Tastes

Other reviews of this expression are written with more elegance, and with substantially better observations (e.g. @cascode ). The palate is butterscotch and grape candy. Time in the bottle, and a splash of water further opens it up and broadens the palate range. The finish is smooth with no discernible sulphur notes. It took several drams before this grew on me. But now that it has, I can vouch for this beguiling NAS.

This is everything I love about the HP12, but amplified into a longer, more dynamic, palate journey. I love the fact that it's twice as intense and complex as the HP12. But, I don't love the reality that it's three times as expensive. My palate may have failed me here, as I struggle to find substantial differences between the two, but age and maturation. (My pocket book, however, shall be the better for it.) There is an undeniable brine note that integrates well with the characteristic heathered peat. Thinking about the price while drinking this, I realize I get the same feeling when comparing my gross income to my net income - it's honestly big cheese, but ultimately not worth it all the same. The 12 continues to push my buttons in the right places, and for much less. Update: Edrington, please release a 15 year expression in the $100 range. You'll find a devoted follower in me: I'll never be without a bottle!

The initial aroma and palate tread down the same road that Compass Box has paved with both the Great King St. Glasgow Blend and the Artist's Blend. It's a round, waxy, and floral-honeyed character reminding me of orange tree blossoms. (My mind races towards the oft-cited Clynelish influence - but according to the blend notes, there's none here.) This one also layers in the red wine cask influences that lend themselves to coloring the palate, but making themselves felt more so in the finish with a zest that almost recalls the effervescence of soda pop. This, like the Great King St. twins, is a finely rounded, balanced and well designed blend meant to please and not challenge. (But it's certainly an upgrade from most Johnnie Walker or Dewar expressions.) What more can I write [?] as this bottle has no obvious faults. I'd rate this 4 stars, but the VFM is not there. The Great King St. Artist's Blend - although peated - is as pleasing, but priced $25 less. As a fan of peated expressions, I'm not sure the price bump is called for. And so, I'll dock it a quarter point. Still, this is a very good blended scotch, worth a taste, and maybe even another purchase. Whether it deserves a spot in your liquor cabinet, well, I'll leave that up to you.

What I get: peat, sea salt, honeyed malt, citrus, ash, oil, and a marginal brininess that works well into the finish to tame what I don't get: chilis and pepper. (I eat spicy food often, and I hardly ever get chili and pepper notes in the finish when drinking whisky - as I would much rather drink, than eat, a bottle). As the bottle goes further down, oxidation rounds out the flavors so that the experience is a tad like pulling lemon-honeyed essence from charcoal briquettes. And down it goes, smooth as eau de vie, as the finish still tingles in the mouth. This may be peatiest monster I've slain - but onto another peated dragon again. Notes: Batch 11.

Nose: Butterscotch, citrus, and even a streak of white wine. Palate: Butterscotch, brine, and rich barley malt - with a citric finish that is more effervescent than astringent. Finish: Brine and slight oak bitterness appear near the end of the finish to add extra complexity. Addendum and Summary: An honestly well-crafted scotch. Wonderfully smooth at 50% ABV (unrivaled by any BiB bourbon I´ve experienced) and an excellent VFM. The empty glass is decadent with barley sugar, verging on instant iced tea. This is another home run from Bruichladdich!

I've drank my way through a couple of bottles of cognac in my lifetime. So when I uncorked this bottle, there was no question, a whiff of cognac. Very promising, and something to look forward to. The ex-sherry cask influence then imparts the aroma and begins to dominate and clearly makes itself known. This is not a regular bourbon nose. (I, however, once got a band-aid note. But that could be an outlier.) The palate is a unique blend of cherries, sour apples, brown sugar, vanilla - with the sherry contribution of dark red fruits blossoming near the finish. This develops with further sips, finishing with a fantastic balance of cognac-imparted white grape flavors, together with sherry-imparted dark red fruits. Whatever finishing casks were used may have been carefully selected and valuable. The finish - though lightly bitter with oak, reminding me of a normal Col. E.H Taylor Small Batch - is supple leather only found in much older whiskies. Bourbon purists may disdain finished bourbons, but this spirit displays qualities that are found in much more expensive expressions. For the price, this is a no-brainer. Texture and mouthfeel alone place it at a higher level. Aroma and flavor-wise, my advice is: if you like both scotch and bourbon, you will find this a rewarding experience. If you've never had a whiskey matured for 18 years or more, try this as an excellent value-for-money proposition to first assimilate the texture and mouthfeel of a well aged whiskey. Notes: Batch No. 100 Bottle - 187/892

