At a cask strength of 60% I'm surprised it doesn't eat through the cask. It's full of various highland and sherry flavors, but you have to add a bit of water to keep the burning down to a comfortable temperature so those flavors have a chance of reaching your tounge. It's pretty good, and a nice contrast to the peaty Islay scotches.

I basically don't care for tequilas at all...except for this one. My brother found out about it, so a bottle had to be bought and tried. It's good. It spends seven years "resting" in French oak casks. It can also be found in the form of a bottle of a dude resting under a sombrero at twice the price. We went in havzies on one of those bottles, but it turned out that it leaked from under the hat. It was returned.

No age statement...it's becoming naughty to do that. This is a release whose profits (which given the price may have been slightly considerable) were donated to the 2015 Nepal earthquake relief efforts. I'll open it up in a few years and see what relief efforts taste like.

No age statement. Probably could be characterized as being young. Pretty good mixture of flavors. A little water helps. Is not bad, but still, a little young-ish tasting...if I even know what I'm talking about. This is one of the cheaper versions of their stuff.

It's possible that it is a young whisky. The brew ages quicker in the casks when the temperature of the warehouse is higher, which is entirely possible in India (vs. Scotland). It may be the manufacturer just doesn't want to put "Aged 6 Years" on the bottle, because snobs won't buy a scotch/whisky that young. When it's gone I'll try a different version.

When you order stuff from the UK, like a bottle of the Amrut Everest, it's silly not to order a bottle or two more, because of the shipping costs, of course. Bought, but not tried.

Darn those shipping costs. Also bought, but not tried. 62.8%!?

Ralfy says it's good. I'll double check someday.

A couple of teaspoons of water really sets this off. It has a smooth, but spicy peaty flavor. I'd have to rate it above the stock 10 year old, but it's almost in a higher class.

If you are going to drink rum don't screw around. Be a man and drink RUM. At this octane it's best to just sip it or mix it with good ol' Coke (not Pepsi or Diet Coke, for God's sake). This is great to drink on day-of-year 151 (around the end of May). Everclear is not a good idea on day-of-year 190 or 200.

The 2003 version started this. Noticeably darker at 27 years. This is a second release. Bought, but not tried.

Bought, but not tried.

Bought, but not tried. Seems to be a trend here.

Bought, but not tried.

2002 is supposed to be good, so 2003 must be better. I'll find out some day if either one of them is any good.

New Year's Eve 2018: Ooooo. This is good! Very nice! Extra tasty.

September 2018: Bottle is almost gone. This has been REALLY good!

Based on the 2003 I picked up one of these. Not opened. Only 700ml. Poor Europeans. They get screwed at every turn. The only reason I bought it from London was because I could only get it for almost twice the price in the US. Poor Americans. They get screwed the other way at every turn.

Bought, but not tried.

Bought, but not tried.

Bought, but not tried. Got it on sale. At a grocery store called Bashas', in Sedona, Arizona. That seemed a little odd.

Bought, but not tried.

Bere barley...that's different. I'll check it out some day.

Not bad, but just started checking it out.

Oooo. Very nice. From Islay, but very different. A little Speysidey, but not really. With a bit of water it changes, not in a bad way, but I prefer it neat.

I didn't expect this to be bad and it wasn't. This was almost too complex to describe. While it says unpeated our panel of experts were sure they tasted peat. One 'I play a doctor in my mind' doctors in the crowd suggested that since it's Caol Ila you just expect it to be peaty and what we were tasting was psychosomatic phantom peat. It's quite good and almost nothing like the Caol Ila 12, which is also quite good.

We tried a bit more of this later the same weekend, and that time it did not seem to have a peaty taste. Very interesting. How do they do that??

Waiting. Waiting.

I must think this Caol Ila stuff is good or something. A label of few words. Not opened.

Not yet opened.

Billy Stitchell worked at Caol Ila for about 40 years and ended up the distillery manager. This bottling was in honor of his retirement. I'm assumming he was a good manager, that after that much time was able to get things running well, and that this is probably good. I'll find out someday.

I liked a sip of this so much I bought a bottle. It is really good if you like rum whose flavor has been messed with so much you can't even tell it's rum. Will figure out what to do with it -- other than just drink it -- some day.

OK, you don't always have to to be a man and drink a man's rum. Sometimes you can just be a pirate.

Nice and light. I call it "cute". I'd also call it a girl's scotch, but that would probably be wrong on a whole bunch of levels. I wouldn't mind a shot of this every so often, but I don't own any...

