Tastes

This scotch goes for close to $50 in NH but I found it on sale here (Texas)for$ 35 out the door so jumped on it. Mainstay in Dewars blends and I really like the 12 yr ancestor so high hopes for Aberfeldy 12. Has coloring and only 80pf but.......Poured neat, nose has that Dewars 12 smooth fruit and malt with light smoky vanilla and even some melted butter. Its mild and inviting with ethanol nowhere to be found. Sticky glass coat and soft creamy mouthfeel bring on silky flavors of rich malt, bubble gum,honey drenched bosc pear and golden apple with some more smoky vanilla and oak at back end. Maybe just a flash of peat coffee note in there too. Finish is medium honeyed malt drying to oak with fruit and light smoke. Its not the most complex or powerful single malt but it is pretty tasty. Its everything good from Dewars12 with none of the grain alcohol harshness or drawbacks. We're talking smooth flavor and supreme drinkability with weight(none of that thin flavor delivery). One of my favorite budget non peated scotches............82/100

Ive had the virgin oak and like it a lot. This is supposed to be significantly better so was happy to purchase on sale for $46. Non-chill filtered and 92.6 pf. Poured neat, thick sticky glasscoat. Nose is cinnamon apple, buttered corn muffins, honey and heavy malt. No smoke or peat just pure scotch. Creamy mouthfeel leads to palate of dense honey malt, melted butter, more apple and cinnamon stick with some balancing oak. Finish is drying wood with mild char and fading buttery malt. Not complex but flavors are deep and rich with sit on your tongue smoothness of a 15-18 yr vintage. I can see why this won so many medals. Its near perfect execution of an unpeated straight forward malt............93/100..........absolutely delicious, definite repurchase......To me this is what you should see if you look up pure scotch whisky in a virtual dictionary, the rest are variants with fruit, peat , etc...... On the box its says " a gift from the gods" I concur, This is buttery malt bliss!!

Well ive had the 15 yr and loved it. Wanted to drop down and try out the famous 12 yr. Poured neat, rich dense malt and fruit similar to the 15(family traits) figs, tangerine and that wet leaves musk I just love. Palate is more of the same. Creamy malt with luscious fruit and oak in just the right proportions. Just sits on your tongue without burn bringing thick heavy flavor. Finishes balanced with malt ,fruit and drying wood. Here's the thing, Macallan does it different. They are meticulous about their casks (selection, shaping and seasoning) spending much more than other distillers. They grow their own barley, use smaller stills and a very small cut(13-16%) of the distillate to put in the barrels. This all adds up to more costs than sourcing out/using cheaper options. It also leads to superior quality and consistency. What Im getting at is this is not overpriced imo, you get what you pay for in this case. This 12 yr leaves most 12s and many longer aged scotches in the dust. Its simply fantastic. Well worth $60/ 750ml for this flavor packed smooth whisky bliss. ......I heard and thought yeah that Macallan is overpriced and overrated until I tried it. Now its confirmed Im one of those Macallan guys...........91/100.......hangs with the 15 yr at 60% of the cost. Highly recommended

Never had any Macallan before. I was gifted this bottle and very appreciative to receive. Poured neat, nose is deep sweet fruits and buttery malt. Tangerine, dates and hint of white grape surrounded by autumn leaves and gentle oak. Very refined. Palate has rich thick malt and fruits transitioning to wood notes then robust French roast coffee & cream. Has some heat to it but still maintains smooth. Finishes long with malt, fruit and dark chocolate fading dry to coffee and wood. This is not cheap scotch, goes for $90-120. Truly excellent sophisticated single malt but is it worth it? Macallan has a reputation of being a bit overpriced. Depends on your financial situation. I wish I could drink nothing but these high end aged scotches as they are sublime to my palate but alas the credit card bill eventually shows up. For my money in this age range I would take Glenfiddich 15 or Balvenie 14 over this for less $$ however I cant drop it below A rating despite the price as the quality and excellence is undeniable..........91/100

Anyone who has read my reviews knows I adore peated scotch so not a surprise I love this. Poured neat, this is very similar to the Classic Laddie(see review)from nose to finish but has added a heavy dose of wonderful smoldering peat smoke. Its a bit younger and not quite as refined with some sizzle but I care not. If its a Bruichladdich product Im in!.........92/100.......awesome scotch leading me to seek out the octomore and the other PC options..........Got this on sale for $33 on closeout!

