Aerstone Sea Cask 10 Year

Review #008 Type: single malt scotch Proof: 40% Comments: aged 10 years, cask types not defined Tasted after: first up Appearance (no score): Tawny color. Swirling reveals a thick line sticking to the side of the glass, it starts to bead up quickly but legs are slow to form. Nose: 16/20 Very sweet, honey, vanilla, and fresh flowers. Palate: 31/40 Honey, not necessarily walnut but definitely the bitter taste that a walnut leaves in your mouth, crisp unripe pear, not very complex. Finish: 24/40 Short, mostly briny and dark chocolate, maybe a little caramel too but you’ve gotta really look for it. With Water: A drop of water goes a long way here, it helps to enhance the honey and fruit, also slightly increases the saltiness of the finish by just the right amount. Total: 71/100 Final thoughts: Rolled the dice on this bottle, for the price it seemed worth the risk, and while it’s very easy to drink and I don’t regret buying it, it’s also unfortunately unremarkable. It’s not a bottle I frequently reach for myself, but I do find myself regularly serving it to friends who are trying to get their feet wet with whisky, and their feedback has always nearly always been positive. Price: $30 Would recommend: maybe Would buy: maybe Scoring Legend: 96-100: The perfect dram, absolutely exceptional, nectar of the gods, I will savor this bottle and make it last, 5 stars. 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, very enjoyable to drink, but doesn’t wow me, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again, 4 stars. 70-74: A solid dram, but wouldn't go out of my way to get it, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or direct contribution to the kitchen sink drain, 2.5 stars or less.

Nose: Softly malty, shortbread, light fruity aromas, a slightly tingly sweetness like pineapple. Maybe a touch of brine but I did not detect much of a “sea” influence at all. It’s certainly not what I would call “briny” - in fact it’s more “earthy”. It’s an honest, light and well-balanced nose. Palate: Light, sweet malt right from the first drops. Soft and honeyish (but not syrupy) with a creamy texture. The fruity notes from the nose are detected again and there is just a soupçon of brine in the palate (but blink and you will miss it). A hint of pepper flits about the proceedings. Finish: Short. Rather nondescript, really – the palate just fades out, but there is nothing unpleasant. Oh! right at the very end – there’s the brine. Pleasant, clean, straightforward and enjoyable. A decent everyday malt with an age statement and a fair price. This is positioned in competition against blended scotches, and it succeeds in that role. The texture is a little thin but there is really nothing to criticize here. Good session drinking, a good mixer, easy on the pocket and recommended at the price. I was introduced to the Aerstone Land Cask (the peaty version of this) a while ago by a friend who said it was better than the Sea Cask, but having now tasted both I beg to differ. They are absolutely equivalent IMHO, differing only in the presence of smoke in the other expression. The official rating is a bit on the optimistic side, IMHO. Tasted at the Sydney Whisky Show, 15th May 2021 (my whiskey tasting #6) “Average” : 75/100 (2.5 stars)

Rating: 14/23 - Nose - Oily, worty grain. A bit of alcohol bite. Gradually, that scotch heather scent builds and becomes dominant. It's not the most decadent nose or anything, but it has a nice, typical scotch aroma. - Palate - Worty grain brings in a bit of savoriness, but not meatiness or sulphur. There's lemon zest and white pepper. A bit oily in a way that give it some mouthfeel. Between the light oiliness and peppery spice, I might have guessed that this was 43% ABV rather than 40%, though it does have some of that typical 40% ABV grainy bitterness. Coming back to this after several minutes, I'm getting some dutch apple pie! - Finish - Lingering worty grains and heather. Maybe a some oil and just maybe a faint flavor of apple pie filling. Not a whole lot more going on here. - Conclusion - This is a nice low-end scotch. There's nothing that impressive here (well, maybe that dutch apple pie flavor), but it's well constructed and easy to sip. I've certainly had plenty of older single malts that were less interesting and tasty. As for the score, I'm thinking that this is easily a 12, but not more than a 15. I'm probably going with a 14.

Faded orange color. Shows a little leg, but still every bit the classy lady. Sticks to the inside of the glass. The nose is butterscotch, butter and coffee creamer: very creamy and soft. Touch of vanilla. Honeysuckle, lemongrass and salt. Toffee and barley cereal grains; very malt forward. The first sip is a dollop of liquid coffee creamer, with a squirt of lemon drop. The sweetness of honey and lemongrass. More of that grainy barley. The finish is tannic and a little metallic. Lavender perfume and flowers. Minerals and rocks salt. It isn't a complex Scotch, but it's quite pleasant and very reasonably-priced.

This was a pleasant surprise in that I paid $29.00! Some sight go as high as $169! There isn’t much of a nose at first and I was disappointed after first sip this was more like a bourbon. However, after a few sips the complexities shown the be much finer than any bourbon! There is an earthy quality, slight hint of moss or fresh cut grass and spring mud that instantly gets replaced with caramel, slight oak, sea air, citrus and ever so faint anise! A bit of warmth for only 80 prf. Mild after-taste and gets better and with each sip! This is honestly a hidden gem and comparable to any $100 bottle out there!

Solid for the price point! Aged 10years, single malt, crafted by Brian Kinsman himself, you cant go wrong if you looking for somthing good on a budget. I was fortunate to buy this along side the land cask and recommend to do so the same if you can. At first salty and briny but after letting this sit for about 10 min the sweet honey and vanilla notes stand out. Easy daily sipper. Get this over a budget blend.