Rating: 15/23 A happy conclusion to International Whiskey Day to everyone out there! Belgian whiskey? Honesty, this seems like a dice roll to me. Especially since this is NAS. I don't see why Belgium can't produce good whiskey, but France has disappointed me twice and it's not like I've had good Belgian whiskey before. Still, Belgium is known for producing beer, whereas France is all about those grapes. I've heard that this is good - not amazing, but good. I'm hopeful that that is this case. N: A big kind of dry yeast smell with some what pepper, vanilla, something kind of floral, perhaps a slight touch of orange oil or lemon oil, and maybe a little wax. Cardamom? Coriander? The spices here are great. I'm not capturing all of the complex nuance here well; this is actually a great one to nose for a bit. It's restrained and sophisticated. In with the sophistication, there's something very relaxing about this nose that goes beyond the particular scents. It took me a bit to place it, but it smells like the local whisk(e)y bar I used to go tho before the pandemic. P: It's sweet with sort of a cleanness like an Irish whiskey. That does result in more of the alcohol flavor coming through, but if you're looking for that clean profile, this is a good choice. The ale flavor isn't too obtrusive, but it adds some nice richness with just a little bit of a bitter backing to make it clear that the ale is what you're tasting. There's sort of a vanilla nectar quality to this that really makes me think of that easy-sipping Irish whiskey style. Little bits of floral notes and something a bit like orange come in at points too. That orange note goes well with the yeast flavor. Aside from that, there's some substantial spice presence. It's white pepper, but then a big shiso pepper flavor comes out too. It's a surprise, but I really like its richness and umami. It works really well here and despite adding substantial heat it doesn't burn excessively. The pepper really adds some interesting depth, which goes well with the yeastiness present in this. I do get that cardamom from the nose as well, and possible some coriander mixed in with it. F: Dry spices linger, with a bit of prickle. That cardamom really stands out more here. Some vanilla, but it's a bit more floral and not so sweet. Yeastiness with a touch of bitterness. It's a nice clean finish. - Conclusion - I'm pretty happy with this. Honestly, I got it mostly out of curiosity since it's a Belgian single malt, so it just being drinkable is enough for me. The quality though is toward the high end of what I thought this could reasonably be. There's a lot of yeast here and it reminds me of Westward Single Malt in that way. At the same time, there are clean, nectar notes that make me think of Knappogue 12. I'm not sitting here thinking that this is a great value, but I really don't regret buying it. It's a tasty dram with good balance that fills a niche I'm glad to have on-hand. The westward tastes sweeter and older, whereas this shows more yeast and has some more ethanol to it. The Knappogue Castle is nuttier, perhaps with some more depth, but it also shows some more burn, even though it's lower proof. This is a bit lighter, but it doesn't show more alcohol. There are hints of nuts (pecan?) in with the yeast here and there are also hints of apricot notes, with just a fine spritz of lemon. There's a decent amount going on here and the balance is really good Based on this whisky alone, there's an argument to be made that Belgian:Irish::Irish:Scottish. That is to say that this is even cleaner than Irish whisky. This really refines the beer elements and cleans them up. Going back to the Westward, this is cleaner, but there's plenty of nuance to be found here. This isn't a dumbed-down alternative to all of those others. This really nails the yeasty beer style. Honesty, I thought that this was going to be a bit fo a gimmick and hoped that it would be drinkable, but there's enough depth here for this to be actually enjoyable. This is far from perfect, but there's a certain profile that they've absolutely nailed here. This can't be lower than a 15. I would like the ethanol to be less present, but it's hard to argue with this being so clean. Despite this being 46% ABV, it's very easy to drink. It's hard for me to get past how good this is. Still, it's not blowing my mind. I think that a 15 is a good place to start here. I'm not finding this to be a great value, but I'm really enjoying it and I don't regret dropping the money for it at all. Old Pulteney 12 (14/23) is richer than this, but it's more muddled. I think a higher proof version of the Old Pultneney might surpass this, but as it is, this beats the Old Pulteney. Comparing funky single malt at 46% ABV, Loch Lomond 12 seems a bit better. I'm really thinking that this 15 is probably correct at this point. Aberlour 12 (13/23 (honestly, that rating seems a little low)) is a bit richer than this and it hides the ethanol a faint bit more, but the nuance and depth here are definitely more compelling. Kind of unrelated, but Lismore 21 (19/23) absolutely crushes this. I spent a while agonizing between this an Knappogue Castle 12. They're close in quality, but I'm starting to appreciate the nuance of the spices in this more. I think that the flavors here are executed a bit better. This is actually starting to approach the quality of That Boutique-y Whisky Company's Auchroisk 19 (17/23), though I'm pretty confident that the Auchroisk is better with it's greater mature balance. This could be a 15 or a 16. I'm now thinking it's closer to Loch Lomond 12 than I thought before. I think that this is probably in between Knappogue Castle 12 and Loch Lomond 12. It's probably a tad closer to the Knappogue Castle, so I'm sticking with the 15 I originally selected for this.