Tastes

I’m always excited to try a new batch from one of my favorite lines of whiskey. I can’t say this is new though— it’s my 5th ECBP overall and the oldest of the bunch in terms of chronology. I saw this collecting dust a while back and grabbed it on a whim. Nose: Warm apple pie. Brown sugar, milk chocolate, caramel, and toffee. Carrot cake, apricot, and orange citrus. Tobacco, cocoa, and black tea. Black pepper, rye spice, clove nutmeg, and a heavy dose of oak. Awesome. Palate: Apple and leather. Caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and cola, and milk chocolate. Carrot cake, apricot, and orange. Tobacco and black tea. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and powerful oak. Great taste. Finish: Caramel, cocoa, and milk chocolate. Black tea, cocoa, and tobacco. Heaps of black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. A finish as long as you’d demand of a 63.5% ABV whiskey. Once again—it delivers. This fits the basic high-proof Heaven Hill profile. In fact, it embodies all of my favorite attributes that the distillery has to offer. 5/5. I’ve waxed fantastic quite a few times about ECBP on this forum. This punches with the best of those batches. This is more a dip into the past than it is a purchase recommendation, but if you can find this 2017 jewel in the year 2022, I say buy on sight.

This is a purchase I made solely because it was discontinued. I’ve never had the new year-old, so I can’t say how compare this old flagship bottling their old one. Instead, I’ll review this one on its own merits. Nose: Gala apple, pear, and apricot with some light honeydew. Orange citrus and cocoa. Red and green grape with some toffee, vanilla, butterscotch, date, fig, and raisin. Car seat leather. Almond, cinnamon, and oak. Standard sherry cask pleasantness. Palate: More of the gala apple, pear, apricot, and honeydew. Caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, and toffee. Almond and milk chocolate. Orange and milk chocolate. Cherry, grape, date, fig, and plum. Velvety mouthfeel. Nice palate. Finish: Pear, gala apple, and apricot. Nice orange citrus. Milk chocolate and cocoa. Almond, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Short-medium length. Well, I’m glad I grabbed this. I’m 2/2 with Tamdhu. Batch Strength 004 clearly beats this, but that’s not much of a detractor. This is a damn good malt in its own right. 3.75/5. It was well worth a try. I will be interested to see how the 12 year serves as a permanent replacement. Until then, well done Tamdhu.

Here’s a classic that I’m surprised I haven’t gotten too yet. There isn’t a lot to be said for this one. Some love it, others don’t. But everyone knows it. Let’s see how JD’s mid-shelf offering stacks up. Nose: Heavy corn. Caramel, vanilla, and cotton candy. Toffee and brown sugar. Faint trace of classic JD banana. Almond. Vitamin and barrel char. Light and fairly uneventful. Palate: Corn stands out yet again. Vanilla, caramel, toffee, and brown sugar. Banana and walnut muffin. More of the mineral/vitamin notes. Barrel char. I find it interesting that the banana note comes across more as part of a muffin as opposed to overpowering the entire palate as Jack tends to have. Finish: Corn, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar. Almond and oak. Cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Relatively short. All in all, I can’t say this is good or bad. The palate added an interesting element with the banana-walnut muffin, but for the most part I found this to be boring. At $30, this is a fine drink to sip. It’s innocuous and pleasant. At the same time, there isn’t a world in which this would be something to write home about. 2 seems fair for Gentleman Jack. Emphasis on the “Gentle.”

This is my second batch of Redbreast 12 Cask Strength. I loved the B1/15 years ago. Personally, I think Irish—as well as Scotch—distilleries should all release uncut editions of their flagship expression, at least from time to time. Let’s see how Midleton did with this one. Nose: Rich plum, raisin, date, and fig notes. Shortbread cookie, toffee, vanilla, and caramel. Big time black cherry note with some apple, pear, and apricot in there. Very floral. Grassy and woody notes that I got from the standard 12 year. Heavy oak coupled with light cinnamon and other baking spice. Very nice. Palate: Heavy walnut, cashew, and pistachio. Orange soda adds some extra sweetness to the fruit I got from the nose. The black cherry, apple, pear, and apricot are still present. Milk chocolate, cocoa, brown sugar, vanilla frosting, caramel, toffee, graham cracker, and shortbread cookie. Rounded out with oak, cinnamon and other baking spices. Finish: Cashew, walnut, and almond. Black cherry, Gala apple, and pear. Shortbread cookie, toffee, brown sugar, caramel, and vanilla. Orange soda hits in a big way as toward the end and carries it until it fizzles out. At the same time, the cinnamon, baking spice, and oak brought this finish through to a fantastic conclusion. Long a finish as you’d expect of a 58.2% ABV whiskey. Amazing stuff. Much better than a remember it, and I loved it at the time. Granted, the two batches I’m comparing are a couple years apart. Not to mention, this one has a slightly higher ABV, which may be responsible for the added depth. Regardless of what it is that makes this so amazing, the fact is that this is a top tier whiskey. This is an easy competitor for my favorite Irish whiskey of all-time. And as a fact, it’s the strongest by ABV that I’ve had from the Emerald Isle. From start to finish, this is one of my favorites. The black cherry note is a great addition to the Redbreast flavor profile I’ve come to expect. At $85, this is a highway robbery.