Later: Thanks to Santa in 2016, now I do! Very nice. I'll break it open some day.

Hmmm. It's not bad, but there's just not much to it. It's a little too light and airy. Maybe that's the point. Not a bit of peat if you don't like peat. Sort of a licorice flavor after some water and time.

Later: This might be kinda growing on me the more I pay attention to it.

Later later: I may have to get another bottle of this.

For Christmas 2019. Will try at some point.

This one came out of left corn field. On a trip through Le Claire, Iowa, my brother stopped at a distillery, tasted a shot of this, and bought a bottle. Several in attendance for the opening of the bottle didn't like it, but he and I thought it was good. It had a definite corn whiskey flavor to it. Iowa. That makes sense. A little water calmed it down and brought out a bit of sweetness after 10 or 15 minutes.

The Cody part has to do with Le Claire being the birthplace of William Fredrick "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Well...it's not bad. Kinda different. I've never been a real big fan of Crown Royal. Does it actually have the blessing of the Queen, or is this another made up thing like the Bulleit clan? This might be good used in a meat rub or marinade of some kind.

Loved the unfinished TV series (thank you very much, HBO) so this caught my eye in the store. It's the opposite of Al Swearengen. I'm not a real big fan of ryies, but this was very smooth and tasty. It's actually made in Indiana.

Unslurpped. Some day. Ralfy's Whisky Of 2020.

Nice. A lot like their White Label, but a little bit more. It's fine neat, but a little water helps to bring out more aroma and taste, also like the 12. I like these Dewar's beverages.

Nice. Sampled a fresh bottle from the early 2000's and after letting the alcohol burn off a bit it was quite spicy and very interesting.

So this was probably bottled in the 1980's. It had been opened in 2008, and was almost gone in 2018, but it was still pretty good. To over use an overused term it was smooth. Very good. It is still made, but not at 101 proof.

This is the newer version of the Eagle Rare 101 10 year old. It's only 40% and is distilled by the Buffalo Trace folks. It was a lot different than the older version, but by the end of the bottle it will probably be close to the same taste. I'll never know. Neither Eagle Rares were mine.

This was kind of surprising. I could have sworn Evan Williams was right up there with Boone's Farm in terms of drinkablity (at least a couple of decades ago), but this was actually quite good. Neat it almost has a scotch-like quality to it. With a little water it has a good bourbon-like flavor...which is handy since that's what it is. If you find it coming out tasting like gin -- with or without water -- I'd get a new bottle, or stop drinking for the night.

I like me a dram and an episode or two of Game Of Thrones like anyone else, so when these GoT themed bottlings came out in October of 2018 I completely dropped the bottle and failed to get the complete set. What an idiot. Managed to get a couple of the set of eight around Christmas and a couple others later. I ordered a complete set from Scotland, because I didn't think I was ever going to find any more of the bottles. They released the sets in Scotland in February 2019. Over the long winter I managed to scrape together TWO complete U.S. sets. So in the end I ended up with three complete sets and a few stragglers that could be drunk...someday. Haven't tried any of them yet.

Not tried yet.

Poor Eddard. Not tried yet.

Not tried yet.

January 2019: Not tried yet. The first of the 'catch up' bottles toward building a complete GoT set, since I was only able to find four of the eight versions in stores. I really need to go to the liquor store more often to make sure I don't miss things like this collection. The label (and the bottle) is actually very black. I hope it's not filled with water.

Not tried yet.

Not tried yet. February 2019: This was the last of the 'makeup scotches' to complete a set I should have gotten in October 2018. I actually ended up buying enough of these different GoT versions to have two U.S. sets to go with my one set from Scotland. I'll drink them or sell them or pass them on some day.

Not tried yet.

Johnnie Walker got into the Game Of Thrones act and came out with limited editions of their stuff. There were actually six or so different bottles with different character pictures on them, but I've only just seen this one. Will try it some day.

Late 2019: They came out with Game Of Thrones Ice & Fire limited editions. With the way Season 8 went and finished...I'll pass.

OK, I lied. A little shop I go to had one of this and the next bottle left. So, what is this and A Song Of Ice? Game Of Thrones has been over for a while now. I'll keep this and the other bottle with one of my GoT sets.

Bought, but not tried.

Rather Dignified, but not yet opened. Not chill-filtered. No coloring added. Nice!

Haven't opened it.

Mmmmm, according to some. Haven't opened it.

Say, this is pretty good. It was the 2013 edition. Had to look up Amontillado.

