Tastes

Another day, another Ardbeg Committee Special limited release with lots of marketing behind it, and of course, people like me who keep buying their stuff. I know that lately i have been a little rough on my critics to this legendary distillery, but i guess they heard the complaints of certain whisky enthusiast because let me give you and spoiler to this review: this expression was actually amazing. Ardbeg Anamorphic tells a story in 4k. It is labeled as a "multidimensional" whisky. The alleged technique behind it is that they have removed the barrel heads and charred them separatedly. Also they used a heavy charring on the ex bourbon barrels to produce an efect called "High Mocha", which honestly seems made up. Bottled at 48.2%abv. On the nose, it is great and super interesting. Aromas should take you to some realm of memories and the first thing anamorphic gave me was the aroma of the gas used to replentish the A/C in my house. Dark chocolate followed with some notes of moss and grass. It is spicy on the nose. After letting it breath, it gave me plastic, latex, a fresh can of tennis balls. It also became lactic; like some home made dulce de leche. Impressive really. On the palate, it was outstanding. Starts sweet and lactic with vanilla and chocolate milk. Then it became a "matahambre" which is a very popular pork cut for BBQ here in Ecuador. Aftertaste was beautiful. So peaty and powerful, moss and rubber. Overall; i have to be honest, i was incredibly surprised on how good this is. I drank it alongside various friends and this was the clear winner of the night. This is Ardbeg in a fine state. It has to be said: this time they nailed a pseudo-limited release. My score for it is 24 points in each criteria, leaving it with 96 points out of 100.

The second and very fancy (and pricy as well) release of the "Extinct Blends Quartet" from Compass Box, was this "Delos". Of course i got my hands on it after absolutely enjoyed the first expression, Ultramarine. This second chapter tells the story of a not so long extinct blend from their own company, the Compass Box Asyla, (which is so common that i didn't even know it was gone in 2018), a higher abv spin-off of that blend gets the name of Delos, a verybold Greek Island, where beautiful mosaics still exist even if the island is deserted. Actually this is a mythological island that the Greeks once believed rised from under the sea because the sea god Poseidon lift it up using his trident by order of Zeus, just for his children Apolo and Artemis to have a place to play. Well the fancy bottling comes at 49%abv, and let's see if it is as good as Ultramarine was. On the nose, this is super-mega-hiper fruity. Pear, green apples, pineapple, banana, lemon and fruitspice. A little sugary and glazed. After a sip, the aroma changed into a more yeasty profile: a small town bakery shop and spongy cakes. On the palate, it was not super impressive, but fairly good. Creamy, spicy; stewed apples, bananas. More sips revealed a ghostly hint of smoke. Aftertaste was undoubtedly the best part. A dry, red chilli sensation; with mineral, sulphur and metallic notes. Cough syrup, smoky and greasy. Beautiful stuff here. Overall i wasn't the best fan of Asyla back in the day, and i think this second release is inferior to Ultramarine. Having said that this is not a bad whisky at all, the score feels a little higher that what it should be, and that is because it scored good points on the finish. For the price it was sold, this is not the best deal out there, but i believe this can gain value overtime with the whole collection. A honest rate for it is 89 over 100, it was very near to achieve the 90 points but it didn't make it.

I have already talked about that back in 2011, Dalmore release a collection destined to gather funds to help the preservation of Scotland's rivers Tay, Tweed, Spey and Dee. After having one expression, i have doubts of the overall quality of this drams, since that first one, Tweed Dram, was good but nothing too memorable. This time i opened the famous "Tay Dram", which seems to be the most expensive of the four bottlings. Bottled at 40%abv. On the nose, this is sheer perfection. Caramelized oranges, maraschino cherries, granola power bar. Red berries, chocolate and raisins. After letting it breath for a while, i got a thick moka note. Fantastic aroma. On the palate it is a little more "human". Red fruits, tobacco and plums. Strawberry marmalade. The second sip was a little weak. Strawberries, ginger, liquorice. Aftertaste is a good spin off from the rest of the criterias. Tobacco, salt, grassy, sulphur, cigar and coffee beans. Overall, this is a lot closer to a Dalmore Cigar Malt than to a Dalmore 12yo. A very good, complex, full of character dram. Lovely really, i truly enjoyed it. I believe that a higher abv could have driven this to the clouds, but still at 40%abv, this is great stuff. Of course i don't expect a charity dram to be released at 55%abv, and the fact that this single malt is really good despite the basic abv, its something that is worth mentioning. My score for it is 93 over 100.