I loved the Prophecy, so I’m looking forward to the follow-up. The pair was discontinued together, so I consider this a rare opportunity. This is the lightly peated variant. Let’s get into it. Nose: Earthy, vegetal peat. If I remember correctly, the Prophecy was coastal peat. Smoke and iodine. Some caramel and toffee. Honey and vanilla. Faint sun-dried tomato. It’s a fairly reserved nose, but I like what I get. Ash notes as well as mint and dark chocolate assert themselves with time. Brine and sea salt begin to match the vegetal peat. Very good. Palate: Earthy, rubbery peat. A bit of sea salt and seaweed. Caramel, toffee, and dark chocolate. Big-time orange/tangerine citrus. A heavy dose of cinnamon and black pepper spice. Finish: Medium-long. Orange citrus and cocoa. Cinnamon, black pepper, and other baking spices. I definitely prefer the heavily peated rendition to the light peated. I loved the Prophecy, I liked this Superstition. I think this one would be comparable if the palate had delivered what the nose promised. Regardless, it’s a solid whisky. Glad to have gotten my hands on this bottle long after it was discontinued. Well worth the $64 I paid to get it long after it was discontinued. 3.75/5.

This is a 5-year old sourced Irish whiskey, sourced for use at a NYC whiskey bar named The Dead Rabbit. Fortunately, this was not kept exclusive to the bar, and it is fairly well distributed. When it was recommended to me, I had never heard of the bar, so this will be my first impression. Nose: Vanilla, sugar cookie, and toffee. Apple, pear, and white grape, and apricot. Custard and vanilla frosting sweetness. Some roasted nut (walnut, cashew) and toasted oak. It's light but pleasant. Palate: Caramel, vanilla, toffee, malt, and sugar cookie. Floral notes along with more of the apple (Granny Smith), pear, apricot, and white grape. Heavy brown sugar. Roasted cashew and oak. Finish: Caramel and brown sugar. Apple and pear. Vanilla and toffee. Roasted cashew and oak with some cinnamon, clove and nutmeg carrying this to a medium length finish. This is an interesting whiskey. It's young; that much is evident. But it also has a lot to offer. This made me think of Jameson Gold, which is fitting because I believe it is the only other Irish whiskey I've had that has been aged in virgin oak. Solid concept, great value. Would be willing to spend more money to see this formula applied to a whiskey aged for double or triple the time. As for this, good stuff, 3.5/5.

Talk about over-the-top packaging. If you haven't seen the presentation for this one, Google it. I often see people ragging on Highland Park for the ostentatious style they've adopted for their brand in recent years, and I can't say I blame them. Yet, I can't lie, I like what they've done here. The Dark is one half of a pair of 17-year old HP releases, both of which clock in at 52.9%, interestingly enough. The Light spends all of its time aging in American sherry oak while The Dark features European sherry oak exclusively. Let's get into it. Nose: Grilled and smoked meat galore. There's brisket, sirloin steak, and roast beef. A raw, earthy peat and a note more akin to ash than smoke. A puff of peppermint, followed by apple, cranberry, grape, date, fig, plum, and toffee. After some time, sundried tomato reveals itself. it's rounded out by cinnamon red hots and a powerful oak barrel spice. Potent and intriguing. Palate: The maritime influence makes itself known on the tongue. Campfire smoke, sea salt, and seaweed bring the coastal flare. Apple, pear, cranberry toffee, and chewy caramel. More of the peppermint. The ash is now accompanied by campfire smoke. Cocoa and plenty of malt. Plenty of drying oak and just enough ethanol and baking spice to let you know you're drinking a 52.9% whisky. Finish: Malt, caramel, dark chocolate, cocoa. Peppermint, roasted walnut, and chestnut. Campfire smoke, seaweed, and brine. Sea salt, cinnamon, black pepper, and oak spice. As long of a finish as you'd expect of a 52.9% ABV whisky. Amazing whisky. One of the few whiskies that provides a varied set of notes between the nose, palate, and finish. As a reviewer, it's an absolute treat to evaluate. Not to mention, it's unique for Highland Park, for an Island Scotch, and for Scotch and whisky in general. There is simply nothing against which to compare this whisky. I look forward to trying The Light. Hopefully I can still track that one down. As for this one, it truly finds itself in a unique niche, and a damn good one at that. I'm a fan of Highland Park by and large, and this is far and away my favorite of the 10 expressions I've owned. Don't let the gaudy packaging fool you; this is an exceptional whisky. 5/5.

