Old Perth Sherry Cask Blended Malt

Nose is vanilla alcohol. Not great. Taste is not too hot surprisingly. Bandaid with a little sour and caramel

Old Perth CS Sherry Cask LE No2 / 58.2% ABV Nose - (w/o water) Grape gummies, dark grape juice, cranberry juice, cloves, toffee, fruity/acidic brewed coffee (w/ water) Much more muted, gentle fruit, watered down apple juice, light white wine vinegar vibe w/o the acidic bite Taste - (w/o water) Dark chocolate, light bitter dark grape skin fruity bitter, dark dried stone fruit "funk", cloves, fruity heat/tingle, wet sherry soaked oak (w/ water) apple/pear cider, gentle tingle, orange zest, light metallic grape gummies, candied ginger Finish - (w/o water) Lingering fruity tingle, light metallic fruit sweetness, light fruity bitter grape vines (w/ water) Gentle fruity heat, grape gummies, apple cider Score - 73/100 Final Thoughts - This one was a bit all over the place. The nose right off the bat reminded me a bit of grape gummy candies and just had this dark grape juice "funk" to it. This surprisingly didn't translate to the palate at all where I got the more traditional heavily sherried vibe from the dram, but it wasn't syrupy sweet, but instead it was a balanced dark fruit muted sweet with a hint of taming bitterness. There was this odd metallic vibe that I got on the palate through the finish that was present with or without water. I think this dram has a much better nose without water, but hits the palate much better with a bit of water. This wasn't a bad dram by any means, but it definitely was a bit all over the place. I think this might need some air time to mellow out or this might be delegated to cocktail duty. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

I got this as part of an advent calendar in 2016. I just found the box and realized I never finished my samplings. The nose is sweet and potent. You can smell the alcohol but it isn’t completely unpleasant. At first taste, you get a blast of spice and sweet caramel that fades to tart raisens and rubbing alcohol. The tartness remains in the aftertaste. This isn’t my favorite drink. It’s not terrible, and I wouldn’t mind drinking it again, but I’m not sure I would buy a bottle for myself. I enjoy the immediate flavor but wasn’t a fan of how it almost soured in my mouth the more I drank. Perhaps a bit more aging, or maybe a longer barrell finish would do it well.

Very caramel