Tastes

Nose: Honey, malty, slight sherry, almonds, and floral Taste: Honey, butter, almond, cereal, malty, and salty Finish: Cereal, sherry, honey, almond, malty, and salty The Mars Iwai Traditional Japanese Whisky is a beautiful dram. The nose comes to remind me of a sunny day in a garden with the complex smell of sweet air and flowers. The taste is ever so mouth-filling with honey, almonds, and maltyness. The finish lingers with sweetness and cereal honey, all beautifully wrapped up. At this price, this is one great bottle of Japanese whiskeys. And if you are unsure of Japanese whiskeys, this is a great entry bottle.

Nose: Sherry, stone fruits, toffee, vanilla, and honey Taste: Sherry, vanilla, sugar sweet, honey, creamy, and slight salty Finish: Vanilla, sherry, stone fruits, creamy, and cake sweetness The Highland Park 12 begins with the absolutely gorgeous looking bottle. Nose is deliciously filled with flavors of sweet, fruity dessert coming to mind and a sunny day in the background. The taste is beautifully smooth and light. Layers of sweetness dance synchronously together for a soft complex flavor. Finish is a bit short-lived for me. However, the smooth and sweet thought of another dram lingers on.

This is my go-to bottle; I will never not be stocked on this bottle. The An Oa brings what you would expect out of an Islay but adds a complexity of sherry, oak, and sweetness. From the nose to the finish you are in for an adventure on the layers of flavors. For a bottle at this price, nothing compares. Fans of Lagavulin 8, Laphroaig 10, or the Ardbeg 10 will have to give this dram a try. Nose: Sherry, peat, oak, slight toffee, slight salt, and smoked meats Taste: Peat, smoked meats, sherry, sea salt, toffee, oak, slight vanilla, and slight black-pepper Finish: Lingering peat, sea salt, slight sherry, vanilla/toffee sweetness, and smoked meats Writing this review already made my mouth watering for a dram.

On the nose: Smoked bacon, slight sherry, bonfire, slight toffee and vanilla On the palate: Peat, bacon, medicinal, sherry, sea salt, bonfire smoke, slight vanilla On the finish: Sea salt, peat, sherry, long lingering smoke This whiskey combines the peak flavors of an peat Islay whiskey. Ardbeg’s greatest dram. The peat and the sherry, along with the other notes combine together for a complex but extremely well balanced flavor. A dram is never enough as it leaves me mouthwatering for another dram soon thereafter.