hint of clove & anise bittersweet spice at the end Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very interesting bourbon for sure in that the coconut & banana were a bit unexpected, but then again it has been a while since I've had any Old Forester stuff. I'm a sucker for dark chocolate & coffee, so the fact that these appeared on the palate was quite nice. Fairly balanced from start to finish, but the slight bitter spice tang of the clove & anise at the very end was a bit off putting to me, but this is otherwise a nice balanced bourbon. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Probably not another