Tastes

Nose - Salt, mineral smoke, pears, lemon zest, golden raisins (w/ water) same Taste - Intense smoke, salt, golden raisins, moscato-like sharp sweetness that quickly fades, sweet cured meats (w/ water) Subdued smoke, less sweet, adds cracked black pepper, early lemon curd, candied bacon Finish - Golden raisins, salt, drying mineral-vibe, earth, sweet cured meat (w/ water) More minerals/earth/dirt, salty sweet, dirt covered lemons, golden raisins Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - This one fared much better without the addition of water. It is much more vibrant and interesting without water as the sweetness shines through and there is less of an earth/dirt/mineral vibe. The Moscato finish is present on this one (I don't think I would've identified it as Moscato) but I would've guessed a sweet white grape finish or a lighter colored sweet spirit finish. Loads of golden raisins mixed with salty smoke and cured meats dominate. Tasty, but you definitely have to be in the mood for this one. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Gentle smoke, smoked lemon zest, earth/dirt, light pear, mineraly (w/ water) Much more vibrant, less smoky Taste - Salt, sweet cured meat, hint of minerals, earth, bright/vibrant mouthfeel, light pear & lemon zest (w/ water) Opens up a bit more but pretty much the same Finish - Trailing salty smoke, light savory vibe, lemon zest (w/ water) same Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - This felt quite muted at first but really opened up with a bit of water. From the nose and palate, this felt like this was primarily an ex-bourbon maturation with either a cask or two of some light colored sweet wine finish (if that). Loads of salt with a hint of smoke and a nice savory cured meat punch that makes this feel like it'd be great dram to enjoy by a summer campfire by the lake. It was nice, but nothing special. 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 - Intense raisin/prunes, dark soy, dark berries Taste - Dark raisins/prunes, blackberries, blueberries, dark soy, dark chocolate, dark cherries Finish - Wet oak, dark berries, raisins, dark cherry juice, dark soy Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - Nose on this one felt a bit more balanced, but still a bit one dimensional. Nice addition of blackberries and blueberries on the palate, but still felt like I was drinking a fortified sherry that had a tiny bit of dark soy added to it. It wasn't off putting by any means, but just felt a bit one and done. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Prunes, raisins, dark soy, dark chocolate Taste - Prunes, raisins, cherry juice, sweet savory soy sauce, dark chocolate, wet oak Finish - Light sweet/bitter, prunes, raisins, cherry juice Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this one felt very very similar to the 10 and the 12, but strangely felt a bit more muted. On the palate it felt a bit brighter like cherry/pomegranate juice. The savory nature of this malt came through once again with this dark soy vibe, but something about this felt a bit off near the end and through to the finish. It had this almost but not quite metallic vibe that threw things a bit off. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Dark raisins, prunes, hint of dark soy, leather, almost like a PX sherry Taste - Sweet savory, tart berries, blackberries, dark chocolate, dark sweet soy sauce, lightly drying, carbonated soy sauce? Finish - Tart/drying but sweet, dark raisins, dark dried berries, dark chocolates Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - Not sure how heavily sherried or how wet the barrels Hakata is aged in, but these feel like they were fairly wet and have quite a bit of sherry influence in them. Loads of dark raisins and prunes in this one. Once it hits the palate it gets a little less sweet which was nice, but it felt a bit tart/drying and the transition as you swallow feels almost like you're drinking a sweet savory carbonated soy sauce. Which is weird, but oddly not unpleasant? So far these feel like just very heavily sherried whiskies that capture more sherry influence than anything else. They're good, but just a bit boring because of that. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Juicy raisins, dark apple juice, goji berries Taste - Slightly savory/meaty sweet, bold raisins, gentle heat/tingle, goji berries, acai, almost sweet soy sauce Finish - Light metallic, sweet savory vibe, reduced mirin & soy, dark raisins Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - I was initially a bit disappointed in the lowish proof of 42% and not sure if this lower proof affects the nose, but it doesn't really present very much. The nose is mostly sweet, slightly savory, but there's not much past this sweet vibe. Once it hits your palate though, the shock value is there in that there's quite a bit of flavor for the lower proof. It's quite intense of this mostly sweet, lightly savory, tiny bit metallic/medicinal vibe to it. It's tasty, but also feels slightly off balance with the occasional metallic vibes coming off this. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, oak, hints of apple peels and cherries Taste - Caramel, cherry-vanilla, cinnamon spice, leather, chocolate Finish - Caramel, cherry chocolates, cherry-vanilla coke syrup, oak, gentle cinnamon tingle Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - This is a good bourbon, nothing off putting about it. Fairly standard bourbon notes of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon but this has some nice notes of chocolate and cherry that pop in and out that I like. Good for a bourbon and worth what I paid for, but definitely not worth secondary prices. 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 - Fairly light, grainy sweet, watered-down honey Taste - Gentle clean peat, generic grain sweetness, hint of apples/pears, gentle gingery tingle Finish - Light smoke, generic grain sweetness, apple Score - 71/100 Final Thoughts - This isn't bad, but it also isn't good. This feels like it was made to be a super lightly peated version of Toki with a "fun" story behind it. This feels like it's made to be mixed into a generic highball and sipped while eating loads of grilled meats. It's very light in almost every aspect and just generally very forgettable. 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 - Tart/sour cherries, red wine tannins, crushed red grape skins, caramel, tart dried cherries, almost balsamic-like Taste - Fruity caramel, fruity honey, sweet/sour/tart cherries, caramel, clove/fennel seed bitterness, angostura bitters, plum bitters, dark chocolate, lightly acidic coffee Finish - Lingering fruity honey, caramel, tart cherries, wet oak, tart dried cherries, cacao nibs Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - This is a good finished bourbon. The Portuguese Ginja cask finish adds this nice tart/sour cherry vibe that pairs really well with the base Woodinville Bourbon. This "standard" release version is very close to the cask strength version after re-reading my notes after this review. This is a very unique finished bourbon and really ups the game in terms of making a bourbon more interesting while preserving most of the characteristics of the original spirit. 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.

This is actually the Cask Strength version at 53.96% Nose - Sweet & sour tannic cherries, tannic dark grape skins, sour fruit funk, dark berries, caramel, wet oak Taste - Blackberries, caramel, fruity honey, sweet/sour cherries, almost like a sour cherry Lambic beer, hint of clove/spice bitterness/funk, cherry pits, sweet meaty vibe, like a candied salmon or pork jerky Finish - Lingering wet oaky sweet, honey, sour bright berries, bit tannic, caramel, dark chocolate, oaky vanilla Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - Woodinville knocked this one out of the park. It's the perfect combination of weird and funky, yet still interesting and tasty. I'll state that it's definitely unique and will not be for everyone, but I really like the combination of flavors in this release. It's a bourbon, but with enough there to set it apart from all the other bourbons. The ginja cask finish adds this interesting (in a very good way) this funky sweet sour fruit vibe but still has the backbone of a good bourbon. I can see this excellent neat as well as in a well crafted cocktail that would take advantage of the fruity funk in this. 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.