As The Spirit Moves Me

Nose: Malt, pine tar, vanilla, spiced apples, dry wood smoke, lemon pith. Weirdly reminds me of lemon filled jelly donuts. Palate: Lemon meringue pie, bright clean wood smoke, parker house rolls, vanilla, coconut, custard. Finish: Vanilla, black pepper, smoke, lemon, slate. Final thoughts: Very nice. Balanced, delicious, bright and sprightly. Not much of an after dinner dram, honestly. It's bright and exciting. Would I buy this: I would, as long as it wasn't too dear. Would I order this in a bar: It would be a fantastic aperitif! Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Definitely. Verdict: Thumbs up!

  The last of the 'Lost reviews' where I can't find the picture from the day I noted down the review. Nose: Green apple, raw malt, brown sugar, buttered biscuit, honey, cream, lavender, a hint of grassy smoke like a far off prairie fire.  Palate: Flamed orange peel, buttered toast with honey, burnt almonds.  Finish: Pepper, cardamom, oak, bitter orange, burnt flowers.  Final Thoughts: I still feel HP12 is the perfect starter single malt Scotch for anyone to try. There's enough going on it's not boring, but not so much it's overwhelming. There's peat, but not smack you in the face peat. There's a little of everything, and while it's not a stand out, it's nice and solid. Would I buy this: I would! I like HP. If you can't tell by my hat. Would I order this in a bar: It's a solid go-to if the bar doesn't have anything I would prefer. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Why not? Cheers! Verdict: Thumbs up.

  First, apologies for the terrible picture. I guess I was just overwhelmed by how amazing this was? Nose: Roasted nuts, marzipan, peanuts, red plums, dark chocolate, leather. Just a hint of something like old mint. Palate: Caramel, black pepper, sour cherry, cacao nibs, dark chocolate. Currants, sultanas, ginger and figs. Toffee, clotted cream. Finish: Really long. Spicy pepper, then sweet. Caramel, burnt sugar, chocolate covered cherries, a hint of oak. Fading into pipe tobacco and leather. Good lord, this is a delicious whisky. Would I buy this: Yes. Under $200 USD, yes. Would I order this in a bar:  Absolutely. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Thank you, may I have another if it's not too dear? Verdict: Delicious. Big thumbs up.

  Blind again, from Santa Pent0x. Nose: Banana. Bubblegum. Warm yeast. A little Clove. This screams young to me.  Palate: Wow, that's thin and very soft. Sweet, a little malty. Hints of banana, and some malty breadiness. Astringent wood, and cotton candy. A little tropical fruit for a moment.  Finish: Fruit cocktail and hints of cinnamon. Sweet but somehow not, like the tannic nature is just in balance.  There's not a ton going on here. This is malt to me, there's too many malt notes for it to be rum. And it comes across with a lot of bright uncharted new oak flavours. It also screams youth, and the body is very strange.  My guess: 40% ish, American craft malt aged in virgin oak (French?) and then finished in rum casks for half a year, maybe? Young, 4 to 6 years. Would I buy this: That's a no. Would I order this in a bar: Also nope. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Maybe? Do I like them? honestly it's not that bad, but I don't really care for it. V...

  Nose - Sour cherries, raspberries, almonds, slightly metallic, figs, Virginia pipe tobacco Palate - Raisin, toffee, honey, sage, almond, nougat, nutmeg, bitter lemon,  Finish - Black pepper, honey, sharp and a bit thin.  It seems a bit hot and brash for what it is, even with a bit of water. There's a lot going on that just doesn't quite gel. Would I buy this: If it were under 60 a bottle, and I doubt it was even then, maybe. Would I order this in a bar: Probably not. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: I would! It's not a bad scotch. It's just not my jam.  Final notes: For me the K&L exclusives are very hit or miss. They're always super interesting and tend to have a lot going on, they're just not always to my taste. Such is the case here. Verdict: Thumbs Down. Not for me.

This was a collaboration between Old Sugar Distillery and Capital Brewery and Bier Garten in Middleton, WI. They used the same mash bill as their Schwarzbier, called Fishin' in the Dark. Nose: Vanilla, sour wood, under ripe pear, musty, sour cherries. Tiny touches of something smoky, and a little floral. Palate: Thin, lightly sweet. Apples, plums, a moment of wildflower honey spread on malted toast. Finish: Honey and a little sour. The honey is gone in moments, the touch of tannic sourness remains. Verdict: Overall, not great. I've sure had worse, but this is thin and lightly sweet and not much else. There's a tiny moment in the nose that hints at the black malt, otherwise I'm not getting it. Would I buy this: I would not. Would I order this in a bar: Negative. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Yes. But I'd take my time at it. It's not great, but it's not the worst thing. Rating: ★

Nose: Candied orange peel, sultanas, plums, cocoa, figs. Palate: Raw barley, plum, citron, sloes, allspice. A hint of chocolate. Finish: Long. Baking spices, milk chocolate, oak. Verdict: Not quite as complex as the 18 Allardice, but still damned good. I'd love a bottle of this. Quite nice. Would I buy this: I would! I wonder if the newer releases are this good. Would I order this in a bar: Definitely, if I wanted a nice sherried dram. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Please, and thank you! Rating: ★★★★

