Swahili1
Reviewed
May 20, 2022 (edited June 9, 2022)
Nose- The nose takes some work to draw out. I get some berries like bramble berries, a bit of wintergreen, and dusky corn . There also is some maltiness like you would find in chocolate malt powder.
Palate- the dusky white corn comes through with berries and dear I say a bit of custard pie. Honey makes itself present on the palate, and some soft oak comes forward. The palate seems soft, but nice. I also get some more of that wintergreen and malt. There is a sweet tea quality to it.
Finish- medium finish that for me got a bit bitter quickly. I wanted it to give up some of that maple sugar quality that JD is known for, but this didn't.
Overall- First this is not like anything that you would be used to from JD. You can find the corn, and the JD rye, but the malt is a surprise.
Second, it is a bit muted. The flavors are blended nicely and are a bit fun to find, but you have to work hard at it.
Next, I didn't enjoy the finish. The bitterness lingered for me and cheapened the sip.
BUT I used this in an old fashioned right after my initial pour. SUPERIOR for that cocktail. It gives depth, an added layer with the malt, and a nice backbone with the spicier wintergreen from the Rye. Bartenders take notice- this bottle is the bottle to build whiskey based cocktails from. For the price.....even though it is a 700ml bottle this is one to have for that. Better sippers can be had though