Bought, but not tried yet.

Bought, but not tried yet.

Bought, but not tried.

Bought, but not tried.

Never had any Glen Grant. I'll try it some day.

What is this? Ooooo. A gift. From the description it should be good. I'll open it up and try it someday.

Had a dram kindly provided by a relative. Was good. We couldn't quite figure out what it tasted like, but it was very aqua resistant. It was very non-complex, but plesantly consistant over time and added water.

Bought, but not opened. Instead I scarfed some of someone else's. It was good. No peat to speak of if you don't like peat. Light and tasty.

Tried this again from a kit of four Glenmorangies. Someone else's again. It would still be good even if I had to pay for it. It is a good starter whisky for the un-assimilated whisky drinkers.

A fine relative had a four-bottle kit of Glenmorangie expressions. This was one. It was good. Chocolate, cherries...lots of stuff. Just a little water needed.

Opened a fresh bottle of someone else's of this and it was quite nice. It plays a few wine notes as you sip it. Quite good.

Tried this same bottle a few months later. The bottle was getting low. A lot of the wine influence was gone, or it got dryer (in a wine-like way). It was still OK.

Been hearing a lot about Glen Scotia lately (2019). Will try this some day to see what the hubbub was about.

Picked this up while on a trip for New Years. Not bad. When I got home I was able to test this against a bottle of the 25 year old version that I had. Over about 30 minutes, tasting each every few minutes, the two changed quite a bit. The interesting thing was that they both tasted similar, but at different times. The 25 always tasted younger or sharper with a slightly sour tone, while the 30 was always a bit smoother. In the end I preferred this 30, but will still enjoy finishing off the 25.

Opened this and shared some with the neighbors. This is good. I've never thought of just sipping gin, but you can with this. You don't need to add water or anything. It's very light and piney. Someone said they had heard of a martini made with this, but using a cucumber slice with black pepper, instead of an olive. I'm not a martini fan, but might have to try at least one of those.

Ohhhh. This is really good. Kinda hard to find. It blows the regular single barrel out of the distillery. I hope it doesn't go down the same hill as the non-cask strength version.

Really good in a cough syrupy kinda way. They now have a spiced version that's pretty good too, but...umm...I don't have a picture of it. Don't remember how that happened.

Very good. Will have to have a shootout with the Black and determine my favorite.

Later: Done. This is better than the Black.

Christmas! I like it. Will try this some day.

Bought, but not sampled. I liked Taiwan when I was there, so it should be good, right? I'm not so sure about these 'bottled specially for...' versions, but what the heck.

Bought, but not sampled.

Bought, but not tried. Interesting story behind it all. What? I'm not your mother. Go look it up.

Got this at a 7-11 in Taiwan years ago. It's popular there and supposed to be good. Hope it hasn't become poisonous over the years in the fridge. I'm not sure if the 2007 is the born on date, or the don't drink after date. Wait...I was there in 2008, so...I guess it could still be either.

Bought, but not tried. Limited Edition. I should say so. It's only 750ml.

Bought, but not tried. It's a "Limited Edition", so it must be good, and it's cask strength, so even if it isn't you probably won't care.

After some testing I think I like this the best over Laphraoig and Ardbeg. Caol Ila was in there too, but it's just a whole different favorite. The Caol Ila is from Islay, but it's just not like the other three. The Lagavulin Distiller's Edition would beat this version out, but it's a little pricy for every day drinking.

I thought I was buying the bottled in 2014 edition to replace the bottled in 2013 version that I got to drink a little of then give away, but I bought two bottles of this and they were bottled in 2012. I guess that's a good thing. Maybe I'll try one some day.

Wow! Buy this. I like Lagavulin 16, but this is a whole other thing. I found that it really doesn't even need water. It's really smooth neat. If you do add water be careful. Its taste changes quite quickly. I like the neat flavor best.

I drank some of this then gave about half of it away. That was a dumb move. I couldn't find any more if it, so bought two 2014 editions...or so I thought (see above).

Apparently, Lagavulin's Distiller's Editions took a bit of a nosedive is quality in the mid-2010's. Someday I'll see if they got their act together in 2018.

Three total teaspoons of water for a dram of this would not be out of line. It changes a fair amount with each teaspoon. Try 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Not as much peatiness as you would expect. Very interesting if you have the time and setting to really slow down and taste it. Lot's of vanilla comes blasting through toward the end of the bottle.

Got this as a replacement for the 2014 batch 6. We'll see if it's good someday.

