Tastes

Surprising to say the least, i didn't expect anything from this one. Feels like a younger whisky than the 12yo labeled in the bottle. Bottled at 40%abv with a yellow gold color. On the nose you get the most of it, with prune peel, vanilla cream, earth (dirt), grape branches, cabernet Sauvignon wine, nutty and medicinal notes. Almost perfumed. On the palate is a little hot and harsh, but manages to deliver. Main notes: Honey, wood (oak), almonds, cereal, oranges, and spices in a pleasant way. Finish is spicy and hot, long and full, one of its perks. Medium bodied, and mostly hot, this is a fair dram. 80 out of 100.

In my trip to Scotland one of the gems i found was Glen Garioch. Never had one of their whiskies before and now, after 3 expressions, i believe they have become a trending topic in my mind when thinking of a having a dram. First of all, a little background here: you don't pronounce Glen "GARY-OCK", it is pronounced "GLEN GEERIE". Having said that, this distillery has a lot of history: it was founded in 1797, by the Mason Family who lost the distillery and re-bought it several times; one of the Mason brothers discovered that Malaria was spread by mosquitoes, and during world war ii the british soldiers slept in the premises using it as a military base. Also this was the first distillery to use gas to heat up the copper stills. Well, lets talk about this expression, the 1797 founders reserve, which i believe is a rather new whisky, but it has a lot of flavor and it is very enjoyable, specially for a NAS. Bottled at 48%abv, tawny color. On the nose: Red fruits, Strawberry, Tobacco. Very Winey. Grape juice delicious aroma. Caramel. On the palate: Caramel, Grapes, Raisins, Oak spice. Nice balance between the vanilla flavors and the dehydrated fruits. Chocolate. Aftertaste is great also.Vanilla and tobacco leaf. Oak spice. Some Herbal notes. Clove. Very enjoyable. Overall for $45, this is a great whisky. Would recommend it easily. 88 over 100, balance is the keyword here. Sláinte!

A very good whisky, very balanced without been anything too special. Bottled at 40%abv with an amontillado sherry color. On the nose, coffee, brown sugar, chocolate, toasted caramel, sherry notes and grapes. On the palate, it is hot but not that much, notes of spice, lots of oak, ginger and peper, with a short-medium liquorice finish. Overall i give this one an 88 over 100, nice but a little boring on the palate.

My second Famous Grouse, another hit. This is without a doubt the best blended scotch if you measure price vs quality. 40%abv, tawny. On the nose, Raisins, Wedding cake, Mint, Bronzer, Cake, Blackberry jam. Very good. On the palate, it is ashy, peppery but also red fruits that makes this one a special dram. The aftertaste has a clove note that starts dim but grows over time. Overall, this dram is delicious and deserves an 88 over 100. It is cheap so pick this one up.

Ok. You might think im crazy but i am unbiased here. This 16 dollar blended scotch is very good. There has to be something going on in here, since it is a very famous and a best seller in scotland. It even has books written over it. Bottled at 40%abv this is a blended scotch, deep gold color. On the nose is very sweet, you can get most of its aroma because of some grain whisky that is inside the blend, because the corn and butter notes are easily identifiable. Letting it rest for a couple of minutes will rapidly give you vanilla cake, brownies, slight touch of cola that lost its gas, chocolate cupcake, and all those butter-made deserts. Lovely. On the palate is where i was most sceptical, but it surprised me. More butter, cereal, old wood, a little pleasant hotness, pepper, tobbacco and ashes, are the main notes. The body is medium; but the aftertaste was very interesting, it left me a spicy, phenolic sensation that takes your breath away, literally, making you feel poisoned for a second and then the spicyness kicks in a full mouth experience. Amazing. Adding a single drop of water will kill any aromas, but the flavor should change into a more sweet expression, of chocolate, more butter and almonds, but with a shorter finish. Definitively something i would buy to drink like there is no tomorrow at a party, for all this interesting features and price: 84/100. Cheers!

Edradour has blown my mind in the past months, and i am starting to develop fond feelings for this "scottish little gem". Caledonia 12yo is one of their expressions, a heavily sherried one (as all the others) but this can prove to be a challenge to some beginners. Bottled at 46.5%abv, super reddish deep copper color. On the nose: Orange caramel, maraschino cherry syrup; Red fruits, strawberry syrup . Super sweet but a little dim. Alcohol note is powerful. Glazed pork notes also appear. Actually the nose was not that great. On the palate it was delicious. Coffee, Sweet syrup, Sherried. This is a nice Spicy little fellow. Aftertaste is an atomic spice bomb. The most absolute spiciness there is. Ashes, clove, pepper and cinnamon. Overall i really enjoyed this and the score might not reflect what it really is. 86/100. Sláinte!

A normal bourbon, nothing too special, but not a bad dram. Bottled at 45%abv, with a russetmuscat color. On the nose is a typical bourbon, but not complex at all. Banana, banana split, vanilla ice cream. Clove. On the palate is fair, it is a thick dram, with tangerine, lots of pepper and clove. Finish is warm and pleasant but could be more interesting. Adding water to this dram will reveal lemon notes on the nose and more spicy on the palate. Overall i give this dram an 82 over 100 and would recommend it only if you find it cheap, since i wouldn't pay more than 40 dollars for it.

My first Deanston. Very nice things i have heard of you. Are those things true? Lets find out. I got to say that this one was one of those malts i have ignored for a long time because it just didn't made any clicks on my head. But recently whisky reviewers that i respect have been talking about this distillery like is the new Glendronach or something. So, i said to myself, if this is truly worth it, start medium big, so i went for the 18yo expression. The result was a very interesting and fine dram that IS NOT THE NEW GLENDRONACH. Bottled at 46.3%abv. Burnished gold color. On the nose: Vanilla very strong, Dry grass, Hay and Banana. A little simple here. On the palate, it is very interesting. Straight spice bomb, not in the aftertaste but in the first touch with your tongue. American oak spice, Burnt hay. Super sweet an enjoyable. Aftertaste stays into that profile of hay/grass/spice. Very pleasant actually. Wasabi, chilli. Overall this dram feels dry and grassy. A very good dram that might fit some people, for me it was ok. 85 over 100.

Here i start my reviews on some of the Game of Thrones Whiskies that recently appeared on the market. House Stark, from Dalwhinnie (actually called "Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost"), is a NAS whisky that tells the story of the Starks, one of the most important families on Hbo's tv series "GOT". Actually, the whisky is pretty nice, nothing to die for, the box where the bottle comes is a lot more beautiful than the actual bottle. On the nose, super fruity. Red Apples, Gerber Porridge, prunes and apricots. On the palate it is a little straightforward, but easy drinkable. A little watery, tastes like sider and hints of ginger. Aftertaste is a little smoky and some toasted oak notes appear. Overall this is the most average whisky ever. It tastes good and works well. Not expensive and collectable. 82 over 100 seems fit for it.

I have had a lot of whiskies, but surprisingly i haven't had this one till a few weeks ago. This is considered one of the classic malts of Scotland, and it is very famous, and now i know why, because it is a good dram. Bottled at 43%abv. Everything is balanced here. On the nose, honey, plums, fresh peanuts, perfume. On the palate: honey, salt, caramel and tobacco. Aftertaste is medium with ginger spice. Super easy drinkable, very enjoyable, nothing to die for but an excelent dram, 80 over 100.