Tastes

Dark-medium pilsner hue with very oily legs down the glencairn - almost unappetizing, I now understand why some add caramel coloring to their drams. Campfire and barbeque on the nose. Taste like how you would think a malty, sherried, peated Islay would taste - rich, deep, salted caramel and campfire smoke. The peat is obviously in the center of everythint, but it is the briny malty sweetness that sets it apart from every other whisky I've ever tasted in my life. To use an analogue, this tastes like a less spicy Talisker, blended with a smokey Lagavulin, sprinkled with some wheater bourbon sweetness - amazing! Very long, lingering finish all over the mouth, still campfire overall, with slight medicinal/iodine showing up for the first time since the nose

Smells like a combination of smokey mesquite bbq and lapcheong/chorizo with a subtle bread sweetnees behind it - most complex smelling Islay so far! Initially tastes of a very rich, strong malt backbone with an upfront, BBQ bark, smoke. After a while, tongue is coated with a dark chocolate malty flavor, soon replaced by the a familiar, damp and long-lasting campfire smoke aftertaste in the month and on the exhale. Very oily and velvety mouthfeel that makes you want to take another sip immediately. Surprisingly no strong brine or iodine taste. This is the best damn dram so far!

Special note for the bottle design, tall and tubular, refreshingly plain compared to other bourbons. Pleasant, but not that strong, nose of typical bourbon notes: vanilla, sweet tea, apple. Tastes of vanilla, apple, and bread all over the tongue. Like the nose, the flavors are very balanced - perhaps too much so! Surprisingly viscous and rich mouthfeel, with medium finish of lingering red apple.

Very sweet, vanilla, maple syrup nose with fleeting-to-none hints of oak. On the tongue, contrasted to most bourbons, no rye spice is present - very upfront sweet tea sweetness and cinnamon, oily and smooth tasting well below 107 proof. Medium, oily mouthfeel, with relatively one-dimensional, very sweet, oak finish. Did I mention that this bourbon is very sweet? Well it is.

Very true to most tasting notes out there. Amazing looking bottle and cap. The nose is rather weak (compared to the high proof bourbon I just finished before) and smells of sugary, sweet, cooking pancake dough with a very slight hint of mandarin orange. Taste opens with a very nutty, chocolaty almond brittle that is almost too rounded (again, probably due to the low proof) and ends with a weak chocolaty malt with a slight turmeric flavor on the tongue. Medium mouthfeel, very smooth, with a wet lingering pu-erh finish. This truly could have been something so much better at higher ABV.

(Old 2013 release) Strong bite of heat and heaps of vanilla on the nose, cream brulee showing up when intensely swirled. Drank neat, tastes of alpenliebe caramel candies and some cherry backed with strong alcohol that numbs the tip of your tongue and insides of your lips, but all seemingly tainted with bitter wax. With a little a water, a very fleeting hint of dark bread can randomly show up. Medium mouthfeel with a strong alcoholic finish, and a strong astringent, cotton candy-like on the exhale.

Pear and riesling on the nose, surprisingly next-to-no smoke/peat coming through! Tastes immediately of ripe green apple, sweeter riesling, and a hint of brine - no smoke again. Mouthfeel is rather thin at first, but very long-lasting finish that leaves a strong spiciness all over the mouth to the back of the throat. Lingering apple candy on the tongue. This whisky is significantly less peated and less complicated than I expected!

Very weak sugary, caramel smell. Immediate sweetness all over the mouth, medium mouthfeel (think coconut water). Lingering sweetness on the tongue and roof of mouth. I can see how this became a huge hit in the casual drinking crowd - finally something they can drink neat without the usual Pokka chaser!

Smells sweet and almost toffee-like (might have been affected by the coffee I had soon before iirc). Tasted very different from the nose, very straightforward and bourbon-like. Medium mouthfeel. Surprisingly not as dry as I (somehow) thought it would be. Lingering aftertaste of Dr. Pepper. Very reliable.