Nose is mild, pleasant, sweet, with rock candy, cinnamon, and baked apple. Follow-through on the palate is almost exact: mild, pleasant, sweet, with rock candy, etc., plus a nice bit of extra alcohol heat and quiet oak shaping the finish. A mild-mannered bourbon, which I feel is like a mild-mannered rodeo bull; out of place. There's nothing wrong, but it's a bit too easy-drinking, too mild. Bulk up.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Spring 2016)

Oat, malt, rye, and wheat are the four organic grains (like you, I was instantly curious); nice amber color. Hot and sweet (with a hint of dill) on the nose, rafting in on a thick oak plank. Sweet grain, cut wood, and lingering heat make this good, but I'm looking for more complexity. There's no clear handle to this one, no “I'm bourbon,” or “I'm malt,” which is intriguing, but it's just...good, not inspiring. Odd complaint, but there you are.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Spring 2016)

100% pilsner malt fermented with Belgian ale yeast. Not unaged whiskey; a grain spirit meant to be drunk without aging. Sweet-tart, intense aroma of unripe cherries, plums, white pepper, and a bit of caramel. Smooth on the tongue with a roll of heat, grain comes forward and dominates the fruit, though it balances at the finish. Clean, even interesting. More poitin should be like this. (Pennsylvania and New Jersey only)

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Spring 2016)

Sadly, the final chapter in a series which deservedly acquired cult status because of the way it showed how well Bowmore behaved in close proximity to sherry casks. This was aged in oloroso and PX and has a thick, dark nose, all dried black fruits and saddlebags. The smoke is sotto voce. The savory nature continues on the palate. It needs water to bring out fresh fruits, and while there’s a bitterness on the end, that’s a minor cavil. £190

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2016)

This is a little darker in color than its younger counterpart (see below), although it is achieved without the complex recipe of different cask maturation that characterized the 2011 Special Releases bottling. Weetabix, hazelnut shells, and the aroma of warm pretzels from a street vendor waft out of the glass. It’s a soft, silky, wheat-flavored whisky that reaches into dark toffee and nutty territory. Imagine a molten toffee crisp, if you like. A nougat and walnut-whip finish. Distinctively different.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2016)

The mix of honey, citrus, fruit, and malt which sits at Balvenie’s core is beginning to deepen. The citrus fruits, for example, are becoming concentrated, the honey is set clover, the fruits moving into cooked apricot and banana. Rounded and thick in the mouth, where the honeyed aspects and fleshiness of the fruits take control, before a bloom of bridal bouquet. Tremendously complex, here’s Balvenie's flowering into mid-period maturity. The price is…scary! £700

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2016)

This NAS version is a little smokier than before, with ground pepper, toasted coriander and fennel seeds, and a dusting of nutmeg. The mouthfeel is light initially; early orange and lime flavors are extinguished quickly. Warm cocoa, malt, chocolate shavings, black cherry, raspberry bubblegum, and concentrated dark fruits complement restrained spices and faint smoke, followed by a hot, spicy cinnamon finish. It’s pretty decent, but the palate doesn’t quite match up to the promise of the nose. £37

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2016)

Certified organic, distilled from 100% rye. First whiff: like that smell when you tear apart anti-theft plastic packaging. Swirl and warm to get unseeded rye bread, old books, bitter grass. Palate is quite right: sweet grain and a bit of mint balanced by bitter rye oils and wood, slipping into a sweet but wood-framed finish. Pleasantly youthful whiskey in the mouth; nose is sharp still.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Spring 2016)

In the pantheon of rye whiskey, Breakout sits at a coveted 8 years old. The nose offers its age with a hint of oak over the delicate, savory herbal aromas that range from dill to oregano. There’s a slight vanilla note on the second whiff. The palate offers smoke, coffee, smoked paprika, vanilla wafers, and a hint of chocolate, followed by a medium-length finish, making me wish this was just 10 proof points higher. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Spring 2016)

Sweet candy nose and a sour rye palate. Tropical fruit and orange zest, with sweet golden sultanas, sour apricot strudel, and Jujubes on the nose follow through to the palate, where they are joined by oak caramel, vanilla, and dusty grain. Peppery spices linger throughout. Wraps up with clean grain, pepper, and sweetish fruits. (Canada only) $23 CAD

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Spring 2016)

This refill barrel is perhaps more suited to those well versed in drinking grains regularly. The nose is herbal, with tarragon, endive leaves, and artichoke hearts, though there is balance from oat biscuits and honey. The palate begins clean and pure, builds complexity with vegetal notes and honey sweetness before delivering flavors of dates, nougat, wheat crackers, and dry, toasted spices. The drying finish has Quaker oats and sizzling spices. An acquired taste, this one, but not without merit. (162 bottles) £87

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2016)

Bourbon and sherry cask maturation were used for this bottling, which marks a milestone for the Finnish distillers. This has a nose of fresh cut apple, scrunched orange peel, malt, lime zest, and digestive biscuits drizzled with sesame oil. Lemon sherbet, cremola foam, and custard Danish start in a sweet direction, though it speedily converges prismatically to a trio of flavors comprising spearmint gum, menthol, and clove. Water only enhances the menthol. A cool, minty finish with residual sweet juices.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2016)

The nose offers less rich, peachy fruit than the 12 year old. More perfumed, with toasted marshmallows. Silky and sweet on the palate, with tinned pears and pineapple, plus developing toffee and oak. The finish is quite long, with persistent ginger, drying slightly. £77

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2016)

Matured in a mixture of bourbon, refill, and recharred casks. Ripe peaches, malt, and vanilla on the nose, with a hint of linseed oil. Oily on the palate, with more peaches, plus quite dark spices, backed by creamy vanilla. Medium in length, spicy, with emerging dry oak notes. £36

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2016)

It’s been four years since Diageo last released an official single grain whisky from this Glasgow distillery. This will kick off your evening with its aromas of golden syrup flapjacks, light vanilla sponge fingers, and waxy linseeds. The American oak notes are all over this: vanilla, sweet granola, and pecan, yet there is a squeeze of lemon and a square of milk chocolate too. The creamy finish has real length and makes this a most accessible grain whisky.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Spring 2016)

Sourced bourbon at 3 to 10 years old was dumped and finished in Napa Valley wine barrels. The nose is mostly bourbon—corn, warm meadow, hard candy—with a floater of wine wood; I'm guessing white wine. The flavor is quite woody, but not old wood; fresher, and a bit astringent, overshadowing the whiskey. Not sure the finish does it a favor. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Spring 2016)

Made by ex-Dickel distiller John Lunn at the brand's new distillery, a new bottling, new name. “Distilled from grain and sugar.” Smells like clean white dog: warm, ripe melon, alcohol heat, grain. Smoothly drinkable, not hot or astringent. Simple, sweet: melon, cooked grain. Sweeter than vodka, and a bit more flavorful, but otherwise pretty similar. I still don't get the attraction.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Spring 2016)

The new packaging of Old Grand-Dad doesn’t say bottled in bond, but only “bonded.” At first look, the impression is not good. The straw color makes me think it’s young. Then grains burst out of the glass with a hint of mint. Is this repackaged young whiskey? Then, to my surprise, an explosion. Baking spices, freshly baked bread, and cinnamon roll bring this whiskey home. I’d love to taste it after a few more years in the barrel, but it’s mighty tasty as it is now.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Spring 2016)