Tastes

Nose - Ripe apples, honey, hint of orange, golden raisins Taste - Honey, golden raisins, dried apples, candied ginger spice/tingle/heat, light salt Finish - Very nice lingering ginger warmth, sweet honeyed golden raisins, filtered apple juice sweetness, light hint of graphite Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This had a very pleasant nose, not too complex but very well put together. Nice balance on the palate as well in that there was nothing off-putting, simple flavors but they all played well with each other. This felt like mostly if not entirely ex-bourbon aged but not much caramel/vanilla but more of a highlighted fruity malt. Nice finish too although there's a slight graphite-like finish that's a tiny bit unpleasant but it's subtle. This was quite a nice dram and honestly drank like it was more of a 43/46% ABV dram versus a 40%. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Sweet smoke, hint of apples, light vanilla caramel, light graphite Taste - Light clean smoke, like coal/graphite, light apples, caramel, filtered apple juice, light ginger tingle Finish - Light lingering fruity smoke, apples, graphite, ginger tingle Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very inoffensive lightly peated malt. It's really targeted for the masses so the flavors aren't very strong one way or another and that's where I see the downfall of this one. It's a pleasant lightly peated malt, but it's not very interesting and the flavors are kind of muted. That being said, I can see this being something good to introduce to someone who has never tried a peated malt as a "gentle" introduction. Sadly I don't really get much of the rum influence, but maybe because it's the general "sweet caramel" flavors I get out of this one. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Muted artificial sweet, light vanilla, watery corn syrup, not much there Taste - Watery artificial sweet, light white pepper tingle, splenda/corn syrup grain cereal sweet, bitter bread? Finish - Lingering splenda sweet, light bitterness, uncooked dusty grains Score - 12/100 Final Thoughts - There's really not much to this one other than bleh. The nose is muted and not unpleasant, but that's only to surprise you with an unpleasant splenda generic sweet on the palate. There's maybe a hint of vanilla in there somewhere but it's so masked by this generic artificial sweetener vibe that even that can't save this dram. This has a bitter back end to it and transitions to a splenda-like sweet that I get from Crown Royal, except this is much worse. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - I don't know why anyone would

Nose - Gentle nose, sweet young grain, floral honey, pears, hint of vanilla Taste - Light floral honey sweet, candied ginger, light corn syrup sweet, light pear skin bitter Finish - Faint sweet grains, light bitter corn syrup, light floral honey, faint ginger tingle Score - 67/100 Final Thoughts - As expected, this tastes like a very young grain heavy blend meant for mixing as a highball. It tastes young and a bit astringent with a corn syrup sweetness. Hints of a floral honey & light pear will make this a nice light mixer in a highball as I think the club soda will help mask the light bitter notes on the back palate and finish. This isn't horrible to sip neat, but it does have some slightly off-putting bitter notes and it's just not that complex. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe in a highball? Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Clean sharp sweet, light honey, fresh blueberries, light apple juice, light caramel, balsa wood Taste - Dark honeyed apple juice, hint of orange, ginger spice, dried berries, honey Finish - Lingering ginger spice, apple juice, honey, dried apples, dried blueberries Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This one wasn't as great as I thought it'd be, but it wasn't horrible either. Pleasant but kind of boring nose. Tasty palate, but nothing exciting. This was clearly meant to be marketed to please the masses and it shows. It's perfectly fine from start to finish, but nothing exciting and I'm not entirely what the First Fill Japanese Oak finish is supposed to add, but it wasn't much. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Dark fruity funk, dark raisins, fresh cranberries, fresh blueberries, honey, grape fruit snacks, leather, sweet tobacco, hint of orange zest Taste - Dark watery honey, fresh berries, funky sweet red wine, hint of orange & ginger spice, lightly grape skin tannic, sweet nuts, funky sherry, mushroom Finish - Lingering fruity mushroom funk, sweet berries, honey, Boo Berry cereal Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - So this was quite interesting in that it had a very pleasant nose. Very interesting funky fruit sweet and nicely balanced. This transitioned to the palate with a bit more funk which introduced something that I've gotten previously with the Dalmore Cigar Malt which I have mixed feelings about. It's this kind of meaty, funky, mushroomy sweet red wine funk that I have mixed feelings about. This also transitions to the finish that lasts for quite a bit. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Fruity raisin-y caramel, hint of candied ginger, candied orange peel, toffee, dark apple juice Taste - Spicy candied ginger, candied orange peels, toffee, milk chocolate, prunes, dark raisins, M&M candy shell sweet? Finish - Lingering candied ginger spice, candied orange peels, orange sugar coated jelly candy?, plain M&Ms, weird metallic fruity sweet Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - So this one was a bit interesting in that it didn't really taste like the standard Macallan profile of a nicely sherried Scotch. This had more of a candied fruit vibe to it with a hint of raisins/prunes. Interesting nose that carries over to the palate but the finish has this weird metallic fruity sweet that I find a bit off-putting. Overall it's pretty decent, but the finish kind of kills it. The longer I wait, the more metallic & strange sweet I get from this and it's a bit distracting. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Nose - Vanilla caramels, oaky cinnamon, hints of fresh bing cherries & maraschino cherries, caramel macchiato foam. Taste - Spicy cinnamon tingle, oaky vanilla caramel, sharp maraschino cherry sweet, hints of sweet wet tobacco Finish - Lingering oaky cinnamon, vanilla caramels, cinnamon tingle lingers, oaky caramel Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - So this is pretty standard Wild Turkey to be honest. The 8 year age statement doesn't really make the standard 101 that much better but just keeps the standard profile that I enjoy about Wild Turkey. Nothing amazing, but just quality bourbon, although the finish is a bit more oaky than I remember but it's not distracting in any way. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

