Tastes

Nose - Spicy honey, white pepper, hay, apples, light caramel, spicy sweet dough Taste - Sweet honey, goji berry "funk" sweet, green apples, caramel, light sweet "herbal" notes, grassy, gentle heat Finish - Lingering honey/caramel green fruit, baked apples, light sweet green herbal funk, vanilla Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - So I get what they mean by the "funk" in that it's kind of herbal, kind of grassy, but it works. It's there to be different and it's not off-putting but adds a different perspective & flavor profile to the standard ex-bourbon cask matured malt. It's got a nice balance, good mouthfeel, but I don't think this would appeal to everyone as I can see how the herbal/grassy "funk" could be offputting to others, as subtle as it is. I'm now interested to see how this changes when aged in various casks. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Probably not this one

Barrels #44829-44835 8 year wheated bourbon finished for 21 months in Cognac Nose - (w/o water) Rich brown simple, caramels, milk chocolate, fruity glazed sweet roasted nuts, sweet leather/tobacco (w/ water) Preserves the nose but softens/lightens/brightens the nose and it isn't as "dark" Taste - (w/o water) Sweet dark caramels, cinnamon/white pepper heat/tingle emerges, milk chocolates, sweet macadamia praline, sweet leather/tobacco dryness (w/ water) Reduces the initial heat/tingle, slightly more drying, delays the heat/tingle until the very end while preserving all of the undiluted flavors Finish - (w/o water) Lingering heat/tingle, rich spicy caramels, milk chocolate, light oaky/dark chocolate bitter (w/ water) Heat is intensified here, similar finish w/o the bitter Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - This is quite amazing. It has all the classic bourbon flavors, very well balanced, and although I don't get too much cognac influence I think it added that slight bit of fruity mellowness to the spirit. This handled water amazingly well and I think actually enhances the nose & the palate with the delayed heat/tingle. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - If I could find one at a reasonable price

Nose - Honeyed apples & pears, orange zest, caramel, golden raisins, baked green apples Taste - Very thin, sweet lightly bitter pressed apple juice, skin, stems & all, light vanilla frosting sweet, watered down honey, orange pith bitterness Finish - Lingering light tingle, fruity apple stem bitterness, orange pith bitter Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - Great nose on this one but after it hits the palate everything changes. It has pleasant flavors, but it's quite thin & there's this overall fruity bitterness that's very distracting. Instead of complementing the other flavors, it's the dominant flavor and all you get from start to finish on the palate is this fruity bitterness that seems like they tried to mask it by watering it down as much as they could. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

