Tastes

Whiskey extravaganza #1 This is one of the whiskies that got me excited about scotch. I hadn’t had it in a while so I was wondering if it would hold up. It does; it’s just butterscotch deliciousness! Do I wish it was bottled at a higher abv, yes ... but it’s still really good. Also, of any scotch I’ve had, the empty glass the next day smells incredible. Great value and anyone you serve it to will dig it; can’t miss on this one.

This is a young one (4-5 years old) but because of the extreme heat in Indian, it ages faster than other whiskies. I had a 10 ounce sample and, when I first opened it, I was surprised by the lively flavors. I got caramel, applesauce with cinnamon, almonds, and a touch of smoke. The 50% abv definitely helps punch things up a couple of notches. I had hoped that it would continue to develop as it oxidized but that didn’t really happen. It started losing its energy, the flavors became more muted and it started showing it’s youth. Overall, it’s interesting enough that I’ll look to explore other, older Amruts in the future but don’t plan to buy a full bottle of the Fusion.

This is an interesting bourbon. I like the wine influence but it’s a little unbalanced - the flavors are good but the palate transitions are disjointed. The experience doesn’t match up with the price tag.

Woah! This was a neck pour so going to wait a while to do a full review but this is good.

It’s a bummer Old Pulteney 17 has been discontinued because it’s delicious! I opened this bottle 4 months ago (bunkered a backup) and have been slowly making my way through it. It checks all the standard quality boxes; it’s non-chill filtered, no color added and 46% abv. But it’s more than that, this has great mouthfeel, balance and incredibly nuanced flavors. I get the same things on the nose and palate ... toffee, fresh flowers, berries, dry leaves and a touch of brine. The finish is medium and salty/sweet. Wonderful!

This is rich and flavor-packed bourbon with a really nice mouthfeel. On the nose, I get chocolate covered cherries, vanilla, orange zest and a spice that I can’t quite put my finger on. The nose gets better and better as it sits in the glass. On the palate I taste milk duds, light molasses, cream, oak and flashes or dried tart cherry. The finish is not super long but there are nice molasses and citrus notes. Overall a really enjoyable whiskey.

This is a light, easy-drinking bourbon. Good as a summer pour-n-drink whiskey. Flavor-wise, I get fiddle faddle, vanilla and figs. It’s not overly complex but pleasant enough to drink.

This is life-less sherry water. Strong pass. I really have no idea how this has a 91 distiller score. I can only assume that there has been a sharp drop-off in quality since 2013, when that review was published. When I first opened this, there were a couple of interesting drams but, as I continued through the bottle, it became one-note and incredibly boring. The fact that HP waters this down to 43% doesn’t do it any favors; it leaves nothing to play with. I tried giving it air and water and it did very little. Like a cat batting around a dead mouse, I kept hoping it would wake up but alas it did not. I ended up dumping the rest of it into an infinity bottle.

This stuff is incredible! This bottle was distilled in 1983 and bottled in 2015 so it’s 32ish years old. The nose is tropical with scents of pineapple and coconut, toffee, and fresh flowers, with some baking spice undertones. The palate is off the charts. I get rich butterscotch, warm caramel, creamy mango, crisp white grapes, and spiced nuts. The finish is long, oily and perfectly balanced. What lingers are flavors of toffee and milk chocolate - almost like a Heath Bar - and some beautiful wood notes. This is gorgeous! Worth hunting down while it’s still around.

Fantastic! This GD15 was bottled in 2013 and, since GD was mothballed from 1996-2001, this is a minimum of 17-18 years old. This one is all about the mouthfeel - its incredibly rich and syrupy but not cloyingly so; it travels evenly across the palate and has a long warming finish. The flavors are deliciously melded together - a combo of dark chocolate, toffee, toasty oak, tangerine, bing cherry, roasted almonds, candied ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Can’t speak to the new GD15 but this one is wonderful!