Tastes

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this Nose: fresh cut hay, rye bread, herbs, fresh cracked black pepper, slight hints of caramel and vanilla Palate: like a very typical rye at first with herbs and a little peppery spice up front, a little oak, vanilla and caramel. Then a hint of malty-ness comes in reminiscent of a single malt whisky, but as a supporting background note. Finish: the caramel, oak, vanilla, and malty-ness go away rather quickly but the rye grassy-ness and pepper spices linger on. I find this to be a very well balanced and well blended whiskey. If you don’t like grassy/herbal/spicy notes of rye, this isn’t for you. If the “malt funk” of single- and blended- malts turns you off, you may not like this. But if you’re the kind of person who likes George Dickel Rye or Bulleit Rye, and you slso like Glenmorangie 10 or Monkey Shoulder, i think you will really enjoy this. I think at a little higher proof and with a little more age it could be amazing.

Nose: very malty, slight hints of apple, oak, vanilla, caramel Palate: butterscotch and caramel cream, bready and malty. Not complex but very pleasant Finish: a bit oaky, very slight bitterness, spice, hint of honey and shortbread cookies. This is not a complex whiskey, and its probably not the best single malt, but it is very friendly and very pleasant to sip. It doesn’t have much of the “funk” that show up in a lot of single malts.

Nose: sweet fruits, oranges, smoke, orchard blossoms Palate: first citrus, butterscotch, and honey, then peppery spice shows up very strong. Behind the spice is the malt. Finish: this is where the smoke shows up, not very strong. There is a hint of peat, reminiscent of Highland Park. There is also a very slight hint of honey. The pepper spice is very intense and lingers on, almost a little overpowering. This is a very good scotch but not great. I heard so much about this whisky and had high hopes. It’s not nearly as smoky or peaty as I thought it would be. I don’t have any JW Black to do a side by side. I would say it is smokier than JW Black, but not a lot smokier. It’s not as smoky as Highland Park 12. I was definitely caught off guard by the pepper spice, which I wasn’t expecting. It doesn’t show up on the nose at all, but it’s the most prominent flavor on the palate and the finish, at times overpowering and hiding some of the other flavor notes.

My least favorite rye. Nose: very herbal, rye bread, vanilla, caramel Palate: mint, pepper, rye bread Finish: ton of alcohol burn, herbal but a bit bitter This is an MGP 95/5 rye. I have really enjoyed other ryes sourcing this whiskey, but this one just doesn’t do it for me. The nose is promising, but the palate is off, and the alcohol burn is way out of proportion to its proof. I’ll take George Dickel or Redemption (also MGP) over Bulleit every time.

Not my favorite. It’s like a cross between Four Roses (which I really like) and Wild Turkey (which I don’t like). The flavor profile reminds me of Four Roses small batch but muted and much more ethanol forward with more alcohol burn than its proof would indicate.

Nose: Very floral. I think I get roses and honeysuckle. Perhaps apple blossom as well. Very faint fruit or berries. Palate: Honey first and foremost, with a hint of the flowery notes mixed in. Also a sweet, toasted bready note almost reminds me of homemade waffles. The grain and malt whiskies in this blend are very well balanced, there’s no “malt funk” but also no real metallic sharpness. A surprisingly strong oaky note comes in later which is less towards the vanilla side and more toward the tannic side Finish: This is where the maltiness showed up for me, as well as some spiciness, and more of the oaky tannin. My least favorite part of this whisky. This was my first Japanese whisky and I was very surprised. Based on the color alone I was expecting something much more mellow and subtle. It’s not weak or thin, it can hold its own with most blended scotch or Irish whiskies.

Nose: Very fruity and malty. Very reminiscent of a Highland scotch. Citrus, apple and pear predominate. Very warm and welcoming. Palate: Kind of surprising. It’s good but it’s not what I would expect from an Irish single malt. It has the fruitiness that the nose promises, but it also has more of a spicy character that I usually associate with blended Irish whiskies. It’s like Green Spot meets McConnell’s. At first the sherry influence didn’t show up for me, but going back to it after a few minutes the sherry definitely shows up in the form of dark dried fruits like raisins, currants and figs. The maltyness shows up too, giving an almost holiday fruitcake taste. Finish: Spicy, malty, much less fruity. At first very pleasant but then a bit of bitterness shows up, not overpowering but enough to detract from the overall experience. Overall, the more time I spend with it, the more I like it. Sometimes it presents as a sherry aged single malt, but sometimes I still get that hint of blended whiskey. Not that that is a horrible thing, just unexpected from a single malt. It’s also much more spicy and less mellow that what I normally expect from a triple distilled Irish whiskey- perhaps that is from not being aged as long.

Nose: caramel, fruits, vanilla, and oak. Fairly sweet. Sometimes a hint of old leather Palate: Not as sweet as the nose would suggest. Very oaky but not tannic. A little caramel, and a very little fruit. It’s very well balanced, not too sweet, not too dry. No burn from the alcohol at all. In terms of heat this drinks more like an 80 proof bourbon than 100 proof. And yet it’s not weak or thin. There’s this background sense of something old, like antique furniture or very old leather. There’s no age statement but I would not be surprised at all if I was told this is 10+ years old. Finish: very dry, very oaky and quite spicy. This is where it lets you know it’s 100 proof, but it’s not aggressive. Like many bourbons I really enjoy, this starts of sweet on the nose, much less sweet on the palate, not at all sweet on the finish. Compared to many other 100 proof bourbons, this has to rank very near the top for me.

Nose: rich and bright. Vanilla and caramel but with a slight astringency, chemical note. Also some brown sugar, a very slight hint of mint and clove. Palate: reminds me very much of a wheated bourbon. All the same flavors are there but in different proportions. The grassy notes are turned up a bit and the spices are turned down a bit. It’s rather mellow compared to bourbon. I’ve heard some people call it “thin” but I don’t think it is. It doesn’t have the boldness of most bourbons but it is very rich in its own unique way. Finish: oak and vanilla, very sweet, with slight ethanol burn. I actually really enjoy this whiskey. I tend to like wheated bourbons and for me this ranks right up there with my favorites.

Nose: a rich bourbon with sweet floral notes. It has elements of bourbon and Irish whiskey, very hard for me to pick out individual notes. Palate: caramel apple at first. Very reminiscent of an Irish whiskey. Then a hint of cinnamon comes in. Then it develops into typical bourbon territory, vanilla and oak along with the cinnamon. The fruit and floral notes fade. Finish: spicy, oaky, slightly tannic, slight ethanol bite.