Tastes

Nose - Fruity peat smoke dominates, toasted brioche in the background, very clean simple/corn syrup sweet Taste - Very clean initially, then this medicinal, iodine-like smoke appears, similar to an apple juice mixed with campfire ash Finish - Lingering smoke, fruity ash, corn syrup/splenda sweet Score - 50/100 Final Thoughts - I'm not a huge fan of peated whiskies and this is no exception. It's not quite as strong of a medicinal peat as Laphroaig, but it's close. The smoke dominates and any green apple I got from their unpeated expressions is gone, replaced by this splenda-like sweetness. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Fresh green apples, fresh sweet cream, hint of young ethanol in the background Taste - More creamy fresh green apple cream, bitterness of young/unripe green apples are there, no burn Finish - Creamy green apple, like over steeped green tea with dried apple peels with a hint of sweet cream added afterwards Score - 67/100 Final Thoughts - So I'm not entirely sure how this expression differs from Penderyn Myth, but this seriously feels like it was a green tea with green apple peels in it, that was over steeped and then instead of served as is, they added a hint of sweet cream to it. It helped tame the bitterness a bit, but otherwise not much different from the Myth expression. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Fairly young, his this sweet ethanol bite that is like it hasn't been aged long enough to remove that new make spirit bite, hints of green apple, slightly floral Taste - Fairly thin mouthfeel, green apples, light apple stem bitterness, light ginger tingle, light an over steeped bitter tea near the end Finish - Fairly quick finish, lingering green apple peels in an over steeped green tea Score - 66/100 Final Thoughts - This one started out with the impression that it was quite young due to the initial new make, raw ethanol vibe. Very one dimensional, dominated by fresh, unripe green apples with bit of fruity bitterness that isn't too bad, but kind of boring overall. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Sweet fruity smoke, vanilla, black peppercorns, light fruity apple juice-like sweet Taste - Very light sweetness, fairly thin, gentle vanilla & grainy sweet, light filtered apple juice sweet, light smoke on the back end Finish - Light oaky fruit, vanilla, grain sweet, vaery light sweet smoke, black pepper Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - Fairly simple blended malt, sadly not as put together as the standard Green. I think that since this is targeted as a travel retail only, it's meant to be fairly simple & pleasing to the masses. Sadly, this makes it quite boring, but very inoffensive. It can be sipped neat or mixed into a highball quite easily, but it's definitely something you're sipping on when you just want to have a drink in your hand. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Subtle sweet smoke, sweet dark tea, light apple sweet, not much there Taste - More sweet smoke, clean grainy sweetness, apple juice sweet, light ginger spice Finish - Light peppery heat/tingle, grainy clean sweetness, light smoke Score - 65/100 Final Thoughts - So not as "smoky" as I thought but then again this is still meant to please the masses. This is quite boring from start to finish, but not unpleasant. Fairly boring, tame, meant to be mixed into a highball or drank "on the rocks" when there's nothing else better. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - (w/o water) Rich dark vanilla caramels, roasted nuts, dark roast coffee beans, oiled leather (w/ water) Vanilla caramels, dark toffee, roasted nuts w/ skins Taste - (w/o water) Rich dark, oaky vanilla caramels, hint of peanut skin bitter, cinnamon spice, roasted nuts (w/ water) Oaky vanilla caramels, light bitter nut skins are more prominent, dark brown simple Finish - (w/o water) Lingering oaky brown simple, oiled leather, hint of burnt nut skin bitterness (w/ water) Lingering sweet toasted nuts, faint tingle, oaky brown simple Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - So this started out with a fantastic nose, but once it hit the palate, it tasted a bit overoaked and a tiny bit tannic. It starts out pretty good, but then this sudden nut skin bitterness soon takes over and gets a bit distracting. The delicious dark vanilla caramels get drowned out. This one is better without the addition of water as I think the water enhances the bitterness and surprisingly for the higher proof, it doesn't drink as such. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Distilled 1994, Single Cask 45% Nose - Rich fruity caramel, stewed dark red berries, chocolate covered toffee, candied ginger, candied orange Taste - Very light heat/tingle, rich dark red berries, candied ginger, oaky caramel, leather dryness/bitterness, bitter dark chocolate, coffee toffee Finish - Lingering dryness, fruity oak, lingering dark red berry sweet, similar to a cranberry-cherry juice blend w/ the same amount of sweet-tart, hint of dark chocolate covered coffee toffee Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - This one had an an amazing nose, which sort of sets the expectations a bit high as you don't quite get all of those intense flavors on the palate. It smells like a dessert dram, but drinks like a nicely sherried everyday drinker. Not saying that's a bad thing, but I was just hoping for a bit more of that intense caramel/toffee sweetness on the palate that I got in the nose. Overall a very nice blend with no off-putting notes and is actually quite nicely balanced. Bitterness tones down the sweetness to a good level. I guess I'm just being picky on how the nose didn't translate 1 to 1 on the palate. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Intense fruity dark caramel, dark toffee, dried blueberries/cranberries, vanilla, hints of sweet spicy oak Taste - Pleasant sweet spicy tingle, dark toffee, dark chocolate, hints of raisins, dried blueberries, hint of candied orange, vanilla, faint hint of almond/hazelnut skin bitterness, fruity dark roast coffee Finish - Light lingering fruity spice, light nutty bitterness, dark chocolate covered coffee toffee, caramel Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - I really quite like this one. It hits on most of the flavors I really like in a bourbon. The brandy cask is prominent in the added fruity notes and I think it complements it quite well. Great nose on this one as it's a great balance of dark chocolate, sweet nuts, & dried fruits that all go very well together. Like a good dark chocolate toffee bark or something. Great taste on the palate as most of the stuff in the nose is also present. The light bitterness complements everything well & isn't off putting (at least to me). I think this would be best enjoyed neat as any additional water or ice or bitters might mask the subtle brandy influence that's present. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Lightly floral, honey, sandalwood, roasted barley tea, hints of Chinese herbal medicine roots, dried ginseng, cedar Taste - Dried goji berries, hint of dried oolong tea, dried Chinese red dates, ginger heat, dried persimmon Finish - Lingering fruity barley tea, light candied ginger, Chinese red dates, dried persimmon sweet Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - This was...interesting I guess. Had an interesting nose that I've only gotten before from a young specialty barley whiskey I had once at Westland Distillery in Seattle, WA. The cedar influence was very apparent but there was also this weird Chinese herbal medicine vibe/funk I got out of this one. This one tasted quite young and although interesting, was kind of weird. Didn't really feel very well put together and not sure if the cedar influence was just overpowering the malt or what, but it was just kind of weird all around. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - Not anymore Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Nose - Rich chocolaty malt, dark toffee, sweet leather, sweet tobacco Taste - Gentle ginger/white pepper tingle/heat, dark toffee, dark chocolate, lightly sweet dark prunes/figs, charred orange peel, lightly drying mouthfeel reminiscent of freshly oiled leather & sweet tobacco bitterness Finish - Long lingering gentle tingle, sweet fades fairly quickly but leaves a very pleasant dark chocolate and dark toffee "ghost sweet", caramel, hint of dark fruits Score - 97/100 Final Thoughts - I really hate to hype this bottle up, but this is just a really really well put together whisky. For something that's only 43% the nose is perfectly balanced where there is little to no ethanol burn, but it's a very rich/oily almost ozone like thickness that's like a very pleasant cologne. This continues to the mouthfeel too where it feels nice & oily, very rich, but isn't overwhelming & just feels perfectly balanced to drink neat. There is this tiny bit of bitterness but it's not off-putting at all and complements the subtle sweetness of the dram. The finish is long lasting & although it's not a syrupy sweet like some heavily sherried drams, it leaves just a whisp of sweet on your tongue, making you want to take another sip. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes, if it's not obnoxiously overpriced Would I buy a bottle? - Yes