Bought, but not tried. Vanilla, seaweed and idodine. Three of my favorite flavors in one bottle!

Bought, but not tried. They are going to discontinue it, so I bought a bit in case it is good. I'll save it for a few years and see.

Bought this during my 'wine-finished scotches must be good' period and right before I discovered the opposite. Will try it some day. I do like port, so...

Bought, but not tried yet.

Had a dram of this at a bar in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona. It was good. I'd be more specific, but it may have been the second or third dram of stuff that evening.

Later: Have had in other drinking establishments. It's good and seems to be in a lot of places.

This is it. This is a re-creation of the scotch that was found in 2007 in two cases under the flooring of Ernest Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds, Antarctica. 25 cases of it was originally sent down for the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907. I bought two bottles, and will probably just keep them for a while. Unfortunately you can't get much of a nose through the bottle. If I'd only known about it when I was in his hut, and had a crowbar with me, I could have enjoyed the real thing right after getting out of prison. When you are in those huts (Scott's and Shackleton's) you treat it like you are in a church. With everything those guys went through I'm surprised there was any scotch left over.

Bought samples of this with the big bottles. It's good. Not really like anything else I've tasted so far. It's not light and fluffy, but it's not overpowering. It's just good. I may not have two unopened bottles for long.

Bought, but not tried. This is the second version of a re-creation of the scotch found beneath Shackleton's hut in Antarctica. This "Journey" version was commissioned for the expedition of men that will attempt to repeat Shackleton's crossing of the Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia in a 23 foot replica of Shackleton's lifeboat, the James Caird, and then hike across the interior mountains of South Georgia to a village on the other side of the island. This original trip became known as the Endurance Fiasco. The bottle is wrapped in straw as a packing material like the original bottles were, except now the straw is plastic. I grew up around farms and I don't remember seeing those kinds of bales at all.

I've been to Antarctica five times, and read over a dozen books about Antarctica, and I can just barely start to comprehend what all of those guys went through a hundred years ago during the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. That's what it's called, and that's what they were.

Sometimes guys just wanna have fun. You can mix this with just about any juice and make something that tastes good, and, I guess, you don't have to be a man or a pirate to do it.

Very strong (at ~56%). Add water about 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you find a taste you like. Every 1/2 teaspoon makes it taste like a different bottle of stuff. Very good, and very interesting.

Liking the Signatory bottling of Mortlach as much as I do I thought I'd get a bottle of the real stuff. The 2.81 doesn't mean February 1981. It has to do with the way it is distilled. It's not 'double distilled' and it's not 'triple distilled', but '2-81/100ths distilled'. Will see what it tastes like at some point.

Labels don't get much more straightforward than that. This is quite interesting. More testing is needed, but it is very good.

It took over two years to finish the bottle. It was still pretty good at the end. Will have to get a little more.

Very nice. Tasts like a nice Islay Scotch, but with just a little bit of fruit. Has a nice aroma. This was my first Japanese Whisky and it probably won't be my last. OK...you got me. It was the cheapest of the four Japanese whiskies in the store. But it's still real good. It's very...precise...in the way it tastes. I'll up the ante a bit for the next one and see what happens. I suspect it will be good too.

Later: Ummm...didn't like the next version up from this as much. This is still my favorite.

Ummm...QUITE good. Very nice. It's sweet, which is nice once in a while.

Not a clue, but it came with two glasses. I was running low on glasses.

Later: Little birdies say it's not bad.

A nice Italian "digestive" to enjoy after dinner -- when digestion is a popular activity. Had it quite often while I was working in Italy. A little bit of this, or a little bit of limoncello after the evening meal in Italy is standard...or grappa. Forgot about the grappa. Generally speaking everything in Italy tastes great.

Another gift! This is not like the others. It has been "approved" by several dead kings and queens of England. The taste strikes me as being more old-fashioned in a good way. It's like it doesn't try to be modern and flashy, but just a good, solid scotch. I like that. Very nice.

When you open a $300 bottle of anything you expect it to be good. Real good. Actually, if it's your money, you especially hope it doesn't taste like crap. This does not taste like crap. All of the writing on the label lists the different sherry, whisky and scotch ingredients that make up this beverage. The list is impressive -- with some of the items going back to the 1950's -- and so is the taste. It's almost a port/sherry flavored scotch. I'll have to save my pennies and get one of these.

My brother had this bottle. The relative that bought it for him will probably get crossed off of the list of lesser relatives.