Thar be a tale on a pirate ship in sail, of a cabin boy's wish to be a seaman prevail. 'Welp!' the captain said to thee, 'yer nar but a sea gull amongst the albatross. If seaman you wish to be, then a bottle of Bunny 18 for me!' Thus my quest began, with regular Google searches for months on end. Nowhere in the 50 states, was there a reasonable deal to had. Until one day, a store in Jersey City appeared on the map. One week and 2,800 miles later, tin and all, the bottle was delivered - quite handsome, none too tall. N: Aromas of butterscotch and brown sugar, alluringly balanced and nested in a sherry envelope. Peck away at the glass, and you're rewarded with hints of cherries and even citrus, emerging from the oak. P: The progression in the palate is best captured by @cascode as, "It arrives dry and spicy" with the sweet notes later providing "equilibrium". (His review here provides the best flavor profile and helped guide my palate experience.) Supple, long-aged sherry, toffee, sweet tobacco and fruitcake with an intense mouthfeel. (This is almost a quote verbatim.) After successive tipples, the palate further unveils oranges, chocolate milk, and a chewy nuttiness. F: Surprisingly long finish of dried red and citrus fruits. The texture is a tad leathery, but that is a welcome addition - proof that this is a mature expression and worth every sip. The finish just lingers on and on. What a journey! Not too dynamic - the bandwidth of contrasts is narrower than say the Ardbeg Oogie or Lag 16 - but everything in the palate works well together to offer a scotch that is sweetly complex and delightful. Indeed, I'm eagerly awaiting further development as it oxidizes with time. After the first dram, I stood up and shook my fist at the bottle, and to paraphrase @Soba45, I exclaimed, 'I know who you are, Bunny 18! You are here to destroy my liver!'

It's hard to accept that this is a discontinued product. I was stunned when I found out. Because after about the third sip, I had made up my mind to pick up a bottle. I was zombiefied for a minute, like the crack smoker in the gag, the one that goes: "Why did the crack smoker stare at a carton of orange juice for 20 minutes?..." "Because the word 'Concentrate' was written on it." Onto the review! Odors of peat and brine rise to greet the nose. The peat aroma is well integrated as the brine turns into oily sweetness on the palate. The sweetness segues into bourbon-cask notes, but is quickly overtaken by the peat smoke. Further tipples highlight a sweet citric note that leads to the finish. The finish is delectably spicy at 46% ABV, rather than ethanol-heavy or astringent. The Jura Prophecy lands somewhere in the middle of two of its islander kindred -- the Ardbeg 10 (sans the brute heat) and the Ledaig 10 (sans the savory notes). Heartily recommended. If the reader here is intrigued and thinking about shelling out money for a bottle on secondary, let me just say I'd be an advocate of anything south of $70. Thanks @jonwilkinson7309 for the well done dram. It's time to hunt for a bottle! Cheers!

A cowboy walks into a bar and pulls up a seat next to a pretty woman. The woman turns to him and says, “O wow, neat! Are you a real life cowboy?” “I wear a cowboy hat," the cowboy begins, "and leather cowboy boots." "I tend to livestock, and occassionally pick low hanging fruit. So, yes, that makes me a cowboy," he finishes. "What about you?”, the cowboy asks. The pretty woman doesn’t miss a beat. “I’m a lesbian," she says. "I think about a woman when I wake up. I think about a woman while at work. I think about a woman when I’m in the shower. I think about a woman when I’m in bed.” The cowboy says nothing, and appears deep in thought. A couple of minutes pass and the pretty woman gets up and walks out. Not long afterwards, a couple arrives and sits down next to the cowboy. They ask him, “Are you a real cowboy?” “I am," the cowboy replies, "Or at least I thought I was. But I just found out I’m a lesbian!” The name of this malt intrigued me as I stood at my favorite liquor store. Like what happens to a kid in a candy store, the abundance of quality brands and bottles temporarily erased dozens of my IQ points. "Lochranza", I thought, "something European... Italian, maybe?" That silly notion and the decent price made the choice for me. After returning home, I googled "Lochranza" only to realize that there's a "loch" in Lochranza. Duh! Thus the name of the town that's home to the Arran distillery was imparted to this expression. All very customary. Onto my first experience with an Arran. The initial sip is vibrant with spice and citrus. Subsequent tipples reveal white grapes and sweet, dry cornflakes (thanks to @twright3 for the tasting notes). Good amount of heat on the finish. A bit of saltiness makes itself known like an Old Pulteney 12, but it's drier and not as smooth. Actually, the ethanol prickliness doesn't work very well with the palate - so this falls short from being as effervescent as my expectations were after the first notes. This is still a tad pricey for what it is. I don't think you'll get what you pay for if this costs more than $40. Nonetheless, this is pleasant enough for me to mindlessly quaff while watching a football game or a movie. Update: I had a glass of this following an Old Fashioned and, damn, it was like drinking liquid butterscotch.

