Rozelieures Rare Collection

This is really nice. Fruity, white grape flavors, bright and crisp. Good balance between the sweet and malty notes. No harsh notes that belie its youth. A bit short on the finish but otherwise packs a long of taste for its ABV. Another impressive French whisky.

Drammers Club online tasting pour. Aged 5 years in sherry and cognac casks, 1 year finish Sauternes casks Nose: Peat, Smoke, Pepper, Raisins, Pears, Flowers, Sultanas, dark Chocolate, White chocolate, Cherry, Caramel, Apricots, Citrus, Almonds, Hazelnuts, Vanilla, Banana Palate: Peat, Pepper, Smoke, Caramel, Flowers, Vanilla, Caramel, Raisins, White chocolate covered cherries Finish: Vanilla, Honey, Flowers, Smoke, Pepper Nice sweet and smoky combination, would be better at 46% abv

Nose: Cereal and fruity (a bright white grape juice note). Some vanilla, caramel and a yeasty aroma. As it rests and unfolds the peat smoke becomes more and more obvious. Palate: A sweet, easy and fruity entry. The development expands on the fruit note and there is an unmistakable smoke tint to the palate that is more prominent than the smoke aroma on the nose. A pleasing palate overall, with some dried fruit and salt-water taffy towards the end. Finish: Short. Cereal and fruity. Pleasant and uncomplicated, but made to a high standard - the new-make is clearly identical to that of their "Origine" single malt which is matured in sherry and cognac casks. This expression receives additional finishing in ex-sauturnes casks, which were obviously top notch and very fresh - either first fill or lightly used second fill. Like its brother this is a bright young whisky and it benefits enormously from resting in the glass for a while. To say it opens up is the understatement of the year. It's sweet, fragrant, cereal, malty, fruity and reminds me somewhat of wine-finished Kilchoman expressions. I opened this and the Blue Origin together a couple of weeks ago and at that time I preferred the other whisky. This one seemed a little unbalanced and reminded me of some less-than-stellar Australian wine-cask finished whiskies (it had the same grapey-plywood character). However over time it has improved and I've come to appreciate it more. It has surpassed the other malt now, having gained finesse, and the wood note is rounder and more restrained. Never judge from a neck-pour. Most enjoyable, and given the very reasonable price this is a bargain. Snap it up while you can. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Smooth subtle