Lost Spirits Leviathan I Single Malt

Nose: intense dirt and oak smoke. A light stone fruit / chocolate with a light honeyed malt. Taste: intense burning green pine and honey with a hint of orange and peach. Water merges all the elements and reduces them down. A chocolate toffee almond note emerges with light vanilla on the taste. The nose adds a burnt grass note.

Another reviewer mentioned that there is a “used tire” quality to this one. I disagree, it’s actually “new tires” that are at the forefront. It’s true. If you went down to your local Discount Tire with a bucket full of smoking peat, swinging it around like an altar boy, the aromas you’d get would be akin to sticking your nose in this whiskey. That being said, this is a very unique, complex and flavorful pour. Thick mouthfeel. Sweet and smokey with a nice burn. Charred pears, leather, vanilla, play doh and venison jerky dominate the flavor profile, but you could pull out any number of nuances with enough time. It’s that complex. I sampled this for the first time at Balthazar in New York (they DO NOT put anything less than stellar on their menu) and immediately tried to track down a bottle. While I agree that this could easily be considered a polarizing whiskey, simply because of its uniqueness, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice by not tracking down a pour at some point in your life. And yes, the bottle/label design is one of MY favorites as well.

I mean, why. It tastes like nail polish remover aged in a used tire. I get that it’s an innovative distillery but this is bottled failure. Bottle looks good, though!