Tastes

The Glengoyne 10 and 12 year old releases are solid clean, but unremarkable Highland malts. They exemplify the spirit of the region as well as anything out there, but fail to stand out in any way. I’m hoping that Glengoyne can set themselves apart from the herd in some way with a few extra years in the barrel. Let’s see how they did. Nose: Green grape, gala apple, pear, and apricot. Plum, raspberry, blackberry, and raisin/dried cranberry. Honey dew. Milk and white chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. Fresh-baked brownie. Coconut, pineapple, and orange. Cocoa. A jammy/molasses note. Almond and macadamia. Heavy oak with white pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Palate: Vanilla, toffee, milk chocolate, malt, brownie. and butterscotch. Marshmallow. A cherry pie note with more of the plum and raisin, now with date and fig. Dried cranberry. Orange citrus/orange peel. Cocoa. Almond. Apple, pear, apricot fall into the background but are still present. Heavy oak, clove, nutmeg, and white pepper. Finish: More of the heavy malt chocolate, with vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar. Dried cranberry. Peanut butter and almond. White grape, gala apple, and pear. Plenty of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, white pepper, and of course, oak. Glengoyne really hit their mark with this one. This is a sherry-heavy malt that doesn’t fall into the category of over-sherried flamboyance that often plagues the genre. Glengoyne is methodical in their approach here. The result is a balanced effort that presents a nice merger of fruit-forward notes and a healthy dose dessert; this is absolutely the best iteration of the Glengoyne profile I’ve had to date. 4.25/5. Well worth the $129 price of entry. I’m glad to have ventured far enough into the Glengoyne line to experience a properly-matured expression. Next, I think I’ll take a half step back and go for the 15 year. Glengoyne has certainly earned my interest with this one.

This is effectively the true older sibling of the flagship 12-year. Or it was at least. They discontinued this—and the 15 sherry SB, in favor of a 16-year in between compromise. The discontinuation of this expression motivated the purchase. Let’s see if this was worth a try before it was too late. Nose: Gala apple, pear, apricot, and orange citrus. Malt, vanilla, caramel, toffee, butterscotch, and honey. Fairly standard Speyside affair. Some peanut brittle, toasted almond, and walnut. Sugar cookie. Milk chocolate and marshmallow. Praline pecan. Rich refined oak. No spice, it’s more like a mahogany desk. Palate: More of the gala apple, pear, apricot, and orange citrus. Golden raisin. Malt, toffee, vanilla, caramel, milk chocolate, honey, and butterscotch. Brown sugar. A touch floral and then it’s powerful oak. Again, mahogany, but this time with a touch of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Finish: Gala apple, pear, apricot, golden raisin, and orange citrus. Honey, vanilla, toffee, malt, milk chocolate, butterscotch. Plenty of oak, with some cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Moderate length. This is one of the “cleanest” whiskies I’ve ever had. It isn’t the most exciting, but it is an absolutely beautiful representation of Speyside Scotch. You could say this one “sticks to the script.” Maybe this could’ve earned a higher score if it did just a tad more to set itself apart. But it’s a phenomenal offering as is. It’s a shame to see it go, but I’m very glad I made the purchase before it was all gone. 4.25/5.

