Tastes

This is a travel retail exclusive expression from the traditional and popular hibiki harmony. This is a very different dram than the "regular" japanese harmony. Very easy drinkable and delicious. You can take on the whole bottle and not even notice it. The main difference between the two: sherry. Bottled at 43%abv, tawny color. On the nose it is a glendronach 12. There is no better way to tell it. Sherry, vanilla custard cream, vanilla cookies (the ones you mash to make a cake). After a couple minutes a citrus note appear, lemon peel and maybe prunes. On the palate it is very appealing and easy, very balanced sherry, oak, almonds, oranges, vanilla and allspice. The aftertaste is medium long and very sweet, with cinnamon and vanilla notes. Balance is the name of the game, it is not the greatest dram ever, i was even having trouble in deciding wether to give it a 4.0 or a 4.5, but because of how balanced it is, it managed to score the 90 points to achieve its goal as a very recommendable whisky. 90 /100, nice dram. (But The original japanese harmony is better and cheaper).

Keepers of the Quaich is a Scottish society, or a special club if you like, where only people who have spread the whisky culture can get in. A quaich is actually a gaelic cup, made out of metal, used in formal events as a welcome or goodbye gift to visitors. The Keepers of the Quaich take themselves seriously, they even have a magazine and their own whisky limited editions. Since i had the opportunity to be at Chivas Regal spiritual home, i had the awesome chance to taste one of them, obviously the Strathisla Keepers of the Quiach whisky. Bottled at 59.4% amber color. On the nose: Hay. Dry grass. Heather. Orkney earthy peat, orange peel. On the palate it is very bitter and very spicy. A good way to describe it is that there is an Orange mixed with toffee with an overall bitter sweetness under the powerful strength of this dram. Aftertaste is the best part. Chocolate very refined and some saltiness. Overall this wasn't the greatest dram on earth, but it sure is a very limited one. My score for it is 81 over 100.

Blind tastings are amazing, they strip you fron any prejudice you might have. I was part of a class about World Whiskies, and one of those drams, without us (the students) knowing, was the australian Starward. This single malt Whisky won some prizes lately, and i can swear that the first time i tasted it, i thought it was a Glenlivet. It is as well crafted as any other scotch whisky, and it is young. As years go by, it can really become a legend. Bottled at 43% it is matured in Melbourne, in red wine and port casks. On the nose, Banana, Plums, Citric lemon, Milk powder and Red wine. On the palate, Chocolate, Hazelnut, Oranges, It is like its going to release a spice bomb but it just doesn't. Super interesting. Sweet, powdery. Aftertaste is full of clove and tobacco. Very pleasant. A little short. Overall this is one good dram, and i don't believe it is expensive. For what i know they have another expression matured in an australian Sherry called Apera. I will be looking for that one. 86 over 100.

Springbank, i have only had two of your expressions and i got to say, you impress me. This are actually good drams, the ones you can enjoy everyday. Bottled at 46%abv On the nose, grape candy, earthy, heather, burnt crest, grass, petrichor, hay. On the palate: an oak burn but a pleasant one, vanilla, oak. A little straightforward but good. The aftertaste was amazing. An absolutely pleasant spice bomb. Perfect score here. Overall i give this dram a nice 88/100 and it surely feels like more.

Wow, this is a great whisky. Didn't know what to expect since i haven't had any Campbeltown whiskies before. Comes at 46%abv, with a pale gold color. On the nose is very complex, starts with spices that tingle your nose, then changes to citrus notes like oranges, plum, all wrapped up in a slight peatyness; the it changes again into a sweet aroma, like Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Cookies with cream. If you let it sit for minutes while aprecciating its aroma, tobacco notes will also appear on the nose. Very Complex and interesting. On the palate is more normal, But surprisingly smooth. It has Oaky notes, Hotness, spicyness, Dry grasses, tobacco, apricot peel. Full bodied, mouth watering, makes you move your tongue to fully grab it all. nice experience. The finish is long and satisfying, with spices and a little hotness. Great dram, one of the best this year so far. 89 out of 100.

