Tastes

One of the latest releases from the famous Aberlour is this expression called "Casg Annamh" which is actually a gaelic way to say "Rare Cask". Bottled at 48%abv, beautiful deep copper color. On the nose, coffee, wet grass, chocolate, orange, humidity, plums and cocoa butter. Very interesting. On the palate, much more straightforward, but it works perfectly. Dark chocolate, with a heavy cocoa percentage. Oranges, almonds, vanilla, milk powder, cherries. Aftertaste is all about ginger spice, tobacco and a little ashy. Burnt oak. Overall, i think the 48%abv is giving this dram a nice bouquet of flavors, much easier to drink than the A'bunadh, and should definitively make part of your collection. 88/100

61.1%abv... what can i say. I loved it, it got me a little dizzy (i had a 63%abv bookers, a 48%abv laphroaig quarter cask, and a 45%abv Jack Daniel's Sinatra before in the same night so spare me with this review. On the nose is harsh, alcohol note very strong and a little fruity. On the palate, Delicious; Fruity, Hot pleasant, Grassy, Allspice. Adding 2 drops of water showed clove notes. Adding 5 drops of water gave me lovely prune, white wine and more clove notes. Aftertaste was a bit hell-ish with a strong ginger note. Overall i give this monster an 89 over 100, very interesting dram. This is the batch 58 by the way.

There is not a more "8 over 10" whisky than Aberlour. Not bad, not good enough. A very drinkable and cheap option, a few interesting notes here and there. Bottled at 40%abv, amber color. On the nose, Strawberries, Sherry, Dim aroma but very pleasant, Cola, Almonds. On the palate, Oak very pleasant, Spicy peppery, Very easy to enjoy, a little Salty and Apricots. Finish a little ashy medium long. Overall this is an 85 over 100, i would recommend it for the price tag and the easy drinking.

One of those drams that you expect nothing from, that end surprising you in a very good way. Bottled at 40%abv, chesnut oloroso sherry color. On the nose is a little dim, sherry, prunes, some vanilla cream like cupcakes, slight orange aroma and something a little stinky like peat. On the palate is a lot better, complex, various notes come and go. I got wet bread, tobacco, spent fireworks ashes (i dont know if i have ever tasted, but i have smell them and you just know how it tastes), some caramel, to change to a beautiful aftertaste that doesn't last too long, but is very balanced, with oak and black pepper in a pleasant way, really it was the best part, eventhough it is short-medium. Light bodied, it is a solid dram which i have enjoyed, and i recommend. Cheers! 80 out of 100.

Beautiful whisky. On the nose you get a peaty vanilla note, with cream and oranges. On the palate you will find almonds, oakyness with a hot but gentle flavor. Finish is medium-long with lots of smoke. Very impressive. after tasting it a little more you also get bitterness at the finish. there are hints of chocolate. beautiful flavor really. unexpected.

Lets start from the truth: i am not a big fan of speysiders, and i usually give low scores to aberfeldy which i almost always try to avoid at all costs. Having said that, this is an exception to both of those statements. This one is a good expression. Bottled at 40%abv, tawny color. On the nose is a classic speysider, or as i like calling them: "the apple juices". Honey, green apples, honey Corn flakes, Cinnamon , Nutmeg, vanilla Cream. Nothing too impressive. On the palate it was actually a lot better: Red fruits, Cider, Oaky very pleasant and Honey. Finish is very long with hints of cider too. I scored this dram like this: nose: 20/25; palate 24/25; finish 25/25; balance: 22/25 and it gave me a very fair 91 over 100 for this good dram. Maybe it feels like an 88 over 100, but anyways it is a good whisky.

