Tastes

Continuing my journey through Douglas Laing core expressions, today i review the spectacular looking bottle, Timorous Beastie, that has a Mouse in the middle of the label to honour a poem called "to a mouse" by Robert Burns. This is the Highland blended malt from Douglas Laing and it is bottled at 46.8%, made by blending delicious Dalmore, Glengoyne and Glen Garioch. On the nose, Dry brown cake, Tobbacco notes, cigarrettes. Very appealing. On the palate, Starts with sweet honey, then it gets a little spicy but wonderfully crafted. Clove and ginger finish, mouth drying, beautifully balanced. This Douglas Laing whiskies dont have a lot of notes, but the ones they do have are excelent. I score this baby with a 92 over 100 and i definitively would buy a bottle for the 45-50 dollars thay ask for it. Slainte!

A very very old single malt from this independent bottler who specializes in great "comic" style labels for their bottles. This time a 40yo whisky from dufftown. Bottled at 47.5%abv. On the nose, the aroma is perfect. Honey, Maple, Cereal, Cough syrup. Hay, maraschino cherries syrup and caramelized yemite. Super sweet and beautiful. The palate is not as interesting and it is pretty simple for a 40yo whisky. It seems that the long time in the cask has given it an off-putting influence, since it is way too spicy. Oak spice and salty. Can't find much else. Aftertaste i also very simple. I got only three notes: hay, dim peat and wet sugar. Overall it is very dissapointing to have a 40yo dram with a great nose, that completely falls apart on the palate. I don't think i would recommend this one. Due to my Scoring system this one has an 84/100, but certainly feels like less.

This Teeling 24yo Irish Whiskey has won the 2019 World Whiskies Awards, as best whiskey of the year, but is it really the greatest dram of this year? The first question we should make is ¿how did Teeling released a 24yo Whiskey if it opened in 2015? Well, the answer is that they had bought some casks from other distilleries in ex bourbon casks, and they have finished this batch of 5000 bottles in Sauterness Wine Casks. The second question is.... is it truly the best overall whiskey of the year? Lets find out: Bottled at Teeling's classic strength of 46% it has a tawny color. On the nose: Very Fruity and Sweet. Cinnamon right from the start. Very spicy on the nose. Apple Caramel. Red apples, apple pie. Cooked apples. Coffee beans, dulce de leche, super sweet, it is like a dessert. It is a truly apple pie on the nose. No alcohol note at all. Milk powder and vanilla after first sip. Gerber's apple mash for babies. On the palate, it is more of the same. Apple pieces, cooked. Caramel, dulce de leche. Full cinnamon spice. First sip is super spicy. Apricots and ginger develop after the third sip. Aftertaste delivers something different. Tropical fruits are the main thing here. Peaches, cinnamon and pineapple. Long finish. Very nice. Overall, this is a €325 dram, easy drinkable, very fruity but not complex at all. If you asked me, you can a lot of better whiskies for that price. I think this is a good dram, but in no way this is (for me) the best whiskey of 2019. 88 over 100 is the score with most justice that i have ever given to a whiskey. It is no lower than that and it doesn't feel like it deserves more.

One of the few Game of Thrones edition whiskies i was missing was from one of my favorite distilleries, the Talisker Select Reserve. A NAS dram with the promise of nice flavor just because it is a Talisker. This one is all about the Greyjoys, a Game of Thrones family which are mostly remember for their sea life, just as Talisker. Bottled at their classic 45.8%abv, tawny. On the nose: Salty, Maritime, Oregano, lightly Peated, Sea and sand. On the palate, This is the lightest, softest talisker ever. Toffee, vanilla, burnt bread. Sooooo drinkable and easy. Not very interesting though. Aftertaste is the best part by far. Peat spice, pepper so light. Earthy peat. Great burn, pleasant. Overall this is a talisker for non talisker drinkers. It has been softened for people who are going to buy this whisky just because of the tv series and not because they know or like Talisker. It is actually a great way to enter peaty/smoky whiskies, but it definitively is the worst talisker. Even so, 84 over 100 is the score i have for it.

