Tastes

Nose brings me cereal and malt. Palate is the same with some spicy sweetness. Smoke on the back end of both. The finish is surprisingly long with pleasant smoke. A great dram and my wife (a newbie) loved it. The story behind it is awesome as well. Worth the try!

Peat and iodine jump out on the nose right up front as expected. The peat on the nose leans towards the Laphroaig type notes rather than Ardbeg, but the palate leans the other way for me. A dryer peat with a spicy ash finish. The palate has depth and the finish is long. Try it if you are a peat lover! Water makes the dram more ashy all around and I prefer none in this one.

Nose gives me summer hay and floral notes. Palate is dried fruit, pepper, and cloves. Finish has the peppery notes and cloves lingering. Throughout I got a bit of salty flavors and water brings that forward for me. Overall it's light but spicy and enjoyable. A great dram to taste against another non peated dram and then a peated to pick out what all peat really does. On some visits I do get a salty smoke that reminds me a bit of some peated Islays but not sure if I'm imaging it...

The sherry comes through a bit on the nose as it's a bit sweeter and brighter than their oak dram. The palate evolves very nicely from the sweet sherry (very like the sherry finish scotchs) to a burnt oak and new leather that is really great. The finish is nice with more oak spice and dark notes and doesn't leave to quickly. This dram changes as I drink it and it's my favorite from Westland. Water deepens it for me and brings out louder, richer, and darker notes of wood and dark chocolate. This immediately went to the top of my favorites list and will maintain a spot in my cabinet.

Nose is light and sweet. Reminds me of late summer grass, honey, and citrus. The palate is pleasant, light, and malty. More citrus and honey suckle for me. Finish is light and somewhat short but good. Overall this is a great light single malt. Water just brings the malt flavor to the front and lengthens the finish. Part of a holiday taster set so it's a great intro to Bruichladdich.

Nose is earthy and nutty with a hint of something bitter sweet like a burnt caramel. Much of the same in the pallet with some dark chocolate notes. The finish is pretty similar to dark chocolate bitter sweet with just a bit of alcohol heat. This is a simple but incredibly enjoyable whiskey. Doesn't feel like a 50abv to me but your mileage may vary. For the price this the best value for the money that I've ever had in a bourbon. Rating this against that value, if it was $30 (double the price) I would drop it to a 3.5 but it's hard to find something this good at $25 much less below. Water just brightens it and brings out the sweeter corn notes.

Nose is a bit of typical Irish buttered bread but with a sour note. Palate is...well stout beer after taste with some creamy sweetness. The beer comes out even more in the finish. If you like typical Irish and stout beer you will enjoy this one.

Nose is sweet, maraschino cherry, and a bit of barn must. Pretty simple really. Palate carries the sweetness forward with candy corn and the musty sweetness of a sweet feed. If you don't have that reference think molasses and grains. The finish isn't my favorite with a bitter sweetness, but if you like that is actually pretty long. Overall a simple whisky but at this price point worth the try. Kudos to Suntory-Beam for investing in the history.

Nose is a round Sweet cherry note with hints of darker chocolate notes, all wrapped with oak and cinnamon. Palate is pleasant and not boring, but not incredibly deep at the same time. It has sweet cherry and milk chocolate that makes me think of Cordial Cherries. Just a bit of spicy new oak, but not as sharp as some. The sweetness dominates the finish that is medium and rich for how thin the palate is. It tappers off to bittersweet oak. I tried this after a long time away thinking it would fly by me overrated, and have found my new cabinet Bourbon for awhile. Definitely worth the try and holds up well in it's price range.

The nose comes off as alcohol strong every time for me. Behind it is a rich brown sugar though. More brown sugar on the nose with some decent wood bite. I always get a chocolaty nutty flavor from Knob Creek that I have grown to love. The finish is medium length and pleasant with burnt brown sugar and the after taste I get from dried nuts. Water brings forward the chocolate note but flattens everything else. Overall a good bourbon for the price if you like the notes and well worth the try.