We've got a Greek relic here that is no wedding, but unmistakably singular - matured for 16 years in ex-bourbon and Spanish Rioja wine casks. It's no Oedipus or Prometheus, perhaps... But neither is it a myth of emergence like the birth of Athena or the transformation of Hermaphroditus. I'm referring to οὐροβόρος - Ouroboros - that symbol of a serpent biting its own tail! Forming a circular tube - it's all about balance, transmigration, continuity beyond horizons, and even fertility - first depicted in Egyptian antiquity. (Yes this reads like an unappetizing circus show but, no pressure, indulge me.) The archetype then manifested itself... much later... in Norse mythology as Jörmungandr, child of Loki, that grew so large as to encircle the entire world and earn the name, Midgard, or "world serpent". Holy cow!!! This latter thing is what is noted on the box as the inspiration for this fine whisky. All quite interesting, but I gave that classical history only a flicker of thought when compared to what I more keenly associated it with, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". (The 2009 film starring Noomi Rapace in the original Swedish production, and Mara Rooney in the 2011 U.S. version. Cracking nice entertainment, both!) Did I think through all that just to acquire a bottle? Indeed, I did. (Or, it could've been the clouds of smoke and dim orange sunlight blanketing the L.A. skyline as wildfires scorched the West Coast.) There I stood at the store like a meth smoker in some stupefied condition, I could only narrate as 'brain freeze'. Regardless, I managed to make a decision, buy it, then drive home without too much cognitive dissonance and plenty of anticipation. After arriving at the pad with the box, my partner took one look at it and glanced at me icily. The thought of decanting it crossed my mind, before I thought, "Just f----n' drink it, dude." All this because of the silly Nordic design on the box. Honestly, I could've probably done my partner better had I arrived home with a margherita pizza and wine. But it's not often you've got a winner that's better than dinner! Long story, short - don't let the look of the design detract you from picking one up - it's worth the drama. Now that the hard part's over, let's get onto the scotch! The nose has the characteristic Highland Park notes of honey and heathered peat. The aromas draw you in deeper with what most scotch drinkers should positively identify as a sherry-cask influence. Had I not known that this particular expression had been married in Spanish wine casks, I'd be none the wiser. The palate is reminiscent of the HP 12 as its foundation, but masterfully intensified and augmented. The additional years of maturation layer on the honey flow, even as the fruity red wine notes fluently meld into an almost citrus-like sweetness. Like the threading of a rope, this spirit is a harmonious dance - two effusive streams of flavor - intertwining in a delicious tango. The mouthfeel is exquisite and oily, and pleasing at 46% ABV. (I like oily. Oily is valuable.) The finish is where the red wine tannins emerge alongside the peat, and together with the vibrant citrus notes, they make for a rare outro. I've read more than once the criticism that the Highland Park distillery cask management was no longer optimal. But I feel the inclusion of these wine casks has invigorated what has been missing since the storied 'old' HP line was rebranded in 'new' livery. I hope they keep up that trend. At this point, I can't imagine how the Highland Park 18 could be any better at a lower 43% alcohol-by-volume. Heat is not even an issue here. I'm honestly captivated by this expression. After two drams, I found myself as gleeful with this discovery as I was when eating at a McDonalds or Burger King as a kid. I went back to the store and picked up a second bottle. This limited release is just that good.