Tastes

Nose - (w/o water) Spicy ginger, hint of ozone, ripe pears, rich honey, golden raisins, citrus zest, light longan (w/ water) More ozone, less spice, more ripe pears, mix of lemon/orange zest, golden raisins Taste - (w/o water) Rich oily mouthfeel, golden raisins/ripe bosc pears, floral honey, white pepper tingle, light citrusy ginger, light salt (w/ water) Less heat, more lemon zest, floral honey, ripe pears, light salt, golden raisins. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering "fresh" sweetness, darker golden raisin sweet, super ripe bosc pears, dark honey, ginger tingle, salt (w/ water) Lingering ripe pears, light tingle, honey, light citrus Score - 94/100 Final Thoughts - This was a great dram overall. Nothing off-putting from start to finish. Very unique "ozone" in this one as well, but with a very "fresh" twist to it. This screams super ripe pears and golden raisin sweet, nice fruity floral aspect to it as well. Not sure if there was any sherry influence to this, but it feels like a nice sautern or sweet moscato or riesling influence. Regardless it's quite nice overall and the "ozone" aspect to it is great. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes, if I could find a bottle for around $200 USD

Nose - Sweet briny smoke, salt & pepper on smoked kelp, dried persimmons, spicy oak Taste - Salty drying sweet charcoal smoke, white pepper tingle, salty dried persimmon sweet, light oaky bitterness, hint of lemon zest, lightly medicinal/metallic Finish - Long lingering smoky salt, light medicinal/metallic sweet, light salty white pepper tingle/heat Score - 75/100 Final Thoughts - I guess I'm not really a fan of this older expression. It sort of had the "depth" & "age" vibe, but it was all sorts of flavors that were a bit off-putting to me. The smoke was subtle enough, but still quite present even after 25 years in oak. The sweetness was a bit tough to pinpoint, but it reminded me of dried persimmons, which I'm not a huge fan of. There was this medicinal/metallic vibe that I sometimes get from dried fruits that are a bit old. This was interesting as I think I seem to enjoy younger, finished Taliskers better. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Fruity/cherry cinnamon, sweet corn, caramel, dark chocolate, pine? Taste - Initially thin then builds up to a richer mouthfeel, sweet cherry, vanilla caramel, cinnamon spice, slightly herbal rye bread sweetness eventually emerges Finish - Almost menthol/minty coolness on the swallow, light oak, fruity dark cherry sweet, cinnamon spice, flamed lemon zest with a bit too much pith making it slightly bitter but not unpleasant Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite good, didn't initially nose like a rye initially, but with some air time the rye spice does come out. Nice experience throughout with the exception of the slight bitter on the finish, but that's fairly minor. Nothing off-putting or distracting about it. Nice balance of sweet and spice, decent enough to sip neat and I can see this playing well in cocktails, but that'll have to see. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes, most likely

Nose - Spicy vanilla caramel, dark apple/pear juice, dark honey, very faint dark chocolate mint? Taste - Hint of smoky toasted oak, dark chocolate, smoked sea salt on a roaster pear filled dark chocolate candy, golden raisins, toasted spices, hint of tobacco & leather, dark honey, dark caramel, lightly oaky dryness Finish - Lingering toasted spice, wisp of leather/dark chocolate richness, caramel/toffee, mocha Score - 93/100 Final Thoughts - So this is what a nicely aged Glenlivet should be. Nice "dark" nose, very complex taste & finish. This gives me visions of a dark mahogany library with a gentle wood fire going and lots of old books and well oiled leather furniture. Nice complex taste and nice "bite" given the lower proof. Very nice from start to finish with no off-putting notes to be seen. You can just tell that this has spent many years aging in oak due to the mouthfeel alone and although I don't think Glenlivet uses any peated malt, there's this interesting light smoky quality to this that makes it very interesting. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes if I could find it ~$250

Nose - Rich balanced caramely/sherry influence, juicy raisins/prunes, caramel, vanilla, hint of dark apple juice, dark dried apricots. Taste - Bit thin initially & a bit drying, light peppery spice, dark stone fruit sweet, dark raisins, tiny hint of bitterness like the stray grape vine stems left on raisins Finish - Lingering dark dried stone fruit sweet, but not overly or cloyingly sweet, bitterness gently fades, very long lasting finish, slightly metallic dried fruit sweetness goes in & out Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - Kind of hate to admit this but this is very well balanced from start to finish. Macallan knows a thing or two about a good sherry cask matured Scotch and this shows it. Nice not too cloyingly sweet sherry influence with what I kind of get to be a toasted cask where I get nice fruity caramelized sugar notes throughout without being too sweet somehow. Very easy to drink with a tiny hint of tingle on the palate. Doesn't taste young, but at the same time doesn't taste like a super aged Scotch either, so I'm sure there's some blend of young and old in this one and it's done beautifully. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Probably not at the prices it's currently priced at

