Corsair Triple Smoke Single Barrel

It definitely smells smoky and woody. However, it's surprisingly mellow. There's a lot of smoke, but not a huge amount of peat. Spice is present but not overly harsh. It has a lot of toffee sweetness and ample sweet cherry and vanilla. Floral notes are there, but they aren't excessively mineral. Towards the finish, it transitions to leather. The delightful flavors are mouthwatering. It's surprisingly balanced and sweet. The minerals are present but appropriately balanced by the spice. There's some cocoa richness mixed with the smoke in the background. Ultimately, the flavor is weak and the complexity is a bit lacking, but this is damn good whiskey. I appreciate the richness. It's a fantastic hedonistic sipper that doesn't demand much to be enjoyed. It could be better with more robustness and complexity, but it's great as is. More complexity could make it excellent, but as it stands, it's not engaging enough for more than a couple of drinks. Some added robustness could raise it a point, but added complexity could easily raise it two. I love how well Corsair executes its flavors, and although none of these flavors are breathtaking, the least appealing is good and the best is roughly great. Balancing the strong spice with some richer complementary flavors would greatly enhance this whiskey. It's excellent value for an American Single Malt.

Having tasted the original non-cask strength version, this is a much more refined and balanced dram. The nose has notes of cherrywood-smoked bacon, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, orange candy, and a lot of smoke. The whiskey is smoked with three parts cherrywood, beechwood, and peat, and the palate shifts between each of these in order, finally settling on a non-medicinal peat note with a mesquite barbecue flavor at the end. Despite the peat, it drinks more like a German rauchbier than an Islay scotch (it's actually from a craft distillery with locations in Bowling Green and Nashville). It's certainly an improvement over the original (which I still liked), as I found that one had a bit of chalkiness that distracted enough to prevent it from achieving its full potential. This version has no such flaws.

Tastes like a lightly smoked bourbon. Very sweet with a subtle woodsmoke on the finish; water reveals oak and cherry candy.

It's like a campfire in your mouth, packed with caramel and cherry! Fantastic

Nice smoke with a touch of peat and pepper. Pairs well with a cigar.

Spicy, faint smoke, the finish vanishes instantly