Nose: Tobacco, cinnamon sticks, wood putty, nutmeg & ginger, mint chocolates.
Palate: Chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon hot cocoa, chewing tobacco, cola.
Rating: 7 / 10 – that is a proper sherry bomb
Nose: Passion fruit flower, orange peel, nutmeg, bbq smoke, wool socks.
Palate: Smoked wildflower honey, sweet bright peat, cassis syrup.
Rating: 7 / 10 – a beautifully peated sherry
Nose: Graham crackers, chocolate cherry fudge, a very sweet jamaica (cinnamon, hibiscus, star of anise)
Palate: Hazelnut, plum leather, actual leather, bright peat
Rating: 7 / 10 – tiny private cask from a few friends (bruce, hughes…). Freaking delicious
Nose: Campfire toasted marshmallow. While my kids delight in watching them burst into flames, I’ve always believed in aiming for that perfect distance so they crisp to a caramelized golden hue. My daughter is now cooking for us regularly and loves flash frying pimientos de padron with big sea salt flakes. These peppers aren’t spicy but have a great dash of sweet tart that pairs so well with the salinity. Almost metallic, copper penny vibe I’ve come to associate with young peated killowen. Graham cracker crust with meringue pie filling.
Palate: HOLY WHAT THE WHAT. I took a break from spirits during the winter holidays just to reset my palate. What an amazing way to return. Every part of my tongue is dancing. Perhaps the greatest desert on earth is the classic It’s It. A large scoop of vanilla ice cream, sandwiched between two old-fashioned oatmeal cookies, and dipped in dark chocolate. A dash of sea salt. I’ve often wondered if you could make some kind of sweet dessert pastry with rye. Sweet n spicy. Google pointed me to Salted Caramel Nut Tart with Rye Crust & Spiced Rye Ginger Cookies. There goes my weekend.
Rating: 7 / 10 – It feels overzealous to rate it this high but this just nails every note for my palate. I’d buy this in large format. Where is my 3L bottle Brendan? The more I distill the more I can appreciate when new make is drinkable off the cuff.
Nose: Barnyard funk, touch of sulfur, hints of prime rib, sweet treats, lot of delightful things here dancing around on the nose. Maple candies. Frosting.
Palate: Chocolate, leather, heather, smoke, vanilla salt water taffy, salted cod.
Rating: 5 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10
Nose: Plain milk chocolate m&m’s, snack pack chocolate pudding cups, stale vanilla wafers you pick up at the costa rican gas station on the way to a company meeting… nearly a tradition. Graham crackers / circus animals, werther’s originals, tangerine flan with a well balanced layer of smoke.
Palate: Tangerine cut in half and plopped on the grill with a sprig of rosemary. Grapefruit peel. Wildflower honey. Sour grass.
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10 – a fun mix but surprised too
Nose: Salted fruit bomb. Ripe yellow nectarines. Coriander and toasted cumin. Honeycomb and pollen. I love the springbank DNA with the waxy fruit influence. Like Clynelish and springbank had a love child. Boston fruit slices. Raspberries and Blackberries gummy candied. Scotch tape. A pair of wool socks. Grilled cheese animal style from in-n-out.
Palate: Toasted peach with a hint of sea salt and basil, corrugated cardboard, endive with grapefruit supremes.
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10 – I love the contrasts of the nose. Springbank is rarely quite so fruity. And while Ryan is rarely enamored by the tart side of life (sounds like a personal problem to me), I greatly enjoy it. Who doesn’t like a bit of zest?!?
Nose: Buttery, honey and salinity, smoked salmon, cinnamon. cedar filled with a sharp filtered sake. Cutting open a passion fruit. Lemon. Freshly washed sheet .. or maybe just downy sheets. Makes me want to cuddle a teddy bear.
Palate: Grilled watermelon rinds. (lightly) smoked pork belly. Agave syrup. Honeysuckle. Pool water / chlorine from when I swim laps. Packing tape.
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10 – Another lovely salty and tart fruity pour. Hits all parts of my tongue. Still wishing for a bit more of the Springbank dirtiness but enjoyable. Ryan says tart is an annoying way to romanticize bitterness. And I should own that I like pucker face. Two wins, or two fails depending on the audience.
Nose: Vero mango lollipops. Pineapple juice and coconut water. Sugar cookies, fresh whipped cream, with bits of mint or maybe oregano and orange zest. Bar of soap. Grapefruit rind.
Palate: Tangerine spritzer. Bandaids. Heather grass and light smoke.
Rating: 6 / 10 one of my first loves in Scotch. I tried it in a restaurant and immediately went out and bought a bottle. But somehow, given all of my journey, today it’s both good, and yet somehow could be more.
Nose: Creme de violette, flan w/ orange cream, catnip, smoked ham, touch of glue
Palate: Nice hit of smoke on the front that then evolves into palm sugar and fermented fruit kombucha with a touch of beef carpaccio. Finish is licking an envelope seal with that slight chemical sweetness. A dirty challenging moment akin to cough drops.
Rating: 5 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – I go back and forth with really enjoying the challenge, and not having the energy to be challenged. I wonder if at the end of a large glass I’d still enjoy it.
Nose: Sherry or esters?!? What the what? Falling asleep in the sun on the back of a party boat. Asshole dude with a giant ceramic fish keeps trying to pour more rum punch down my throat but I have to avoid getting seasick. Strong oak paintbrush. So well balanced.
Palate: Hickory summer sausage, cacao nibs, leather. Caramelized figs. Fresh medjool dates. Muscovado sugar. Full frontal christmas class. Rum soaked dried fruit. A touch of sea salt. Asphalt and bandaids. It’s not glendronach or dunville’s christmas, it’s dirty harry christmas.
Rating: 8 / 10 – Awesomeness. Big bold flavors. Huge thick syrupy rummy. Deviously and broodingly delicious. And let’s be honest, a lot of people will complain that the Springbank or even Kilkerran character is lost. Fuckem. It’s delicious. Good hooch is good hooch.
Nose: Grilled leeks. Big smoke. As a child I somehow conned my parents into believing that “fruit by the foot” was fruit leather and not just candy. Very American reference but live with it. Reminds me of the grape flavor and makes me think of a port cask. Red plums, more on the prune spectrum. Sweet spiciness. For years I would walk into Planet Fresh, brazenly stroll to the salsa bar (brilliant idea) where I would blend the pico de gallo with thai sweet chili hot sauce. I’d fill up a soda cup worth and walk out. A touch of sweet umami, peking duck sauce and szechuan. That smoke smells like when you overheat your immersion blender.
Palate: Smoke first, sweet second. Ginger snaps. yum?
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 7 (shane) / 10 – too deep in to rate this truly carefully, but it’s pretty damn solid. It’s a yum yummy yum yum.
Nose: Herbal, lemon verbena tea with honey
Palate: Pot de creme, yerba mate.
Rating: 5 / 10 – My father, who isn’t a spirit drinker declared it quite approachable. Zero complaints, and zero shits. Another whiskey for me to forget.
Nose: Red grape skins, menthol, wine vibe.
Palate: Big rounded spicy, grapefruit peel, nutty with a vague sense of smoke
Rating: 6 / 10 – big flavors worth enjoying
Nose: Blackberry, heather grass on the higher mountain trails above Agaete, lilac, dried cherries
Palate: Blackberries and cassis, hints of dark chocolate
Rating: 7 / 10 – a perfectly executed berry bomb
Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.