My first smokehead ever was a very good offering, been exactly whay they say they are, a peaty sherry dram. Actually it was super spicy but the nose was amazing. This comes from an independent bottler and the spirit is drawn from an islay distillery (rumor has it that is lagavulin or caol ila, but it felt laphroaig-ish). Bottled at 48%abv, beautiful deep copper color. The bottle is actually beautiful with a red skeleton head in a black decanter. On the nose, almost perfect score. Peat. Nerf toys. Soap. Red fruits. Maraschino sherry syrup. Cherry caramel. Fresh can of Tennis balls. Clove spiciness. Cherry juice that has thickened. It felt like a laphroaig spirit. On the palate it is way too spicy and not that pleasant. Super spicy. Sulphuric. Cotton socks (yeah that's right). So Salty that burns. Peat. Burns like hell. Aftertaste, Tennis balls, Herbal. Dry like condensation happened from smoke. Oloroso sherry profile somewhere. Overall this is a very unbalanced dram. Great nose, not so great palate (without been off putting) and a mild aftertaste. 82 over 100.

There are only two distilleries (right now) in the island of Orkney, in the north of Scotland. One is Highland Park, famous for its viking culture, and the other one is Pernod Ricard's Scapa, a very gentle whisky. This is the review for one of their two core expressions, Glansa. The other one is Skiren which i have reviewed in the past along with the 16yo, which is now discontinued. Bottled at 40%, glansa is the mildly peated version of scapa; On the nose: dim Peat, Heather, Toffee, Almonds and Butterscotch. On the palate: Orange and chocolate. Dulce de leche. Vanilla. And a sweet called melcocha, which is a type of hard taffy that tastes like vanilla and dulce de leche mixed presented in an unbreakable stick that chips your teeth. Aftertaste has Clove, a very gentle peat, some Saltiness and maybe a sweet dim hint from what came of the palate. Short finish. Overall, this is a nice whisky. Good for the price. 82 over 100 is a proper score for it.

My first Scapa was the skiren and i wasn't impressed. This one is a lot better, but i still think you can get a better whisky for the same money. This expression is also known as "The Orcadian" On the nose, Salt, Heather, Caramel, Dim grape, Blackberry. Very dim phenolic notes, After couple of minutes, blackberry jam opens. On the palate it was very mellowed. Caramel and dulce de leche. Cinnamon and Salt. Delicious. Aftertaste was long, also with cinnamon and salt notes, quite nice. Overall this is more what i expect from an island Whisky, but i still think Highland Park rules over Orkney. 87/100.

Third stop on Douglas Laing core expressions, another beautiful bottle: SCALLYWAG, that has a dog similar to the one on "Monopoly" in the label. This time is a Speyside blended malt, made primarly from Macallan, Glenrothes and Mortlach. Bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, amazing: Salt. Smoky, cigarrettes; Dry cake as in all of these douglas Laing expressions; Lemon and Orange candy. On the palate, Caramel, Honey, dim Spicyness. So fancy, well made, very Smooth. Tobbacco notes also present. Finish allspice notes, very pleasant and smooth. Overall this beats the "timorous beastie" by 1 point, 93 over a 100. Great dram.

This one quite surprised me. I thought it was going to be one of those Diageo's mediocre 12yo malt expressions, but actually it was very good. When the game of thrones expressions came out, the one from this distillery was going up in prices like crazy so i got the impression they had something good, but then i read some reviews about this whisky and the reactions were mixed. Had to try for myself, this are my notes: Bottled at 40%abv On the nose, it is almost perfect, that is why this whisky has a good score: Cherries, Caramel; the most beautifuo vanilla aroma i have ever encountered on a dram. sugar, Lemon, Oranges, Apricot, Peach and Cinnamon. Very nice. On the palate, things are enough good to deserve some points, but it is not as near as good as the nose was. Peaches, apples and Vanilla. That's it. Aftertaste has a sider / apple note. A lovely and clean fruity finish. Overall this dram is a solid 86 over 100, due to its amazing aroma. It can be so much better in the palate, but stills manages to pass the exam.