Tastes

Dried fruits, raisins, a touch of orange and a hint of smoke on the nose. The palate is crisp, a bit of citrus (maybe orange) . Cookie? Not a sugary one, more like the biscuits my granma would bring around during christmas time. The finish I get this note which I also get when drinking JW Black which I can only describe as smoked honey, but I find the smokiness here lingers a bit more than JW Black. The finish isn't extremely long but it's just about right and at 43% ABV you will get a very enjoyable oily mouthfeel. I will disclose that I have been strictly drinking JW Black (neat) for the last 2 months and bought myself a bottle of this today on a whim and find them both very similar, with Oban 14 being clearly a superior juice but similar in their profile and character. My love for JW Black goes beyond the complexity nor their history of making great accesible blends, it was the first scotch I ever tried and although it was not a love at first sip it def open the doors to the world of whiskey. Over the past 14 years I have tried many whiskies, bourbon, scotch, irish and dabbled on some japanese but Scotch is heads & shoulders my favorite. After trying the likes of Lagavulin, Laphroigh, Higland Park, Glenlivet and the likes I am hope I am not just exagerating when I say this is an exeptional single malt and one of if not the best I have ever tried. Take this with a grain of salt since my palate might not be as advance as some of you all. The price is steep at $96.99 per bottle but I will try to always keep a bottle of this in my cabinet just for my own enjoyment.

I have lately been lately splurging into high end blended scotch and after the dissapointment that Johnnie Walker 18 was this is such a lovely surprise. Sweet nose. I get some sweet fruity notes. Caramelized apple comes to mind. Sweet & oily mouth feel and a bit of smoke on the finish. This is something I would share with my none scotch drinkers to try to lure them into this hobby. Might have found my favorite blend. Reasonably priced too.

I walked into my local liquor store looking to treat myself to something nice. Maybe some Japanese whisky, I had tried Hibiki Harmony a few years back and I've been wanting to revisit it since my palate has matured a bit. See I recently took a risk and changed careers and it did not work out for me, however whatever bad taste left in my mouth thinking about how I might have set myself back for posible growth in my previous industry I do feel a sense achievement as crazy as that might sound. I bet on myself and took it head on but like in life sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. But on this humid and rainy Saturday in Central FL I have won and in what way. I'm looking at the few Japanese expressions available in my local liquor store as my eyes drift down the isle I see this single 15 Revival bottle. I ran over and oponed it's carton container to make sure it was the real thing and it sure was, the last bottle on the shelf too. Easiest decision I've made in a while. "Ring me up cashier, I got somewhere to be". Since I tried the 12 year expression of Glendronach which a very much enjoyed I had been anxiously wanting try this one. The nose is unreal. Baked spices, sweet sherry cask influences but made rounder and fuller with dark chocolate notes. Some orange and a certain marshmallow sticky-ness crosses my mind. On the palate the extra three years on its younger brother really show, orange, more dark chocolate, the spices that really stood out on the 12 year old are really toned down and the extra time gives richness and character. The finish is of medium length with an orange note that I do not remember getting from it's younger brother. This is an incredibly well made scotch in my humble opinion. I also think although it's extremely interesting an nuanced it is also something that most scotch drinkers from beginners too aficionados will enjoy. I plan on spending more time with this gem of scotch and will later give this a proper review at a later time since I'm sure I will better understand the beauty of this juice as I get more acquainted. Cheers!

Drank this on the rocks on New Years eve with my brother and to be honest we probably drank way to much of it. Easy drinking blend with some good maltiness with a short finish. Nothing fancy really but I did enjoy every sip sitting around my family and watching my baby nephew make his way around the room. Will try to get a bottle and do a proper review sometime soon but for now all I have is good memories of this blend.

Tasted neat. On the nose the first note I get is bacon, bacon flavored dog treats to be precise. Some charred wood, burnt rubber, leather, camp fire by the beach. Amazing. On the palate I get smoke meats, sweet peat (not as medicinal as Ardbeg/Laphroaig) cigar ash/tobacco, BBQ chips, it warms your chest and comes back up with some crushed pepper. Finish is long with more delicious BBQ smoked meats notes. Fantastic scotch.

Tasted neat. Sea spray, peat and burnt rubber on the nose. Awesome mouthfeel with a good amount of peat, medicinal notes, charred wood and some sweetness I can't really place my finger on. Finish is long and really wraps up this awesome scotch. This is an excellent single malt for any whiskey drinker or anyone who enjoys a well aged spirit for that matter. I would love to have this handy in my home bar however for the price I don't think I will ever get a bottle of this when I could get a bottle of Ardbeg Ugi, Ardbeg 10 is considerably cheaper than a bottle of this aswell. Laphroaig Triple Wood goes for a few dollars less, all of these I have previously mentioned I will always buy over Talisker 10 at 80 dollars or more which is what this goes for where I live.

Tasted neat. On the nose it smells like a young spirit but nothing offensive. I get some red apple with the slightest hints of smoke. The palate is really light, some more apple a bit of vanilla and some pepper rounds it up. The finish is short and nothing remarkable but I would not turn it away if offered to me. I bought this bottle for 11.99 to make one of my favorite whiskey cocktails. I will mix this with some natural coconut water over ice. This is how I learned to drink scotch as a teenager back in my home land of Puerto Rico. With weather being so warm year round my people always have this refreshing cocktail on standby. Salud!

Tasted neat. Nose is classic Ardbeg, a little rounded and not as in your face like 10 but the peat is till there. Brine, beef jerky, sweet BBQ ribs, some candied fruit along with some typical medicinal Islay notes First sip is robust for lack of a better word and will definitely awake your senses. On the second sip I got some fruit jam which quickly goes away to make way for peat, tobacco, cigar ash all beautifully done. It has a great mouth feel, a bit chewy. Finish is quiet long and finishes with some white pepper/ ash-tray. All and all this is a fantastic single malt. I was a bit afraid before getting a bottle since some reviews mentioned the peat being muted. However it is in my humble opinion that that is not the case, the sherry cask only adds to its complexity but the classic Ardbeg peat is still the star of the show. For a bit less than 100 dollars I will keep this as a special occasion scotch and will enjoy for years to come.

My past Sherry Cask experiences weren't anything special. I had a few good ones, but nothing I would ever want to own a bottle off. I guess eventually I wrote it off as that maybe I just did not have a palate for sherry cask but boy was I wrong. I came across a bottle of this on sale at my local liquor store and I had to do it for the culture. I normally don't care for the color but this whiskey has a nice rich copper color and I believe they don't add color which is cool if true. The nose on this scotch is great, I get an awesome fig note ( you know those fig bars you get at the gas station) raisins, strawberry jam, honey and a bit of maltiness. On the palate you get hit with bitter chocolate followed with candied fruits, jam, raisin and figs come back and some spice round it off. Medium warm finish. This is a proper scotch if I've ever tasted one and I've had more than a few. Would love to compare this to the Macallan 12 which I've had a hand-full of times and I do not remember enjoying it as much as I am enjoying this. This is a really complex and full flavored scotch for less than 70 dollars. Can't wait to try the 15 Revival.

Barrel: 4-1P Definitely recommend letting this sit for a few minutes before indulging. On the nose it's heavy on the "baking" spice, some cinnamon, vanilla and a really nice oak note. On the palate you will feel the high ABV but in a nice way. Some fruit cake, vanilla-coke sweetness, chocolate covered almonds. Now this is where it loses me since the finish is really peppery and a little off putting. For my money I would prefer way less spice from my bourbon but at $44 for a single barrel you can't go wrong with grabbing a bottle if you can. I could see this working great in an Old Fashion.