Accomplished and unchallenging, smooth and creamy throughout and a nice addition of chocolate makes this one a real nice sipper. 83/100
Rebel 100 Bourbon
Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon
Lighter than I had hoped on the nose and palate but very pleasant, comes into it’s own later with some deeper and darker wood-derived flavours. 82/100
Kavalan ex-Bourbon Oak
Very polished and smooth, Highland toffee, buttery caramel and creamy vanilla, some fruit and woody notes make this one a very easy drinker. 85/100
Starward 3 Years Old Batch 1
Massively chewy and woody and with plenty of spices and tannins too. Combined with all the dried fruit this did have a Christmas pudding & mince pie feel to it, careful addition of water will probably get the best out of this one. 83/100
Starward Solera
Fruity and spiced, well balanced and with plenty of maltiness here too. Tasting blind/forgetting the heritage of this one I assumed some Australian Red wine casks had been at work here. 84/100
Heritage Corn Whisky
Quite light & vanillic a nice mixture of sweet and spiced from the grains without being overly oily/buttery. I’m relishing what this will be like with a little more time in the cask. 82/100
Yellow Spot 12 Years Old
Very much Pot still style, woody and spice driven familiar from unmalted barley. Plenty of yellow/stone fruits present in here despite the unusual cask combination used, I’d have expected something a little darker and drier like fruitcake, instead it is peached and cream. 84/100
Oxford Rye Whisky Batch 3
A much sweeter expression than the previous batches, highlights the more herbal, floral and spiced nature of the Rye grains used. A touch minty in places but really the Rye spice is highlighted in the finish.
Oxford Rye Whisky Batch 2
Quite fresh and minty, there is a definite red and black fruit nature contributed by the Port casks, this diminishes slightly the cereal nature I discovered in Batch 1 but reveals much more sweet fruit and butterscotch.
Teeling Stout Cask Finish
An unusual but very nice/enjoyable expression, this still has quite a lot of citrus aroma and flavour from the base whiskey blend but it is not sharp/acidic and compliments well the very creamy chocolate nature derived from the stout casks.
