Tastes

Nose - Lightly spiced malt, freshly cut fruity wood, hints of a spiced apple juice that was made with pressed peels and cores. Taste - Lightly spiced malt on the tongue, white pepper heat, lightly bitter apple juice that was made w/ stems/peels/seeds, lightly drying yet creamy mouthfeel, tiny hint of vanilla. Finish - Lingering white pepper spice but quickly fades, lightly oaked apple juice sweetness lingers, whisp of vanilla. Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - It's a very inoffensive blend. Leads me to believe that it's been aged in primarily former bourbon barrels or at the very least non sherry/port. Not really any offensive characteristics other than the lightly bitter apple juice vibe I get from this. It's kind of boring but inoffensive. Factoring in the price, it'd be an easy pass for me seeing as I can get Monkey Shoulder for a fraction of the price for pretty much the same thing if not better.

Nose - Heavy sherry influence, loads of dark dried stone fruits, almost brandy/cognac like dark grape sweet, caramel bread pudding. Taste - Tiny hint of chocolaty toasted barley, spiced dark dried stone fruits, roasted nutty sweet, cinnamon spiced sweet white wine, hint of white peppercorn spice. Finish - Lingering peppercorn spice, residual sweetness of white raisins hydrated in a spiced/mulled wine, light medicinal/herbal finish at the very very end. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - So this is a fairly interesting dram that can be summarized as if you liquefied a bread pudding with lots of juicy raisins. It's tasty, a bit on the sweet side, but kind of a singular flavor profile. I'd say it's more like a dessert dram. I can see this standing up pretty well in a cocktail too, maybe a Rob Roy with chocolate bitters or something. Now if they only fixed how you open the bottle due to the stupid brittle wax & the need for a corkscrew...

Nose - Ripe plums, decadent spiced fruit cake, hints of dark chocolate and coffee, bananas foster. Taste - Heavily spiced fruitcake dominates, bit thin mouthfeel, dark toasted barley, chocolate/coffee granola, dark dried fruits, very fain wisp of campfire smoke. Finish - Lingering spiced fruitcake again, lightly drying but still thin, nice white pepper heat lingers, light campfire smoke is still present, almost like a lightly smoked honeyed almond. Score - 94/100 Final Thoughts - Like it's younger brother, this is an amazing Scotch. It's got an amazing nose that really screams "enjoy by the wood burning fireplace during Christmas time." Wonderfully sherried without being too overly sweet. A tiny hint of dry campfire smoke which I can tolerate unlike the wet iodine/rubber peat/smoke I get from other Islays. Wonderfully balanced, and reasonably priced for an 18 year old Scotch.

Nose - Honeyed vanilla simple syrup, sweet sugary oaky rock candy. Taste - Vanilla rock candy sweet, white pepper/cinnamon heat, light milk chocolate oakiness, faint bitter artificial splenda-like sweet near the end. Finish - Fading heat transitions to sweet oaky vanilla syrup, light cinnamon red hot sweet that ends in this faint herbal young/green wood bitterness. Score - 76/100 Final Thoughts - This, as expected, is pretty much the standard Maker's turned up to 11. Most of the flavors are still present, but there's definitely more of a proof burn, but I think that seems to add an additional layer of spice that helps mask the splenda-like sweetness I get from the standard offering. The odd thing is that I get a slightly different finish in that I get this weird young branch funk bitterness at the end, that although isn't bad, but doesn't help.

Nose - Sweet dark vanilla caramels, dark chocolate covered toffee, hint of cherry cough syrup, hint of marzipan nutty sweetness. Taste - Vanilla oak brown sugar simple dominates, light cinnamon burn, hint of spicy cinnamon mole chocolate sauce, late appearance of a splenda-like cherry syrup. Finish - Lingering cinnamon heat sweetness, vanilla brown sugar simple makes a resurgence which transitions to a lightly oaky splenda-like sweetness that finally finishes in this odd herbal funk. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - I can definitely tell the difference the additional aging with the "seared French oak staves" does to this. It adds this nice chocolate and fruit note that helps mask the splenda sweet taste I get from the standard Maker's quite a bit. When I first nosed this, I immediately thought that it smelled very similar to Woodford Reserve Double Oak and upon tasting, it was quite similar although I will have to give the edge to Woodford on that one as it doesn't have any trace of this splenda-like sweetness I get from Maker's.