This is a review of the exclusive duty-free version bottled at 43% Nose - Nice fruity/floral, dark fruity honey, vanilla, ripe apples, pears, hint of cooked golden raisins Taste - Nice gentle candied ginger spice, golden floral honey, vanilla, hint of cinnamon, spiced apple/pear cider, lightly drying mouthfeel, fruity oak, golden raisins Finish - Lingering gentle candied ginger heat, light grape seed/vine bitterness, fruity honey, more mix of ripe and unripe green pear, light mineral/chalky/dusty mouthfeel Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - I haven't tried the 40% version, but I expect the 43% version is significantly better as I think that slight bump in proof helps preserve and enhance some of the more subtle characters in this dram. This has a very nice pleasant nose that does hint to an effervescent/acidic grape influence to it which I found nice & enjoyable. This does translate a bit to the palate, but a bit more gently. I get a very dark fruity fresh honey vibe to the dram which is nice and I can see how this could appeal to the masses (especially those who are new to Scotch and are looking for something approachable). The mouthfeel does capture a bit of the mouthfeel and "vibe" I get from older Scotches. Finish is a bit short, but pleasant. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No, I'd value this bottle at about $80-$100USD

Nose - Sweet creamy fruity spice, strawberries & cream candies, fresh thick fruity honey, caramel, toffee Taste - Fruity ginger tingle/spice, fresh berries & cream, ginger spice, orange zest, light leather sweet/bitter, macadamia/marcona almond nutty sweet, spiced berried honey Finish - Lingering honey/ginger spice, creamy/buttery mouthfeel, sweet spiced honey, hints of fresh berries, reminds me of what a high quality berried Dambuie might finish like Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - I guess I'm a tiny bit disappointed in this one as I was expecting more of an oloroso/px sherry influence to this one. I missed the chocolate/coffee notes I got from the 18. This seemed like it was a higher blend of ex-bourbon with various sherry casks versus sherry cask heavy like the 12 & 18. This one is good for sure, but just lacks that dark chocolate vibe that I think would have made this amazing versus really good. Maybe I just set my expectations too high for this dram? Regardless it has a wonderful creamy, yet spicy mouthfeel that's full of fresh berries and cream mixed with a buttery caramel that's quite wonderful. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe