Tastes

Tamdhu nowadays is considered a high-end single malt whisky, a Macallan Killer if you must; but back a couple decades ago, it was mostly used in blends and it was quite unknown. Having said all that, they have always been proud of the sherry maturation of their whiskies, and i wanted to try a piece of the past, an 18yo Tamdhu from the 1990s and early 2000s. Lets see if it was any good back then. Bottled at 43%abv, chesnut color. On the nose, it is sweet and complex. Red apples with caramel. Honey and cinnamon. It is an apple pie, but also a fruitcake. Candiee fruits. Aroma changes after breathing, it releases notes of oranges, chocolate, figs and blackberry marmalade. Almonds and hay. Simply astonishing aroma. On the palate, it is dry and a little cowboy-ish. Dry paper sheets, ginger, tobacco and hay. Grapefruit and chilli. Nice stuff. Aftertaste is amazing. It has a nice "bite". Tobacco and metallic notes; clove and acid oranges. Very mineral. Overall, this is one fancy, super complex, dreamy single malt. The Tamdhu spirit is present and the sherry maturation here is top notch. An impressive single malt that now i am sad to have emptied the bottle. I need to find another one, and after that, maybe i look for more till this vintage release is gone forever. My score for it ia 95 over 100.

There is a rather new Macallan collection. It is the number 126 released this month, lol. No, really, Macallan has been releasing lots of new expressions in the past five years, i can bet they have made more whiskies than any other distillery out there. The Harmony Collection is actually an environmental-friendly group of bottlings, with boxes and labels made from recycled cocoa & coffee husks. This is my third review from this releases, the Macallan Rich Cacao. This has been made with a collaboration of Jordi Roca, a famous pastry chef who have won a Michelin Star. Bottled at 44%abv. On the nose, lots of sherry influence. Cherries, red fruits, hazelnut and milk chocolate formula. Strawberries, red berries, chocolate. After some sips, the aroma gave me cinnamon and clove. On the palate, it is good, but nothing too special. Red fruits, hazelnuts and almonds. Dim dark chocolate. After the first sip it changed into maraschino cherries and tiramisú dessert. Aftertaste is spicy and slightly better. Salt, ginger, bitter dark chocolate and macerated fruit liquor. Overall, this is an above average whisky, but as most Macallans, it is better for you to buy it and not drinking it, since it gains value like crazy for a "juice" that is a little mediocre. It is even crazier that this statement is not so controversial nowadays. Most people know that lately Macallan has been releasing "sub-par" single malts that are easy to drink and that might please a group of fans of the brand but it has become increasingly difficult to impress other whisky enthusiasts. My score for this one is 88 over 100, which is not bad, but also gives you the impression that you can have better single malts for less price.

I can't deny a free dram, specially when it is a special limited release. A friend of mine gave me this Oban 2006 Distiller's Edition, one of Diageo's yearly releases. I recently went to Oban distillery and it was gorgeous. Their whiskies have never blown my mind, but i have to say i do like them a lot. This is a 43%abv bottling. On the nose, it doesn't give me an "Oban" profile at all. Mashed apples, stewed apples, super fresh. After some minutes it released this latex aroma, like a water balloon. On the palate, it is a little straightforward but rather nice. Apples in every way possible: mashed, stewed, peeled, etc. Aftertaste is where i finally found the famous Oban Salt. Salty, apples and sider. Overall, this is the most average dram ever. It is safe, it is enjoyable, it is a bit boring and it won't change anyone's lives. Having said that, this is balanced but very simple. I know that most whisky drinkers might find this Oban to be "smooth", but that is a term that we, whisky enthusiasts, don't like too much. My score for it is a fair 84 over 100.

I have previously reviewed some whiskies from the incredible story of the Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay, made by the independent bottler "Fable", but i never had this Caol Ila expression before. An 8yo Caol Ila, bottled at 59.8%abv, might scare a few people, but then again, this is a scary story. The Ghost Piper still lives in that cave where he got lost forever. Lets see if this whisky can be reminded for generations as well. On the nose, it smells beatiful. Vanilla custard, fondant, smoke, pepper, ashes and chilli. On the palate it is quite violent due to the peatiness and the high abv. Sugar notes, chilli. Aftertaste is a raw peat bomb, mixed with red chilli. Feels potent, young, but not bad at all. Overall, a very simple and straightforward whisky that is potent but rather enjoyable. The bottle didn't last too long, which is always a good sign. Above average, for an 8yo dram, this can be considered "good". My score for it is 85 over 100.

It is always nice to try whiskies from non traditional whisky countries. Even if Germany has been making whisky for a while, you don't tend to think of them when talking about whisky makers. St. Killian is a distillery established in 2012, and the beautiful bottle has the shape of a copper still. This review is for their peated expression, that comes at 46%abv. On the nose, it is a bit simple, but the aroma notes are quite interesting. Starburst fruit chew sweets; pineapple juice, pineapple pie and impalpable sugar. After a sip, the aroma transformed into lotion for burnt skin and tropical punch. On the palate, it is a bit richer, with notes of smoke, ginger and pepper. Aftertaste is smoky, a bit straightforward, but you can tell that this has been well crafted. Pineapple and ashes. Overall, this wasn't the most peated nor the most impressive whisky ever; nevertheless, it is a solid everyday dram. I don't believe this is too expensive and might be worth trying just to check your buckelist of whiskies from different countries. Nice looking bottle, and above average dram, my score for it is 83 over 100.

Feis ile is that special moment where Islay's distilleries rmake a festival, and some really rare expressions are released. Lagavulin bottlings are very sought by collectors and whisky enthusiasts, due to their great experiments during the festival. This 2023 special edition, was a 14yo Armagnac cask finish, at cask strength. With a beautiful 58.4%abv, this is one bottle i wasn't going to miss. On the nose, it was amazing. Lime, lemon pie and Meringue. It is a lemoncello with smoke. Very citric and fruity. Grapefruit, mango and medicinal notes. After a first sip, the aroma fell a little, but it managed to deliver some tropical punch notes. Apricots. On the palate it has three notes, but it feels absolutely perfect. A Havanna Pastry Sweet "Alfajor". Lemon and pineapple. Super nice. Aftertaste is where the peat lived. Smokey, ashes and ginger. Long finish. Lovely. Overall; this is is not an overly complex "Laga" but it is one that was very near to perfection. It really lost two points on the aroma that fell dramatically after a sip; if this did not happen, it would have been a perfect score. My rate for this amazing single malt is 98 over 100.

You know i can't resist a beautiful label, on a Signatory Vintage decanter. Specially if the whisky has such a deep copper color due to an obvious strong sherry maturation. Well, this is the darkest Caol Ila i have ever seen, and it gets darker due to its great looking label of the Phantom Horseman. This one is actually a part of a collection called Angels & Horsemen, everything pretty apocalyptic. To make things even better, this has been bottled at 58.4%abv, one of only 1238 bottles ever made. On the nose, this is incredible. Cherries, red fruits, plums, blackberry marmalade, lotion for burnt skin. Smokey and medicinal. On the palate, it is absolutely perfect. Marmalade with hot chilli peppers. Cherries. It is so thick, you can even chew it. Lulo fruit, Hershey's Strawberry syrup. Aftertaste is a Doomsday of flavor. It is so powerful and good. Very dry, star aniseed, medicinal, cotton, swamp. Lovely strong spiciness. Overall, the Judgement day for this dram is really excelent. This is an extraordinary, unforgettable and mythical whisky, full of flavor. It is so complex that it has various layers of flavor and aroma notes. Amazing stuff, this is a perfect single malt. My score for it of course is a 100 over 100, and it will be on my top ten whiskies of 2023 for sure.

Im always in the search for rare whisky releases, independent bottlings of my favorite distilleries, and of course alluring labels that make me fall for the marketing strategy. In one of such adventures, i found this 9yo "Laffrodite", like the Greek Goddess of Love, but mixed with Laphroaig, lol. Bottled by Cask Viking, a company established in 2020, this is a blended malt, at 58.5%abv. On the nose, this is clearly a Laphroaig. Aroma notes of a fresh can of Tennis Balls, mop wipe, gunpowder, red chilli, pepper and the aroma of an opened first aid kit. It is like a pair of socks, but also a little bloody. Fudge and dulce de leche. Toffee and a spongy nerf toy. Everything very Laphroaig-ish. On the palate, this is even more Laphroaig-ish. So freaking powerful on the palate, is like unleashing napalm on your tongue. A very strong red chilli; toffee. Aftertaste is like a peat punch to your face. Swamp. Honey. Green Tea. Ashes. Overall, this is a whisky you can savour on a Monday 8pm after a hard day of work, or maybe on a monday at 10am during a very difficult morning of work, lol. So powerful and breathtaking, maybe it lacks some complexity but it will compensate it with strong emotions. My score for it is a solid 93 over 100, it really hit my soul.

This is my first Thompson Bros single malt ever. I have seen this very artistic looking bootles for quite some time in auctions, but i never bought one till now, where i found a GlenAllachie, (one of nowaday's best single malts out there in my opinion) and it was a limited release of only 306 bottles, aged for 11 years and bottled at 52.9%abv. The label shows the Aztec pyramid of Quetzalcoalt, the feathered serpent god, but instead of a ray of sun dropping down the pyramid, you see a barrel of GlenAllachie being poured to the stairs of the monument. On the nose, this is great!; a powdery aroma of hazelnuts, oranges, tangerine and amontillado sherry. Nesquik milk. After a couple of minutes, it changed into metallic and medicinal notes. Wall paint. Chocolate. On the palate, it was also amazing. Hazelnut and acid oranges. Chocolate madness and marshmallows. So good. Aftertaste is just eternal and beautiful. So long. Impalpable sugar, winey and dry. Metallic notes and chocolate. Overall this was a super pleasant surprise. This is really an outstanding whisky, full of sweet and acid flavors. Marvelous and balanced in every criteria. This one is truly a memorable one, it is such a pity that there aren't too many bottles. I will try to find another one. My score for it, is a wonderful 96 over 100.

Highland Park is famous for a lot of things, one of them is their "location releases". Those are usually single cask strength expressions, with geographic names like "London", "Amsterdam" or "Gotham City" (i am actually not kidding, google it). This review is for a Single Cask Strength called "Germany", bottled at 65.1%abv, 10yo, bottled in 2018, drawn from the cask No. 140, which was a first fill american oak sherry puncheon. One of only 618 bottles ever made. On the nose, this is quite good and powerful. Cigarrettes, ashes, prunes and dark chocolate. Apricots and leather. On the palate, i got only two notes, but well delivered. White chocolate and cherries. Aftertaste was a little too raw. Sulphuric amd metallic notes; cherries. Overall, this was a good whisky that didn't gave me too much complexity. I am actually a fan of Highland Park, and i love cask strength whiskies, but i havent fully enjoyed any of Highland Park Cask Strength expressions. I don't know what it is but i am unimpressed. This is still an above average dram, my score for it is 84 over 100.