This release is a departure from Glendronach’s signature sherry-cask aging. They are one of the best in that regard, but it’s nice to try something different. Port-aged Scotch tends be in a similar wheelhouse to its sherry counterparts, so Glendronach and Rachel Barrie should pull this one off nicely. Nose: Blackbery jam, fig, date, and raisin. Black currant. Toffee, vanilla, and honey. A vanilla custard sweetness. Butterscotch. Biscotti as well. Some white grape. Unripe banana and malt. Orchard fruit and floral notes. Cola. Oak wood but virtually no spice. It’s fruit and sweets for dessert. Palate: White grape, date, fig, and raisin. Blackberry and raspberry. Plum, prune, and cola. A cranberry/crossing note. Butterscotch, vanilla, and toffee. Almond. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. It’s a bit of spicy and prickly than the nose suggests. Finish: Blackberry, fig, date, raisin, and plum. Chestnut. Graham cracker. Hey Malt, toffee, and. vanilla, Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate-long; impressive for 46%. Glendronach and Rachel Barrie nailed this. It’s very good. Reminds me a lot of Dalmore Port on paper. Port-aged whisky from a sherried-Scotch powerhouse. Dalmore was $100, this was $90 (I thought they were both $100 when I started writing this.) NAS. Even the ABV is only .5% different. The profile here is lighter. Not that it’s less full or rich, just that the dark fruit notes are more pronounced in the Dalmore. I think this can be said of Dalmore and Glendronach’s flavor profile in general. So while they’re similar in many ways, Glendronach’s effort here successfully carves out its own niche in the market. I mentioned that this was $90. I think it achieves its aim as far as VFM goes. $100 isn’t cheap, especially for an NAS malt. But it’s bottled at a respectable 46%, clearly has a good amount of aged juice in it—Glendronach is generally good about that—and uses some high quality port barrels. It’d be a hard sell for me if it cost $10 or $20 more, put it hits the mark at a C-Note. 4.25/5. The same score I gave the Dalmore Port if I remember correctly. A job well done. Hopefully the positive response to this one, assuming most reviewers agree with me that is, encourages Glendronach to try more experimental bottlings. As for this, it’s a damn good product.

Following the Arran 10, I felt like this was my next logical place to go on my Arran journey. The 10 was a clean, fruity Island malt with a Highland profile. I’m expecting more of the same but with a bit more richness and depth. Let’s check it out. Nose: Green apple, pear, and apricot right off the bat. Gentle honey, vanilla, malt, toffee, and butterscotch roll in behind that. Some toasted and almond and walnut give it a more robust feel. Sugar cookie and ginger snap. Cantaloupe. Oak, cinnamon, and white pepper spice. Plenty oak and some cinnamon Palate: Plush plum with some grape and raisin. More of the green apple, pear, and apricot. Same for the vanilla, toffee, and malt. There is also some orange and lemon citrus. Peach sweet tea. Walnut and toasted almond. A nice honeydew note. Pineapple and coconut. Sugar cookie. Some peanut butter, and it’s worth noting this is a high-viscosity, chewy whisky. Finish: More of the orchard fruit: green apple, pear, and apricot. Sugar cookie, honey, vanilla, toffee, peanut butter. Toasted almond and walnut. Orange and pineapple. Oak. More of the orange and lemon citrus. Cinnamon, white pepper, clove, and nutmeg to boot. Moderate length. This is about what I was expecting—and about the best I could have hoped for. At its core, this reads as a more mature version of the 10-Year in terms of flavor profile, which makes sense because that’s what it is. But the statement stands. This takes the essence of the flagship 10 and makes it more robust and well-rounded. It’s an excellent malt. And for only $80, it’s well worth the price of entry. I had this slated at a 4/5 before factoring VFM, which earned this one an extra quarter star. It’s a damn shame this has been discontinued. It’s excellent stuff. If this sounds remotely appealing, I suggest buying on sight because it will deliver.

I haven’t written a review in quite a while, and what better way to make my return than to review something I rarely do: A Canadian whisky. It’s a 7-year old triple oak, which consists of ex-bourbon, French red wine, and virgin Hungarian oak. That last one may be a first for me. Anyway, what we’ve got here is an aged Canadian single grain. Let’s check it out. Nose: Heavy on the vanilla frosting, toffee, honey, caramel, and butterscotch. A sweet affair to be certain. Toasted almond and walnut. Some fig, date, and assorted grapes. Cranberry. Pear and apricot with a slight lemon zest and some floral notes. Sugar cookie. Cinnamon, brown sugar, and oak. Palate: Heavy on the caramel and brown sugar. Cranberry, date, fig, and plum. Some jam and prickly raspberry. Malt, toffee, vanilla, honey, and butterscotch. Zesty orange citrus. Cereal grain. Almond and walnut. Some dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Some rye spice, black pepper, and oak. Maple almond butter. Sugar cookie. There is some youthful dusty corn and ethanol betraying the relatively young age. But it is tucked away behind more prominent flavors. Finish: More of the maple almond better. Cranberry, fig, date, plum, and strawberry jam. Caramel, butterscotch, and almond butter. Heavy on the almond and walnut. Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Black pepper, rye spice, cinnamon, and oak. Moderate length finish. This whisky comes a pleasant surprise. It’s the oldest Canadian whisky I’ve had to date. And it’s the most adventurous in terms of cask selection. Not to mention, the unique “elemental-aging” process that Bearface employs. You could call this the Canadian Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea. Except that this was aged in a storage locker thrown somewhere into the Canadian wilderness. Same thing, right? I jest. Overall, solid whisky. I like the effort put into the experiment, and I’m pleasantly surprised with product. It’s not difficult to exceed expectations when I quite literally had none, but this will be on my radar now as well as anything else coming out of Bearface. Solid value at $36. Boosting it a quarter star for that alone. 3.75/5.

