Tastes

I had two drams this night. Both were absolutely amazing. The first one was this marvel, Dalmore Cigar Malt. Not what you think for the name, since it has no peat at all, but such a delicious dram. Bottled at 44%abv, tawny color. On the nose is amazing, but it is not the best part. Christmas cake, Honey, Lemon pie, Oranges, Vanilla, Caramel, Orange syrup. Wonderful. On the palate is OUTSTANDING.Orange, Oak, molasses, Caramel, Tobbacco, Pickles, salty, the most Thick dram ever. Ashy long finish. Very balanced This is an enhaced Dalmore 12. Fantastic. Overall i give it a 97 over 100. Absolutely recommended. Slainte!

Instant favorite. One of the best drams ever tasted, so smooth it will get to my top 3 or 4 easily. On the nose is very complex, has a little bit of everything and everytime you nose it you will find something different. On the nose you get this very small sensation of everything in whiskies, there is a slight almost ghostly peatyness, dried fruits, grapes (has a wine impression) very little cramy vanilla notes, and for the first time i have tasted the mythical christmas cake on it. Never before i have had a whisky with that note, that i have heard so much about. Its beautiful reddish color helps the experience yo be even better. On the palate is much more straight forward but still a great dram. Very very very very smooth, gentle, delightful. Starts a little sweet (like most whiskies i have rated so fat) with caramel, to change into a very woody flavor, with almonds, bread but mostly this soaked wood sensation, that turns into a mild spicy and very tender hotness for a enormous experience. The finish is long, delightful and beautiful, with oakyness, and maybe some herbal note for a fresh sensation. Very recommended. Looking forward to older versions. Hope to get my hands on them soon.

Best whisky ever. Even better, way better than the Johnnie Walker XR. On the nose you'll get a lot of vanilla, with a little smoke, cotton, a little chocolate or coffee perhaps. Very sweet on the nose. On the palate starts sweet with a complex flavor where you can taste some caramel and maybe apple, to quickly transform into a very spicy but complex flavor. Never before i have had a whisky that can be spicy and sweet at the same moment, not one after another, but in the same moment. The finish is long and satisfying, with a fresh ending with the spicyness still present in the back. Beautiful whisky, so far my number 1 ever. i have never given a 100% on a scotch before. this Whisky deserves it.

BEST WHISKY OF THE YEAR and best whisky so far. Look, im not exagerating, i have found a perfect 10. even better than Chivas Royal Salute 21 and Johnnie Walker Xr, this is my top blended scotch whisky of 2016. i have never had it before and today a friend gave me 3 glasses. It is a perfect 10, Perfectly Balanced, long Finish, full bodied, very complex. Let me tell you something. If i have to pick over Chivas, Old Parr, Johnnie Walker or Buchanan's (top 4 brands sold in Ecuador where i live) i will always pick Buchanan's in any of its variants. On the nose has a beatiful peaty note, no other Buchanan's has it. Perfumed as most 21 year old Whiskies (it could be older or younger since it doesn't have an age statement), you can also find Hazelnut and coffee notes. But peat takes it all in. YES A BUCHANANS WITH PEAT ! On the palate is where the real magic happens. Full bodied, as it enters your mouth you will instantly feel very very very old oak, caramel, almonds, a lot of toffee and it will chance into a spicy red chilli, with a easy bearing hotness. The finish is beautiful, long lasting: it touches your stomach and comes back as a hot/spicy wooden note that makes you go "ahhhhh" (like the Coca Cola Propaganda). I truly believe this is the best whisky i have had so far and i will grant it the title of 2016 whisky of the year for me. LOVELY DRAM. it goes for 150 dollars on a duty free, you are now compelled to get your hands on it. WONDERFUL

I have been waiting several years to finally try this whisky. There was something about the bottle that simply seduced me. Let me get things straight: I HATE BRUICHLADDICH THE CLASSIC LADDIE, but this one i wanted to try. The price people asked for this is ridiculous and that is why i have never tried it before. The Bruichladdich 26yo Black art from 1990, lived to its expectations and i discover some things on it that made this dram special. Its one of 18.000 bottles, and Adam, the master distiller is allegedly the only one who knows what its the cask type on this baby. Bottled at 46.9%abv. On the nose, it is SUPER COMPLEX, but let me start by telling you that i hated the "Classic Laddie" because it had a flavor and aroma of Soap, Shampoo and those chinese rice gums. Well, the VERY FIRST AROMA NOTE I GOT WAS.... Soap. Lol!. But then, the complexity appeared and the journey started. Sugar, Coffee, Toasted notes. Shampoo but a looooot better than the classic laddie. Creme brulee/toasted caramel, Dry grass; It still has the soap notes like washing your hands, but with some coffee infused foam. After first sip, the nose gave me a super chocolate-Thick note. On the palate, it is one great dram. Delicious Chocolate, Some grassy spiciness coming up. Oranges. Amazing dram with Brown sugar notes. Very rewarding. The aftertaste feels like bonfire where you have burnt dry grass; ginger madness. Beautiful dram. Dry grassy finish. Let this whisky breath, it is totally worth it. Overall, this is exactly what people say and brag about. My score for it is 99/100. Remarkable.

