Tastes

Wonderful blended scotch. So complex that makes it so simple to taste and nose. On the nose you will find chocolate, cream, vanilla, coffee and orange. Beautiful aroma. On the palate you get a gentle spicyness which is tasty, caramel, wood, vanilla, banana and coffee. The finish is long and very pleasant. Beautiful experience. After a lot of blended whiskies, in my opinion Buchanan's has the best options and it is the best household. there is peat also somewhere in there. one of the best whiskies on the market

I was in a whisky tasting last night when the host said "ok lets open something a little old" and he took out this Bruichladdich 10yo, old presentation, maybe from 2003, with the metal case and the old label. I don't have the best impression from this distillery, because "the classic laddie" was awful, and then i had the port charlotte and that was good, and then i had the Black Art and it was awesome. So this coul be the final vote to determine a general veredict. Lets see how that went. This actually had 46%abv. Pale straw color. (The cork broke. Not unexpected at all). On the nose: Orange right away. Lemon. Coffee; Acetone, Butter and Cloth softerner. On the palate, it is a little strange. Ginger, Soap (typical from Bruichladdich), fresh Oranges. A little watery. Aftertaste is the best part of this dram. Peat, Pepper, Tobacco. Orange infused peat. Eucaliptus.Toffee. Really nice stuff. Overall this is a very unbalanced dram. Good/regular on the nose; weird on the palate and a great aftertaste. There is a fine line between Interesting and akward and this one is hard to tell on which side it is. 83 over 100.

I am not a big Bowmore fan, but this one and the 18 yo one are the best expressions of this brand. Bottled only for the travel retail market, the label says "bourbon cask, golden and elegant". Bottled at 43% with a tawny color. On the nose: burnt rubber as soon as you open the bottle, peat, salt, prunes, sea aroma and beach aroma, quite impressive notes. On the palate, not a lot going on: oranges, hotness in a pleasant way, a long spicy and ashy finish, and an aftertaste full of allspice. Overall i give this one a solid 84 over 100, maybe the best score for a Bowmore in my opinion. Cheers.

Everyone who reads my reviews know that Bowmore didn't made it for me in my past two experiences (12yo and 15 yo darkest), but this beauty is totally different, changing my whole opinion of the brand. Older is better for Bowmore. Bottled at 43%abv, with a beautiful Burnt Umber color. This Islay is the most "Islay" of the 3 bowmore i have tasted, On the nose its so perfect and complex that you are preparing for a ten, but sadly the palate doesn't meet the Nose, eventhough is not bad at all. I have to say that im impressed with the long legs this drops on the glencairn, the longest i've ever seen so far. On The nose: the most perfect perfumed peat there is. Under it you will find complex aromas as toffee, vanilla, prune peel, ashes, citrus fruits and caramel, all changing, all there, but showing themselves in an artistic way. On the palate is HOT. Medium-full thick bodied, with notes of red chilli peppers, oak, spices, dark chocolate and some oil that resembles sunblocking oil or gasoline of some kind. This is a macho dram, but pleasant and mouth watering at the same time. Dark Chocolate is also present. The finish is also medium-long with spices and ashes, some earthy flavor as well. This beauty is the bowmore you should try, forget those silly 12 and 15 yo bottles, go for the big leagues with this one. 86 out of 100.

This is a fancy Bourbon, refined and perfumed. Bottled at 46.5% abv with a Tawny color. I got to say i did not know what to expect, i have heard good things about this one but with bourbon you just never know. It actually was pretty good, smooth and elegant. On the nose, as soon as you open the bottle you get the typical bourbon aroma profile. I got: wet forest or wet grass, vanilla, lemon, plums, a slight smoke, and after the glass was empty, chocolate. Very perfumed, elegant. That is the impression overall, is a fancy bourbon. On the palate is a little dissapointing, but so, so smooth. Cough syrup, oranges, oak, pepper, with a long finish full of ashes and spicyness. Medium bodied, it is very very easy to drink, has no alcohol burn at all and it seemed to be made for everyone, i dont think a whiskey drinker will ever tell you this is a bad dram, maybe not as exciting as other drams, but definitively a good dram. 81 out of 100. Cheers!

