Apple crisp | Ripe pear | Light malted barley | Fall leaves | Lightly cooked caramel

Sweet bread | Roasted malt | Baked apples | Light cinnamon | Dough | Light bing cherries | Leans into sweet baked notes

Cinnamon bread | Fresh whipped cream | Light baking chocolate | Caramel sauce | Short

On the nose, the finishing barrels’ influence is quite evident and leaves their mark. Noticeable fruit scents pull forward in the form of apple crisp and ripe pears, however, the aroma is more grounded forcing you to concentrate to dissect the intertwined scents. Roasted malt is present, but so are baked apples, which combine with sweet notes of dough and sweet bread to form a delicious combination of flavors that highlight the components of this whiskey quite well. The sip ends on sweeter notes of cinnamon bread, fresh whipped cream, and caramel sauce along with a more grounded baking chocolate note. The flavor notes are gone all too soon, which is a shame since this combination works really well together.

This year's edition of Whiskey Del Bac Normandie is a lovely whiskey, but it does require patience to truly enjoy it. All of the scents and flavors listed are true to form, however, they also require concentration and teasing to pull out. This isn’t necessarily a negative but needs to be stated to set expectations. That aside, Whiskey Del Bac Normandie utilizes its finishing time in French calvados casks to craft a fruity American single malt that stands out from the crowd and delivers an enjoyable and complex sip for those with the fortitude to work with it.