Finished off this bottle around the end of 2014. It had been open for about a year. There were just a couple of drams left. It was OK, but not as good as it was when it was fresher. A lot of the wine influence was gone. Adding water made it spicier. Interesting.

Later: Oh dear. Me brother and I went in together and bought a bottle of this. Maybe we'll open it up around Christmas...some year.

2019: Still holding out...

Attended the 2nd annual New Mexico Whiskey Classic up near Santa Fe and came across this. The sample was good. Will see how a whole bottle goes down some day. Far better than the regular version.

Opened a bottle of this that my brother had and had a shootout between it and my Scapa 16. They are a good bit different from each other. This was good. It's not made anymore.

Nice, and available. The Scapa 14 that this was tested against is no longer made. Both Scapas were good. This one tasted more...modern...verses the 14. This had a bit of a more gasoline, petrol, benzine (whatever you call it where you live) aroma to it in the beginning, but that pretty much went away after the 4th or 5th pouring. That wasn't all in the same evening. Behave yourselves.

This is a cheap little blend that tastes nice with a splash of water when you are not in a Lagavulin/Laphroaig state of mind. Learned about it at a scotch "class" at Total Wine. Bought a bottle, had a little, then ended up giving the rest away. Not because it was bad, but because I'm not very smart.

Not objectionable. Just not sure about it yet.

Bought, but not tried yet.

Bought, but not tried yet.

Had a little dram of this care of a friend of a relative. I'd have to try a little more, but it seemed quite nice. It was very light and airy.

Nice. Aromatic. Really a lot to smell before getting around to the actual sipping.

Fruity. Spicy. Aromatic. Needs a teaspoon and a little of water. Worth the price.

Drank a bit of this when I lived in the Philippines. It gets the job done. I'll open this someday. This is even the Extra Smooth Quality version. The Not So Smooth Quality version is also good. This and San Miguel Beer... Better than a Corona Beer commercial.

Got this when I was in Italy...a long time ago. Does this stuff go bad? It's still nice and clear. Hasn't etched the bottle on the inside.

I like Christmas. Dear, sweet relatives give you things. Like this. Does getting presents like this mean you might have a drinking problem? Ehh. I don't care. This is really good neat or with a touch of water.

Bought, but not tried.

Bought, but not tried. This sherry finish stuff is getting popular.

Later: Bought a few of these various wine-finished things. Had trouble finishing the first one of them (Kilchoman in the "bad" section below). We'll see as time goes on.

2019-03: Ralfy said this was good. Will try it some day kinda soon.

2019-04: Ralfy was not wrong. Glad I got two bottles. Everyone liked it, and now I still have one for later!

Bought, but unopened. Bought this during my 'these wineafied whiskies are kinda good phase'. I'm not so hot on them anymore. I sorta like my scotch to taste like scotch and not wine.

Got this with the 14 and 15 year old versions for Christmas from a very kind relative. Will give them a try some day.

Will give this a try some day.

Will give this a try some day.

No clue. It's odd, but I've still not tasted any of the Glenfiddichs' or Glenlivets' out there. I think the label is supposed to be some kind of coded puzzle. Is that really necessary these days? Don't answer that.

Stopped by a Total Wine store. Had to buy SOMETHING! Have always liked the stock 12 that you find at the restaurants.

Good. With Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix, celary, salt, pepper, a bit of garlic, Tabasco sauce, lime and/or lemon, olives and some jalapeno chiles it's even better. Forgot about with orange juice. It's good with that too.

Waiting to be tried.

This came as a miniture bottle with the Tomatin Cask Strength. It was pretty good. I may have to get a large bottle and do more testing. Reminded me of the Samaroli Evolution 2013. We'll open our bottle of that someday and verify it.

Bought, but unopened.

Saw these near the checkout counter at Total Wine. Should be fun to try them some day.

Wait...what!? A French whisky? Given the French interest in spelling words with a bunch of letters that don't get pronounced I'd think it would have been 'whiskey', but whatever. It was a Christmas gift. I've been meaning to start trying a few cognacs, so this should be quite interesting.

I got into a bit of trouble with this elixer mixed with some lime juice (i.e. a Snake Bite) at one New Year's party a long long time ago...so I'm told. That doesn't stop it from still being yummy, and me having a snort of it every once-in-a-while.

Best stuff for use in a blizzard. I don't mean a drink called "Blizzard", I mean while sitting by a roaring fire during a real blizzard.

Very nice scotch. Just add a teaspoon of water and you are good to go. I like the A'Bunadh variety of Aberlour better.

