Tastes

Rewarding. That is my summary of this not so complex whisky that i have enjoyed. It is not something that will change your life but i just truly had a good time tasting it. This is my third Bunnahabhain and frankly the other two did not impressed me much (Shania Twain quote). Ceòbanach actually means "Smoky Mist" and it is properly pronounced 'kyaw-bin-och'. This is the heavily peated expression from this distillery, famous for been "not so peated". Bottled at 46.3%abv, natural pale straw color, un-chill filthered. On the nose, this is very interesting. Right away when you open the bottle, you will feel the peat and yellow apples. But those are fake aromas; when you pour yourself a dram, the notes change into this very creamy, peaty whisky. The most amazing and accurate aroma note is Rum Raisins ice cream. It is amazing how clean that aroma is here. Earthy peat is intense, sometimes too powerful as alcohol not as peaty. There is a marvelous tropical sweetness. Grapes and White wine. Beautifully perfumed.So far this is the best bunna' on the nose. So creamy. On the palate it is quite spicy. Definitively some raisin influence.Turns spicy fast. Rum raisins ice cream. Aftertaste has a lovely tobacco smoke. Very rewarding. Nice Pepper, Puffs of smoke, very pleasant. Ginger and salt. Overall this is a very good, straightforward dram. Not complex but somehow manages to be pleasant and "fun". I had to reason it a little while, because it was good enough to trick my scoring system into something higher, but a fair score for it is 88 over 100. For $70 a bottle, this one can be recommended.

Almost a 4.5 it didn't quite live to my expectations. Safe to say that in a blind tasting i even wouldn't guess this is an islay dram, its peatiness is too dim. On the nose is very weak but gets a lot better on the palate and the finish is great. Bottled at 46.3%abv, with a very attractive tawny natural color. On the nose is very light. Brown cake (wedding cake) raisins, brownies and a earthy peat (not smoke, earth, dirt). On the palate is a lot better, full smoke, tongue burn, hay, spices (pepper), oak. Finish is spicy, mouth watering and very long. This is the best perk of the dram. Overall i give this whisky an 86 over 100. Cheers.

What an amazing dram this was. After i couldn't live to the 18yo hype, (it wasn't real for me), this very special distillery blew my mind with this whisky. You can just buy a bottle and drink one dram after a dessert. Bottled at 46.3% On the nose: Dark fruits with chocolates. Prunes very clean. Dulce de leche and baked apples. Much more delicate and refined. Mostly prunes. That typical burnt hay from bunnahabhain appears. On the palate, only two notes, but excelent ones: super vanilla / chocolate and slight citric flavor. Aftertaste is also amazing. Oranges with dulce de leche. Sweet with a slight ashiness. Oak spices stay very long in your mouth. A very pleasant dry herbal note. Overall this whisky is just amazing. It lost some points on the palate due to its "straightforwardness" but it is definitively a wonderful dram. 94 over 100.

One fine Bourbon. Lovely and pleasant to taste. Bottled at 45%abv, with a polished mahogany color. On the nose is fruity and "artificial". Prune and orange citrus aroma, cocoa powder, milk powder (formula), vanilla, caramel, chocolate. On the palate is great also. Tangerine, slight ashes, oak and black pepper. Delicious. Body is medium and the finish is very spicy and long. Overall is a great bourbon, one of the best i have had, 84/100.

beautiful blended scotch. very balanced, state of the art. On the nose you get a friendly aroma filled with vanilla, cream, herbal and flower notes. on the palate starts a little sweet, like caramel, butterscotch and maybe chocolate, dark chocolate. Then the sweetness fades into an spicy note but very gentle and balanced, with a tiny bit of bitterness. the after taste is also medium and gratifiying. To put it in a word, this whisky is balanced. lovely dram i just had. i almost forgot. there is orange somewhere too

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!