Tastes

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.

Nose - Sweet peat, sweet lactic funk, sea spray, charred sugary/syrupy green grapes, syrupy poached pears (w/ water) Mostly the same, but with more salt and a little bit less syrupy sweet Taste - Black pepper, clean salty smoke, sweet syrupy green grapes, sweet triple cream brie (w/ water) Same but much less lactic/sweet cream "funk", slight less sweet Finish - Light lingering tingle, sea spray, smoke, ashy syrupy green grapes (w/ water) Same Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - So this one was good, but it felt a bit one dimensional. Nothing off putting, but just a bit sweet and water tames the sweetness a bit, but sort of ruins the balance. Good bit of Bruichladdich lactic / sweet soft cheese funk in this one that goes great with the sea salt vibes. This feels like a bit of creamy smoked brie where someone added a bit too much sweet grape/pear chutney. It's good, but a bit boring and a tiny bit off balance. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Sweet lactic funk, gentle sea spray, red berries, sour oranges Taste - Gentle peat, sea spray, red berries, orange zest, gentle lactic funk, sweet smoked cheese, lightly metallic Finish - Light white pepper heat/tingle, smoked red berries, light metallic, orange zest Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - This one was a bit strange in that initially, I wasn't able to detect any peat at all on this until I let it sit for a while & then it finally opened up a bit. I think the wine/sherry cask influence on this one helped hide the gentle peat in this one as I feel as if this was lighter than Port Charlotte like the 01.1. The addition of red berries in this one makes this feel a bit more one dimensional than the 01.1, but not by much. This feels like it was a low effort "special release". It's not bad, it's just not that interesting. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Classic laddie "lactic funk", sea spray, ripe sweet cheese rind, oddly hot, generic citrus rinds, gentle smoke Taste - Gentle smoke, sea spray, lactic funk, white pepper heat/tingle, seaweed on a bonfire, cold smoked apple slices, pickled lemon zest Finish - Gentle lingering salt, sweet lactic funk, light generic citrus rind, white pepper tingle lingers Score - 79/100 Final Thoughts - This nosed like something that would be ultra lightly peated, slightly less than a Port Charlotte, so this feels like this one was mostly Bruichladdich, but who really knows. This was classic Bruichladdich but for some reason it felt like a bit one dimensional where it feels like there were some older components, but were dragged down by some younger components. It nosed very nice, but felt oddly hot at the same time. It had the classic laddie "lactic funk" sweetness and nice salinity that I typically get, but other than that there wasn't much else. I guess that's probably why I tend to favor sherry or wine finished Bruichladdich as I think they have a great/amazing base spirit, but it really enhances whatever cask it's placed in. This was classic laddie at heart, but just fell a bit flat for me. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Caramel, minty/herbal rye, peach gummy rings, candied ginger, charred cinnamon Taste - Drying mouthfeel, caramel, candied ginger, mint/herbal rye vibe, peach pit fruity bitter, apricots, roasted almonds with charred almond skin bitter, over steeped black tea bitterness Finish - Lingering peach pit fruity bitter, sweet heat, candied ginger heat/tingle, bitter over steeped tea Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - So after trying this the night after A Midwinter Nights Dram Act 10, I think the base Rendezvous Rye they used for this year's release just wasn't the greatest? It has the typical minty/herbal rye notes I usually enjoy, but for some reason everything feels like it's either overoaked or just a tad bit too bitter. The white port finish on this makes this feel much more vibrant and summery, while at the same time having winter vibes of ginger spice and cinnamon. Roasted nuts come out on the palate, but it feels like they were forgotten on the fire and charred a bit, imparting a burnt bitter vibe. I do quite enjoy the peach/apricot vibe I get from this as it reminds me a bit of Barrell Seagrass, but that was due to the apricot brandy finish. Overall this was interesting, but it feels as if they started with either a highly reactive Rendezvous Rye and they left it in to finish a bit too long or the casks imparted a bit too much bitterness for my liking. 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 - Cherries, cloves, cinnamon, gentle warm rye bread sweetness, hint of vanilla, caramel, mint chocolate Taste - Sweet raisins, plums, bitter dark chocolate, cinnamon spice, burnt sugar bitterness, vanilla, woody mint stems, bitter crushed spices Finish - Spicy sweet raisins, bitter wood/leather notes, crushed cloves Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - So the nose on this one is probably the best part and the initial hit on the palate is nice. The nose was very pleasant with notes of sweet red cherry (like that in cough syrup) and just a general winter vibe. I don't feel as if this one is overly sweet, but I do feel as if this one was might have had some components that were a bit overoaked. I don't normally mind bitter tastes, but this one for some reason felt as if it was a bit on the bitter side with loads of oak, woody mint stems, and bittersweet crushed spices. This sadly lingered over to the finish where you get this light sweetness, but it feels dominated by the bitterness. 