Tastes

Nose - Dark dried stone fruits, dark amber honey, hint of saline, toasted brioche, milk chocolate. Taste - Dried cherries, strawberries, cranberries, freshly oiled/tanned leather, hint of sea salt milk chocolate, faint medicinal/fruity honey, lighly drying mouthfeel. Finish - Long gentle sweet fruit leather, gentle warmth, hint of sweet tobacco, wisp of campfire smoke mixed with sea air, cognac/port like sweetness. Score - 94/100 Final Thoughts - I absolutely love the nose on this one in that it has a nice fruity salty chocolaty nose that is well balanced and not overpowering. Once it hits your tongue it delivers on pretty much everything the nose promised in a very well balanced package. The faint fruity/medicinal note is unexpected as it reminds me of goji berries, but not as metallic. The transition to the finish leaves this very pleasant warmth in your mouth like taking a sip of hot cocoa after coming in from the cold on a winter day. Although it's stated as unpeated, I get a very very faint wisp of campfire smoke like if you smelled a campfire on the beach from afar. Not overpowering, but a nice addition. This really reminds me of Bunnahabhain 18 which is another favorite. If not for the price, I'd love to have this on the regular.

Nose - (w/o water) Hints of dark cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, oaky, little hints of cherries & vanilla, latte foam. (w/ water) less bitter oak, adds more vanilla latte foam. Taste - (w/o water) Pleasant light herbal oaky butterscotch, lightly fruity bitter apple/cherry stems, dark chocolate bittersweet, hint of coke concentrate. (w/ water) more pronounced anise and butterscotch, more vanilla & cinnamon, fresh strawberries, rainier cherries, wisp of fresh green herbs & sweet mint. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering dry oaky heat, hint of dark chocolate bitterness, coke concentrate, transitions to a light dry mint effervescent feeling (w/ water) Lingering strawberry/Rainier cherry sweet, hint of sweet mint, less oak, more fruity vanilla but still dry. Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - I guess I really wanted to love this...a lot...mainly due to how much I paid for the bottle and my expectations after trying a single barrel select. It was tasty, but not as "complex" or interesting as I hoped it would be. It's a very tasty rye and has no off-putting notes and is amazingly easy on the nose and palate for the proof. It has handled the 14 years of aging quite well and a bit of water really does open it up to reveal more fruity characters. This is quite tasty but I think it's quite overhyped and overpriced. I obviously wouldn't turn down a dram of this if offered, but I think I'd much rather have their 10 year single barrel selects as I think those have a lot more flavor and punch for the value. I think this would be best served neat with a glass and dropper of water on the side to dilute as needed. A tiny bit of water greatly softens up the oak from the 14 years and makes it a bit more fruity and enjoyable.

Nose - (w/o water) Grilled pineapple sweet, tropical floral fruits, toasted honeyed brioche, caramelized red berries, dark vanilla caramels, hint of cantaloupe (w/ water) Adds a bit of deep fried sweet plantains to the mix in addition to some tropical honey. Taste - (w/o water) Tropical floral fruity heat, grilled pineapple, tellicherry peppercorn sweet heat/tingle, cantaloupe, light oaky vanilla caramels, berry pastries (w/ water) Tames the heat a bit, caramelized grilled pineapple char sweetness, more melon. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering sweet spicy tingle, refreshing grilled pineapple caramelized sugar sweet, long tropical fruit sweetness. (w/ water) Somehow it feels more drying, but feels like more cooked/grilled/caramelized tropical fruits. Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very interesting single malt in that it toes the line between a very tropical malt and a classic bourbon. I get notes of the vanilla caramel but at the same time it's very fruity and tropical feeling. It gives me the impression of being the perfect dram to enjoy at the beach or poolside. Nice hints of caramelized tropical fruits through & through. A bit hot without water, but it seems like the addition of water doesn't really affect it too much but it does help it a bit. I think this would be best served neat with some fruit or over a single large ice cube.

Nose - Herbal sweet mint/dill infused vanilla simple syrup, hint of caramel. Taste - Herbal sweet mint/dill infused vanilla brown sugar simple, hint of cinnamon spice, lightly drying bittersweet oak. Finish - Lingering herbal sweet mint/dill infused simple and a hint of cinnamon spice. Score - 73/100 Final Thoughts - This is very characteristically MGP rye in that I get the herbal/sweet mint/dill notes throughout. I actually quite like this but it might be off putting to others. Nothing too complex about this rye though as it seems very singular in smell/taste. Heavy herbal notes mixed with classic vanilla/cinnamon spice undertones and that's about it. Perfect for mixing or when you just want a rye and don't want to think about it.

