TASTE: clean, dry, beautiful vanilla, oily, silky, milk chocolate, with dry aromatic wood, cinnamon, all-spice, a hint of moka coffee, roasted hazelnuts. The nose of a beautiful single malt and rum notes as well. Adding a drop of water releases its hazelnuts (Nutella like) notes. All that being said, it does have an alcoholic kick to it. NOSE: sweet, but not overly sweet, a little creamy and elegant caramel, brown sugar, bitter aromatic wood, candied fruit, vanilla, toffee, hints of milk chocolate, raisins. And, since I was a bourbon virgin (meaning that I'd tried only Jim Beam and Jack Daniel's before - which doesn't count), I went out and bought a bottle of this baby here. I decided to take a short break from sampling all those whiskies I picked up at the festival. Ah well, my basement, a garden rocking chair and a screen saver of the Avon gorge will have to do! Thoroughly enjoyable and the kind of bourbon I want to pour a large one of and take out on my imaginary porch and kick back in the recliner as I watch the sunset over the Mississippi. This never gets close and I would say it is a predominantly sweeter bourbon rather than dry or sour but the overall balance is what impresses most. I think I have a tipping point with the oak in bourbon where if it tastes or smells too much like a fresh cut plank in a carpenters shop or a bag of nuts, I'm out. I find it needs no water but over time it will shift about on you with creamier vanilla notes coming out more. The mouth feel is soft and rich and for a bourbon the subtlety of the alcoholic punch is again, impressive. There isn't much arrival or finish - this is basically one long development.

Along the way some clove and cardamom say hello and is that Cherry Coke? I actually timed how long it took and I reckon well over twenty seconds from the start of this development until the finish, which is a lingering of dry, sour wood but that fudge note has done its work and is going nowhere. This just keeps on going for a long time and slightly changes from sweet to more sour and dry. I'll qualify it as a kind of rum and raisin fudge note that starts to build and grow.

It's when I start to swallow or 'chew' this one that it purrs into life. It goes in quite unassuming and the sour cherries and a touch of oak start to come out but initially not much happens. The form of this whiskey is amazing, frankly.

There's a toffee, fudge caramel thing going on that is really appealing and dark sour cherries, some sweetened nuts (maybe walnut) but softly so and an ever present but nicely toasted oak. What gets me with this one though is just how mellow and integrated they are. A tad expensive but in quality terms it is certainly not trying to pull one over.Īll bourbons seem to carry notes of Turkish Delight or rose water, vanilla and a particular solvent/glue note and this is no different. I hear this is a fairly well priced and available bourbon in America - over here one major supermarket stocks it for around £36 and it's available on-line. I've picked this as a) it's open and will soon be gone and b) it's one of the best I've had so far. My first bourbon review so please go easy on me my American cousins! A real contender for top “daily dram” considering the price. It’s a well defined whiskey that knows what it wants to be. And though it is definitely not complex, it makes up for that by delivering the flavours it does have well. Its balance between sweet and dry is achieved with almost perfect execution. In conclusion I would have to say that this is a dram I will be seeking out again. Whilst bitter english tea lingers somewhere unseen.

Caramel, tobacco and sweet corn dominate. A certain dryness comes from an oaky barrel influence. Very sweet upfront which I identify as caramel with a suggestion of roast pine nuts, jasmine and a dash of fresh ginger. Finally a dry charred wood and dried tobacco balances all that sweetness. So let’s see how it fares.Ĭaramel and malt, very much like tea wafers (caramel and soft wafer). It’s not much more than my current favourite cheap shelf fillers - the likes of bowmore 12, aberlour 10 and old pultney 12. First thing to note is that this bottle is available almost everywhere and it comes at a very affordable price - currently £28 on amazon and at sainsburys.

Eagle rare