Tastes

A month ago, doctors detected that i had a testicle cancer. The good news is that it was on the very early stages, and thankfully it seems that after the surgery, it hs been removed completely. I believe i will have to be under observation for few years, but the forecast seems to be good. This sad preamble is just to tell you that i did not have a dram for 28 days. And this my friends, was hard on the psicological part, not because i didn't had a whisky for a brief period of time, but really on the fact that your live changes in a series of ways, in which whisky drinking is one more lego of situations that are not normal for you anymore. Having said all that, I HAD MY FIRST COMEBACK DRAM TODAY. And of course i picked an Arran, since i have never tasted a bad Arran to this date. This was the second release of Arran's Signature Series, this one is called "Barrel Bonfire", a quite aromatic & peaty expression. Bottled at 50%abv On the nose, a sweet peat. Cotton candy, incense, salt. Wow this smells great. Burnt grass; old bananas and an overall beach feeling. On the palate, i get pineapple notes, ashes, gunpowder; a heavy notenof sea salt. The second sip is very sour like a sour lollipop. Aftertaste is smokey, salty, ashy. Sawdust used on an ecuadorian "Monigote de año viejo". In conclusion, i loved this dram. A really aromatic and well developed sweet peat, makes this one a "Beachy" whisky. Very tropical and flavorful, my score for it is 92 over a 100.

Allow me to introduce to you to a perfect whisky. In my visit to Ardbeg's distillery, i had one absolutely marvelous dram at the shop: my first Ardbeg Single Cask Strength. This one was drawn from a unique Cote-Rotie cask # 5619, bottled at 60.4%abv, one of only 289 bottles ever made. On the nose: Malted barley, chocolate, spices, liquid paper, cotton, medical gauze and tape. Chocolate with hazelnut. This is incredible. Acid peaty Ardbeg. On the palate, it has amazing chocolate and oranges. Hazelnut, everything rounded into Ardbeg's peaty profile. Oranges with cotton. Grass. Aftertaste is all about smoke, Kelp, cotton, chocolate. Oranges. Overall, this might just be the best Ardbeg i have ever tasted, and it is just 7yo, which makes the peaty characteristics more powerful and straightforward. A marvelous single malt, perfect score, a 100 over a 100.

After having a few duds at Bruichladdich's Feis Ile 2024 festival, i found a bar at the back end of the distillery, and there i found a nice unicorn: a 30yo, 1988 vintage from the "Rare cask series", this one is called the Untouchable. Bottled at 46.2%abv, this is one of only 6000 bottles ever made. It was matured in Refill Bourbon barrels & Refill Squat Hogsheads. On thd nose, it is very tropical. Pineapple, "Inca cola"; Cotton candy. Very appealing. On the palate, i got sawdust, pineapple. It is quite astringent, tropical. Aftertaste was all about sugar, cotton candy and Pineapple. Overall, any "laddie" that doesn't taste like soap or shampoo is a good expression. This one is the case. A very tropical; caribbean profile, that made this one delicious. If i ever had this at a blind tasting, i would never guess this is a Bruichladdich. My score for it is 92 over a 100.

Bunnahabhain released a few expressions for Feis ile 2024; and one of the most interesting of them was this Triple Sherry Wood Finish. A 23yo dram, bottled at 53.3%abv, one of only 4002 bottles ever made. On the nose, this is perfect. Roasted coffee beans; Hot cocoa. Wonderful Humid wood. Oranges. On the palate, this is pure cherries and chocolate. Feels "ice creamy". Magnificent chocolate and oranges. Aftertaste is nice but it could be better. Dry sherry red fruit finish. Hot syrup. Overall, a very elegant, super enjoyable dram. Feels quite expensive, specially if you compare it to the 14yo Ruby Port finish from this year's Feis Ile, which is fantastic. My score for this one is a 95 over 100.

Have you ever had a 14yo Feis Ile 2024 Bunnahabhain Cask Strength Single malt for Breakfast? Well i had it for breakfast, for free, at Bunnahabhain visitor centre, under a light rain. I had nothing in my stomach, and this was a 58.7%abv dram. You would guess i suffered or something, but let me tell you, this was one of the best whiskies i have tasted on 2024. Finished in ruby port casks, this one is a true gem. On the nose, sawdust, plum marmalade, Tawny port, red fruits, chocolate, hazelnut & coffee. Waffer cookies, blackberry ice cream. Coffee with dulce de leche. WONDERFUL On the palate, three notes: Orange chocolate, cotton candy, and lots of sugary profiles. Aftertaste followed the rythm. Cough syrup, honey. Marvelous red fruits, so sugary, Coffee. Overall, this was a marvelous dram, out of this world, i had to buy a whole bottle and nowadays it only lives in my memories since i drank it. If you can find this dram, buy it, it is amazing. My score for it is 100 over a 100. Perfection.