46% ABV Version Nose - Glazed raised donuts, fruity floral honey, caramel, chocolate covered mints, baked fruits Taste - Baked fruits, apples, pears, golden raisins, apricot glaze, dark honey, toffee, coffee, chocolate Finish - Fairly short but pleasant, caramel, dark honey, baked apples/pears, light mocha foam, light salt finally appears Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - Fairly subtle nose, takes a bit of time to really open up. Nice flavors on the palate, but sadly a bit thin and watery for the age. It still had that "old" feeling in the taste in that everything seemed very well melded together, but just lacked that nice rich and complex mouthfeel. Very nice combination of flavors and it does take a while to fully come together. I'm really glad to have been able to try this, but I think I'd be disappointed if I had a full bottle of this as I think the 21 does quite a bit better. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Dark honey, hint of chocolate, leather, toasted nuts, dark toffee, oak Taste - Oaky, spicy fruit, chocolate mole spice/sweet, dark honey, slightly sweet bitter toasted nut skins, baked apples/pears, lightly burnt caramel Finish - Lingering tingle/heat, sweet bitter dominates, dark caramel creaminess, bitter fruit Score - 75/100 Final Thoughts - This definitely showed its age in the nose as it was nicely balanced and had this "dark" quality that took its time to open up. The palate reflected a tiny bit of this age in that it just tasted "old" in that all the flavors seemed well developed, but sadly there was this undertone of this nutty/fruity bitterness that kind of distracted from the overall experience. Some Scotches do this bitterness balance well, this was just a bit distracting. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Floral golden honey, more balanced white fleshed fruits, light leather, vanilla, light milk chocolate mole. Taste - Rich creamy mouthfeel, floral golden honey, dark apple/pear juice, caramel, vanilla, smoked almonds, faint wisp of coal/campfire smoke, nutty sweetness Finish - Lingering gentle warmth, light smoky mole milk chocolate, dark caramel, fruity pear, light fruity bitter Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - This one was a bit bitter in terms of overall experience in that it did capture more complex flavors. The added leather/chocolate to the light fruit/honey was nice. I don't think this is peated, but it has this tiny wisp of clean smoke to it, like they didn't completely clean out the stills after a peated run or it was aged next to some extra heavily peated malt. It was subtle and quite nice. No off-putting notes and continues to have the nice creamy mouthfeel. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Honey, hint of dried stone fruits, apple & pear, hint of sweet roasted nuts, vanilla Taste - Honey, light gentle warmth, vanilla, apple/pear cider, hint of sour/fruity bitter, creamy mouthfeel Finish - Honeyed cider, light heat, creamy mouthfeel lingers, light orchard fruit sweets taper off Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - So this was only a marginal improvement over their NAS "Heart of Speyside" in that it had a tiny bit more "depth" that made it feel a tiny bit older. Added a little more fruit to the nose & palate, but otherwise pretty one-dimensional. Slightly less off-putting bitter/sour but not much. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Ripe pears, floral, thin honey Taste - Light floral honey sweetness, gentle warmth, fresh overrripe pears, creamy mouthfeel, dried apples Finish - Lingering gentle warmth, light fruity bitterness, light fruity sour Score - 73/100 Final Thoughts - Not bad, but quite boring. I think the best thing this has going for it is the great mouthfeel for being only 40% abv. It's got a nice creamy/oily mouthfeel but other than that it's quite boring. One-dimensional and the finish has this weird subtle bitter/sour that's a bit distracting. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - (w/o water) Dark brown sugar, caramel, hint of honey roasted peanuts (w/ water) Slightly less sweet, addition of peanut brittle Taste - (w/o water) Sweet oaky brown sugar, caramels, hint of mint, honey roasted peanuts, cinnamon spice, leather & sweet tobacco (w/ water) Bit more dry on the palate, less sweet, honey roasted peanuts, almond/peanut skin bitter, dark toffee/caramel Finish - (w/o water) Lingering dull heat, oaky sweet, light woody mint stems, dark caramel syrup, dark peanut brittle w/ peanut skin bitterness (w/ water) Less heat, more oaky, sweet nuts, caramel, more sweet mint Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - This one was quite nice. It was surprisingly well balanced and wasn't amazingly hot for the proof. Nice initially subtle Beam peanut funk that works very well here. If it wasn't for the light mint notes, I might have thought this was a high rye bourbon due to the nice dark caramel sweet and only subtle spice. This would be great both neat and I think is better without water and would also do well in a cocktail. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - If I could find another for about $50ish

Nose - (w/o water) Light floral honey, baked apple skins, light toasted oak (w/ water) pretty much the same Taste - (w/o water) Lightly tannic/drying, intense sweet dark apple/pear cider, oak aged sweet riesling/moscato, fruity honey (w/ water) less drying, hint of bitter apple skin emerges, otherwise mostly the same Finish - (w/o water) Lingering pleasant honey/apple/pear sweet, light but very pleasant (w/ water) Surprisingly more heat/tingle, pleasant fruity honey, sparkling white wine sweet Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - So the nose on this one was a bit boring, but once it hit the palate it was just great. It's not the most complex dram, but it has such great balance. I will have to admit that this is best enjoyed at full proof as I think a bit of water brings out a hint of bitterness that isn't there neat. This is a very nice spring/summery dram that doesn't really punch you in the face but brings a nice, very well-balanced fruity/honey taste to the table. Amazing mouthfeel and great finish in that it lingers just long enough for you to want more. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes, if I can find a bottle without breaking the bank