A Yellow Spot review has been a long time in the making. I've done the standard Green Spot, as well as the two experimental wine cask variants. Reviewing this one is the natural next step. It's well-respected, and comes with the reputation as one of Ireland's great jewels. Looking forward to it. Nose: Vanilla, milk chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, and toffee. Coconut, walnut, and roasted almond. Shortbread cookie and some vanilla frosting sweetness. Apple, plum, grape, and apricot. Mango and pineapple. It's an amazingly rich nose, rounded out with oak and some baking spice. Palate: Apple, mango, pineapple, honeydew, and orange. Raisin and grape. Caramel, toffee, shortbread cookie, and dark chocolate/ vanilla ice cream cake. There's a slight prickle of cinnamon and a healthy dose of oak. Finish: Apple, plum, orange, honeydew, pineapple, mango. Roasted almond and walnut. Coconut flakes. Vanilla, caramel, milk chocolate, and shortbread cookie. Black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate-long finish, with respectable heat for a 46%'er. This whiskey was better than I could have hoped for, even if I consider the hype. This is a fantastic line of whiskey. The standard Green Spot brings some tropical and exotic notes to the Irish whiskey profile. The two wine cask variants add amazing depth and what can only be described as fruit-forward power. The Yellow Spot fits neatly in between both descriptions, with the added bonus of a few extra years of aging. This is amazing, start to finish. It's ground-breaking within the Irish category and is of such high quality that I'd recommend it as a must try for a fan of any type of whisk(e)y. For reference, I grabbed for this for $97, on sale down from $105. At anywhere near $100, I consider this a must buy. Kudos to Irish Distillers; they've done a fine job at maintaining one of Ireland's historic offerings. 5/5.

I'd say at least 90% of the whiskies I've owned were purchases made by brand name or because it was anticipated release. For that majority, I don't have a story. It's the whisky, and that's it. But not this one. I saw it on a hole-in-the-wall store over a year ago, sitting behind the counter with a price sticker on the bottle; no packaging. I didn't recognize it, and a quick search shows that it had been replaced the GK12 in 2008. That made this a hell of a find. When I first cracked this open, the fact that it was bottled at least 1-13 years prior became evident immediately. When I pulled the cork, I had only the plastic top in my hand. The rest was splintered in the bottle. I had ruined the only bottle of this I'll ever find in all likelihood. Fortunately, my neighbor's coffee filter worked like magic, so keep that in mind if you ever find yourself here. I keep my old corks, and Ledaig 10 fit perfect. I've said quite enough; on to the whisky. Nose: Fruity and floral. Apple/apple juice, pear, apricot, and some lemon citrus. A hint of plum. Malt and toffee. Some white grape and a touch of milk chocolate sweetness. Bitter oak and sun-dried tomato. Palate: Apple/apple juice, pear, orange, apricot, and more lemon citrus, now with some grapefruit. Malt, vanilla, and toffee. Roasted nuts and oak. Caramel and coca. White grape. Sun-dried tomato. Plenty of oak and a light hit of baking spice. Finish: The apple/apple juice persists. Pear, apricot, orange. Caramel and vanilla. Roasted nuts, Cinnamon, baking spice, and oak. Moderate length. I started off with quite the write-up for what ended up being a pretty straightforward whisky. A damn good one at that though. It's a great representation of the Lowland profile, while also closely embodying a lot of Highland qualities. At $54, I'd say it was well worth the price of entry to taste this little piece of history. It's the only bottle I've ever seen, and it was worth the trouble of resuscitating to get to enjoy it. No point in recommending it for purchase in 2022, so I'll just say it makes for a damn fine pour. 3.75/5.