Kingsbarns Dream to Dram

Nose: Pears, pineapple, apple, vanilla, oak Palate: Coffee, gristy, light, pears/apples Finish: Coffee, tiramisu, banana sweets (the soft foamy banana sweets that taste extremely fake, but unmistakably of 'fake' banana!) Matured in 1st-fill ex-Bourbon casks from Heaven Hill Kentucky distillery, and 1st-fill STR barriques Distilled in 2015. Light, gristy and a little fruity. This is an uncomplicated and unassuming light dram - simple and refreshing.

Nose is sweet and enjoyable but a bit disappointing on the palate. OK whisky

Nose: dominant vanilla sweetness, bit harsh/acetone spikyness. Maybe some citrus and cereals. Herbal. Palate: starts sweet, then becomes spicy, harsh. Bites at the end. Finish: long, spicy, dry, harsh. With water less vanilla on nose, more oak on finish.

(Vita Dulcis Advent Calendar 12/24)

It’s a younger whiskey so your get that in the burn on the finish. Floral, sweet notes on the nose with banana and cream.

Note - I'm doing the Really Good Whisky Company Advent Calendar. I've also decided to pour these whiskeys "blind" (or at least as blind as I can), then providing nose, palate, and finish notes. I'll then look at the label, proof, cask type, etc. before writing my other notes. I'll be providing some guesses around things like proof and cask type and then seeing how much I missed the mark. Slàinte Mhath! Nose: We're back in standard cask territory again - ex-bourbon? Not super oaked. Definitely malt whisky. There's a slight funk here, but I'm not hating it. I'm getting cheerios with sugar and bananas. Apples and honey. Slightly herbal, with mint and flowers. Lowland? Just a random guess - no credit for this one. Guessing around 10 years for age, though it could it younger. Canned peach syrup. Nutmeg and anise - softer baking spices, as well as a slight white pepper zing. Strawberries now? Palate: Is that smoke? Strawberries, apricots, bananas. Toasted malt. Lightly sweet, with maybe some salt or minerality. Maybe coastal? The flavor profile at play makes me think we either have some charred new oak, some kind of smoke, or something I can't pick up on. Proof seems to be 47% or so. Not a lot of oak character so the heat would be ethanol-based. Bitter chocolate. Persimmon and pear. Hot cinnamon and clover along with a touch of nutmeg. This is bright and shiny and hits your entire tongue - effervescent. Medium light mouthfeel, but oily. Finish: A gentile rush of tropical fruits, coconuts, grains, and ethanol. Banana, honey and cream slowly get revealed, and then a splash of vanilla comes in. This hangs out for a while - medium long length, on account of that oil content I'm guessing. Other notes: Lack of age statement, but the color suggests some relative youth. Definitely not getting any new-make funk here, at least, though it could be in there. ABV is 46%, so I was close on that. Not giving myself the region because it wasn't an informed guess beyond what it didn't remind me of - that was a total stab in the dark mostly based on my own hopes and dreams of getting on in the calendar. As far as casks, this is a combo of ex-bourbon and 1st fill STR - shaved, toasted, and re-charred ex-Portuguese red wine casks. That new charred oak explains a lot, like the smoke I got on the palate. Without the same kinds of age and climate you see with Kentucky bourbons, I'd imagine that layer of char is where you'd get most of the barrel character from the STR. Without more time, the other oak characteristics aren't going to have as much impact. This was a decent one. A fun exploration into the Lowlands and those STR casks are adding some nice character. Not something I'd necessarily buy a bottle of, though I could see the occasional glass at a bar. Cheers!