Smell: The first thing I notice is the sherry notes with raisins, almonds, leather and chocolate. There is also apples and pears from the base spirit as well as vanilla from the bourbon casks. Maybe light cinnamon and rosewater. There is an ethanol note in this and it does smell younger than it actually is. It's messy and discordant.
Taste: Again, the sherry notes are upfront with raisins, almonds, leather and chocolate. But, they feel a bit "cheap" and not as refined as other sherry aged or sherry finished whiskies I've had. The base spirit seems fine enough though with pears, apples and oat with vanilla from the bourbon casks. Some light cinnamon and nutmeg. There is a milk-like note in there too. Again, I find the flavors to not meld together very well but it is smooth and pleasant enough.
Mouthfeel: Very light, very milk like. No oiliness at all.
Finish: Quite short with almonds, chocolate and leather. The flavors are nice but the length is just too short.
Overall: This is a good (just good) whisky. It feels like the sherry casks used are pretty low quality as the sherry notes are unrefined. Also, the flavors don't blend very well (lacks coherency). The base spirit does taste very good it seems, so the issue I have is mostly with the quality of the casks used. It's quite expensive these days too (90 CAD) and for that price I can get MUCH better whiskies easily. All in all, I feel like this is quite overrated and overpriced (I don't consider price when rating though). It's complex, pleasant and smooth (inoffensive) but the nose, finish and mouthfeel are disappointing.
Although I've been quite critical, I still think this is a good drinking whisky.
90.5
CAD
per
Bottle