A chameleon-like shifting from briney and smoky to soft and sweet to fruity and sour. While eclectic, I cannot call it disjointed. The transitions between personalities is seamless, and the experience whole. I’ve never had anything quite like Clynelish, and I think it’s an experience that any serious malt drinker should have.
This is dessert whisky, and no bones about it. While the GlenDronach house style (meaty/oily) is missing here, this is still one robust, flavor-filled escapade of a whisky. Sweet to the point of cloying, but excellently balanced by a grapey acidity and fruity complexity. Truly a pleasure, especially for a lover of dessert wines.
While it has the same mouth-filling unctuousness as Redbreast, the sherry notes seem to cover up the nutty/oily notes I associate with single pot still whiskey. There seems to be a lot of depth here, but it’s hidden by a layer of simplicity. One must really search for the complexity.
Unfortunately, Oak Cross just didn’t gel for me. The individual notes are interesting – truly the first time I’ve identified clove notes so clearly – but they do not combine harmoniously. While I would recommend anyone interested in the alchemy of wood and spirit give this dram a serious contemplation, I can’t suggest buying a bottle untasted.
Well, it’s quite good. It has the air of an excited young pupppy, full of life and excitement and bounding with energy. Unfortunately, young craft whiskey comes at a price. $63 for a 2 year-old bourbon? That’s the kind of price I might pay after touring the distillery and bringing home a souvenir bottle… but it’s unlikely to become a staple bourbon in my house with such a pricetag.
Bank Note blended scotch from the Morrison family is 1 liter of blended scotch for $20. That’s cheaper than… well, just about everything else. Given the current market conditions, at that price, it -should- taste like garbage. It doesn’t.
A blended scotch whisky will soon be launched after being successfully funded on crowdsourced startup birthplace Kickstarter…. At any rate, your money is better spent on a product from a passionate small-business venture like SIA than on yet another bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Go SIA!
Despite its faults this could easily serve as a “third round” scotch or sacrificial bottle for undiscerning visitors. I would say this particular bottle is worth exactly $26. Right on, Mr. Trader Joe.
This isn’t awful. It’s a simple, single-note dram with no complexity, but not as faulty as others at this price point. The black pepper on the nose is interesting, and the raw grain whiskey doesn’t announce itself on the tongue like other competitors do.
An interesting one. It has almost no presence in the nose, but shows really nice body on the tongue. It isn’t until the finish that the flavors really come to life. Seems odd to skip the smelling and tasting stages to get to the good stuff, but there it is.