Tastes

A lightly peated malt from the Isle of Skye. Was excited to find this bottle at pre-tariff pricing and thought it presented good value for money. Nose: Brine, seaweed, toffee. Kinda imagine this is what a beach on Skye smells like. Palate: Sweet citrus like an orange marmalade, pepper, a hint of black coffee. Finish: The brine and pepper show back up to round out the dram. At just over 91 proof it holds it’s flavors with a good intensity and presents a lasting finish. Other reviews that call this a maritime dram are certainly correct as this takes you straight to a Scottish seaside on a brisk afternoon. Sláinte!

A mixture of well aged bourbons that are at or close to barrel proof. A classic dark brown bourbon color in the glass. Nose: Baked apples, vanilla, and char. Classic bourbon notes. Palate: Follows the nose beautifully with honey, vanilla, and a hint of nuttiness. The proof brings an incredible richness to the dram Finish: Shows it’s age in the finish with char and chocolate. A dangerous dram given it’s high proof and easy drinkability. The addition of a couple of drops of water made the fruity notes stand out a bit more and I enjoyed the dram equally both ways. A standout bourbon in my opinion! Cheers!

This review is for Act 6 Scene 6. It is at or close to barrel proof and is dark brown with a hint of red in the glass. Nose: Sweet, bubble gum, syrup, after a while a little grassiness, and vanilla after even more time. Palate: Cherry sweetness and jam on the tip of the tongue that fades to rye spice as it rolls back on the tongue. The proof adds to the intensity of the spiciness. Finish: Rye spice dominates with a touch of grassiness. A very intense dram, especially the spice which is tempered a bit by adding water. I enjoyed it and the port barrels add a very pleasant sweetness to all the spice of the rye. I quite liked the intensity of the spice at barrel proof as well and didn’t find adding water to be necessary. Cheers!

I’ve been sitting on this one for a couple of years, but after finishing off many of the other whiskies in my collection it felt time to finally open this one. After having the Special Reserve I’m excited to see how this one compares. Nose: The nose is very sweet. Starts out with honey and brown sugar. Further searching also reveals vanilla and cinnamon. Palate: The sweetness continues. Honey and cinnamon are present at first. The extra proof helps the intensity of the flavors and also adds a bit of a numbing affect on the tongue. Finish: The brown sugar lingers for a second before a sensation similar spiciness coats the mouth from the high proof. An easy drinking whiskey that is dangerously easy to sip given it’s high proof. For me the sweetness is the dominant feature and it isn’t very complex. It is however a great whiskey to sit on the porch on a hot day and sip away while smoking some barbecue. Cheers!

This particular bottle is from batch B518 and comes in at 133.4 proof. Being uncut and unfiltered it is quite dark in the glass. Nose: The nose is dominated by campfire and brown sugar. Think the smell of charred logs. The alcohol is also very present but a couple drops of water do a good job of taming it. Palate: Very rich. Buttery biscuits at first then molasses comes next. The high alcohol content makes the flavors incredibly intense, almost eye watering. Finish: Starts with barrel char and smoke that eventual fades to black tea. Goes on for a bit aided by the proof. The addition of water does shorten the finish slightly. At under $100 this is a very good value. The addition of water helped the nose but I don’t think it helped the palate or the finish so my preferred method has been to start neat and then add a couple of drops around halfway through so I get the best of both worlds. Will certainly be enjoying every drop of this while it lasts. Cheers!

It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to do one of these and decided to pick a big bold whisky to get back into the swing. A yearly cask strength offering from the south coast of Islay is what I find in my Glencairn this evening, lets dive in. Nose: At first it’s peat along with a scent that reminds me a bit of a swamp or backwater inlet, we’ll call it brackish funk. Next come softer scents of vanilla and juicy fruits like pineapple. Palate: The palate is the opposite of the nose. First comes the fruit and vanilla. Next a distinct briny flavor. Right before swallowing comes the smoke and peat. The cask strength certainly helps the flavors come across as full but I don’t think I would label them as particularly intense. Finish: The finish starts spicy and peaty before fading into vanilla. The high proof keeps the finish going for quite some time. It’s a well balanced quality dram. It certainly has the peat you would expect but the fullness of the fruity flavors help to keep it balanced. At the time of this review the bottle is almost halfway gone but when I happened upon some notes from the first dram out of the bottle I noticed it was almost exactly the same. This suggests that oxidation doesn’t have much of an affect on the flavor of the whisky. I also added water as I went which made the fruity notes more prominent. It’s plenty balanced without the additional water so I didn’t find it necessary. The quality here is unquestioned and although expensive I’m glad I grabbed it, but I don’t think I loved it enough to try and find another one. Sláinte!

From the Inman Park neighborhood comes O4W; sourced from MGP. This is their first try at whiskey after having made gin and vodka for a few years. Nose: A very fruity bourbon. Mostly oranges along with brown sugar. Seeing as this is bottled at 100 proof ethanol is also present on the nose. Palate: Notes of vanilla and corn at first. Next is leather and oak. The alcohol is also more present on the palate than other BiB bourbons I have had. Finish: The oak hangs around for a little, but that’s about all. It’s very ok. The fruitiness on the nose is a standout feature of the bourbon, but the rest of it is very average. Hits the traditional bourbon notes but shows it’s youth in how hard hitting those ethanol notes are even at 100 proof. Very interested to see how their stock ages though. Cheers!