Nose - Sweet vanilla, brown sugar simple, light oak. Taste - Sweet vanilla simple syrup, tiny hint of cinnamon heat, background artificial sweetness like that from cinnamon red hots. Finish - Lingering sweet vanilla, fading cinnamon heat, splenda-like sweet, hint of bitter oak. Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very "run of the mill" bourbon. Hits all of the typical "bourbon" notes but leans a bit towards the sweeter side, which I attribute to the wheat component in the mash. What throws this off a bit is there seems to be this odd artificial sweetener/splenda-like finish that I'm not a huge fan of.

Nose - Heavy sweet vanilla, lightly oaky dark caramel, hint of dark chocolate covered cherries. Taste - Sweet spicy cinnamon vanilla starts, a bit thin, dark brown caramel, faint oaky herbal funk, wisp of dark ripe bing cherries, hint of sweet tobacco, strawberry hard candies, strawberry glazed donut. Finish - Lingering sweet spicy vanilla caramels, white pepper spice, lightly drying oak, berry hard candy sweet. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - So this is a tasty bourbon that hits all of the classic "bourbon" notes. It's very smooth and has no harsh or off-putting smells or flavors. It's tasty neat, but I think some of the flavors are a bit muted due to the filtration. On its own it's very good, but when you factor in the price, you'd expect something like this to be offered at cask strength.

Nose - Very light, subtle nose, light sherry influence, faint lightly oaked riesling, green apples. Taste - Very clean, light golden raisin sweetness, filtered apple cider, lightly bitter like that of apple/pear peels and cores, tiny hint of peppercorn spice. Finish - Clean finish, lingering apple/golden raisin sweetness, faint generic "spice", sweet but dry oaked riesling. Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - Being a fan of sherry finished whiskies, I like this for what it is, pleasant nose, easy sipping, and not really any off-putting flavors. Flavors here are a bit subtle, so this might be best enjoyed neat or in a very simple cocktail with more subtle ingredients as to not overpower this.

Barrel #16A116 Nose - Sweet vanilla, hint of marzipan, tiny bit of orange zest and ginger, light foamy hot milk chocolate. Taste - Smooth lightly cherry vanilla, fairly dry, bit oaky, faint hint of sweet mint, light black pepper spice. Finish - Lingering sweet cherry vanilla, lightly herbal, lightly bitter oak, pleasant tingling spice. Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This is a tasty rye, the filtration and proof make it a very sippable rye with plenty of interesting notes of cherry, vanilla, and sweet mint. The flavors are there but are all pretty subtle so this is best enjoyed neat versus in a cocktail. Overall this is quite tasty, but if you factor in the price, I'd much rather get the Michter's Barrel Strength Rye and water it down myself.

Nose - Hint of sweet apples/pears, milk chocolate, lightly smoked sweet cured ham or turkey jerky, toasted orange peels. Taste - Sweet, lightly smoked honey/maple glazed ham or turkey jerky, nice black & white pepper spice, spiced baked pears/apples, lightly bitter apple/pear skins. Finish - Long lingering pepper spice, gently fading bitter apple peels, lingering sweet smoked turkey jerky, lightly smoked salt. Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - Not normally being a huge fan of heavily peated whiskies, this strikes a very nice balance. It's lightly peated and combines a nice savory sweet profile that is quite enjoyable, but I think I'd have to be in the mood for something like this. Not sure I could really treat this as a daily and I think its complexity is best enjoyed neat as opposed to being used in a cocktail. I'm not really sure I can pick out which component was influenced by the Garry oak, but I look forward to seeing what else comes out of this distillery.