Tastes

On the nose it hard for me to pick up anything but sherry. On the pallet, this has the thickest, densest mouth feel of any whisky I’ve tried so far. The flavor and mouth feel both remind me of honey and melted chocolate. There is also a lot of dark fruits and raisins and a bit of oak and spice like chili powder. The bottle I have is batch 069, 61.2%abv. I added a little water and it’s a very enjoyable sipper. This is my first scotch aged in sherry casks and it’s really interesting to experience the difference it makes. The finish starts out with a mild but warm alcohol burn but then that honey and chocolate taste really lingers on

This whisky is like a gorgeous woman with a big yellow zit in the middle of her forehead. The nose on this is amazing. It’s like smoked honey glazed ham. With hints of vanilla ice cream, chocolate malt, and damp forests. The taste starts out as sweet vanilla cream, very floral, but with a spicy almost cayenne pepper bite. On the first glass from the bottle, the Smoke would rise up as if to overpower the whole flavor profile, but then suddenly disappear. Now that I’m halfway through the bottle, I almost don’t taste the smoke at all, it’s way in the background permeating everything, but barely noticeable. Instantly on the finish, a medicinal/iodine flavor shows up and overpowers everything else. It chases away or hides all the other flavors and distracts from all the other wonderful things going on. Despite all the other beautiful things going on in this whisky, that damned medicinal flavor is a blemish that demands attention and all I can think is “If it weren’t for that flavor, this would be so awesome...”

This bourbon goes from super sweet to super dry. On the nose it’s very sweet, with vanilla, brown sugar, molasses and an herbal note. The overall effect reminds me of birch beer or root beer. Tasting it’s vanilla caramel with a little bit of peppery spice. The finish is very dry, very oaky with a hint of peanuts, and more of the peppery spice and a surprising amount of alcohol burn for a whiskey of this proof. Overall this is a very good bourbon, but I think it might be a bit overrated. I prefer Elijah Craig small batch and Knob Creek

On the nose it’s familiar Irish whiskey. Sweet vanilla, fruits and cookies. Tasting is somewhat thin but buttery and creamy, melding into vanilla and brown sugar. The finish oaky but not tannic, warm an lingering. The overall effect is that of a Irish-bourbon hybrid. I love both so this is very nice. I do wish it was a little higher proof, I get the feeling the flavor would be fuller and richer at, say, 45-50% ABV.

This is the Scotch I’ve been looking for. It reminds me a lot of Johnnie Walker Black Label, but more intensely flavorful. On the nose it hint of an Islay Scotch, Smokey, Briney, Peaty, and Medicinal. On the palate it is sweet, floral and fruity at first. Think orange blossom honey. Then it becomes buttery and pastry like. Then the Smoke shows up with the earthy, mossy peat. There’s no alcohol burn or medicinal flavors. The finish is warm and smoky/peaty and lingers pleasantly with an ever so slight malty sourness. I love it! If you want to explore peated scotch, but are hesitant to jump right into an Ardbeg or Laphroaig, or if you’ve tried any Islay Scotch and enjoy the peat and smoke but not the medicinal/iodine notes, this is your whisky right here.

This is a different rye from any I’ve tasted before. On the nose it has a STRONG smell of rye bread and dill. It also has some pine sap and turpentine. On the palate it comes alive as a rye whiskey. There’s some caramel and vanilla at first, giving way to spices like cinnamon, black pepper, and chili pepper. There’s also a slight hint of spruce needles too. The finish is very herbal. There’s rye bread there and a mix of dill and sage, possibly oregano. This is not my favorite rye to drink neat, but it isn’t overly spicy and it’s more complex than other ryes I’ve tried. It’s probably awesome for mixed drinks or pairing with the right food.

This is an unusual bourbon for me. On the nose I mostly get an earthy grass, like hay. But there is also something sweet hiding in there that reminds me a little of vanilla ice cream. Tasting, the sweet caramel and vanilla show up front and center. Then that grassy flavor shows up very heavy and just a little bitter. There’s a dark fruit in there too, but it’s not too sweet and not tart. Unlike many of the other Jim Beam products I’ve tried, there’s no real oak flavor and I kind of miss it. The finish is dry with a long alcohol burn. Not my favorite. This bourbon is good, but not great. It’s different from most of the other bourbons I’ve tried. It tastes very good and very interesting. There are several flavors in there I can’t quite place. But the alcohol burn at the end is unpleasant. However, the addition of a little water or ice tame that burn pretty well. For the price, this would be a great summer time sipper on ice on a hot day. Unfortunately it only became available in my state in November.

I really like this bourbon. On the nose it’s kind of dark, woody, oaky, and earthy. There’s also a very slight distant hint of dark fruit and caramel. Tasting, it comes alive. Instantly there’s caramel and vanilla which give way to Woody oak, but not bitter or tannic. That gives way to dark fruits and holiday spices. The finish is short but has brown sugar, cinnamon, and toast. I payed $20 for the bottle and it’s now one of my favorites in that price range.

This is my new favorite bourbon. On the nose I get sweet corn, caramel, vanilla and oak. Tasting, first I get this wonderful rich buttercream flavor, followed by molasses but not too sweet mixed with oak and spices. The finish is a little dry with a slight rye taste like good deli rye bread. I get very little alcohol burn and the spiciness is not overwhelming. This is definitely one of the best bourbons in its price range.

This is the most interesting whisky I’ve ever tasted. On the nose it’s very smoky and peaty and earthy. On the pallet the smoke hits first then the peat. That gives way to a very medicinal taste like menthol and Novocain. The smoke flavor lingers long after and there’s a slight sweetness to it. It’s low ABV so there’s almost no alcohol burn. It’s very smooth, there are no sharp flavors. As I sip over time, sweet malty notes appear as well as a light fruity flavor and the smoke becomes slightly less prominent and the medicinal flavors really recede. This is definitely a whisky to pour and enjoy slowly and patiently.