A friend of mine got me an exciting Alexander Murray release, a 40%abv Tamdhu 7yo, which is one of my favorite malts. The "Macallan Killer" as i called it has a difficult task here to impress me at a young age and low Abv. Not an expensive bottle at all, i am just wondering if this is going to be any good. This is a good test for Tamdhu's spirit to prove itself. On the nose it starts exactly as it should, with a Milky Way Chocolate note. Snickers, hazelnut, cookie dough. Dulce de leche. After a first sip, i got some floral profile. Cigarrettes, ashes and more chocolate. Smells like an ashtray. There is peat here. Nice. On the palate, it has a rich chocolate profile. Vanilla and some sulphur/metallic notes. It became super sweet on the second sip. Dulce de leche and toffee. Aftertaste is beautifully peated. Mostly Tobacco notes; hints of earthy peat and ashes. Chocolate and hazelnut. Overall this was quite surprsing. For a 7yo dram, at only 40%abv, this is quite complex and very enjoyable. The Tamdhu Toffee/dulce de leche spirit is unmistakeable, and the slight peatiness that has always been publicized but i haven't felt before, is very present here, and i believe it is more noticeable at younger ages. My score for this very good whisky is 89 over 100.

Imagine tasting an old Ardbeg, but one so rare there was never a full bottle released of this expression. This is the case of Ardbeg's Kildalton 1981, a single malt that only reached the markets as a miniature. You have to understand that in that exact year, Ardbeg was mothballed for the first time and was reopened in 1989. Actually Ardbeg did release a 1980 Kildalton full bottle, but this 1981, a different expression, was only bottled in 5cl miniatures. To make things even crazier, this bottling happened in 2005, making this a 24yo whisky. It appeared in a rare miniature collection pack called "The Story of Peat". It comes at 52.6%abv, and of course, i drank it. On the nose, it starts mossy and swampy. Then out of nowhere, an INCREDIBLE COFFEE BEANS AND DARK CHOCOLATE aroma appeared. Yes, in Caps Lock. Inmense chocolate; Very Salty all of a sudden; Ecuadorian dark chocolate, it is the most accurate aroma note ever. Vanilla topping. On the palate, this is exquisite. Herbal, mossy, swampy, super spicy black pepper, gunpowder, grapefruits. Very powerful, lots of character. This is a swamp monster. SO POWERFUL! UNLIMITED POWER!!! (Caps lock again), Meringue. Aftertaste is perfect in every way. Smoky, salty, bonfire, gunpowder. Incredible. There is a second aftertaste 30 seconds later, which is full of salt and ashes. Amazing, super long. Overall, this is a true lost jewel. It can be found in miniature auctions, i have seen it quite a few times, but it never called my attention. After i had the Ardbeg Kildalton 2014, i decided to buy it, and then after tasting it i found out of its great history. An absolutely amazing dram on the nose, palate, aftertaste and balance, with the aggregate of a great story behind it, my score for it is 98 over 100, and i am wondering why i deducted 2 points.

I finally got to open my bottle of Glenlivet's Licensed Dram, which is the spin-off expression from one of their finest releases ever, Illicit Stills. These expressions honour the history of Glenlivet, the first whisky to obtain a legal license ever. This has been bottled at 48%abv and matured in both first filled casks, Ex Bourbon and sherry. On the nose, it starts with christmas cake, and yeast. Spongy cake. Red apples with dulce de leche; pecan pie and hot honey. Cough syrup. After letting it breath it gave me more apples and honey, but also toffee & butterscotch. Some slight ashiness on the nose. On the palate, this is truly enjoyable. Dulce de leche for a second and then: kaboom! An explosion of spices. Dulce de leche with red apples. Cinnamon, cough syrup, hot honey. Very spicy. Delicious. Aftertaste feels vintage. Tobacco, peat, burnt hay and ashes. Great stuff. Overall, this is a very enjoyable, elegant dram, with lots of character. It is as good as the Illicit Stills one, and you can see that Glenlivet picked great casks for this expressions, which i appreciate since this releases are not expensive. Great job here, my score for them is 91 over 100.

