90 points
Doc Swinson’s Alter Ego Triple Cask Sherry and Cognac Finished, 47.9%
Soft and inviting, the nose pulls you in with vanilla pound cake, ripe strawberries covered in cream, and candied nuts. That sherry and cognac cask maturation shines through on the palate, as there’s a heavy hand of raisins, dates, bread pudding, chocolate-covered Bing cherries, and cherry cola. The finish is fizzy—that Coca-Cola packs a punch—and delicately creamy, and it lingers on for some time. (3,600 bottles)
Reviewed by: Julia Higgins (Summer 2022)
Somewhat aggressive on the nose at first, throwing off aromas of bitter citrus, dried strawberries, and a touch of old leather. The palate offers lemon, strawberry jam, and dark chocolate spiced with black pepper, while water brings out balanced sweetness and more jammy strawberry and raspberry notes, along with hints of vanilla cream and cinnamon spice. The finish is slightly taut, but offers hints of vanilla sweetness and spice. Well-textured and well-balanced overall.
This peated quarter-cask finished is loaded with notes of cut turf, asphalt, fresh banana, and leaf smoke, then building an impressive head of that smoke, adding savage spices, espresso, leather, dark chocolate, bacon fat, and a hint of cigar smoke. The palate blends citrus with lime, lemon, honeydew, banana chip, peppery spice, and creamy vanilla, with ashy smoke, caramel, malt, spiced chocolate, and a dry, mellow finish.
Branch Point’s Pot Still opens with layers of candied citrus and glazed nuts. Candied orange, pecans, and peanuts float atop sweet breakfast cereal. There’s a bakery quality here too, with powdered-sugar doughnuts and sweet glaze. The palate brings ripe and juicy citrus, with tangy orange and tangerine giving way to chocolate croissant and cinnamon candies. The finish fades rather quickly to subtle milk chocolate. (2,000 bottles)
From nose to finish, Architect delivers dessert in a glass. The nose opens with vanilla pirouettes, berries and cream, and peach melba, with toasted oak and cigar adding depth. The palate is more of the same, plus cherry pie a la mode, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and oaky spice. The sweet flavors and oak come together on the finish: The vanilla ice cream gets fried and the caramel becomes flan. (30,000 bottles)
A blend of whiskeys from Kentucky and Tennessee. Nuttiness pairs with jammy fruit on the nose in the form of peanut butter and jelly sandwich, blueberry pancake, and strawberry milkshake. The palate adds baking spice to the mix, with berries in syrup and cinnamon babka notes. Baking spice lingers on a satisfactory finish. Sweet and savory breakfast notes highlight a robust whiskey that is palatable neat and amenable to water. (42,000 bottles)
Though reticent at first, the nose opens up to honey, caramel, and some pleasant mustiness, followed by a late wave of sweet and savory spices. There’s an undercurrent of smoke, too, which transfers smoothly onto the palate, though it’s overpowered by just-burnt cinnamon sugar toast and slightly charred sugar cookie. Fig Newton and raisin are also here in spades, creating a dark, fruity experience. The finish is short and hot, and it delivers a smooth hit of menthol.
This delicious blended malt is composed of sourced whiskies blended and bottled in Reykjavik and cut with Icelandic water. The nose is distinctive, with aromas of toffee, malt, chocolate, dried vine fruit, toasted oak, roasted chestnuts, treacle, fig, leather, cinnamon sticks, and peppercorn. Flavors match the nose, with milk chocolate, Nutella, pain au chocolat, chewed leather, treacle loaf, licorice, and chocolate muffin, leading to a lengthy chocolaty finish.
