Tastes

Nose - (w/o water) Sweet caramel, oaky cinnamon, light cherry cough drop sweet, oaky vanilla (w/ water) Reduced fruity sweetness, more oaky vanilla caramel Taste - (w/o water) Mellow, kind of drying cinnamon caramel, light cherry candy, drying oaky vanilla caramel (w/ water) Reduced heat, more dry, less cherry & more oaky cinnamon caramel, fruity sweet reappears at the very end Finish - (w/o water) Lingering heat/tingle, sweet cherry caramel, cinnamon red hot heat (w/ water) Little to no burn, lingering fruity/cherry lingers, vanilla caramels remain in background Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This one surprised me quite a bit as it wasn't quite as hot as the proof would make you think, which is quite dangerous. I'm mixed about how this handles water in that the mouthfeel is improved, but the cherry is a bit mellowed out. It does help the heat/tingle a bit but it also wasn't that bad for the higher proof in the first place. This isn't too bad for the price but I can see this being quite dangerous as it drinks well below its proof. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Dark chocolate notes, toasted rye spice, dusty rye grains, caramel, flamed cinnamon Taste - Dark toasted rye/grains, chocolate mocha rye bread, chocolate roasted barley, mocha bread, bit drying, dark caramels, light cinnamon spice Finish - Lingering tingle, chocolate yeasty bread notes dominate, mocha bread from 85C Bakery chain Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - I actually quite liked this as it actually reminded me of a rye that I can no longer get. This tastes oddly similar to Woodinville Whiskey's old microbarreled rye offering. This has very similar chocolaty notes to the rye that make it quite desserty. This is definitely not an everyday dram as the chocolate notes can be a bit overwhelming on their own. I think this would be best paired with a berry dessert, a hearty stout, or mixed into an old fashioned or a manhattan. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Nose - Dark apple juice, candied citrus peels, candied ginger, golden raisins Taste - Rich caramel, ginger spice, golden raisins, all on a backbone of dark filtered apple cider & caramel sauce, orange zest, light milk chocolate Finish - Light apple skin bitter, ginger spice, golden raisins sweet Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - So the nose on this one wasn't quite as good as the 18 fine oak, but it was fairly complex. I imagine a table with a bunch of dried fruits & nuts arranged together to represent this. Dried apple rings, apricots, golden raisins, candied ginger, candied citrus peels, Turkish delight. All of these things are captured in this dram in one form or another. It's pleasant for sure, but nothing really screams outstanding. It's very pleasant, feels like I need to have a charcuterie tray with nuts & dried fruits to pair this with and that's its sole purpose. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Rich warm cooked apples, golden raisins, dried apricots, toasted candied ginger Taste - Golden raisins, baked ripe apples, wine poached pears, gentle candied ginger spice/heat/warmth, gentle apple skin bitter Finish - Lingering gentle warmth, balanced caramel with cooked apples Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very well balanced dram. Nothing off putting, great nose for such a low proof. It's a very tasty dram, not heavily sherried like their sherry cask 12. Nice balance of light fleshed stone fruits & gentle oak. Tasty, but not amazing. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe? Would I buy a bottle? - No, not at the prices they charge

Nose - Floral honey, dark apple juice, light caramel, golden raisins, nougat Taste - Gentle sweet spice, sweet golden raisins, lightly drying, hint of dried pineapple, fresh apples with skin, hint of ripe yellow peach Finish - Lingering sweet tingle, creamy caramel, golden raisins, lightly drying Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This one was quite nice, seems like a nice blend of sherry influences with a high component of bourbon/refill to mellow things out a bit. Light bright sweetness from start to finish, bit of depth but still remains mostly a "bright" fruity/floral vibe to it. Very drinkable & enjoyable & is something I could see myself sipping on in the spring/summer when I want something to sip on but not really focus on any complex flavors. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe

Nose - Warm & gentle spice, toasted bread, ginger, candied ginger w/ skin, light earthy bitter Taste - Gentle heat/tingle, apple/pear, dark simple syrup, light ginger spice, creamy/waxy mouthfeel, light golden raisin sweet Finish - Lingering waxy mouthfeel, sweet apples, toasted brioche, ginger heat, light bitterness that goes in & out Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - This one was a bit muted at first on the nose but finally opened up after a few minutes to a fairly standard unpeated malt profile of apples/pears & warm/toasted malt. The creamy/waxy mouthfeel was a bit unexpected as it reminded me of a Clynelish. Higher proof was nice but the bitterness on the finish was a bit unexpected. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - (w/o water) Floral honey, Chinese dried red dates, sweet incense? dark apple juice, hint of golden raisins (w/ water) More "bright" but more boring, golden raisins, ripe apples Taste - (w/o water) Rich caramel apple juice, hint of chocolate, dark golden raisins, hint of fruity incense (w/ water) Creamy caramel, dark apple juice, sandalwood? Finish - (w/o water) Lingering sweet yet dry, fresh dates, golden raisins, caramel (w/ water) Gentle ginger heat, light golden raisins, fruity incense Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - This was an interesting one. I guess I didn't really get the "meaty" notes like I did with their other expressions. This one was quite interesting in that I got these fairly strange notes in it of incense and the Chinese red dates. This seemed to come & go throughout the dram & water didn't seem to help this one as much as others. It did make it seem more "bright" but it didn't seem to help it as much. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - (w/o water) Bright floral, lightly tropical, dark apples/pear, starfruit, lightly "meaty" vibe, oaked chardonnay (w/ water) Opens up more, more light tropical fruits, less meaty, dark muscat grapes Taste - (w/o water) Fruity spicy ginger, sweet apple/muscat grapes, floral thinned honey, more floral orchard fruits (w/ water) Filtered apple cider, muscat grapes, floral honey, hint of fruity spice Finish - (w/o water) Lingering candied ginger tingle, sweet muscat grapes, grape gummies (w/ water) Lingering fruity tingle, residual muscat sweet, hint of of oaked chardonnay Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite a tasty dram. I quite liked the tropical vibe I got from it. The "meaty" nature was present without water but mostly went away with a bit of water. I like how this has this nice dark amber muscat grape vibe to it that's quite nice, but at the same time lends itself to be a bit on the sweet side for me. I think it's best with a tiny bit of water to really open it up and balance out the sweetness a bit. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe

Nose - (w/o water) Sweet "meaty" sherry sweetness, rich dark cherries, dark apple/pear juice, cranberry juice (w/ water) Opens up a bit more, still meaty sherry, but seems a bit more "bright" Taste - (w/o water) Dark dried stone fruits, ginger spice/heat, dried cranberries, weird fruity bitterness, wet tobacco, orange pith bitter (w/ water) Opens up the dram a bit more, flavors "pop" more, brighter flavors and less dark fruit syrupy sweet, still has the "meaty" sweet sweetness Finish - (w/o water) Lingering sweet stone fruits, lingering ginger heat, light fruity bitterness (w/ water) Lingering dried cranberry, dried cherry sweet, light fruity bitterness remains Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite interesting in that I get this sort of fruity/savory meaty sweet from this. Similar to Dalmore, but more pleasant. This for me is more on the sweet side and leans more towards a dessert dram. Water does wonders for this dram & opens it up quite a bit. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Rich fruity honey, dark red stone fruits, berry fruit leather, dried apples, cinnamon red hots Taste - Sweet berry honey, dark dried red berries, ripe strawberries/dark cherries, hint of ginger Finish - Lingering sweet heat, red berries, apple/berry fruit leather, berry honey Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - Very nice nose, sweet red berries & thinned out honey dominate from start to finish. This one is quite the dessert dram for sure. I think this would pair very well w/ either dark chocolate or maybe an apple tart or something. This is quite tasty, but it's a bit sweet even for my taste. Nice balance of flavors and nothing off putting, just a bit overall sweet. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe