Stranahan's Diamond Peak (old recipe)

Nose - Sweet malt, almost bourbon-like vanilla, toasted white bread, faint toasted/baked apple with skin/core. Taste - Sweet spicy apple/pear cider, lightly drying cinnamon oak, faint creamy apple custard, hint of flamed orange zest, light fruity bitterness. Finish - Lingering buttery creamy apple/orange custard, charred cinnamon bitterness, white peper heat, lingering sweet orange/vanilla simple that leans a bit splenda-ish. Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite interesting on the nose as if I think if I nosed it blind, I would almost peg it as a high barley content bourbon. It has a very sweet vanilla bourbon-like notes, but a yeasty malty toasted bread is also very strongly present too. Mouthfeel is great in that it is somehow creamy/buttery, yet drying at the same time. It's quite strange, but very pleasant. Not sure I'm a huge fan of the combination on the palate, but it's got a nice orchard fruit/custard vibe to it, but what throws it off is that there's this overall splenda-like sweetness from start to finish. If this is considered a step up from their "standard" offering, I think I'll pass on them as a whole. This is a dram that I'd drink if my only other options were things like Dewar's White or A.D. Laws.

grainy & green