Bastille 1789 Blended French Whisky 1lt Bottle

An initial sniff carries a wave of what generally smells like a finely spiced citrus tart, with an undercurrent of sweet, slightly tangy orange overlaid with notes of cloves, cinnamon and a touch of ginger and lilac. Sniffing a little longer yields a more earthy combination of vanilla, clove, pepper and oak.

The first sip settles on the tongue like intensely sweet, yet smoky vanilla syrup. Within those basic flavors, notes of ground pepper and clove steer the combination in an earthier direction, while hints of sweet apple and pear balance things the other way. The spiciness grows a bit, but overall the sweet and earthy flavors maintain a relative balance until swallowing. At that point, the sweet vanilla with a hint of oak and smoke seems to wash over the mouth, but that’s slowly eased aside as tingles of clove and pepper gradually begin to tingle toward the back of the mouth.

long exhale of smoke continues into the fade, alongside a burst of dry cigar box spice and burnt orange peel.