Nose - Sweet vanilla, caramel, cinnamon spice, dark caramelized brown sugar, hint of chocolate, cloves, bit grassy Taste - Oaky sweet spicy cinnamon, vanilla caramels, cloves, chocolate, hint of orange Finish - Lingering cinnamon spice, sweet orange chocolate caramel, tiny hint of bitter young oak Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This is a nice cocktail & sipping rye. Pleasant nose, comes off as a bit sweet but you can tell there's a hint of rye bite to it. It's got a nice mix of sweet & spice and plays very nicely in cocktails (namely the Sazerac) as well as old fashioneds and Manhattans very well. Nothing really off-putting about this other than the slight young oak finish but that fades fairly quickly. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Sweet fruity caramel, vanilla, caramel apples, raisins, hint of dried cranberries, spicy fruitcake Taste - Spiced/mulled apple juice, juicy dark raisins, dried apples rehydrated with brandy & white wine, hint of dark chocolate, cinnamon, light metallic fruit, bit thin mouthfeel Finish - Lingering fruity metallic sweet, light dark chocolate bitterness, metallic lightly sweet raisins, apple juice Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - This was a fairly pleasant blended Speyside with a good amount of sherry influence. Very pleasant nose and good initial hit on the palate, although it suffers from this metallic sweetness on the back palate that lingers into the finish. This one was better than the NAS mini I tried in the past, but the metallic notes on the back end into the finish are a bit distracting. Overall not a bad dram, but I think this would be best in a highball or something that would help mask the metallic finish. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

Nose - Heavy wine influence, almost sweet sherry/port like, muted vanilla mixed with oaky/tannic red wine, hint of ginger, citrus zest, grape skins, cherries Taste - Spicy white pepper/ginger spice/heat, drying tannic mouthfeel, cherries, caramel/toffee, oddly sweet, oranges, dried dark stone fruits Finish - Fading heat, lingering caramel/toffee notes, sweet toasted sugars, dark stone fruity sweet Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - If I didn't know this was a red wine finish, I would've thought this was finished in a wet sweet sherry cask. I got the tannins from the red wine but that's about it. This was surprisingly sweet and oddly tannic. The flavors were pleasant for the most part, but the overall balance was off. I would classify it as very much a dessert dram as opposed to an everyday drinker. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Lightly grassy vanilla, vanilla frosting, lemon yogurt, lemon curd, very floral Taste - Lightly spicy/warm, grassy vanilla frosting sweet, lemon curd/zest, coconut, glaze on donuts Finish - Lingering grassy vanilla sweet, gentle warmth, creamy mouthfeel like from a coconut cream, light ginger spice, lemon curd Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite an interesting one. It had a very grassy, floral, vanilla frosting vibe to it throughout which I think would be a good intro to someone who doesn't necessarily like whisky, but loves desserts. I think this might hold up well in a highball as a good intro drink as it's nice & subtle, but flavorful at the same time. I can definitely see how this might be polarizing to some as the grassy aspect is very prominent, but I quite enjoy it. There's this light lemon zest/curd aspect throughout that gets a bit artificial, but I don't mind it too much. I don't think this is something I'd drink everyday, but it's very spring/summery and has nice bright/refreshing notes to it. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - If it was priced around $40 USD

Nose - (w/o water) Light smoke, fresh pears, hay, light floral honey, hint of salt (w/ water) Smoke is almost gone, pears, hay/grass, honey Taste - (w/o water) Light smoke, pears, hint of caramel, light honey, light salt, lightly drying, white pepper spice/heat (w/ water) Light smoke re-appears, more black pepper than white pepper tingle, light oaky bitterness comes out in addition to the same flavors w/o water Finish - (w/o water) Light tingle/heat, lingering light smoke, golden simple sugar, hints of pear, honey, lemon zest (w/ water) Light tingle/heat still, hint of oaky bitterness, pear, honey, salt, lemon zest Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - This surprisingly drank well below its proof. The nose wasn't too punchy for the proof. Nice balance of smoke, fruit, & sweet. Addition of water softened the nose a bit, but brought out some oaky bitterness that wasn't bad, but a tad distracting. I think this one is tasty and I could see myself reaching for this every once in a while, but not at what it's priced at. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No