John Barr Blended Scotch Reserve Blend

Smooth, a little sweet, with pear up front and subtle peat underneath. Not complex, but easy drinking and a good value.

Look: a nice orange color, alcohol legs and lacing are abundant Nose: Initially I get the sweet pear honey note, and then some slight smoke akin to pipe tobacco and peat. Pick up toffee a bit too, like a heath bar. Swirling gives me more pear. Taste: initial taste is actually like peat, pepper, honey and pear. This is better than I’d have figured. Finish: dry, hot, and that tobacco, maybe leather note sticks with me. I get astringent notes from the barrel Overall: Color me surprised. This is actually pretty good. The slight complexity brought by the addition of peated malts makes this worth a pour.

Nose: green apple, a bit of caramel Palate: vanilla caramel sweetness, something in the middle, then smoke, nail polish remover Finish: long finish with increasing bbq sauce flavour Score: 5

Nose: sweet, mild peat, a little bit of malt, mild spice, very little of the grain alcohol astringency Palate: mild peat, spicy, sweet, a little bit of malt Finish: medium length, spicy, a little bit of peat, kind of a toffee/oak flavor Overall a lot better an more complex than I was expecting for a $23 blended scotch. A lot of similarities to Johnnie Walker Black, which is what it appears they were going for. Without trying them side by side it’s hard to say which I like better, but the John Barr I think is a better value since it’s about $15 less.

Color: The color I find on this blended scotch is a light maple syrup. Its legs stick to the inside of the glass pretty well despite how thin they are. Nose: The nose shows off notes of honey, caramel, and cinnamon. It also has notes of smoke and popcorn. Taste: The palate is pretty simple with small notes of dried mango, strawberry Twizzler candy, white tea, and vanilla ice cream. Finish: The finish is much like how a speech at a wedding should be - short, sweet, and syrupy. Thoughts: My first impression of this scotch after my first smell and sip was, “Dang! I like this!” It isn't complex, but it is delicious and has zero burn. It's a great casual sipper for conversations with friends! I haven't tried but I wouldn't add ice to it; it may disappear. I would buy this one again! Thanks, John, for raising the Barr! Sláinte!