Nose: Farmyard, cloves, wet hay. cedar planks, pollen, danish pastry, super subtle orange marmalade on toast.
Palate: Oak and apple leather. Cigar box. Cocoa nibs. Farmy and funky, oxidized. Has a chicken marsala vibe (the sauce, not the chicken). Nice layer of sherry undertones that nicely play with the apple.
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10
Nose: Oh wow, smells delicious. Strong apple vinegar note. Intense concentrated apple syrup. Walnuts. Mulled cider, stewed apples. Cedar and lumber yard. Ferns.
Palate: Damn, that is lovely. Apples, chestnuts, acorns, walnuts, cedar, rich apple sauce/butter. Lemon peel. There is such a nice balance of wood to spirit here. Brown sugar. A fantastic rancio.
Rating: 7 (Shane) 8 (Ryan) / 10
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: 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: Little Debbies oatmeal creme pie / vanilla It’s It oatmeal ice cream sandwich. Ripe juicy red plum and cassis. Kir royal vibes. Ripe fruit, which sounds amazing except I hate biting into them. Freaking ruins my clothes. I’m on the firm fruit band wagon. Keep your mushy bananas and soft peaches in your underwear. Creamy and sweet. Tangerine + strawberries and cream with shredded mint.
Palate: Sip 1. Oh yeah. Pour more of the sample. Peach popsicle. Tangerine trees and marmalade skies. Loads of dried citrus peel, takes you on a bitter path. I’ve always been quite partial to a solid wood whallop and this is just right, which means it’s almost overwhelming for Ryan. Xmasmas is coming and for me that means the gingerbread aisle… pfeffernusse for the win. Honey, white pepper and ginger ahoy.
Rating: 7 / 10 – an excellent core line bottle from Echlinville, hunt any remaining down.
Nose: Tomato vines, barq’s root beer candy, buttermilk , pickling spices, starved sourdough starter and orange marmalade, subtle dill herb, fresh basil and almond pesto butter / pan seared gnocchi. A very prominent oak haymaker.
Palate: Very bright and wood is super intense bringing loads of burning heat. A mouth drying astringency. If you can get past it, touches of chocolate, and a vanilla / cracked black peppercorn ice cream. I’ve got chili peppers drying on my windowsill and am days away from crumbling them into a paste. I hope they mature into something with this concentrated punch
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – Maybe better to have used tree 6 for a campfire, it was rather rude. But, as Ryan, says, it probably had a rough childhood and we shouldn’t judge it just based upon abrasive behavior during one night on a pub crawl.
Nose: Chicken satay peanut sauce, peanut brittle. FRESHLY CRACKED DENTAL DAM. We sure he logged this right? Smells like a madeira. So savory. Rosemary. Mince and apple pie. Curried apples. Golden raisins. Lebanese rice pilaf with dried cranberries and almonds. Wet hay and clovers.
Palate: Usually when the palate matches the nose, that is a plus. But noooope. Nope nope nope. This goes onto the cheap street food that keeps you up all night and industrial rubber spectrum. Then it shifts into a kinda pleasing apple pie vibe. But it doesn’t save it.
Rating: 4 / 10 – Friends don’t let friends drink this alone. Hold my hand Ryan. This juice is for savages. The dry sherry vibe is so darn overwhelming.
Nose: A summer alpine meadow. Honeycomb and chamomile. Waxy and polish. Sugar pea vines in bloom.
Palate: A subtle entrance that blossoms with time. White tea, orange peel and a spoonful of honey. Rose hips with a gentle non-cloying sweetness. A pimm’s cup.
Rating: 6 (Shane) 7 (Ryan) / 10 – this should be served in a garden cafe. With little cakes and cucumber sandwiches. The perfect summer bottle.
Nose: Mace and flash fried sage leaves. Walnuts, apple butter, Nasturtiums on a bitter salad with a mix of rocket and arugula. Ripe green grapes, with a hint of acidity. Light pickling spices/herbs, and meringue. If this had Grosperrin on the label, I wouldn’t bat an eye.
Palate: Grosperrin, is that you? This continues to drink like a cognac!? Wood is quite present but balances out pretty well with the rest of the palate. Sweet grape paired with a light Indian spice funk. Grapefruit peel. Honeydew. Cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander. Pue’r and hints of leather. This is so lovely. I’m Waxxxy and I know it.
Rating: 6 (Ryan) 8 (Shane) / 10 – What are the odds Kay fucked up and gave us a 1972 cognac? But then again, there is a style of whisky from the 70s that crosses the stream. Ryan finds it just a bit too woody/astringent, but I love the pairing with the fruit.
Nose: Violets and honeysuckle. Sphagnum moss and orchids. Orange sweetened dried cranberries. Rich deep scone vibe, with a huge dollop of fresh whipped cream and a couple ripe strawberries. And a mint leaf for garnish. Sugar cookie batter. Slights hints of fresh celery.
Palate: The palate is an exact match to the nose, which is absolutely delightful. The wood is strong but perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the sherry integration. Fatty texture. Reminds me of the first fat washed apple cider I had. Honey and warm brown sugars. Hazelnut. Shane gets anise seed but Ryan leans toward shashito pepper. A splash of raspberry. This drinks insanely smooth, and yet, minutes later, there is a big mouth tingle on the finish
Rating: 9 / 10 – This is the closest thing to whisky “dessert” I think I’ve had without having sugar shock. A level of elegance I wasn’t ready for, but have to kneel and shout… we are not worthy. Feels like I should have dressed up. Good thing Ryan wore his thong. I totally get why people chase after these older Glengoynes.
Nose: Classic profile mmm, cinnamon dunnage warehouse, swamp grass and reeds, brackish river water, ocean spray, slightly dirty / funky. Buttery bandaids, sidewalk n ozone.
Palate: Oyster, seaweed salad, cedar box, clove and cinnamon toothpick, broccolini, and peach ring candy. Camphor. Tastes like bandaids with that weird texture of dental mold paste. The ones where they ask for cinnamon or bubblegum but as you are gagging it doesn’t really matter.
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10
Nose: Fresh leather, menthol, subtle lychee
Palate: Strong menthol, chicory coffee, dark chocolate covered espresso bean, and dandelion greens. Medical tape and gauze. Very woody, mouthfeel is tannic. A sulfur vibe I need to revisit once my sinuses are 100%
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – yup… sulfur. Ouch.
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