I am a very honest man when i rate whiskies. Everybody who knows me, know that i am not a friend of bowmore. I find their expressions not that peaty and most of the time, boring. Well, this is a monster whisky. A powerful dram, the best of what Bowmore ever offered me before. Lets star with its lovely story, this "The Devil's Cask III, Doble the devil" is an incredible one, ill just transcribe it: The church in Bowmore was built without corners so that the Devil could not hide. One evening, the locals chased the devil out the church and he ran into Bowmore Distillery and hid inside casks bound for the mainland. These casks subsequently became 'The Devil's Casks.' AMAZING TALE. Well this is the 3rd release of the "Devil's Casks", the first one was matured in oloroso sherry butts and the second one in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks.... well this one has BOTH OF THEM. Now we are talking. Bottled at 56.7%abv, with THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BURNT UMBER / CHESNUT REDDISH COLOR. Mouth-watering just by sight. On the nose is sublime. Sherry bomb, Peatiest bowmore ever, Cherry, Strawberry marmalade, Figs, Salt, English sauce, Dark chocolate, Oranges. So many aromas, so many different ones. On the palate is perfect. Oranges followed by a very pleasant spice bomb; infused by a heavy Sherry note. Glazed Pork, Oak. Aftertaste is super long, with an ashy burn, ginger and salt. After the first sip your mouth will be totally slept... like forever. Overall, this is an experience. This is what whisky should always be, lots of things going on, a full mouth sensation, incredible. One of my (now) favorite whiskies ever, 100 over 100. Slainte!

Final stop on my reviews on Douglas Laing core expressions; this is the time for BIG PEAT, surprisingly not that peaty, an Islay Blended Malt. Spoiler: it was great. Bottled at 46%abv, white wine color (as ardbeg). Before even reading the official story of the bottle i could identify ardbeg and bowmore on this one. It seems the third malt was port ellen, a silent yet famous distillery (closed since 1983). On the nose is absolutely beautiful, only surpassed by the incredible palate. Cheap Wine (the ones you get on a plane for free), Dry cake as in all douglas Laing. Black Pepper; Perfumed peatyness ultra pleasant, but dim, as in Bowmore. Grassy notes. Brownie burnt crest. Oregano. You can easily get the ardbeg-bowmore idea from this description. On the palate is divine. Sweet as honey/toffee with Pepper at the same time. Absolutely gorgeous toffee-ashy-smoky finish, Instant masterpiece. Aftertaste long, mint toffee, pepper. Wonderful. Balance is great here. Overall i give this beauty a solid 98 over 100 and for the price you should run and buy it. Slainte Mhath! Overall

99/100 one of my top 5 favorites of all time. I had this at a Russian Bar in a hotel, it was simply fantastic. Bottled at 40%abv (low for a bourbon), with a mahogany color. On the nose is a refined bourbon, perfumed, old grapes almost citric, peat, impression to be diluted on wine, elegant almonds, hard toffee candy, wet forest and bananas. OUTSTANDING. On the palate is even better, all spice notes, ginger specially, very smooth, beautiful, cough syrup, caramel, wine grapes, nutty. Finish is medium and spicy. Incredible. Overall is 99/100. Really fantastic. GO GET ONE NOW!

I had read before that this one was a great dram, but i didn't expect it to be so incredible. This one was an enormous experience for me, and it was because of its orange notes, they were simply amazing, i will get to that later. Bottled at 40%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose, it was fantastic. First a sherry elegant note, with some milk chocolate aroma. Then, out of nowhere: KABOOM! Did someone prepared a fresh orange juice just now?? I had never experience such a clean orange note. It was exactly the aroma of cutting a fresh orange in half and putting it on the Blender and then pouring the most fresh orange juice ever on your glass. AMAZING. (Spoiler alert for a future review: i also had the ballantine's 21 and it has the same orange note) On the palate it was also incredible: milk chocolate, oranges, amontillado sherry sweetness, clove and some herbal/lavender notes. Aftertaste was long and rewarding, a strong refined oaky note, with some brown sugar; and then some spices: black pepper and Ginger that makes your whole mouth numb. Overall this one was such a nice dram, a little complex but more than that, it was truly enjoyable. My score for it is 100 over 100 and i definitively recommend it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, i have finally drank whisky. If you haven't had Ardmore Traditional Cask, you haven't drink whisky in your life. It is one of the most exciting, fullfilling, marvelous and rewarding experiences i have ever had in a whisky. Kept away for a long time in my bar, since it didn't called my attention, i read Paul's review yesterday and decided to give it a try. I am glad i did. So far this is the top whisky in 2017 for me and it is a perfect 10. On the nose, Peat. peat peat peat peat. perfumed peat. Islay Peat (although it is a highland single malt), that kind of peat, resembling a Talisker maybe. Also on the nose: slight notes of almonds, medicinal plants, toffee, and something metallic that smells just like my gold wedding ring. Bottled at 46%abv with a polished mahogany color, non chill filtered. If it was wonderful on the nose, you can't even imagine it on the palate. Full bodied, Thick, starts with caramel, to rapidly change into a Spicy bomb, gentle hotness, Spicy wood, all spices on earth, spices mixed with angels, spices to the heart. Bonfire, peat and clove. All that wrapped up in spices. The finish is long and mouth watering, with peat and hotness. Simply amazing. Made my friday, exactly what you expect to leave behind a hard working week. It is so good i have already text every friend i have to find this bottle and buy it. I had the dram 10 minutes ago and my mouth still tastes ashes. BEAUTIFUL PERFECT DRAM, HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE HERE. SLAINTE!