Aberfeldy is as fruity as it can be. The standard core range of 12, 18 and 21 are super fruity, as in fresh fruits. Apples and pears, your typical standard whisky. This expression, finished in madeira casks, gave it a twist... still fruity but tropical ones. Bottled at 40%abv, golden color. On the nose, amazing. Fruit salad, apples, pears, cinnamon, currants, pineapple, very tropical, like having a piña colada in a caribbean beach. On the palate, it gets more sweet in an artificial/sugary way, keeping some of the tropical fruitiness. Toffee, dulce de leche, oranges, pineapple and coconut. Aftertaste is not as good, but still manages to pass the test. Coconut and hay. Coconut milk. Overall this is a very refreshing, easy drinkable dram. Pretty nice actually. 89 over 100.

100 points... every time. That is Talisker for me. One of my last reviews on "impressive whiskies i had in Scotland", is this marvelous Talisker 35yo, from 1977 and bottled in 2012. This is a special release, that seems very hard to find and it has a 54.6%abv strength. Talisker is one of my favorite distilleries, and this expression is no exception to the rule. Well, lets get to business. On the nose: Beautiful talisker peat. Toffee, Oranges, Pepper, Sea; Typical talisker profile. Peat with sugar went crazy bold here. Bonfire, Ashes; Nose went full maritime after first sip. On the palate, Very watery at the beggining Then Boooooom peaty, peppeery, grassy peat. Oranges. Toffee. It is your typical talisker. Chocolate notes, Like snickers chocolate bar. Aftertaste is also wonderful. Chocolate finish with peat. Lovely. Ashes like burning a chocolate house, lol. Overall this is one perfect dram. It tastes like any other Talisker but with more chocolate. Let it breath for a while, it has been on a cask for 35yo, it takes some time to develop fully. My score is 100 OVER 100. Sláinte Mhath!!!

Its a Talisker, did you expect a lower score than 100 on a 25yo expression? Imposible. Actually i don't believe this is the best Talisker that i have had. It is great and i would drink it any day at any hour but it feels a lot less than the 30yo and not better than the 18yo. It is amazing but not incredible. Bottled at talisker classic 45.8%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose it is overwhelming. Leather. Burnt heather. Burnt grass. Sulphur. Shoe box. Lemongrass. Pepper. Ashes. Letting it breath releases old caramel; burnt and thick caramel. Is there a cherry note somewhere? I think i got cherry. After first sip is the typical toffee note from talisker. Simply outstanding. On the palate: Orange, Pepper, Toffee, Lemon; Everything feels old. The burning peat is very fancy and delicious. Aftertaste has Burnt heather, Pepper, Ashes. Fire and ashes and sulphur. So refined. Incredibly long and salty. Overall this is talisker on steroids, not better than the 18yo and not inferior to the 30yo. It just seems like a perfect dram between the two. A little expensive. 100 over 100. Long live King Talisker.

To talk about talisker is to talk about perfection. This is by far my favorite distillery because it makes the most balanced, rich flavoured, amazingly interesting drams. Well, this quite expensive expression (not for me, i bought a sample), was not an exception for the rule. Talisker Neist Point originally intended for the travel retail market (i saw it for usd.179 in ecuador's airport), grabs its name from the most westerly part of the skye island in scotland. Bottled at talisker classic 45.8% abv, with a chesnut oloroso sherry color. On the nose, it is amazing. Talisker always smell like talisker but each expression change one or two notes. This one has only four notes but so interesting, so appealing: peat, olives (like lagavulin 1999 distillers edition), spent matches and orange Jam. Beautifully crafted. On the palate is simply sublime. Balanced to perfection, every note and flavor explotes in the right way, all at the same time, easy to drink but complex enough, a true masterpiece. Main notes are oranges, pepper, peat, crazy dips (yeah it felt like that, that is why i used the "explotion" term), ashes and smoke that comes and goes, even through your nose. Finish is long very long, with spicyness and smoke, making your whole mouth go a little numb. PERFECTION. Overall i give this jewel a perfect 100 over 100, absolutely recommended, perfect to pair it with meat and fungi. AMAZING! SLAINTÈ!!