I’ve been a Cairdeas fanatic for years now. My love for this line dates back to the 2016 release. In all that time, this one certainly has the least sexy name of the bunch. I’m guessing this is a product of their “best” warehouse? It has to be something like that to warrant a release. I’ll judge the whisky on what’s in the bottle. Nose: Sea spray, brine, sea salt, and seaweed. Peat, campfire smoke, and tennis ball. Ballpark pretzel. Floral notes. Irish baking soda. Apple, pear, apricot, and raisin. Hazelnut, salted caramel, toffee, and vanilla. Peanut butter. Heavy lemon citrus. Mint. Black bean red pepper chili. Cinnamon, black/white pepper, and oak. Palate: Heavy salted caramel and saltwater taffy. Sea salt, seaweed, brine. Campfire smoke, rubber, tennis ball. Hazelnut. Vanilla, butterscotch, and toffee. Irish baking soda. Plum, dried apricot, and raisin. Cola. Fig and date. Mint. Grapefruit and lemon citrus. Finish: Ash, campfire smoke, rubber, menthol, and iodine. Campfire smoke. Cola and raisin. Fig and date. Black bean, red pepper chili. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak. Long finish. Very, very good whisky. Laphroaig always does such a great job with these releases. I think the profile seems most similar to the 16 year. It’s more confectionery sweet than fruity—considering a lot of these Cairdeas releases are wine cask-aged, that’s actually a departure from the norm. It’s also more refined and features less gritty peat, another characteristic of the 16. Now, how does this stack up to the other Cairdeas releases? Most of those were mind-blowing, 5-star whiskies. And this one is only worthy of being called superb. At $90, this is exact same price I’ve paid for Cairdeas releases since the beginning, and you had better believe I’m factoring that into my score. 4.5/5.

With this Bottled-in-Bond down, I will officially have covered 4/4 of Old Forester’s “year-themed” series. I quite enjoyed the other 3, with Old Forester Prohibition being the crown jewel. The quality and ABV have had a positive correlation, so this should be good following that logic. Nose: Brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, and toffee. Toasted almond and macadamia. Banana walnut muffin. Dried apricot and raisin. Pipe smoke, cocoa, and sawdust. Orange peel. Black tea. Flintstone Vitamin and other mineral notes. Apple and honey. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, and oak. Palate: Heavy on the gala apple. Vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and toffee. Macadamia and toasted almond. Cinnamon Apple Jacks and Cornflakes. Flintstone’s Vitamin. The banana walnut muffin is present, but exists more so in the background. Dried apricot and raisin. A touch of black cherry. Light pipe smoke and black tea. Black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and oak. Finish: Gala apple. Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Flintstone Vitamins. Heavy black cherry. Dried apricot, raisin. Banana walnut muffin. Almond and macadamia. Vanilla, brown sugar, toffee, caramel. Black tea, pipe smoke, black pepper, orange peel. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Long. This is a really nice whiskey. As I speculated ahead of time, the higher proof comes appreciated. The Old Forester palate runs a tad on the sweet side, and the heat from the proof and barrel spice provide a nice balance there. Quite easily worth the pop at $50. This doesn’t come close to the Prohibition, but it’s as good as the rest of the line—at the very least. 4.25/5 for the BiB. What a great, affordable line. Kudos to Old Forester for that.