When talking about peaty whiskies, Talisker is my go-to dram. I had the opportunity to taste this young expression which has been bottled at a high abv of 59.4% to just punch you in the face. This is a special 2018 release from Diageo. On the nose: Inmidiate peat with orange. Dry grass burning, Hay burning. Toffee. Lemon after first sip. Dulce de leche. On the palate, it is a Wonderful dram.Toffee is surrounded with peat. Pepper is coming up. Its like a higher abv talisker.... wait! Toffees and peat. Aftertaste is the best part of this rewarding whisky. Ashes, Bonfire. Salty. It Burned my mouth forever, but in a pleasant way. Overall this, as all Taliskers, is a great whisky. It gives you all the flavor you want, with that typical profile from this distillery. 90 over 100. Amazing.

Talisker. Everything else is a fairy tale. Hello. Buy talisker. In any of its expressions. Bottled at 45.8%, tawny color. I had a lot of drinks today, but one talisker Port Ruighe. Obviously this was the best whisky. IF YOU EVER CAST AWAY ON AN ISLAND, I HOPE IS SKYE ISLAND HOME OF TALISKER. On the nose is the most dim talisker, still an interesting dram: port (seagulls and fish stuff), slight peat and lots of salt. The worst nose on a talisker so far still a solid 20 over 25. On the palate: FANTASTIC. VERY HOT, very spicy but in a macho pleasant way. Oranges, hard salt (that barbecue salt rocks), tabasco and chilli. Spectacular. Finish is long and very spicy. Your whole mouth goes numb because of the spicyness. Great. Overall i give this beauty a 94 over 100 and it is another wonderful talisker. GO AND BUY IT.

On the nose: Peat. (Not the cigarrete smoke, more like johnnie walker red "stinky" peatyness) Vanilla cream. Mountain forest (eucaliptus maybe) Citrus aroma somewhere. Its oranges (discovered after adding water) Grapes purple Very very very strong dram. Very different from skye. Lots of wood. Old wood, fire, smoke and a bitter sensation. Very powerful, not so pleasant finish but long and strong. Oakiness, lots of spices. Full bodied. I had to pour some drops of water to discover more and to finish it. It is almost what we called in Ecuador a "PURO"  which is straight alcohol. Although no alcohol aroma or taste is present, it feels like a "puro" because of its strong power (45.8% abv) (just as skye but this othe one is smooth and lovely). Dark storm is a great name for it. It feels like a strong storm in a boat, very scary. Update: added some water: same flavor. More spices come up but much more pleasant. You shouldn't need to add water to enhace a whisky.  Some caramel appeared now. The finish is still powerful.90 over 100

I believe this is the core version of talisker, and, as every other dram they made, it is awesome. Bottled at 45.8% a talisker classic, it has a Tawny color. On the nose is a lot like any other talisker, lots of peat, olives, tobacco, sea weed, herbal notes and caramel. Superb. On the palate it is very gentle and smooth, the smoother Talisker i have ever had. Oak, almonds, ashes, tobacco, oranges, very gentle, with a peaty short finish that makes this dram to lose some points. Overall it is an 90 over 100, but feels like a lot more. Recomended.

Another Japanese Whisky, another gem. This is the cheaper Blend from Suntory, but it is still made from yamazaki, chita and Hakushu, just as Hibiki is. Bottled at 43%, pale straw Color. On the nose, it is very fresh, with acetone, lemon peel, fresh lime, floral and chocolate notes. On the palate it is just wonderful, chocolate and toffee for a nano-second, then a strong tobbacco and dry grass note to end in this ultra powerful and spicy finish (clove and pepper). The finish is so long it might just be the longest finish i have ever tasted in a whisky. Amazing. Overall i give this dram a 94 over 100 and it is a must, specially for the price. Cheers!

Definitively the best single grain.... but still a single grain. A very enjoyable whisky because it is so creamy. Bottled at 43%abv, one of the core expressions of Suntory. On the nose, corn, Butter, Ginger, typical grain and Vanilla cream cake. On the palate, it is the most Creamy whisky i have ever had. Vanilla cream cake Cola, Clove, herbal notes. Peppery finish, pleasant. Fine fine whisky. Overall an 88 over a 100, a revalidation of grain whiskies.