This is named for Triticale, a hybrid grain of wheat and rye that’s used in Trit’s mash. On the nose, it is honeyed and citrus-forward, with lemon peel, orange slice candies, and honey on sourdough bread. On first sip, sweet and sour yeast flavors bring a pleasant mustiness, with some semi-sweet chocolate and light-roast coffee. The finish darkens, with richer high-cacao chocolate and nearly burnt bread. (3,500 bottles)
Heady rush of spice, banana chews, smoke, wheat biscuits, white chocolate, and spring florals on the nose, balanced with light creamy lemon mousse, vanilla, and a twist of lime. It’s rounded and fruity with apple, mandarin, vanilla, creamed coconut, and black pepper, tempered by green apple and ground almond. This bourbon-finished all-Island blend concludes with zesty lime, vanilla, and deep rolling smoke in the back of the throat.
Oak shavings, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, rough-chopped cilantro, chocolate sauce, well-toasted bread crust, and baked cookies on the nose of this aged grain from Port Dundas. This is a great find, with a delicious palate of chocolate praline, black fruits, milk chocolate desserts, nippy pepper and clove, roasted nut, and toasted oak, and it takes water surprisingly well. A flavorsome grain to sip in mellow times.
Origins celebrates Laws’s 10th anniversary and uses some of the distiller’s earliest whiskeys. The nose is generous, offering cherry candies, Coca-Cola, and a base of raisins, dates, and dried berries, balanced by cracked leather and peppercorn. Each sip brings cinnamon graham crackers and chocolate-covered cherries, with fennel singing a soft harmony. The finish is rich and woody, with chocolate and another crack of peppercorn. (804 bottles)
Hints of fragrant mountain pine, sweet lemon, vanilla cream, and spiced toasty oak on an exhilarating nose. Boldly inviting on the palate, with a mouth-coating mélange of vanilla, hints of cherry sorbet, candied raspberries, and coconut shavings, set against bitter chocolate and licorice, all spiced with jalapeño pepper. A finish perhaps not as bold as the palate, but offering tasty notes of coconut, red fruit, and spice. Elegant rusticity in this superbly balanced, individualistic dram. (600 bottles)
This Tennessee bourbon is a dessert treat, with raspberry tarts, cinnamon rolls, and vanilla frosting rising from the glass. There’s a sweet cereal aroma—think Fruity Pebbles—playing in the background, giving the nose some depth. The sip is weighty, with dried berries, dank grains, and thyme weaving in and out of vanilla and cinnamon. The moderately lengthy finish introduces more oak for a dry end to each sip. (24,000 bottles)
The nose on this mizunara oak-finished blended malt is delicate, with aromas of black currant, dried strawberry, cherry lips, and ground black pepper. The palate opens with milk chocolate, dried cranberry, strawberry, plum skin, and candied orange, shifting to a greater oak influence with clove, mint, eucalyptus, and oak spices. A wide range of flavor on offer makes this a sophisticated pour for the last dram of the night. (3,200 bottles for the U.S.)
Bimber combines the art of blending with further maturation in their single malt casks for this ongoing batched release. The nose has Kit Kat, maltiness, pecan pie, rich gingerbread, and baked apple, with the ginger complemented by roasted spices. The flavors of baked orange, ginger, pepper, red apple, and red chile build to a climax, ebbing away to a sweet finish of vanilla, apple peel, and residual spiciness. (1,344 bottles)
This collaboration with Women Who Whiskey celebrates the career of Chizuru Fukano. Refreshing fruity esters of peach, lemon, lime, taffy, marshmallow, and spring florals on the nose, plus light vanilla, fresh-brewed coffee, and a smudge of dry spice. Juicy apple and pear flavors, tart citrus, lime zest, sweet bubble gum, peppery and herbal notes, and finally, creamy vanilla followed by a mouth-wateringly juicy finish with further wood spices. (3,000 bottles)
The XO cognac cask finish imparts this marriage of single malts and grains with such moreish flavors that it’s hard to resist another sip. Lush candied orange scents with fresh peach, taffy, baked apricot, sultana, and heather honey, then a hint of sweet lemon and light spice. The flavors revolve around Life Savers, lime juice, orange, caramel, and vanilla, with chocolate, ground pepper, and ginger enduring into the dry finish.