Kilbeggan Single Grain

Rating: 6/23 So, Kilbeggan Traditional was awful and this appears to be a low-end single grain. I'm worried, but I get the impression that this is supposed to be a step up from the Traditional, so I have some hope. N: Light musty wood with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and a hint of allspice. Perhaps a dash of vanilla, but there's not much fruity or anything else going on here. I get perhaps some light pear, peach, and apple. P: The flavor is clean and light, sort of like a spring water with some added sweetness, but there are also some hints of spice in here. I get cinnamon and ginger for sure, along with a bit of numbing clove that helps to cover up the harshness a tad. The sweetness is a bit like white peach, but isn't rich enough to be a delightful nectar. Overall, this is a passable but bland palate that doesn't have any clear flaws aside from the big one of being kind of harsh. The alcohol doesn't really show through that much though. I do get some grain with the alcohol that comes through, alongside some light hints of hay and minerals. It's a lot better than the Traditional's palate, but it's still far from being enjoyable. F: The spices linger with the grain and the alcohol comes forward a bit more. It's bitter, but nowhere nearly as much as the Traditional. There's some harshness lingering as well. It isn't a finish that I desperately feel a need to wash out of my mouth, but I do kind of want to take a sip of water to relieve the burn. This is an improvement over Kilbeggan Traditional, but it still isn't very good. This is more in the ballpark of Pure Scot. I think I prefer Pure Scot a tad though. I'm torn between a 6 and 7 on this a bit, but considering the immense harshness, I think a 6 is most justified. Perhaps I even overrated the Traditional with the 5 I gave it and it deserves more of a 4, but Pure Scot seems a fair bit better than this, tragically. I'm not sure what I should have expected from a young single grain aside from this though. Right now, I'm most inclined to say that a 5 for the Traditional and a 6 for this is fair.