More rounded, with greater depth when compared to the 8 year old offering. Not as medicinal and less sweet, more toffee and less honey, with more dried spice interwoven throughout. The herbs are still there, along with licorice root. Dry, burning-ember finish. Nicely balanced, which makes it my favorite of the three.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

Deeper and darker when compared to its younger siblings, but with the same personality. Drier, especially on the finish, with added oak resin, espresso, leather, and tobacco. Bonus points for character.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

Good weight to this blend. Creamy and mouth-coating on the palate, with a nice malty, honey-tinged backbone. Bright fruitabounds, with golden raisin, lemon meringue, peach, and a hint of pineapple. Notes of creamy vanilla and gently nutty, through to its soft finish.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

Cooley distillery’s oldest grain whiskey to date, and marketed as a limited edition. Similar in personality to Greenore 8 year old -- rather light and gently sweet -- but deeper, more oily in texture, not as crisp, with enhanced spice notes. You’ll also find soft creamy vanilla, lemon meringue, cut hay, orange rock candy, teasingly subtle bitter chocolate, and a dry, spicy finish. Whether you like the 8 or 15 year old depends on mood and time of day. I find them equally pleasant in personality.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

Very mature for its age, and with great personality. It’s a fun, lively whisky, with tropical fruit (banana, peach, coconut), pineapple upside down cake, spring flowers, soft honeyed vanilla, fruit gumdrops, and chamomile tea. Clean, light, and slightly warming finish. Lovely now, but a whisky with great potential!  Price:31 (Sold in a three pack, consisting of new make spirit, 1 year old spirit, and 3 year old whisky: only in Belgium.)€31

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

A special batch of Stranahan’s, aged in Hungarian oak. The distillery is doing a lot of experimenting with aging their whiskey in different wine barrels. I really like how this one turned out. Nicely sweet, with honey-drenched fruit, golden raisin, cotton candy, caramel apple, Jordon almonds, and grape skins. Good grip -- and a little funky -- on the finish (nothing too assertive, though) which cuts through the sweetness. Not a polished whiskey, but certainly an adventure! (Available only at the distillery.)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

A whisky very typical of this distillery, which has been silent since 1998. Rich and thick on the nose and palate; oozing vanilla, ripe malt, cotton candy, powdered sugar, new-mown hay, and lemon tart. Cinnamon, evergreen, and a wisp of smoke round out the palate. An evolving whisky -- starts out heavy and sweet, then turns clingingly dry. A fun, rare whisky for a reasonable price.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

Great malt flavor for a blend; creamy with honeyed vanilla, soothing caramel, lively summer fruits, golden raisin, subtle date, and butter cookie. Well-balanced, very clean with no harshness, and very drinkable!

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

The nice thing about Islay whiskies is that they often show their true nature better at a younger age. Malty sweet and incredibly herbal (almost gin-like), with emerging tar, smoked seaweed, and olive. Medicinal in nature, with lingering tar and brine on the finish. Fairly straight-forward (what do you expect for 8 years old?) but a pretty decent showing for a whisky this young.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)

Thick on the nose and palate. Nutty toffee, chewy caramel, milk chocolate, and molasses are quickly superseded on the palate by fiery cinnamon, dried citrus, blackberry, cocoa powder, barrel char, and teasing brisk evergreen. Long, warm, spicy, very dry, assertive finish. I like the nose much better than the palate, as I feel the dry finish overstays its welcome. A big, bold, bully of a Birthday Bourbon.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2009)