This is what I would call a fairly substantial Islay scotch. Not an entirely overpowering scent and flavor of peat smoke, but close. A slight bit of water makes it quite good. Very nice, not real expensive, and widely available. You're probably not going to find it at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store or anything, but you get the idea.

While this is supposed to be "the best" I think I'm going to have to go with Lagavulin, instead.

Was my favorite until I happened across Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. I still try to keep a bottle on hand for lesser friends and relatives.

Tested this against the 10 year limited edition and it comes across sweeter and smoother than the 10, which, being wimpy, I kinda like better. I guess I'll still just have to drink them both.

By the way, anything you hear about the Bulleit brothers, and ol' grandad's secret recipie for making this stuff is all marketing baloney. You can't even trust Diageo?? Shocking.

This isn't bad. I've been slurping down the regular version of Bulleit Bourbon for some time. This doesn't seem quite as smooth, but I'll do my best to choke it down. I now have this and a bottle of the regular Bulleit. Let the testing begin.

Later: In a head-to-head with the regular Bulleit Bourbon this one was not as smooth. It's dryer (in a wine-like way) and not as friendly. But all of that is not a bad thing. The flavor is very close to that of the regular version, and that continues for the 30 minutes or so while I tasted both versions after adding a touch of water, but this one was just always a bit edgier. Maybe too much time in a fresh oak cask?

Oh, I hate to piss off a whole country of Irishmen like this, but I just didn't care for it. However, in my defense, you can see that I've managed to get the contents down to half a bottle. I won't say exactly what I used it for, but it was for a noble purpose -- in a janitorial sense anyway. Like the Jim Beam below there's just some aftertaste to it that I don't like. I'm not even sure what it is. I think I was even on a waiting list for a while to get this. "Matured In Three Woods", it says on the label. Next time I would consider using casks, instead of three different forests. Geeze. Now I've really pissed them off.

Later: You know what? Maybe this isn't so bad. In the end it started to come around and not taste funny...to me. Maybe the breathing helped. Not me. The whiskey.

Any limoncello is better that nothing after a nice Italian dinner, but this one isn't my favorite. It has some slightly soapy aftertaste to it. It seems to be some kind of combination of the lemon and the alcohol. It's also clear and rather thin. The ones I had in Italy were not clear and were thicker. I was fooled into buying it by the frosted glass bottle.

Bought this on a whim. There's not a whole lot of taste to it, but it's just a nice airy whiskey that happens to be named after a town in the state where I live. It's a little pricy for what you get, but so is Taos, New Mexico.

Found it at Walmart for $20. Hey! You never know. The plastic bottle is a nice touch. It brings peace of mind to the experience. You don't have to worry about getting drunk and dropping it.

Later: Tried it. Well.............................. If you add a bit of water I'm pretty sure it won't make it poisonous, or any more poisonous. The alcohol fumes are slightly antiseptic, instead of ethanolic. If it's made for splashing on ice it suceedes. An ice berg may work better than cubes.

September 2018: I've started seeing this a lot of places. Maybe it is getting better?

Some friends took a trip to Scotland and didn't take me...I mean they passed by this and a bunch of other distilleries. They found this bottle in Albuquerque. It was pretty good and I know people that know from where it came.

Tried this at a tasting. Nice and simple. A little water helps to bring out more aroma and taste. Probably would serve something better to William Wallace if he dropped by, but I'd have no problem bringing this to a nice picnic.

YUMMY! I kept seeing all of these cinnamon liquors around the stores and finally got to try this one at a relative's house. Nice fad. Though, at 33% it really shouldn't be called a whisky (that's 40% minimum). I'd probably never buy a whole bottle of it.

Not the best. Thought that it would be since it's single barrel, but it couldn't hold a candle to the Jack Daniel's Single Barrel that was tasted next.

Sampled this against the single barrel version of Evan Willimans. It's not bad, but the single barrel was more to my liking, and that's what it's all about.

This wasn't bad, but it was the least favorite of a four-bottle kit of Glenmorangie whiskies that were tried one evening. No, this wasn't the last one of the evening, either, so get your mind out of the cask.

In one of the interesting twists of beverage tasting you can see this bottle is empty. I had a little help from my relatives, because I couldn't stand it. Some of them loved it. I much prefer Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. This just tasted like paint thinner to me. With a little water it tasted like wet paint thinner. It wasn't my bottle.

No...the bottle was NOT full when we started the evening.

