Tastes

This was batch number 70 with an ABV of 61.2% The cask strength bottling is clear from the moment you uncork this whisky. The nose is intense, but mellows quickly to reveal flavors from the sherry cask aging, along with raisins, and a small amount of ginger. The palate is surprisingly well-balanced for such a high proof whisky. There's more fruit flavors here, along with dark chocolate, and more of the character that you would expect in a scotch aged in sherry casks. The finish is long, and deep with a pleasant spiciness, and again, dark chocolate. Aberlour A'Bunadh is a marked improvement on the distillery's 12 year bottling. It has a lot of the same characteristics, but a greater intensity and depth of flavor that allow this whisky to really stand out.

This is a really solid whisky from nose to finish that showcases a lot of what a good scotch can and should do. The nose is very floral, and sweet. There is a fair amount of grass in the smell too. Those sweet characteristics open up a fair amount on the palate, which displays the honey character that Dalwhinnie 15 is so well known for. I also pick up a very slight peaty flavor in the taste that balances the whisky, preventing it from being overly sweet. The finish is pleasant, but not particularly deep with some salt showing up as the flavors dissipate. Overall Dalwhinnie 15 is a good example of what a scotch can do well when balancing sweet notes with stronger, more earthy flavors.

The Lasanta is definitely my least favorite of Glenmorangie's core range, but it is not a bad whisky by any measure. It lacks the smooth, sweet character of the Nectar D'Or, and the marriage of scotch and bourbon that you get with the Quinta Ruban. Overall the flavor here is a little more thin and ordinary compared to other scotches in this price range. There are mild notes of raisin on the nose, along with a subtle spiciness. That spice opens up a bit on the palate, and provides some of the strongest flavors this whisky has. There's a little bit of citrus fruit there as well, which continues to the finish, which again is mild, but fairly smooth. Glenmorangie Lasanta doesn't pack the same punch as the distillery's other expressions in its core range, but the spice notes, and citrus fruit that open up on the palate help make this an enjoyable whisky.

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 is a nicely representative Islay scotch. The nose is overwhelmingly peaty with few other discernable flavors. The whisky opens up on the palate however, and the strong peat taste gives way to some pleasantly sweet notes. There's definitely vanilla, along with some citrus fruit as well, which both nicely compliment the strong peat flavor. The finish is long, lasting, and again, that peat lingers on the tongue. Like any good Islay scotch, Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 10 does a good job of balancing the region's characteristic peat with more subtle sweet and fruity notes.

The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 is not my favorite style of scotch, but I can appreciate it for what it is. The nose has a good amount of the grassy flavor that I am generally not a fan of, but there is also a nice sweetness, along with some fruity notes. The grassy aroma dissipates a little on the palate, and opens up to a pleasant spiciness, along with the flavors from the sherry barrel aging. The finish is gentle and smooth, again showcasing the spice flavors. This may not be my favorite style of whisky, but after the initial grassiness on the nose, the flavors that come through are more of what I appreciate in a typical scotch.

This is a nice, sweet, and very smooth whisky. The nose is a little muted, but the sweet characteristics are evident there, along with some pleasant cereal flavors. Some interesting flavors come through on the palate with cinnamon, along with a hint of fruit. Like the nose, the finish is muted, but very pleasant. Overall Dalmore 12 is not as full-flavored as I would like, but the aromas and tastes that do come through elevate this scotch. The smooth finish complimented by the sweet character is another strong feature of this whisky.

The bourbon cask maturation is the biggest takeaway from just about everything about this whisky. Its color is darker than most scotches, and it has a distinctly bourbon smelling scent. Along with those sweet, more bourbon-type notes on the nose, there is a hint of more floral flavors to make it clear that Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban is indeed a scotch. That carries onto the palate with more of the sweet character, but also notes of nuts, and more of the floral flavors from the nose. The finish is fairly muted with a little bit of burn, again typical of a bourbon. It is an interesting whisky that combines some of the characteristics of both a bourbon and a scotch to make something pleasantly unique.

Oban 14 is different from many of the whiskies that I tend to like, but it does a good job of marrying some of the characteristics of those that I like with flavors I tend not to enjoy. The nose is very floral with a lot of that grassy flavor that I am not a fan of, but it also has a subtle smokiness that comes out well in the palate. Also on the palate is a greater depth of fruit flavor along with more earthy notes. That grassy taste returns a bit for the finish, which is a little muted, but not unpleasant. This is a different style of whisky than I tend to favor, but it has enough characteristics of what I like to still be quite enjoyable.

This is an interesting whisky with a nice flavor profile, which is helped by the sweetness imparted by the Sauternes cask finish. That sweetness comes through right away on the nose, which is a little mild, but carries a slight honey flavor. Things open up a bit on the palate with more sweet flavors like vanilla, and some fruity notes. It has a nice finish as well, which lingers a bit, and continues to warm as it goes down. It's a interesting experiment finishing this in a Sauternes cask, and it works very well with Glenmorangie. With all of those sweet notes it is a really nice after dinner dram.

I had high hopes for this whisky as I love both Lagavulin and Guinness. It actually lives up to what I was hoping for more than I expected. The nose still has that great Lagavulin flavor, but it is cut a bit by flavors from the Guinness cask. The palate again has the characteristic Guinness taste, but it is rounded out a bit with coffee, and dark chocolate, the flavors you would expect from a stout. It has a medium finish, again showing off the combination of scotch and stout. Overall it retains the character that makes Lagavulin so great while being complimented by the notes imparted by the Guinness cask finish.