A peaty speysider. Crafted this way intentionally to show the world that speyside can use peat in their whiskies. Bottled at 46%abv. Pale straw color On the nose peat, impalpable sugar, smoky note like cigarretes and earthy peatyness (also fresh can of tennis balls). On the palate, very sulphuric. Spicy, exactly like an Ardbeg or a Laphroaig. Typical orange flavor from islay. Finish medium, very "ileach". My overall conclusion is that this is a good whisky because it smells, feels and tastes just as an islay, but if i wanted an Islay Whisky i would have bought one. 92 over 100, because Islay can go wrong, even though this is an speysider. Slainte!

I haven't had a lot of Benriachs, but everytime i have had one, it has been wonderful. This one was no exception. When sherry whiskies go higher abv percentage, its like they are on steroids. Really amazing flavors and bold experience awaits. Well this is a Benriach from an independent Bottler that has yet to go into market. I had a sample of it during my time in Scotland. Bottled at 58.7%abv, tawny color. On the nose, perfect score. Almonds, sherry, cherry, Cognac, blackberries, tobacco, wine, marmalade, raisins bathed in chocolate, sirah or pinot noir wine. Very complex, very fancy, wonderful. On the palate, another perfect score. Red fruits, dehydrated fruits, figs, pineapple, cheese flan. Everything surrounded in caramel. Aftertaste is good, not as perfect as the nose and palate. Tobacco with sherry, ginger. Overall i am right now in a sherry phase of my life, i crave sherry whiskies more than peaty ones lately, and this expression was simply amazing. This dram only missed 0.25 to get a 5 star score. 95 over 100 (actually 95.75) amazing dram. The owners of Benriach are the same ones as Glendronach SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT IN TERMS OF QUALITY. sláinte!

I have been drinking beautiful whisky lately, what can i say? It is because of the samples. I bought whatever i read it was good. And this, was good. Bottled at 46%abv, with a tawny color. The nose is so particular, is that hybrid between raisins and peanuts, that "orange raisin". It is that. So memorable. There is also sherry, blackberry marmalade, a smoke that resembles a brandy shot and maybe grapes. Nice aroma. On the palate, very complex. Caramel, smoke, raisins, mint, oily like kerosene, ginger, tobbacco, ashes, hot. Finish a little oily. Not the best kind. Overall i give this baby a 92 over 100. I would recommend this dram, but depends on the price. I bought a sample and i dont really know the price of the full bottle but 80$ would be fair for it. Cheers!

I usually think Balvenie is overrated and not something i can commonly enjoy. I have read a lot about this "peat week" expressions they have, but i never had faith on it, since i also read a lot of good reviews on their other offerings, which i don't usually share. BUT THIS IS SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT. This 2003 vintage, 48.3%abv is an amazing dram, and deserves all the hype it gets. On the nose it has an amazing earthy peatiness, salt, iodine, old oranges, smoky and definitively feels more like a Highland Park than a Balvenie. On the palate it is powerful. All other Balvenies i have had are usually dull. But this one, pure power. Toffee, Inmediate wasabi bomb. SUPER SPICY. Red chilli peppers. Toffee and sweet on the second sip. Aftertaste is salty and ashy. Really something enjoyable. Overall, i give this dram a solid and fair 93 over 100. Great whisky really.

This one is an oldie. A Ballentine's 12yo Pure Malt, which inmidiately trasports us back to before 2005, where the term "pure malt" was a legal definition to a "vatted malt" or as the law compels now: "blended malt". That means that there is no grain whisky in this blend, it has been made entirely from different single malts. Bottled at 40%abv, i would believe this bottle is from 2002 or 2003. 12yo statement. On the nose: Grassy; Dry grass; Hay; Vanilla and Malted barley. On the palate: Super smooth; Vanilla and Heather. Aftertaste is great! It is the best part. Malted barley finish but very elegant; dim peatiness and Heather. Overall this is a very interesting dram, although it could be a little too straightforward, but is like a piece of history nowadays. 84 over 100.