Nose: Vanilla, cream, spirited prickle, solvent, paint, clay, detergent.

Palate: Medium to light-bodied, vanilla, cream, donuts, chemical and vegetal, feinty, paint thinner, peppery spirit, buttercream.

Finish: Medium-length and slightly chemical, house paint and solvent with a touch of vanilla cream.

Score: 2 (40)

Mental Image: Hot Plastic Display Donuts

Narrative & Notes: Vanilla and cream tickled the nose before raw spirit, solvent, and nail polish remover laid waste to my sinuses. The aroma was spirited and prickly with a chemical quality that drifted toward house paint, clay, and detergent. Medium to light-bodied with vanilla and cream providing a buttery introduction—vanilla cream donuts perhaps!  More chemical, feinty, and vegetal notions lay further in with steamed zucchini, linseed oil, and paint thinner. Raw peppery spirited lingered at the end with a touch of buttercream.  The finish was medium length and slightly chemical, more house paint and solvent, with a touch of vanilla and cream.

This was the worst whisky I have had in several years, and I honestly do not know how to score it.  I never want to have this again. For a half second it was rather nice, with plenty of vanilla and pastry cream, perhaps a vanilla glazed donut, or a pastry stuffed with vanilla cream… but then it was just so chemical. Nail polish remover, paint buckets, industry detergents; it was feinty and not good.

Overall, a strong contender for worst dram of 2025.

Image Credit: Whisky Hammer