After having the absolutely spectacular Bowmore 25yo Distiller's Anthology 01, i couldn't deny myself the opportunity to grab the second release of this collection, also called Distiller's Anthology, 02. This 25yo single malt is matured mostly in bourbon casks, and it has a lower abv than its predecessor, now a 47.8%abv. One of only 2728 bottles. On the nose, an uncanny pineapple note. Hand Lotion, coconuts, malted barley, honey, green apples and a super accurate pear aroma. On the palate, this is a pear juice with ashes and salt. Farm fruits. After a first sip, a sugary pineapple juice appeared. Piña colada cocktail. Coconut. Aftertaste is smokey delicious. Tropical smoke; Pineapple, coconut, spices. Salty; lip scorching in a gentle way. After a couple of sips the spiciness mix with smoke in a lovely way. Overall there is no doubt that this is a wonderful dram, but it doesn't get near to the level of the first release. This one has more classic flavors and aromas because of the american oak maturation. It still is a great dram, my score for it is 92 over 100.

Imagine that you are walking through Campbeltown, a very small port in Scotland, and you enter a bar at 10pm, and the lady attending there says: we are about to close, i can serve you only one drink. Then you spot a super interesting 9yo Glen Scotia from this year (2024) Campbeltown whisky festival. That is what i call a great night. Matured in First-Fill Bourbon and finished in Fino Sherry, this is a limited bottle, with a lovely 56.2%abv. On the nose, i get wet paint. Its like peaches, sider, plasticine Play Doh. On the plate, very fruity. Melon, peaches and spices. Aftertaste has lots of spices! Chilli, tobacco, cuban cigars. Very, very rewarding finish. Overall, this was very good. Nothing too complex, but it gets the job done. Interesting layers of different, apparently disonant flavors and aromas, that somehow work perfectly. My score for it is a solid 90 over 100.

We made a quick stop to make our own Chivas Regal Blend at their Speyside home, the beautiful Strathisla Distillery, and one of the best things i got out of there was a very rare 16yo Expression, finished in a Cognac Butt. This was the bottle 515 of only 840, distilled on february 9, 2006; and bottled on december 1st, 2022. The strength of it is a lovely 54.4%abv. On the nose, quite complex; Peaches & sawdust, Vanilla meringue sweets, marshmallow. Tobacco & peaches. A rounded coffee with toffee flavor. Pineapple y dulce de leche. Toffee & grass. Wonderful. On the palate, Tobacco, grass, toffee, pineapple. Sugary. Very grassy. Hay. Aftertaste is all about Peaches. Salty y sugary. Overall, this was a very interesting surprise from Strathisla, which in previous expressions i have felt that it was overly nutty. The higher abv truly benefited this dram. My score for it is 90 over a 100.

Another beauty that i found at this year Bowmore's old & Rare bar, was the Bowmore Distillery Manager Selection, a wonderful expression vintage 1997, bottled on 2019. This 21yo dram, has been matured in oloroso sherry hogsheads, and bottled at a lovely 51.7%abv. Only 3000 bottles where ever released. On the nose, i get Plums, figs, thick dulce de leche. Hot syrup and coffee with cranberries. Cocoa powder. Great. On the palate, this is full chocolate. Coffee residues on a cup. This is bitter and chocolaty. Aftertaste has the peaty profile. Ashes and cigarrettes. Overall, i don't belive this one is overly complex, but it is sooooo good. Very enjoyable whisky, that goes for a fortune nowadays, (which i don't have, and even if i did, i wouldn't pay for it), my score for it is a honest 91 over a 100.

The 2024 Feis Ile edition of Cairdeas, Laphroaig's yearly release for the Festival, is called "Cask Favourites", a mixture of two popular Cairdeas expressions from previous years: the 2019 Triple Wood and 2021's PX cask (wonderful whisky by the way). Bottled at 52.4%abv, it is a 10yo dram, that celebrates 30 years of Cairdeas expressions. On the nose, i get crazy notes of stinky wet socks dipped in PX sherry, if such thing even exists. Fishmarket; its like Strawberry marmalade with fish. Very fishy actually. Super interesting. On the palate, i get red fruit syrup, marmalade and of course, Laphroaig's classic note of a fresh can of Tennis balls. Aftertaste is all about Laphroaig's magestic peat at its finest. Peat, sown land, fishmarket, Pedro Ximenez sherry. Overall, this was a great dram, that feels perfectly balanced between the two expressions that compose it. You can actually tell exactly that this is the child of the Triple wood and the Px Cask. My score for it is 92 over a 100.