Tastes

I have a backlog of holiday tastings that I'm trying to get through before the Summer lineup. The following is a simple "just for the hell of it" type of review, to give a quick impression of something that I happened to taste because it was in front of me, but I will probably never bother trying again: The nose has coffee with vanilla creamer. Light and grassy, a little rye spice in the middle, but not much distinctive flavor. Short finish. It didn't make me want to spit it out. Knoxville station 94Z (94.3) That last thing was a really good alt-rock radio station that I discovered out of nowhere, while traveling through Eastern Tennessee. I jotted it down at the end of the text message draft containing this brief tasting note as a reminder, to avoid wasting an entire message sent to myself. It added half a star to the score. That's how forgettable this bourbon is.

Sweet toffee, vanilla, and something like candied peanuts on the nose. There is a rye and slight citrus tang, but embedded in a smooth honey. The spice gets more interesting as it develops, and drums along into the finish. It never becomes too prominent, but just peeps out of its cocoon. This is a nice, middle-of-the-road example of a heavy-rye bourbon.

Toffee, butterscotch, and the same sherry influences present in the standard 12, but slightly muted and a smidge brighter. The palate is where the disappointment begins. The entry is thin, hotter than it should be, and lacking flavor. The sherry is still there, but hidden behind citrus notes and wood spice which don't work particularly well together, and none of these elements are pronounced enough to really define the character. The finish feels younger and harsher than a 12 year old should. Macallan is a little overpriced in general, but this one is flat-out highway robbery.

The nose has sweet peat, but without being smoky. It's more like some old-fashioned hard fruit candy (cherry, pineapple, and lemon drops) were dipped in barbecue sauce and peppered for some reason. It has a certain "Lagavulish" refinement, which is surprising considering the "hot Chinatown garbage" character of its sibling. The taste has the same sweet flavors in addition to some pear and vanilla, and then a wisp of smoke finally rises up to meet the palate. There is a hint of grape here and there, from something sherried. All of this is delivered in an extremely smooth way, although thin overall, with a short (but tasty) finish of apple and a single smoldering ash. This is my favorite blend so far, and I will be curious to see how it holds up.

Honey toffee nose with a hint of vanilla and burnt caramel. The entry is both sweet and spicy, with heat developing midpalate. Honey and vanilla are also accounted for. The finish is medium-long, bitter and hot. Adding water brings out some sweet tea and herbal aromas, but does little to the dry spicy finish.

The very first impression of the nose takes me straight back to my childhood growing up on a farm, specifically burning trash and manure (in the best possible way). Add to that salt water, smoked Gouda, and the greenest, most bitter apple you can imagine. You realize that you are now on a cruise ship, and catch a whiff of smoked paprika and turmeric from the kitchen. After breakfast, you head below deck to disembark for an excursion. On the way out, as the sunlight first hits you, you smell the first aid kits in nearby medical tent on the shoreline... This is the nose of Laphroaig. On your way to the beach, a wave swells and devours you, before you even know what happened. You taste salt, and then another wave hits you. Black pepper, charred lime, and fresh bell pepper mingling with a charred, salted green apple. You come up for air, gasping for breath, the sighs of relief cooling your mouth as the flavors reverberate and then eventually fade into memory like the wave returning to sea. You see the sun and the pulsing waves around you, and know that you just felt...something. You get it. It's not about the flavors themselves sometimes, but the ride they take you on, and no amount of tasting notes can replace the actual experience. You are a little afraid that you'll never be the same again after this sudden and violent baptism. As you regain your bearings, you discover that you can still taste the cheese from breakfast.

The nose is chocolate walnut fudge, molasses, dark caramel, with dark chocolate covered raisins and apples. On the palate: rich sherry, cinnamon pear and baked apples dusted in assorted baking spices and soaked in more sherry. This gives way to sweet grape, milk chocolate, tawny port, and plum. The finish gets a little dry, with walnut oil and some stone fruit where I would normally detect something like citrus peel in certain highlands. I've tasted hints of sherry influence before, but I feel like I finally "get it" now. Macallan really lays it on thick, and I can't wait to try older ones. It's impossible to pile on too many decadent dessert-like descriptors here. I don't do cigars with alcohol, but I can see this pairing with Montecristo Memories, which have many of the same notes.