There is an antique shaolin kung fu technique called "Drunken Fist", which seems to be a nice way for me to start learning martial arts. I start like this because my latest whisky review is a Caol Ila Drunken Master. This is a super limited bottling, there were only 108 decanters ever made. A 9yo, cask strength expression of Caol Ila with a beautiful label. 53.2%abv, drawn from a single hogshead. On the nose, crazy peaty notes. Gooseberries, Smoke, Povydone, and burnt pineapple. It smells exactly as the programed cricket fumigation goverment do near my house. Herbal, meaty as a Pancetta. Guava, pineapple marmalade. Sweet & Peat. After a sip, i got smokey and swampy notes; sown land and humidity. It became very maritime. On the palate, it is absolutely beautiful. Its vanilla mix with pineapple and peat. It is marvelous spicy. It starts sweet, like an "Alfajor", and then the spiciness hits, like chilli with fire. Incredible. Aftertaste is perfect but also incredibly powerful. It starts with a "camareta" explosion (camareta is like the strongest explosive firework out there), it feels like hell was set loose on your mouth, but in a good way, lol. Ashtray, strong mint. It blows up your soul. Overall, this is by far one of the best Caol Ila i have ever tasted. Intense, complex and full of flavor. I need to find another one to have it in my collection but this can be an impossible task since only 108 were ever made. My score for this great single malt is 96 over 100.

I've come to realize that Sassicaia wine cask maturatioms are my favorite type of wood finishes in whisky. The only problem i have with that, is that there are less than a handful of single malt expressions that were made like this. Having said that, in 2007, Bruichladdich released "the Italian collection", a group of whiskies matured in different italian wine casks, and i got my hands on a few of them; the Barolo ond was great, but now the time has come to try the Sassicaia. Bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, heavenly perfection. Super complex. Orange and lemon peel. Orange juice; kiwi and pineapple. White chocolate and crushed almonds. Hazelnut, marzipan and orange candy. After letting it breath for a little while, it gave me perfumed notes. It is fantastic. The palate was almost perfect as well. It has this lactic body to it; i can describe it as oranges with salt over a white chocolate bar. It is DELICIOUS. Aftertaste was so rewarding! A very elegant white chocolate and tobacco notes. Sulphur, acid oranges and salt. Orange juice. Overall, this is one more proof that this type of casks are incredible drivers of flavors and aromas to a good single malt spirit. Absolitely lovely, this is one whisky i wish i can have for the rest of my life. It is super elegant, even for a 14yo dram, this is superb stuff. The complexity here is uncanny, delivering layers and layers of different notes. My score for it is 97 over 100. Slàinte!

The Enlightment was the era of intellectual freedom. One can argue that nowadays, with the incredible flow of information accessible we should be even more free intellectually, but it feels that it is the complete opposite. Having said that, to be free is Compass Box ultimate goal in whisky. Enlightment is their attempt to honour wisdom of whisky, and of course they have revealed everything in this blend as they always do. Bottled at 46%abv, this is made of Clynelish, Glentauchers, Balblair & Mortlach. On the nose, super fruity. Green grapes, green apples. Honey, pears and peaches. Impalpable sugar and a Sharpie marker. After a couple of sips, it gave me red apples with toffee. Cocoa and Fanta cola. On the palate, it is still very fruity. Grapefruit, gooseberries, a little spicy. It is a rich and elegant sugary water. Easy to enjoy. Aftertaste is clearly the best part. Metallic, sulphuric, red chilli. A beautiful spiciness. It is a long but somehow muted or ghostly finish. Overall, this is one fancy whisky, with a lovely label and the creamy profile that most Compass Box have makes this blend a truly joyful dram. I would have loved for it to have a slight peatiness to make this even better. A honest 88 over 100 is a proper score for this dram.

Lagg is one of Scotland's newest distilleries. It is the "twisted (peated) sister" of one of my all time favorites, The Arran Malt. Located on Arran Island, they released a three part inaugural collection, and i already told you my critic on the third release, this time its the Number 1. The very first Lagg release ever, is a 36 months whisky, matured in first filled ex Bourbon Barrels. Bottled at 50%abv, lets see if this is the promise of what will become a legendary distillery someday. On the nose it is quite peaty. It starts with an aroma of new soccer shoes. A pair of sandals for the beach. Chilli and wet towels. There is this spicy vanilla, but also swampy water. It is like motor oil. After some sips, the aroma gave me lemoncello, grappa and rum & raisins ice cream. Very interesting. On the palate, it is great. It is the best part of this dram. Fancy vanilla and coconut. It is exactly as Ferrero's coconut sweets called "Rafaello" (if you have never had them, my friend let me tell you, they will change yoir life). Chilli & meaty. It is the most powerful spice bomb ever. Beautiful. Aftertaste is still very good. Chilli, ashes, leather and full of spices. Long. Overall, i am excited from this; i truly believe that if Lagg has started like this, in 10 years they will be making one of Scotland's finest peaty single malts. There is no mystery in saying that i am an Arran fan, bit now i am also a fan of Lagg. My score for it is 90 over 100.