97 Ultimate Spirits Challenge - Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2012

Chairman's Trophy Winner. The aromatics are incredibly complex and intense while being harmonious and gentle. Scents of grass, smoldering embers, bacon, nutmeg, and dried fruits. The palate offers a lovely, silky texture with incredible length and a pleasing viscosity and a deft touch of wood. A beautiful world-class malt.

91 Tastings.com (Beverage Testing Institute)

Deep amber color. Bold aromas of roasted pecans and almonds, sea salt, cedar, leather and incense with a silky, dryish medium body and a long, dried apricot, spice, melted chocolate, and mineral finish. A rich and delicious, nicely sherried single malt. International Review of Spirits Award: Gold Medal

92 Wine Enthusiast

Though this new offering meets the technical criteria for rye (a mash bill of at least 51% rye), the sweet, caramelly flavors suggest a high-rye Bourbon—which makes sense considering that Knob Creek is best known for its Bourbon. Expect bold almond, oak, brown butter and pecan pie flavors. The drying baking-spice finish is more characteristic of rye, and has less bite than might be expected of a 100-proof spirit. — (9/1/2013) —

92 The Whisky Advocate

Creamy and rich on the nose, with vanilla bean, tiramisu, and milk chocolate, melding with orange peel, lemon, and fresh rye notes. Deep red fruit and lots of spice on the palate, with chocolate and pepper, then softening into milk chocolate, plum tart, and caramel apples. Rich fruit notes, baked fruit tart, coffee, chocolate, and spice on the finish. Balanced fruit cup sweetness, spice, and chocolate overall.

92 The Whisky Advocate

Nikka’s signature bottling honors founder Masataka Taketsuru, who brought his whisky making skills back from Scotland to Japan in 1920. Taketsuru’s successors have reformulated this blended malt, which fully complies with the latest definitions of Japanese whisky. The aromas create an oasis of calm with layers of gentle wood spices, smoke, vanilla pod, and lemon biscuits, while the palate carries a distinctive waxy sappiness that revels in luscious flavors of star fruit, lemon, Asian pear, peach syrup, and aromatic spice. Number 15 in the 2021 Top 20

92 Tastings.com (Beverage Testing Institute)

Clear. Aromas of pepper cracker, citrus buttercream frosted cake, and juniper blossoms with a satiny dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body and an oily, warming, melange of fresh herbs, spices, citrus and wet stones on the long finish. Very vibrantly flavorful and artfully composed. International Review of Spirits Award: Gold Medal

96 Wine Enthusiast

Complex and nuanced, this shochu opens with mild white floral and violet aromas. The palate is light, with fleeting mocha and pecan pie sweetness, finishing earthy, with a gentle floral exhale. Consider for a martini variation. Distilled from sweet potatoes and rice (white koji, hence the name). KARA NEWMAN

92 The Whisky Advocate

Scotland has hundreds of islands, many of them familiar to scotch lovers, but the one known as Arran has flown beneath the radar. This sleeper single malt has a sublime aroma of bread dough that barely hints at the lively flavors that await in the glass, which include freshly shelled almonds, sweet berries, and clover honey, plus a toasty finish with a lovely (if not overly long) chocolate note. A balanced, elegant, and flavorful whisky that’s lively on the palate, and a true bargain at only $50. Number 13 in the 2021 Top 20