Wanted to try a non peated Islay scotch. This has good reviews everywhere and was on sale. Poured neat, slow sticky legs. Nose has smoke, not hearty damp campfire smoke. More like a power saw caught in a fresh piece of kd lumber and smokes a little bit as the blade snags and burns the wood. Tea leaves, salted butter and dusty cardboard. There is malt and raw fresh honey as well. Quite a bit going on but its all very subtle which makes the sledgehammer to the palate surprising. Thick creamy mouthfeel brings a powerful surge of barley sweetness, luscious gooey beeswax, tree sap and smoke with white pepper that transitions to delicious pure malt flavor. Nose and palate are highly complex. Finish is long lasting malt, honey and bourbon like oaky/cinnamon/char dry fade. Carries nice warming heat at 100pf but nowhere near harsh. This is a very different profile. It strips away the fruit and peat and really delivers the malt. Its sweet and balanced with good smoke influence. In one word it is.... exquisite. Well worth the $50 I paid, I will explore other options from Bruichladdich for sure(They have a peated line as well). 93/100 ........This is pure scotch!!........... Awesome tip -You can go to their website(classic laddie page) and type in your bottle batch # and get all the info of what went into your vatting. Number of casks, vintage years, barrel type.....very impressive!!

This is the same mash(95/5) from MGP as many other notable ryes such as Templetons, Bulliet, Redemption,James Pepper, George Dickell, etc. It is only aged two years but seems lively and fresh testing imo. Nose is typical rye and dill, its upfront and intense. Rye spice carries to palate, not mild this is pumpernickel rye bold in its youth. Light sweetness in the background but dill and rye dominate. Finishes medium, dry with more rye trailing off. Overall this is a bold raw whiskey, its not as refined as some but should rye be. Its a great change of pace from the sweetness of bourbon with its own attributes. Plus I got it on sale for $19 - Its solid 74/100

Figured it was time for a recheck on this one. Past memories are of subpar verging on lighter fluid. Neat, has chicken legs but nose is pleasant enough. Caramel, light vanilla ,cinnamon, dusty oak, little yeasty/doughy. Was expecting some harsh alcohol fumes but its very mild, noses almost like a wheater for me. Quite thin on the palate with not a lot of flavor (seems like its cut with water already). Some mild caramel/vanilla, Beam spice, moves to toasted(not charred) oak with slight astringency. Short finish to dry bitter raw corn cob aftertaste. I didn't get the Beam burn or really any burn for that matter. Its easy drinking but as many others have said there isn't much going on. Still, it is a Kentucky bourbon which makes it better than most spirits imo. Its priced right for a daily driver and is not offensive in any way. For me the dryness isn't my favorite but some may approve. Id have no issues drinking a bottle if it was gifted. 71/100 Im not much of a mixer but Im sure this works fine in that regard.

Had my eye on this one for a while. Went on sale for $22 so I pounced. Poured neat,nice thick legs. Nose has sugar daddy, black cherry, cinnamon and rye spice. Very little wood and even at 100pr almost no ethanol. Heavy mouthfeel brings a blast of caramel, cinnamon and spice transitioning to oak. Very robust with strong heat(not burn though) Finishes medium long with drying oak and cinnamon with warming sensation all the way down. This bourbon is deep and rich and swings a heavy bat, huge improvement over regular 86pr. I think it represents superb execution of a standard bourbon profile. Its sweet but not too so, oak dryness but not bitter. It has plenty of heat but is not harsh. Most palates will deviate to individual preferences but OF Sig is kinda like the baseline imo, only cranked up several notches. There are others that I prefer for sure but at this price point it is solid. 84/100- would purchase again