Tastes

Nose - White wine poached pears, candied ginger & orange zest, milk chocolate, raisins, golden raisins, cognac vibes Taste - Chocolate, raisins, sweet vermouth, candied ginger, orange zest, hint of dried sour/tart cherries, sweet white wine poached pears, hint of red wine poached pears for a hint of tannic/dark chocolate/leather note, burnt sugar Finish - Gentle warmth, hint of salt, light nutty bitterness, feels like a dried fruit & nut mix, light tart dried cherries, long lingering old brandy/cognac vibe Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this one was quite nice. There was quite a lot going on and I feel as if there's a good mix of different types of casks going on here as I get various aromas that come in waves of sweet raisins, golden raisins, dark aged wine, brandy/cognac vibes, and a hint of bright sweet white desserty wine. Great nose, palate was nice with the gentle spice/warmth that hits you from the start but isn't too overwhelming. Feels like a good mix of dark stone fruits and dark chocolate with enough poached pear and wine influence to keep it from being too overly sweet. Great finish, although a bit on the bitter side. I typically like this in a finish, but it didn't feel as cohesive as it could've been. Feels like there's a good mix of ex-bourbon, sauternes, cognac/brandy, red wine, and a few oloroso sherry and maybe a PX thrown in there for good measure. Good mix, but not the best Black Art I've had. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Not another for the price NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Arran 21 The Explorers Series Volume 3 "Kildonan & Pladda Island" Sherry Butts, Puncheons, & Ruby Port Pipes Nose - Sharp sweet dried red berries, candied oranges, prunes, strawberry jam, dark applesauce (w/ water) Same Taste - Candy sweet fresh strawberries, fresh red berries, candied ginger, light tingle/heat, fresh red berry preserves (w/ water) Adds a bit of fresh oranges Finish - Lingering red berry jam, hint of sweet nuts, lingering tingle/heat (w/ water) Reduces tingle otherwise mostly the same Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - This one screamed "dessert dram" from the start. Loads of ripe fresh sugary sweet strawberries, red berry jam/preserves, hint of dark raisin and prunes mixed in with a light base of sweet applesauce. Although this was a bit on the sweet side, it wasn't cloyingly so and was a great example of a well sherried single malt. This screams summer to me and feels almost like something I could pour over some vanilla ice cream (although it isn't quite chick enough) but it gives me strawberry ice cream topping vibes, but made with fresh sweet strawberries. A bit of water helps this one in that it adds this layer of fresh sweet oranges and tones down the sweet a tiny bit. 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.

Nose - Ripe pears, oranges, creamy caramel, buttery toffee, hint of salt (w/ water) Same with a hint more salt Taste - Ripe pears, creamy caramel, salt, raisins, buttery toffee, honey, oranges (w/ water) Adds a layer of fruity spice, but sort of ruins the nice creamy/buttery mouthfeel Finish - Gentle warming heat, still buttery cream, rich fruity caramel, baked pears, raisins, orange zest (w/ water) Same Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - This was a very nicely done sherried Arran. It had a great mouthfeel and nice poached/baked pear notes that dominated, but were nicely complemented with creamy/buttery caramel/toffee. It had a great mouthfeel and it wasn't overly sweet. Nice hints of raisin and orange that just balanced everything out. Quite a nice pour and something I could see myself enjoying all year round. 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.

Nose - Clean apple juice, gentle ashy smoke, lemon zest, light graphite, honey Taste - Black pepper heat/tingle, lemon, gentle clean smoke, lemon zest, honey, apple/pear cider, a bit thin but also oily Finish - Lingering gentle tingle, lemon zest, gentle ashy clean smoke, hint of metallic vibe, sweet apples Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very tasty blend, nothing too terribly off putting other than the brief hint of metallic vibe I get on the back end of the palate the continues to the finish. Feels a bit thin overall, but has a hint of an oily texture which seems a bit contradictory but that's what it feels like. The smoke is very subtle on the nose and only makes a grand entrance on the palate. I get waves of classic Caol Ila in that it's a super clean peat/smoke, but has nice hints of lemon/lemon zest all over. A nice fairly easy sipping blended malt that's primarily ex-bourbon so it really does put the characteristics of all 3 distilleries spirit on display. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Not at the price it's at NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

