Tastes

Nose - Bit hot, red grape skins, dark chocolate, floral, salt, hint of hibiscus?, dark dried berries (w/ water) Reduced heat, dark chocolate covered red berries, salt Taste - Black peppercorns, grape skin tannins, dark chocolate, dark dried red berries, dried goji berries, honey, lightly herbal? (w/ water) Black peppercorns go away, more grape skin tannins, dark chocolate, dark dried red berries, herbal notes gone Finish - Lingering dried dark red berry sweet, dark chocolate bitter, lightly floral (w/ water) Same but floral notes go away Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - This was tasty but did feel a bit hot without water. Water definitely was needed for this one as it helped tame the heat a bit and it actually helped remove some of the offputting notes I thought it had like this weird herbal note on the backend of the palate. This definitely picked up the Burgundy cask influence as it really had that red grape skin tannic note to it. This gives me vibes of dried cranberry/dried grape skins covered in dark chocolate. I have a feeling that this would pair with dark chocolate very well as it would help tame the tannic nature on the palate. 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.

Bunnahabhain 11 2007-2019 French Brandy Cask Finish / 52.5% ABV Nose - Salted roasted nuts, toffee, dried apple rings, dried fruit mix, walnuts, like the dried fruit in Basic 4 cereal (w/ water) Bit more vibrant, dried fruits feel more prominent Taste - Rich fruity apples, toffee, raisins, figs, orange, salted caramel, woody bite/spice, chocolate (w/ water) More fruit forward up front, salted caramel immediately after, light bitter chocolate appears at the end Finish - Lingering raisins/dates/figs sweetness, light salt, caramel, chocolate (w/ water) Same Score - 93/100 Final Thoughts - This was a fantastic dram, although it was a bit muted on the nose. Not overly sweet, nice balance of dried fruits and sweet nuts on the palate combined with salted caramel. A tiny bit of water does help this one out a bit, but it's honestly good as is without any dilution. This one drinks a quite easily at the proof. It's very good overall, and just borders on being fantastic. All of the flavors that I like of salt, caramel, dried fruits, sweet nuts, and a hint of chocolate are all there, but it's just missing that extra "oompf" to really push it to amazing. 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.

Bunnahabhain 16 1988-2004 Scott's Selection / 53.8% ABV Nose - Bright honeyed apples, light salt, grilled pineapple, peach (w/ water) Adds a hint of cracked black pepper to the nose Taste - Rich, oily, hint of brine, ripe peaches & nectarines, dried apricots, candied ginger, candied nuts (w/ water) not as rich, lightly more drying, but otherwise same flavors Finish - Sweet tinned peaches, light metallic notes, hint of salt, light nut skin bitterness (w/ water) Metallic vibe greatly reduced, less bitter Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - I really enjoyed this one, but maybe I'm a bit biased with it being Bunnahabhain. If I were to give this a SMWS name, it'd be "tinned dried peaches in syrup" because I think this summarizes it quite well. It's got a nice ripe stone fruit vibe I really like and it has this really nice mix of fresh and dried sweetness to it. A tiny bit of water hurts the nose a bit, but I think it really helps get rid of that metallic note I get, which I find a bit distracting, but nostalgic at the same time. 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 - Bright red berries, caramel, honey, cranberry/red grape skin tannins (w/ water) More vibrant, adds some fresh blueberries Taste - Bright red berries, dark chocolate, honey, light red berry "funk", candied orange zest, candied ginger, dark apple juice (w/ water) Elevates everything, makes it more vibrant and clear, but does make the mouthfeel a bit drier/tannic Finish - Gentle lingering heat/tingle, red berry "funk", dark chocolate covered dried orange peels (w/ water) Much less heat/tingle, "funk" is gone, more fresh red berries, slightly less chocolate Score - 88/100 Final Thoughts - This one was tasty, the red wine cask influence is apparent, but I don't think I would've been able to pick this out blind as it's subtle enough to not scream red wine. The proof is very evident in this one as it's punchy but fortunately not hot. A bit of water really opens this up nicely but does affect the last part of the mouthfeel a bit, but I think it does quite well with a bit of water to really open things up. This is tasty, but I'm not sure it stands out enough to be something that I'd want to reach for very often. 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.