Nose: Figs and dates. Bovril. Hazelnuts. Cocoa. Light molasses. Palate: Christmas cake. Rum. Milk chocolate. Allspice. Finish: Medium in length. Blackcurrants. Clotted Cream. Resinous wood. Black tea. Cocoa powder. Verdict: Pretty complex. All the sherry notes are there, but it's balanced by wood and the malt as well. A fantastic dram. I wish it had just a little something more going on. Would I buy this: I would! I wish it were a bit cheaper here in the US, though. Would I order this in a bar: Definitely, if I wanted a nice sherried dram. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Please, and thank you! Rating: ★★★★

Nose : Light grain, butter, toffee, brown sugar, a bit of oak. Palate : Toasted Barley, brown bread, floral honey, a touch of salt. Hints of dry mineral earth, black pepper, orange peel, and the lightest kiss of something smoky. Finish : Medium long. White pepper and fresh cut hay. Verdict : I've had Ledaig before, but realized I'd never had Tobermory, the same distillery's unpeated whisky. Thankfully a friend gave me a mini for Christmas this year, so I made it my Christmas night dram! How tasty! Lots of little subtle notes, they all come together in harmony. I like this, quite a bit. Would I buy this: I would! There's a lot of nice things going on here. None of them crank the volume up, but they're balanced in a great way. Would I order this in a bar: Definitely. If I wanted a nicely balanced dram at the bar I could see myself going for this. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Absolutely. Rating : ★★★★

Nose: Far off wood smoke. Faint seaweed. Dried cereal grains. Grainy sweetness predominates. Palate: Very malt forward. Lots of grains, a little citrus. Touches of smoke. A bit of salt and tar. Finish: Middling length. Malty and fruity, with some light spiciness. A graininess runs along as a backbone to the whole thing. Verdict: I like Oban 14. The malt shows through well, it's got some complexity, but not as much as I'd like. It's easy to drink, I just feel that the amount they charge for it is too much. A scotch at this price should have more going on. Would I buy this: No, not unless it was on sale. Would I order this in a bar: Maybe? If they have Talisker 10 available, that's a negative. And they likely do. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: I would! There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's a nice dram. Rating: ★★★

Nose: Old apples, yesterday's oatmeal, orange peel, oxidized sherry. Palate: Sherry, raisins, old fruitcake, allspice, sweetness. Finish: Glace fruit, mace, raisins, oak. Verdict: As I recall from past experience in bars, this dram always seemed like it was slightly off. This tasting bears that out. All the flavors are slightly oxidized seeming, and not just because this is from a sample bottle. I don't know if it's part of their 'solera' process, but it's simply not great. The sherry is quite forward, the malt seems tired and in the background. When the spice comes out to play it almost roars over everything, but only for a second, and then it's gone. Would I buy this: No. Would I order this in a bar: Not really. They'd have to have a fairly abysmal selection. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: I would, but just to be polite. iI's not terrible. But it's not great either. Rating: ★★

Nose : Smoke, seaweed, caramel, iodine, oily roasted nuts, old fermenting fruit, cocoa,  taffy. Palate : Malt, smoke, toffee, dirty ash, peat, seaweed, custard, butterscotch, lemon curd. Finish : Yesterday's fire, allspice, lingering caramel, bready malt, grilled plums. Verdict : Just plain fantastic. Seriously the best Cairdeas I've had. The balance is superb, the smoke and sweetness and complexity are all so nicely put together. The proof is perfect. I have one more bottle of this, and it's staying on the shelf for a bit. Delicious. Would I buy this: Yes. Would I order this in a bar: Absolutely, yes. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Yes, yes, yes! Rating: ★★★★★

And we're back to the present day. It's Christmas time, I'm on vacation, and I'm about to make sourdough bread. I think I'll start the day with a dram (and after taking notes for this review, that Millionaire Shortbread I made.) Nose : Apple, pear, honey, light toasted grains, poached plums, nutmeg, almonds. Palate : Nutmeg, red wine, toffee, caramel, toasted oats. Finish : Short. Orchard fruits, vanilla, light caramel, and something just slightly bitter. Verdict : I'll always have a love for Black Bush. It reminds me of my dad. He drank Bushmills when he could afford it when I was growing up. We drank it at his wake and his funeral. It's a pleasant whiskey, a fair step up from the base blended 80% grain/20% malt white label Bushmills, as Black Bush is 80% malt/20% grain. That said, it's a simple Irish whiskey, even with the sherry aging the malt in this goes through. It's bottled at too low proof, and the triple distilling makes it in...

Another from the vaults of lost history! Here I bring you a Kilchoman 1st edition 100% Islay review. Bottled at 50%. Man, I didn't even let the bubbles settle before I pulled out the camera. Nose : Bright clean ash, light smoke, lemon, nectarines, fresh milled pale malt, new straw, vanilla. Palate : Light peat smoke, vanilla, fresh baked shortbread, nutmeg, butterscotch, clover honey. Finish : Sweet wood smoke, vanilla, oak, brown sugar, nutmeg. Verdict : Wow, this was something! Delicious and balanced between the heavy smoke of Islay and clean floral and malt notes, with a good sweet backbone. I like this very much. I need to get my hands on more Kilchoman samples. Would I buy this: I would! I may seek out this year's 100% Islay bottling. Would I order this in a bar: Absolutely. Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: For certain, yes, and thank you! Rating : ★★★★