Tastes

89 rated whiskies after, i have finally had Ardbeg. F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. Bottled at 46%abv, pale gold color. I have read so much about it and i was saving my 5cl bottle for the moment i had a more refined palate, and it was worth the wait. On the nose is beatifully peated. So marvelous. Smoke and peat. Pleasant peatyness, there is grapes and wine there, like sparkling wine (champagne) and ashes. Also wet forest or wet plants. On the nose is absolutely fabulous. On the palate, is complex, mouth watering, beautiful. Starts pleasant, with almonds, oranges, then it turns hot and ashy, peaty and smoky, with a small spicy flavor out there, very complex on the palate, full of flavor. Medium to full bodied, the finish is full of ashes, bonfire and smoke. Perfectly balanced, this is a jewel. Loved it, my life has changed. Long live Ardbeg.

This is, Without a doubt, The best peaty whisky i have ever had. Should i end the review right there? I should but i wont. I need people to read this, to discover it (it is actually part of the core range of ardbeg) and to buy it. I just called all my whisky lovers friends, and told them to get it. Lets start with the basics. 54.2% abv, amber color. On the nose is the perfect dram. It has every freaking aroma there is in any aroma chart: Peat. English sauce. Cream vanilla. Prunes. There is a beautiful balance between sweet and peat. Toffee. Bread. Wet vanilla cake, actually Banana bread but not banana. After a while, earthy peat, you can smell the mud mixed with the not-decomposed plants. Citric notes in small puffs. I wanted to give it a 24 at the beggining, but because of how complex it is, i got to give it a 25/25. It is absolutely overwhelming. Complex. Changing. Superb. Much better aroma than any other ardbeg i have had. Incredible. After more minutes, bonfire. Cake burnt. Hard dulce de leche. Even sherry and frozen red fruits after 20 mins. Or am i crazy? (Actually im not, i just read it has a sherry maturation). On the palate is also incredible. Pepper, Toffee, Ashy, Smoky, Sweet. Superb full mouth sensation. Very pleasant and full of flavor. Some sherriness present. Wow. Meat is also present. Aftertaste is magnificent. Smoke, Ashes, Mint, Ginger. It is eternal. More Ginger and a dim English sauce in the back. Overall i think this is one of my top 5 whiskies ever, (from this point on) dont be like me and wait this long to try it, buy it, IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE which makes it even more fantastic. I feel that i can now conquer the world, 100 over 100 is my score. SLAINTE MHATH!!!!!!!!

What a fantastic whisky this is. Its just perfect. The Amrut Intermediate Sherry is one of their older expressions (about 6yo) and it is called that way because it is first matured in ex-bourbon casks, second it goes into sherry butts and finally the whisky is finished in virgin oak casks, so the Sherry is the "intermediate" one. Bottled at 57.1%abv, chesnut color. On the nose the rollercoaster begins. Tamarind, guava, prunes, molasses, quince, maraschino cherries, orange marmalade, champagne soda, orange cake, port, and wine from a church. It is just amazing. On the palate, more red flavor madness: cinnamon liquor, liquorice, orange peel, cane, cherries, peanut butter chocolate. Aftertaste delivers something totally different. Lots of minerals, spicy, pepper, sherried port, cinnamon and the sauce used to glaze the pork. Overall, this is an amazing dram, an incredible experience. Super sweet and spicy, the higher abv is present in fluent tasting and aroma notes. Just buy it. My score: 100/100.

I really really really liked this one. Surprisingly flavored for a blended whisky (now that i am a pretentious prick about whisky i only care about single malts), great on the nose, great on the palate, great finish and great balance. I would give it a perfect 100, but it felt not perfect but close so i gave it a 96. It can also be a 92, but it did felt like more. Bottled at 40%abv, with an amontillado sherry color. On the nose is wonderful and inviting. Caramel, brown raising cake, slight stinky peat, recent baked cake, red fruits (cherry maybe), mango peel or mango pulp, floral notes, baked red fruits, perfumed. Lovely. On the palate is also very nice, very balanced, pepper in the beggining, an orange note that comes and goes, tobacco, grass, hay, wood that might be mizunara since it is different than oak, very interesting and pleasant with a long warm, mouth watering finish. Overall i give this beauty a 96 over 100, many might not agree with me, but this was a great dram and i loved every second of it. Cheers!

This one goes straight to my top shelf. Last year i learn what a Sassicaia Wood finish whisky could be when i had a dram of the perfect Arran Sassicaia, which is discontinued and it melt my heart because i couldn't get a bottle anymore. Not even in wine searcher i could find the bottle. It will forever live in my memory (and stomach). But then, i got an email from one of my typical online stores that said: "there is this new Benromach Sassicaia wood finish whisky". And of course i bought it. It was amazing. Everything i hoped for. Bottled at 45%abv, with a unique pink cantaloupe color, never seen before in a dram. My wife says it is "gold rosé". On the nose it was very tropical. Pineapple right away, white chocolate, an ashy spiciness, wet dirt, very perfumed but not too intense. After the first sip it became clear that dry peaches were also present. On the palate it was amazing. Only three notes, but super pleasant ones. Hershey's milk chocolate "Bites"; pineapple and ginger. The aftertaste was something completely different. A puff of pleasant almost minty-refreshing smoke and ginger. For $60 you can't just get anything better than this. The complexity and pleasant tropical flavors are just too well crafted. 96 over 100 and that is because the aroma was a little dim. Sláinte!