In the Grangestone tradition -- not bad, but sherryfied (not a big fan). It's not an overwhelming amount, though. Just got to drink a dram and not really test it carefully. Next time. These Grangestones really aren't too bad.

This was the last scotch of nine at a tasting I went to at a Total Wine store. Either I was drunk by the end, or I was relieved to be getting the taste of Smokey Joe's out of my mouth (it was offered at the same tasting), or it really wasn't too bad. After buying a bottle, and doing some further testing it turned out it was last one. Very nice.

In head-to-head tasting I think I like the Grangestone 30 better.

Was just a bit too fruity for my taste. Prunes, specfically, came to mind. Wasn't as bad as the Monarch Glen, though, which was at the same tasting.

I didn't know they could make bourbon in Utah. Not bad. A little sweet.

Nice. Not a lot of aroma, but a bit of a peat flavor and quite smooth with a dash of water. I wonder how the 25 year old version is? At about $500 a bottle I'll settle for the 12 year old and just imagine it being twice as good for quite some time.

$500 wouldn't be a bad thing, if it's good, but think of all the other things you could try for that much money.

As far as Highland whiskies go, though, I can't say this would be my favorite. It's not bad. It's just not a taste I prefer.

Not a lot of flavor to my pallet. Is there really such a thing as a 'boutique whiskey?' Kinda tasted like it was made with Hudson River water.

The bourbon casks mature while riding around on a boat for a few years. Why not? Tried batch, or "voyage" 17. it was a little sweet, but had an interesting briny note which you won't find in your usual bourbon. Makes sense.

The salty dog beyond the bottle was its owner.

The gold standard at this point in time (~2015). I used to think it was the regular Bulleit Bourbon until I tasted this. Have gone through a number of bottles. Every time I introduce friends to it they steal it.

After further review...the Evan Williams Single Barrel may be edging this one out. More side-by-side testing is needed.

2017: After a few different bottles bought by others over the last couple years the quality of this is going down. No question about it. It's much more harsh than it used to be. Very interesting.

I'd be OK with using this to clean someone else's carburetor parts, but not mine. I'd also be OK with never buying it again. There's just some aftertaste to it that I don't like. It's a shame. It's got its 'born on date' and everything.

Later: You know...after the 3rd or 4th chance this might not be so bad, but I don't think I'll buy anymore of it.

Very nice. Now I see why it's so popular. We tasted this and the Red Label at a tasting. I liked this better.

Later: I tried this against the Gold Label. The Gold won, but this is certainly fine if there is no Gold available.

Oh dear. This stuff is kinda good. I wonder if the regular, or reserve versions of JWG are as good? The Gold might just take the place of the Black if they are. I don't think they make this version anymore, but probably will in another hundred years.

Later: We didn't have any of this to compare with the regular Gold Label, but I think they were very close, if not the same. The Gold Label Reserve is very good.

It's OK, but I still prefer the Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Later: Yup. Had more of this and it just doesn't seem to have as much going on as the Black Label. This tastes more expensive and refined, I guess, but doesn't taste as much or as interesting.

It's OK, but I didn't think this was as good as the Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Didn't like this at all in the beginning. Now the bottle is down almost half way. Still not a big fan. I just don't think I'm liking these wineafied whiskies. If I were to pour a shot of scotch into a glass of wine it wouldn't taste good, so why should these? I'll keep at it.

After about 2/3rds of the bottle gone I don't think I'll be buying it again.

Finally got it all choked down after about 1-1/2 years. It was still alive and kicking at the end, but a little more kicking than alive. Good experience.

These Kirkland liquors keep popping up in 'top however many' lists. Other than the sherry flavor (not my favorite) it was pretty good. Had a nice range of flavors and didn't just evaporate into nothing.

Nice. Peaty and smooth, but I think the Lagavulin 16 is more my favorite.

Interesting. The smell of this is like hazelnut bubblegum, but the taste is just vodka. Might be nice in hot chocolate.

I have the recreations of the scotch they found under Sir Shackleton's hut. This doesn't taste like the samples that I bought. It seems OK, but will require a little more testing.

Later: With a drop or water it's not bad for a daily drinker, but I don't think I would buy another bottle of it. It was quite cheap, by the way.

An old standby. I've broken many a red wax seal and -- all of a sudden -- had people coming out of the woodwork with empty glasses. Some of them I didn't even know. A little water (like a teaspoon) changes this just like it does scotches, and smoothes it right out. I think I like the Jack Daniel's Single Barrel better, though.

