Tastes

Dark, slightly bitter cocoa is the theme with this one. The nose smells hot with some hints of leather and bitter cocoa. At the front of the taste is a little bit of salt and spice. The spice isn't overwhelming nor is it herbaceous. Just a bit of a kick, to remind you that you're tasting a different type of bourbon. Slightly bitter, dark cocoa underlines the entire taste, with a bit of burn from the proof. The finish is dry, a little bitter and astringent but that initial hit of salt and spice fades away at the finish. Call me basic but I actually prefer the taste of Four Roses Small Batch to their Small Batch Select.

Larceny is a unique bourbon for sure. The nose is what sets this one apart from others. There's an odd nutty banana quality about the nose, almost like a banana nut bread. I don't think I've ever smelled a bourbon that smelled quite like this. The taste begins a bit spicy. But not in the herbaceous way that rye hits, nor the burning sensation you get from higher proof bourbons. No, this one carries a little bit of actual spice. Like cinnamon spice. The middle of the taste brings on a rich and sweet quality reminiscent of Makers 46. The finish slowly sets in with bit of nutty sweetness, like honey roasted peanuts. Its a shame that finish fades so quickly because the actual taste of it is quite pleasant indeed. The price point of Larceny makes it a great bourbon to purchase to shake up your regular daily drink rotation. If you haven't already tried it: its well worth a go.

There was a time when I thought that whiskey could not get better than Macallan Double Cask 12 Year. Of course, Macallan Double Cask 12 year also happened to be one of the first whiskies I'd ever tried. Now, with a more seasoned palette, I've decided to revisit this whiskey. The nose smells of a blend of red fruits and nuts. Very interesting character about it. On initial taste, the front is overrun with the sherry cask. Extremely red fruit heavy, sweet and a bit tart. As the taste goes down, the back brings on a nutty and oily quality. Reminds me of walnuts. The finish blends a bit of citrusy tartness and again, darker red fruits. Perhaps over ripened cherries? A slightly nutty undertone runs the entire length of the finish. On personal tastes I really dislike whiskies that are too fruit heavy and this is definitely one of those. But then again, what did I expect for European and American Sherry seasoned oak cask?

Wow! As I was developing my taste for whiskey many moons ago, I came across Nikka Coffey Grain whiskey and was not a fan. At all. I discounted Nikka whiskies in general from that experience. Fast forward a few years and I got the opportunity to try a taste of Nikka Whiksy From The Barrel. I liked it so much that I purchased a bottle of my very own. The nose gives me some sweetness bundled in with peat smoke. Not often I get to enjoy a whiskey with a complex NOSE. The taste is savory and sweet. There's a hint of caramel, then you pick up just the slightest bit of red fruit from the sherry butts. Not overwhelming and if you weren't aware of the cask type.. you may not even notice it. The finish reminds me of a deeper, more complex Blue Label. As the sweetness fades into the distance, savory peat smoke dances on your tongue. You know... I'm not one for blended whiskies. But man.... if there are more like Nikka Whisky from the Barrel, I may become a convert.

The nose on this bourbon is rather odd. I still haven't decided if I'm for it or against it. Reminds me a little bit of licorice and sharpie. Luckily it tastes better than it smells. This bourbon isn't nearly as sweet as others. It reminds me a bit of a milder Willet Pot Still reserve. Its a bit herbaceous and spicy. If you're a bourbon drinker and you jump between different $30~ish bottles for your daily drink this one is cool to throw in the rotation to break up monotony. But if your tastes tend to lean toward sweet, maybe keep this one off your radar.

I normally love Highland Park... but I don't know about this one. Seems slightly better than average, at best. The nose is pretty potent. Smells like this is going to be a hard hitter. The taste is dominated by a soft, rounded peat smoke. Its not intrusive. Sweetness is there, but its not as big a player as in Highland Park 12 year. Oddly enough, I taste some red fruit peeking its head through toward the middle of the taste, perhaps from the sherry cask? This one isn't too complex, unlike most of Highland Park's other offerings. Its fine, but its not great. My honest two cents? Buy a bottle of 12 year instead, its well worth it. But if you ever tasted Highland Park 12 year and thought to yourself: " Well, this is fine, but I really wish all I tasted was light peat with a background of sweetness," then this might be the whiskey for you.

Feeling nostalgic, I decided to pick up a bottle of Aberfeldy 12. When I actually wrote my review of the stuff, I was just starting to get into good whiskey and so I thought a revisit was in order. The nose is interestingly fruity on this maybe a little too much so. It seems to dominate the smell. That fruity sweetness mingles with a bit of tart for the initial taste. Towards the middle, some toffee blends in with the fruit and the finish ends up a little nutty and by end of the taste. That powerful red fruit flavor profile has all but vanished. The aftertaste is a bit interesting... almost like a powdery cocoa. Aberfeldy 12 really is quite good and runs the full gamut of flavors. Its a good value proposition and is always readily available.

I once tasted this as I was in my infancy of being a whiskey fan. Now, with matured taste buds, I've decided to once again delve into a bottle of Heaven's Door. This isn't a complex bourbon under initial impressions. Nose was a bit astringent fresh out of the bottle, but it mellows some when you let it sit. The taste is sweet, with some brown sugar type notes. Typical of a solid if not one dimensional bourbon. And then a kiss of rye spice at the end. Surprising, because the nose and initial taste do not indicate much rye in the mash bill at all. It's a bit of a dry finish and leaves you wanting for more. An interesting bourbon and I can see why people like it. This bourbon gives you a little of everything.

In an effort to right some wrongs from the infancy stages of my whiskey tasting adventures, I've decided to revisit some whiskies. Here's my taste of Woodford Reserve: Woodford Reserve is a classic. Many of the bourbons in this price point seem to fall into a similar taste category but Woodford plays outside of the norm. The taste is oaky and possesses the qualities that most bourbons do, but riding along the taste profile is a good bit of corn. It reminds me of a mix of the now-defunct Cedar Ridge bourbon ( that was dominant with corn ) and perhaps some Makers in there. This is an awesome change of pace from other daily bourbons at a reasonable price point.

Is Peated Whiskey an acquired taste? When a friend bought me a neat pour of Lagavulin 16 year in a Glencairn and I had that first taste, I suddenly realized that my perception of Peated Whiskey is pretty off. Take my review with a grain of salt: I'm a Bourbon and Oak Cask type of guy. ( Read: NOT into heavy peat ). That said, Christ almighty all I can taste and smell is smoke with this whiskey. But not acrid, burning smoke. More like a type of umami, savory smoke. Perhaps akin to a smoking a chuck roast, low and slow. But for those uninitiated, that heavy hit of peat is jarring and can be unpleasant. The finish it leaves is oily and smokey with a bit of spice. Judging from the reviews, this is probably a pretty prime example of a Peated whiskey. With that in mind, I think I will steer right the hell back into my own lane and stick to Bourbon and Oak Casks.