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 - Rich caramel, toasted barley, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, vanilla, raisins, almost feels like a sherry finished bourbon (w/ water) More malty here, toasted barley, cocoa nibs, rich caramel, raisins, cinnamon, orange Taste - Toasted barley, young malt, toasted green cardamom pods, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, chili powder, raisins (w/ water) Toasted barley, cocoa powder, chili powder, cinnamon, raisins, mor drying Finish - Little heat, cocoa powder, cinnamon spice, "green" spices (w/ water) Same Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - Right off the bat this almost felt like a sherry finished bourbon if not for the toasted barley notes I got in there. This was very reminiscent of the younger Westland whiskies I've tried with their 5 malt barley blend, one of which is their toasted chocolate barley which is nice (the same one that's in Glenmorangie Signet that I really like). This has this strange vibe I get from younger malts despite this being 6 years old. It's got this very "green" spice vibe that I get from either young malt or what feels like something aged in "young" oak barrels. It noses and tastes very "green" to me. The sherry influence on this is nice as it adds this nice raisiney vibe to everything. Nice drying cocoa nib vibe from this as well. Overall not too bad, but for some reason I'm not a huge fan of that "green" spice vibe I get from this. 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 - Creamy/floral vanilla, buttery caramel, white wine poached pears, French toast custard, vanilla custard Taste - Green apples, creamy caramel, gentle spice, light minty cream, light apple stem bitterness, unusual heat/bite for the proof Finish - Lingering fresh green apples, more generic warm spice/heat, fruity apple stem bitterness Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - For my first Daftmill, this wasn't too bad but I feel as if the nose was the best part of this one. It felt oddly hot for 46% and the back end of the palate was all fruity bitterness for me. The nose is absolutely fantastic though with this amazing fruity / buttery / custardy vibe. Initial hit on the palate is also great with this nice custardy green apple vibe, but then as you let it sit a bit, it feels a bit hot for the low proof which transitions to this fruit stem/seed bitterness. I usually don't mind this, but it was a bit distracting for this one. 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 - Salt, clean campfire smoke, minerals, seaweed, preserved lemon, warm toasted raisins Taste - Salt, black peppercorns, sweet smoke, ashy minerals, smoked raisins, preserved lemons, lightly savory smoke Finish - Lingering warmth/heat, black pepper, salt, ashy raisins, sweet smoked beef jerky Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This was a very pleasant pour, nice clean smoke, very campfire by the sea kind of vibe to it. The smoke in this one is very clean and has a nice mineral vibe to it. It's like if you heated up some rocks in a campfire and then threw some lemon peels in the fire too. Off to the side is some sweet beef jerky and raisins boiling away in some sweet white wine. Very nice vibe, but nothing too complex or amazing. A perfectly good dram to enjoy by the campfire or maybe with a charcuterie platter featuring some good cured meats and some smoked cheeses. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Nose - Explosion of fruit, dried apricots/peaches, golden raisins, candied ginger, orange, candied habanero (w/ water) Same, but more vibrant Taste - Intense blast of fruit, dried apple rings, fresh apple, hint of salt, dried apricots, hint of metallic sulfur like that of some dried fruit, orange, candied ginger (w/ water) Metallic notes are a bit subdued, less sulfuric too, more balanced, but a bit more drying Finish - Lingering sharp fruity sweetness, light habanero tingle/warmth, hint of flamed orange zest (w/ water) Same Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - So the nose on this one is absolutely amazing, super fruity and reminds me of summer. Great mix of fresh & dried fruits (apples/apricots/peaches/nectarines) with a hint of golden raisin sharp sweetness. Bit of an off putting metallic/sulfuric note that I only really get from super syrupy sweet dried fruits but it's tolerable. Water really helps remove this metallic vibe quite a bit. Great summery vibes on this one all around. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Not at what it's priced at, maybe at the sub $200 range NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.