A little added water changes any whisk(e)y, but be careful. If you add too much your glass of gold just comes out tasting like a wet dishrag, especially young ones bottled at 40%. Experiment!

Those neighbors come up with the darnedest things. This was imported from Portland, Oregon, and it's pretty good. It may be a little too sweet to drink by itself, but it certainly could be a good alternative to Coffee Mate.

Too pruney. And adding water didn't help. It only made MORE of it that had to be drunk.

I like the Taketsuru. I'm not sure I like this. It just didn't wow me the first time I tried it. I'll have to do more testing.

Later: Did the testing. It's good, but I just like the Taketsuru more.

Way too sweet for me.

This is not bad. It really is very smooth. We had the 'American Blended Whiskey' version and it was quite good. It was like Deadwood Whiskey, but with a bit more kick.

The jury is still out on this one. Some folks thought a gin and tonic made with this tasted like body order smells. There were hints of that. The black pepper notes were full-on whole notes. With a sizable slice of lime it wasn't too bad by the end of the glass.

No. Wait...no. It's a no-no. What is tequila supposed to taste like, anyway?? To me they really just taste like I'm chewing on a cactus. I just can't get into them. Maybe the shots just don't stay in your mouth long enough.

This was a gift from a co-worker that went to a project in Costa Rica. It wasn't bad straight or with a little Coca-Cola.

The hype was better. Didn't get a chance to really examine this the first time around, but in the 'just sitting around drinking and talking' mode it didn't make my socks come off. With everything I'd heard about it I expected more.

When you think Islay Scotch think peat smoke, oak casks, fruit flavors, and fresh clean water. When you think of this think of pine campfire ashes mixed with used dishwater. I found it to be dreadful. At least it's not chill-filtered. Tasted it at a Total Wine scotch tasting class. There were several tables of people there that voted this their favorite at the end of the evening. They weren't wearing straight jackets or anything. It must just be me. I like peaty whiskies, but not whiskies that try to be peaty.

Not the dreck that is Smokey Joe, but I'd just never buy it. Life's too short to buy something that tries to be smokey, instead of just ending up smokey as part of the normal processing. I'd call that a fake, and pandering just to sell stuff.

Well...it's not bad, but there's nothing really special about it. Cardhu-like but not as good.

Had a dram from another's fresh bottle. Not bad, but I'm still a little gun shy after the bottle of sherry casked Kilchoman. That stuff kinda gave me nightmares.

Strathisla whiskies have made up the larger percentage of Chivis Regal blends for 50 years. My brother found this bottle on one of his trips to foreign lands and we opened it up and tried a little. It's a little tricky to find over here. It was quite good. A little water brought out a tour de force of flavor that, while strong, was not overpowering. Very nice. Either I was a little wobbly when I took this picture, or my iPad was.

Later: Tried this same bottle a few months later. It was about 1/2 empty. It was still pretty tasty.

Nope. What is this stuff supposed to taste like? Three of us couldn't figure it out, and I've tried it again since, but it's just not what I was thinking it should be. It just never seemed to have a lot of real interesting flavors. There was a hint of something, probably rum, but just not enough of anything else to make it really good. Surprising. The Balvenie DoubleWood is great. Maybe I'll just add a little Bacardi 151 to it. Oh well.

By the end it was OK, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Lot's of nice smells, but the first fill bourbon cask seems to just over power everything. There was little of interest and adding water quickly drowned it.

Expanding the Japanese selections. Bought, opened, and...it's OK, but not great. As the bottle went down it got a bit more interesting, but was just nothing to write a web page about.

Tried a bit of this from a new bottle. The first pour had a bit of an isopropyl alcohol...ummm...tsunami for the first few minutes, but then settled down. Tastes very young. Needs water. I'll try to get the guy that bought this on to something more sensible like The Balvenie. Trader Joe, stick to selling other stuff.

Came across this at a bar in Flagstaff, Arizona called Altitudes. Never even heard of this scotch, but it turns out it has quite a history. Look for Haig. It's a very smooth and easy going blend, and you can buy it at the Cork And Barrel store in Flagstaff.

Had a chance to try this against the regular Cardhu. The Cardhu was tasty right out of the gate, but the Dimple took a while and some water. Once it did come out of it's shell it was OK, but I think the Cardhu would be a better choice.

Not terrible, but not a lot going on. Tried the BenDronach 8 after this. That was WAY more interesting. This is non-chill filtered and no coloring added. That's very Scotch-esque and refreshing!