Nose - Gentle vanilla, subtle oak, hint of caramel and cinnamon. Taste - Fairly thin, light cinnamon spice, light oaky bitter vanilla caramel, plain simple syrup, faint hint of clove at the end. Finish - Thin but lightly drying oaky sweet, clove lingers a bit then fades to a gentle cinnamon spice. Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - This is a fairly boring bourbon but it hits all of the stereotypical bourbon characteristics of vanilla, cinnamon, and caramel with a hint of oak. The nose is fairly weak and it hits the palate a bit thin, but there's nothing really offensive about it. It would be a great inoffensive bourbon to give someone who asks "what does bourbon taste like?" It's low enough proof where it'd be a good intro to sipping neat. It takes a bit of time to fully open up as it's quite muted immediately out of the bottle. I think this would be best as an intro to someone who wants to try bourbon neat or best relegated to large party bourbon cocktails where flavor doesn't really matter too much.

Nose - Sweet vanilla caramel, creme brulee browned sugar topping, light toasted oak, sugar coated brioche. Taste - Dark caramels, cinnamon spice heat, vanilla brown simple, light oak bitterness. Finish - Lingering cinnamon spice, heavy vanilla brown sugar simple with a tinge of green sapling bitterness. Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - This was a bit surprising to me as I liked it a bit more than I thought I would. It's not very complex and I would say that it's what you think a generic bourbon would taste like, but turned up a notch due to the proof. Not too complex, nothing really offensive, just a higher proof generic "bourbon." This almost tastes like Russell's Reserve 10 if it was 100 proof.

Nose - Dark dried stone fruits, leather, dark chocolate, dark black tea, dark chocolate English toffee, butterscotch, hint of coffee. Taste - Butterscotch and dark caramels, drying leather mouthfeel, black peppercorn spice, dark cocoa nib bittersweet, very light smoky medicinal sweet, light tobacco, hint of goji berry medicinal sweet. Finish - Light lingering medicinal fruity/smoky sweet, lingering black peppercorn spice, hint of fruity medicinal goji sweet lingers. Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - The nose on this is absolutely phenomenal. I love the hints of dried dark stone fruits, chocolate, and toffee and I think I could nose this all day as it has almost no trace of any ethanol heat. Once it hits the tongue though I get more of the chocolate and toffee, but the dark stone fruits pretty much disappear although a tiny hint of smoke appears which is nice. The finish is fairly short and the dominating lingering feature is like a dark chocolate covered goji berry in that you get a light bitterness combined with a light medicinal sweet. Tasty and probably best sipped neat or with a tiny bit of water as I think ice or mixed in a cocktail would mask most of the subtle features that are present in this one.

Nose - Bright dried red fruits (cherries, strawberries), lightly medicinal like goji berries, honey, very faint hint of fruity smoke, black tea. Taste - A bit thin on the palate, thin fruity floral honey, dried cherries and strawberries, black pepper spice, wisp of dry fruit wood smoke, hint of black tea bittersweet and wet tobacco, tellicherry peppercorns, light brine. Finish - Lingering lightly medicinal fruity sweet, goji berries, sweet spicy tellicherry peppercorn spice, gentle smoke from the morning after a campfire that used fruit (cherry/apple) wood. Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very well balanced lightly peated Scotch. It hits on all the right notes that I like with a complex balance of sweet and gentle smoke that keeps your tastebuds and nose wanting another go at it. It's definitely not an "everyday dram" as you sort of have to be in the mood for it; or at least I am with any peated Scotch. I think this would be best neat or with a tiny bit of water, ice might kill the subtle smoke and brine a bit, but I have yet to experiment with that.

Nose - Watered down honey, faint golden raisins, apple/pear cider. Taste - Very light, floral watered down honey, lightly bitter oaked pear cider made with cores and peels. Finish - Sweet lingers a bit along with a fruity bitterness that fades pretty quickly leaving a lightly sweet/sour pear cider effervescent tingle on the tongue. Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - Everything about this Scotch is very light and subtle. It's non offensive and honestly quite boring. Reminds me of eating fresh green apples and pears lightly drizzled with honey on a spring day. Nothing too complex but refreshing. This is best sipped neat or mixed into a lighter Scotch cocktail like an old fashioned sweetened with honey simple and maybe just orange or lavender bitters instead of angostura.

Nose - Light floral honey, toasted brioche, grape/pear cider. Taste - Honeyed apple/grape cider, white wine soaked golden raisins, lightly oaked apple peel bitterness. Finish - Fairly short, grape/golden raisin juicy sweet, faint fruity pear peel bitter/sour in the background. Score - 73/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very light and refreshing Scotch. It tastes very "summery" to me in that it's light, floral, and has hints of green apples and fresh juicy pears with a hint of honey. Not too complex and it doesn't have to be. A bit boring, but perfect for those summer days where you want something light and not too high a proof. Would work well over a large ice cube or in a refreshing highball.