Nose: Slight barnyard in a good way, wet hay, vanilla bean, banana peel.
Palate: I’ve never had this hard a time taking notes. Earl grey on milk, bergamot, overripe pineapple, wet hay and barnyard funk but subtle, cloves
Rating: 9 / 10 – benefits from a big sip and is amazingly well integrated. Passed the burp test. =p
Nose: Sandalwood, plastic, cinnamon buns, pool water, lavender, begonias.
Palate: Anise powerhouse, plastic, lavender, honeydew melon.
Rating: 5 / 10 – reminds me of a very floral st james. Interesting but not my jam.
Nose: I’m not sure I trust my nose right now. I’m getting some strange notes, but going to roll with it. Fresh shellfish. Muscles in particular. With the hint of salinity and sand. Unripe nectarines. Green table grapes. Black olives… the kind sojourn has at school most days with mild brine. Sweet and fruity then back to salty.
Palate: Definitely a strong salty taste. Not sure where the heck that could be coming from? But it’s nice and plays really well with the fruity sweetness. Reminds me of grilling red bell pepper and peaches on the bbq after doing ribs. The mouthfeel coats nicely. A bigger sips brings me into the herb patch, which isn’t usually my jam, but tonight it’s tickling my fancy.
Rating: 7 / 10 – This is really working for me but I’m not sure I trust my nose / palate. Wondering if I’m getting sick. Going to need to revisit. Revisited and man I really enjoy this. It’s unique. Still not positive I’d buy it often though, but I’d love to have a bottle for what it is.
Nose: Cinnamon smoke – like atomic fireballs, burnt ends, I would use this as a basis for an epic sweet smokey salsa to dip fried chicken, chipotle mayo, shrimp head reduction, bandaid
Palate: Way lest smokey than the nose suggests, fire roasted tomatillo salsa, roasted green bell pepper, pine needles, cider vinegar.
Rating: 7 / 10 – I can’t wait to buy this next week. Damn it’s lovely.
Nose: Pipe tobacco, coffee beans, big oak, raspberries, grapefruit peel
Palate: Dark chocolate covered raspberry, leather, nice mouthfeel, black tea with hints of cardamom. Great finish
Rating: 7 / 10 – long and nuanced palate. Super fun. First one of these recent releases that seem all marketing and no substance to deliver. About time.
Nose: Milk chocolate, oats, with a dash of cinnamon. A rich festive smoked horchata. There is a gofio factory a touch inland from daily surf break. Waiting for waves on my longboard while basing in the sun, the wind turns, and the whole lineup perks up. The smell of warm roasted oats and maize, almost coffee like, drifts by on the winds. You can’t help feeling like it’s breakfast time.
Palate: Delish. Potent smoke, but you gotta know that going into a Ledaig, followed by a wood 2×4. Not quite as dirty as some of its brethren. A hella good wallop. Like a straight edge kid from the 90s. Deeply roasted coffee with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and a shake of irish cream. Baking powder.. In the way that it shapes the flavor of a proper fluffy belgian waffle. With a spoonful of nutella.
Rating: 7 / 10 – Blind I could almost imagine this is a Killowen, which is a mutual complement. When I want a smokezilla with a clean foundation, this is going to be an easy choice.
Nose: Freshly baked banana bread, sweet plantains, subtle hints of peaches and apricots jam. Warm butter. A tannin vibe that makes my nose wrinkle.
Palate: This was definitely a dry sherry, on the red wine spectrum. I would have guessed a rioja cask. Drying on the palate with strong tannins. A good lick of oak. Sour red plums.
Rating: 3 (Ryan) 5 (Shane) / 10 – “this is awful” come on Cadenheads, you can do better than this. Ryan didn’t want to swallow, but he is a good boy. He’s overreacting but I’ll admit, this is only alright.
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: Snapple was a fucking revolution. Kiwi strawberry liquid crack. And somehow they convinced our high school that having juice vending machines was healthy, so while there wasn’t soda on campus, you could get as much peach iced tea or juice hybrids as you had quarters. The explosive spicy nose of ginger chews. I have a full on therapeutic reaction to that smell as someone who suffers motion sickness. Even the smell is enough to make me perk up and feel better. I had a friend mention cumin and he is soooo right. This has such a great lassi bent.
Palate: How do you get such subtlety at this potency? A gorgeous gorgeous palate. Mango sticky rice and coconut sorbet. Tart yogurt and cardamom. With a drizzle of honey on it.
Rating: 9 / 10 – This is stunning. jeeeez.
Nose: I’m getting to the point where I smell and instantly recognize the savanna DNA. And I’m incredibly partial to it, more than most people I meet. It’s like a pineapple and a strawberry had a love child and were rocking it in a cedar bassinet lined with a blanket doused in mint oils. The kids left a couple star fruits hiding behind the bananas I was letting go super ripe to make bread, and when I found them, all the starfruit sourness had a whole new layer of funk. Turned into fantastic lemonade, but I wouldn’t do it on purpose.
Palate: Kapoooow. So much rock n roll in such a tiny bottle. Julie used fruit chapstick for years. I still love strawberry kisses. Kids and I made strawberry ginger beer a couple years ago. Mash up ultra ripe strawberries, grip of sugar, with a nice layer of ginger & lemon. Let them sit for a week in a 2L soda bottle until it carbonated and the yeast went bonkers. It had that amazing funky spiciness. Under the fruit is a touch of salinity, maybe more towards brine? I really like picking radishes for tacos, or lime pickled red onions.
Rating: 7 / 10 – just delicious concentration of goodness. You gotta jive the esters to get to this train, but if you don’t mind the funk, it’s got a hint of the dirty side without grinding your face into the parking lot.
Nose: Dandelion, lime leaves, lychee, green apple jolly rancher
Palate: Green apple jolly rancher, on old stale juicy fruit gum, white pepper, wax paper
Rating: 5 / 10 – while the nose isn’t a stunner, it gets better as it rests. The palate is pleasant but mild. Cask strength even at 43.5%.
Nose: Werther’s originals, vanilla, golden raisins, twinkie.
Palate: Tastes like feet. Which probably leaves you with questions… best unanswered. Good god uncharted, what are you doing?!?
Rating: 4 (Ryan) 3 (Shane) / 10 – this sux
Nose: Bubble gum, dusting of cinnamon and indian spices, kombucha
Palate: Olives, those indian spices and cinnamon, sandalwood, root beer bottle caps.
Rating: ? / 10
Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.