2020 Release Nose - Bold baked apples, toasted oak, poached pears, caramel, burnt sugar Taste - Bold baked apples, toasted barley, toasted oats, dusty oak barrels in a warehouse, gentle tannic oak, whole wheat toasted brioche? Finish - Lingering toasted malt, baked apples, dark chocolate, almonds Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - Although this is considered a "pure malt" I'm curious if there's really any Yoichi in this as I don't really get any peated influence at all and I'm curious if there is any Ben Nevis in this blend. Regardless, this isn't the most exciting whisky, but what's there is really well balanced and drinks exceptionally easy. Nice nose for the proof and no real off putting notes from start to finish. Definitely has that "older whisky" vibe that's hard to really put into words, but it's just something your tongue tells you as you drink it. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Not at current prices NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Vanilla, caramel, hints of raisin, cinnamon, oak (w/ water) same Taste - Caramel, vanilla, hint of mint, sweet raisins, dark berries, dark chocolate, gentle tingle from proof (w/ water) Not as oily, bit more drying, but otherwise same Finish - Caramel, vanilla, dark chocolate (w/ water) Same Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - So since this was a sample, I'm not sure if it was mislabeled but initial nose screamed a cask strength port/sherry finished bourbon. All the classical bourbon notes of caramel, vanilla, hint of oak & cinnamon, with a splash of dark raisin sweet that a port or sherry barrel might impart on a bourbon. At first I thought it was just on the nose, but then once it hit the palate, it was just like what it nosed like and there wasn't much of a change there. Finish made it feel like a bourbon too. Anyway, this was the most bourbon-like Irish I've ever had. It's not a bad thing, but just felt very different from most Irish whiskies I've had. 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 - Apricot, golden raisins, orange cream savers hard candies, ginger, apples, caramel (w/ water) Same but feels "warmer" Taste - Apricot, golden raisins, ginger heat, fruity cream custard, apples, light hint of dark chocolate bitterness, spicy oak (w/ water) Same but a bit more drying & bitter Finish - Lingering ginger heat/tingle, caramel, fruity light fleshed dried stone fruits (w/ water) Same Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - I haven't had this one in a while and I'm glad I did as this is quite nice. Great balance of light fleshed stone fruits and a bit of oaky/ginger spice to pull back the sweetness a bit. Oddly enough water seems to hurt this one a bit as it really throws it off balance. 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.

Malt rumored to be sourced from Inver House Distillers, which include Balblair, Balmenach, Knockdhu, Pulteney and Speyburn. Aged & bottled in Spain. Nose - Caramel, oak, toffee, apples (w/ water) Same but adds a hint of coconut Taste - Bit hot, caramel, apples, leather, cinnamon, light floral notes (w/ water) Reduced heat, still fruity spice/tingle though, apples, drying, more tannic, fruit stems, light mineral Finish - Lingering heat, caramel, vanilla, apples, gentle spice (w/ water) same Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This one felt somewhat familiar, like I've had something similar to it before. This one felt like classic bourbon matured single malt in that I got nice notes of caramel and a good gentle malt. Cooked/mild apples dominated and the nose greatly hid the proof. Nothing off putting about this one, but at the same time it didn't shine as it felt a bit one dimensional. Whatever was there was very pleasant though. 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, sweet pine sap?, vanilla, toasted grains/cereal, leather, honey (w/ water) Caramel, vanilla, cooked apples, honey, toasted coconut?, leather Taste - Caramel, hint of coffee, chocolate, minty pine sap syrup sweetness, gentle heat/spice, apples, grilled pineapple, honey (w/ water) Caramel, vanilla, grassy, grilled pineapples, apples Finish - Light fruity/bitter spice, charred sugar, apples, honey, grass (w/ water) same Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - This from start to finish felt like a very well done mashup of a bourbon and a cask strength Glenlivet. Good bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla were there, but they were also married with the classic cooked apple notes I personally get from a Glenlivet. Now thinking about it, a bit of the honey and apples from a Balvenie too. The interesting pine syrup notes I got seemed to fade a bit with water and seemed to make the bourbon + Glenlivet/Balvenie vibes work together better. This was a very interesting one and although not cheap, I could see this one being loved by bourbon drinkers to "transition" them to single malt Scotch. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe, but price is a bit steep NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Vanilla custard, caramel, lemon/orange zest, salt, unripe pineapple (w/ water) same Taste - Bright smoke, fresh lemon zest, sweet pear/apple, white pepper heat, pineapples (w/ water) Much thinner mouthfeel, coconut milk?, very creamy/waxy, pineapples, tropical fruit, habanero heat Finish - Salt, light smoke, light bitter burnt sugar (w/ water) Same but a bit more waxy/coconut cream vibe Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - This one took a little bit to open up as upon first pour, it was really difficult to get a good sense of the nose on this one. After letting it sit for a bit, it finally started to open up, but even then the smoke on this one was fairly light. Hitting the palate it felt like a fairly clean, bright, and vibrant fruity smoke too. I got lemon zest vibes in terms of brightness, but not very lemony. I finally realized that what I was tasting was like a not very sweet/tart pineapple. If you've ever had a white pineapple, it was kind of like that in that it was a mild sweet, fruity, but not sour. Nice hint of salt throughout and a bit of water gave me a mouthfeel of coconut cream, which I found nice. Overall very tasty and I don't think there was anything I found off putting about 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.