Glenmorangie Milsean

Can actually smell port and chocolate on the nose. Very smooth and light, general sweetness, a bit of spice. Surprisingly warm in the chest. Slightly bitter aftertaste in the back of the throat. Not as sweet as I thought it would be, but reminiscent of a candy cane during the holidays. Pleasant and accessible. 1/17/17

After a cold night at work and heading into my only weekend off for the entire month of December, it's time to open something new. I've got a few more smoked scotch open right now so I need to balance the bar a bit. Time for something non-Macallan, and sweet. The Glenmorangie Milsean Private Edition. It comes in at a robust 92 proof and if I recall correctly I paid just over $100 online for this bottle back in the spring of 2016. It's a vibrant, golden yellow and leaves very oily, long legs in the tasting glass. The nose seems very familiar- lots of candied corn, cotton candy and vanilla and it's so sweet there's no oak barrel left to detect. It smells like an above average, American bourbon. Interesting. The first sip is more candy corn and milky powdered sugar that hangs onto the tongue for what seems like an eternity. I think I felt a new cavity forming. This is way too sweet. The finish does bring a bit of a welcoming burn of toasted oak to wash all the candy away, but even that seems a little muted. Just a quick flash of heat and oak and then it winds out with more sugary residue clinging to the tongue. It's so ridiculous that it seems like artificial sweetener- and not at all in a good way. I added a bit of water (more than just a drop) to see if I can break the sweetness up and reveal something else- it did nothing to the nose, but did allow the oak to come through a bit more on the tongue and finish. Thankfully. Final thoughts are that maybe this is their impression of an American bourbon, but based on the high price point and the fake tasting candied profile, it is a fail. There are $30 bourbons in this country that would beat this whisky on the playground and steal it's lunch money. Sadly, this is another dud IMO from 'Morangie. I'm at the point with this place that I only want small doses of Quintan Ruban and La Santa going forward. I've spent a decent amount of money on this distillery and I've had too many duds to recommend them and no desire to try their new offerings. Live and learn, I guess. 2.75 stars. Cheers, friends.