I never got around to this while it was still in production, but was lucky enough to find on a shelf years later. This may have been a waste of money, but as a completionist, I just couldn’t resist. It may be gone, but this bottling kickstarted the Double Cask line, and I guess that’s reason enough to be interested for me. Nose: Milk chocolate, vanilla, toffee, and caramel. Toasted almond. Peanut butter cookie. Pencil shavings. Sprite. Orange citrus. Gala apple, pear, apricot, and golden raisin. Plum, date, and fig. Honey and butterscotch. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Mild green, young notes sprinkled in that indicate youth, with some more floral, refined ones mixed in. Palate: Velvet and leather. Orange citrus. Butterscotch, honey, caramel, vanilla, sugar cookie, and toffee. Especially the first two. Toasted almond. Pencil shavings. Apple, pear, and apricot. Heavy on the plum, raisin, fig, and date. Pipe smoke and cocoa. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, clove, nutmeg,and oak. Finish: Plum, raisin, date, and fig. Fig Newton, even. Orange citrus. Cocoa. Milk chocolate, vanilla, and toffee. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. This is surprisingly good. I can’t imagine it’s too much younger than their 12-year Double Cask. This seems to be the replacement for the 10-year, and now there is a vacuum in that place. Or, more likely, this was just younger stock that was eventually to become the DC. If that’s the case, this was a trial run and its discontinuation is logical. Now, I enjoyed this. It abides by all the rules of the Macallan DC series. In hindsight, it’s not groundbreaking, but at the time of its inception, it was a unique and worthwhile undertaking. I dropped a $100 on this, but like I said, I paid a premium for my curiosity. Retailers know when they’ve got something you can’t buy anymore, and therefore, I won’t be too harsh on this because it was a ~$50 in its day. But, 40% NAS does hurt this a little. 3/5 feels fair. Docking a quarter start on value. Glad I grabbed it though.

I’ve had Pact 5-8. Each one was better than the last, culminating with the masterpiece #7. Until I got to 8, which was good, but underwhelming and didn’t compare to its predecessor—or even close. So here’s to hoping Pact 9 turns this ship around. Nose: Gala apple, cranberry, golden raisin, and dried apricot. Toffee, caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar. Mint chocolate. Toasted almond and pistachio. Cocoa, pipe smoke, black tea, and orange citrus. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, rye, and oak. Palate: Gala apple, cranberry, golden raisin, and dried apricot. Brown sugar, vanilla, milk chocolate, and toffee. Mint/raspberry chocolate. Saltwater taffy. Orange peel. Pipe smoke. Ginger. Rye spice. Irish soda bread and rye bread. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Heaps of rye spice. Cocoa, pipe smoke, and black tea. Peppercorn. Ginger. Orange peel. Lemongrass and dill. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, and oak. Moderate-long. Now that is a good whiskey. High-rye bourbon whiskey aged in Olorosso sherry casks. I’m not even certain that is high-rye, but the profile paints that picture. All kinds of spice, sweet, and bready notes. It’s layered, and it’s a well-woven quilt. Blood Oath is back. It’s also more expensive. This ran me $225 (I think I had some store credit that brought this down significantly, but I judge these based on the original price,) which is more than double what I paid for Pacts 5-6. It’s clearly better than those, and is on par with the vaunted Pact 7. I’m inclined to give this a perfect 5/5. It’s simply outstanding—outside of my gripes with price. Well done to Lux Row.

I got this one because I liked the two permanent Knob Creek rye releases. In fact, I like all of the KC releases I come across, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong here. Nose: Toasted almond, cashew, and hazelnut. Vanilla and caramel. Dried apricot and golden raisin. Bready, yeasty notes. Black pepper, rye, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. Palate: The yeasty, bready notes appear first. A healthy does of peppercorn, black tea, and pipe smoke. Pistachio and toasted almond. Candied orange/orange citrus. Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Peach tea. Black pepper, rye, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. Finish: Cinnamon Apple Jacks. Orange citrus. Toasted almond and pistachio. Peppercorn, black tea, and pipe smoke. Black pepper, rye, clove, nutmeg, and oak spice. Long finish. Not cask strength long, but definitely on the upper end of the spectrum. This was a fun whiskey. It’s essentially the standard Knob Creek Rye but with a touch extra barrel char. With I think is all that the original whiskey, a solid bottling in its own right, was missing. I’m glad I grabbed this. This definitely won’t be shaking up the bourbon game. If fact, with the benefit of hindsight, I can say that it absolutely did not, otherwise they would’ve made more. But it was a fine idea for a one-off. The Beam-rye profile is just rock solid. I’m settling on a 4.25/5 for this. Another win for the KC line.