57.8% ABV / Brandy Cask Y141119007A Nose - Quite hot, unripe pineapple, caramel, fresh ginger, green papaya, unripe mango (w/ water) Still quite hot, lots of the same tropical fruits Taste - Quite hot, sweet pineapple, white pepper / habanero heat/tingle, hint of chocolate, ripe tropical fruits, caramel (w/ water) Still quite hot, fruity hot tingle/heat, unripe pineapple, mango, guava, light papaya funk, caramel, black pepper Finish - Lingering sweet hot fruity heat, pineapple, hot peppers, fresh ginger (w/ water) Pretty much the same Score - 65/100 Final Thoughts - Holy crap this drank like it was hazmat. Super hot on the nose which continued through the palate and lingered into the finish. I think the heat on this one dominated the entire experience and sort of hid what could have been there. I think the heat distracted from what the Brandy cask might have added, although maybe it just gave that it extra tropical fruit vibe. Sad how a bit of water didn't even help this one too much. It feels like it had potential, but just somehow got way too hot and peppery to be really enjoyable. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Batch 1 / 58.7% ABV Nose - Very clean fruit, prunes, honey, raisins, grape juice reduction, orange (w/ water) Pretty much the same, but feels a bit more "creamy" almost like all the original scents were turned into a cream-saver Taste - Bit hot up front, very clean though, hot fruity heat, bright raisins, honey, hint of chocolate, sweet clementine, pineapple, grassy (w/ water) Initial head is reduced, less bright but more milky/creamy vibe, similar to a tropical fruit yogurt Finish - Gentle lingering spice, grassy fruits, ginger spice, orange, dried papaya "funk" (w/ water) Heat returns a bit more here but otherwise mostly the same finish Score - 87/100 Final Thoughts - So I probably wouldn't have pegged this as an Irish whisky based on the tasting notes. Definitely a bit more intense fruits and the creamy mouthfeel was nice, but it still didn't fully feel like a full malt whisky. This had the clean sharpness I typically get from grain whiskies, but in this case it seemed to work as it made the fruit flavors really pop out. A bit of water interestingly brought out some creamy mouthfeel/buttery vibe which was nice, so I think this definitely does a bit better with a hint of water. 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 - Sweet meaty ashy smoke, graphite, charcoal briquettes, toasted grain husks, light honey syrup (w/ water) Bit more muted, but less graphite/charcoal Taste - Sweet ashy smoke, lightly meaty, light soy sauce, cracked black pepper, watery honey (w/ water) Same, but adds a salt component Finish - Lingering ash, sweet watery honey, thinned soy sauce, rehydrated beef jerky, cracked black pepper (w/ water) Salty ashy smoke, thinned soy sauce, lightly meaty Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - The peat on this one is quite strong in that you can easily nose the sweet ashy smoke from the glass a few feet away. This is a very clean, but ashy smoke. Lots of charcoal/graphite/mineral vibe to the smoke combined with this sweet meaty note. This best I can describe this is that they took a soy sauce marinated beef jerky, rehydrated it in some thinned out honey syrup, & then smoked that water with charcoal smoke. That's what I get out of this is this thinned meaty soy sauce. It's interesting, but I guess has a bit too much of that graphite/metallic/mineral note for me. I do like how a bit of water really brings out the salt in this one. 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 - Sweet gentle smoke, sweet pine sap?, charcoal/ashy, gentle raw grain husks Taste - Gentle sweet smoke, hint of cannabis, pine tree syrup sweet, gentle ash, wisp of lemon, black pepper on tail end Finish - Black pepper lingers, ash, gentle generic metallic syrupy sweet, cannabis infused simple returns Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - This was a very strange one in that the gentle sweet smoke was very prevalent when the glass was a few feet from my nose, but when I got up close, it wasn't quite as strong. Very unassuming on the nose and smelled a bit like a Caol Ila on the nose, but then it hit the palate and was nothing like anything I'd had previously. This had a very generic grain / pine tree sap vibe to it. The palate was interesting but I'm not sure I was the biggest fan. The flavors seemed to be very conflicting and although I can see some people enjoying this, it felt really off-balance and a bit thin. 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.

1990-2017 / Refill Bourbon Hogsheads Nose - Baked apples, toasted cinnamon bread, hint of lemon bars, vanilla custard (w/ water) More vibrant, less toasted bread, more fruit Taste - Warm baked apples, toasted oats, orange/lemon zest, light fruity metallic vibe, hint of charred cinnamon bitter (w/ water) Warm apple juice/cider, cinnamon spice, metallic vibe is gone, hint of sharp lemon zest, much brighter Finish - Lingering orange/lemon zest, baked/charred apple peels, wisp of freshly charred wood, not smoke, but like if you soaked some charcoal in water & smelled the water (w/ water) Increased heat somehow, more4 lemon zest, baked apple, watery honey Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - This was a nice example of aging a spirit in reused barrels to just mellow out the original spirit and let it age gracefully on its own with minimal influence from a seasoned cask. Nice baked apple notes in this one and it surprisingly took a while to really open up, but when it did it was still fairly subtle on the nose. Felt almost like a baked apple brown betty, but they forgot to add butter or sugar. Apple was there, but fairly muted and had hints of baked wheat/oats/grains. Fairly pleasant, but a bit boring. Water really helps this one out as it brightens up the nose a bit and removes the metallic notes I got on the palate. 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 - Sweet ash, hint of salt, creamy lactic sweetness, cracked black peppercorns, hint of lemon zest Taste - Subtle sweet ash, cracked peppercorns, salt, lactic sweet, gentle smoke tingle just before the swallow, lemon zest Finish - Blast of salty sweet ash just after the swallow, transitions to cracked black pepper & lemon zest Score - 82/100 Final Thoughts - Although they claim Port Charlotte to be pretty heavily peated, it's actually quite gentle in this one. The peat is present, but complements the lactic sweet quality I get from Bruichladdich quite well. It almost comes across as more of a gentle clean ash than any meaty or campfire smoke that I've gotten in other peated Scotch. This is fairly straightforward and easy to sip. Not the most complex, but very classic Bruichladdich with a hint of smoke/ash. 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.