Tastes

Lately Kilchoman has released some limited expressions, that experiment with different cask maturations, such as fino sherry, mezcal and now this very interesting Cognac cask. It has been bottled at 50%abv to bring most flavors into the final decanter. The label and the box are simply stunning, with a "Colonel Mustard from Clue" yellow color. On the nose, it is incredibly complex!; it starts with a pair of new socks, but then it releases chamomile, herbs, flowers and apricots. Plastic, wet grass, flowers, merthiolate and a hospital gauze and tape. Letting it breath will make it more fruitier. Lemon, apple juice, white wine. After a first sip, the aroma changed into lotion and medicinal notes. It has released some spiciness, like a notorious note of red chilli. Really well crafted. On the palate, it has only three notes, but they are very well delivered. Apricots, salt and fruit punch. Aftertaste is very rewarding, a little dry though. Cotton. Sugar and salt. Apricots. Overall, this is a super enjoyable whisky, and i feel it is a little unfair that my score system will not make it justice, since it fells better than the 92 points that i am giving to it. A very nice offering from Islay's farm distillery.

Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival expressions are always a must in a whisky enthusiast home bar. Since the first time i tasted the 2017 release, i fell in love and i have never missed one. On 2022, "Laga" actually released two expressions for Islay Jazz Festival. This review is for the 7 year old one, a cask strength edition, bottled at a magnificent 59.5%abv. On the nose, i got some crazy notes that i love since i have a broken soul due to excessive peat. Merthiolate, and the rubber tube from a bicycle tire are the first distinguishable aroma descriptors that appear. Povydone, gooseberries, metallic. A swampy pond. A tire repair shop. How can anyone dislike this aroma profile? It is impossible! On the palate, the Vanilla form the bourbon casks used is very present. Thick salt, sulphur and a red hot chilli. A second sip took me to Italy, since it was all about a super creamy vanilla Gelato (ice cream). Aftertaste is perfect. Pecans, metallic notes and sulphur. Roasted almonds. Incredible stuff. Super long. Overall, this is what jazz is. A crazy composition of spectacular notes (peaty or musical), that obliterates your standards and paradigms to show you something different which is definitively a piece of art. That is what this dram is. My score for it is a solid 97 over 100. It is a 7yo, but it shows Lagavulin is capable of.

The legend says, that to this date, Arran has never made a bad whisky. The reason might just be because they sold their soul to the king of darkness, after drinking from his punchbowl. My friends, i have tasted the second part of the three mythical Devil's PunchBowl releases from Arran, having only missed the first of the expressions. It was amazing as per usual. On the nose, it is almost too perfect. White chocolate, pineapple, apricots and a pack of Marlboro cigarrettes. The aroma here is so wild: lime, humidity and cookies n' cream. After a first sip, it gave me coconut, sambuca, ashes. It is like you poured an apple juice into an ashtray. Passion fruit. Spectacular. On the palate it is crazy good. A sugary milk, pineapple, Potts apple juice. Aftertaste is where the spiciness lived. Red chilli, wasabi, peanuts and ginger. More sips revealed a crazy battle between sugar and salt notes. Overall, this is a top dram, as most Arrans are. I don't believe this is better than the third release which i had some years ago, but this is incredibly complex and enjoyable for everyone, even if it is bottled at 53.1%abv. It gives you exactly what they offered, punchbowl of layers of flavor and aroma. My score for it is a solid 94 over 100.

Have you heard the phrase "the best whisky is the whisky that is free"? Well, i have found the exception to that rule. A new whisky has reached the ecuadorian markets, a japanese one, Iwai Tradition. The good thing about been one of the only whisky critics in my country, is that people always gift me new expressions that appear. Iwai Tradition is bottled at 40%abv. On the nose, way too much grain whisky. Pears and lemon air freshener. Sawdust and an old, oxidized green apple. Liquid paper, hand sanitizer and farm fruits. Gooseberries. On the palate, it starts as a sugary water, but it is super dim. Slight apple notes; young and rough. Ginger. Aftertaste is not good at all. Dry. Hand sanitizer and almonds. Nothing here. Overall, this is not good at all. I did not like it, the nose and palate are under my average score, aftertaste is off putting and the balance is non existing. My score for this one is a fair 52 over a 100, and that is a little too much for what it really is.

Glenfiddich has released a series of 4 travel exclusive expressions, that they have called "the Perpetual Collection" which are a new spin to their classic fruity spirits. This is the Perpetual Collection No. 2, called "Dark & Rich" which as you might have already guessed, is matured in sherry casks. Bottled at 43%abv, the Perpetual part of this releases is that they are married in the big solera vat, that is never emptied. On the nose, it is exactly what you expect. Cinnamon, caramelized red apples, cherries. After a first sip, it releases a heavy floral note. Spicy, full pepper and wet roses. Wet grass. On the palate, it starts with sawdust, red fruits, floral notes and red apples. A circus caramelized apple. Aftertaste is mostly spicy in a mild way. Pepper, chilli. Floral and red apple peels. Overall, this is a Glenfiddich, and you are getting exactly that: floral, fruity and spices. Of course that this is not going to change anyone's life, but it works perfectly to fit its objective: been a travel retail whisky that is bought to be shared with friends in any social meeting. My score for this suitable, everyday whisky is 84 over 100.

Douglas Laing has a beautiful costume to blend two single casks from famous distilleries into one limited "vatted malt". I have seen a couple of those releases and i got my hands on a few of them. This one is an interesting experiment, an Ardbeg blended with a Glenrothes, with a 10yo age statement and bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, you can catch some of Ardbeg's unmistakeable spirit. A black pepper bomb, tangerine; the herbal Ardbeg 10yo note is present. Pineapple, ashes and meringue. On the palate, just three notes, but delivered in a lovely way: Sugar, pineapple and vanilla. Aftertaste is spicy and peaty. Black pepper, smoke and cardamom. Overall, this is a very straightforward, smokey dram, which is actually very enjoyable. Nothing too fancy here, but it gets the job done. This is actually that i would recommend to people due to a very good price for a delicious dram. I think an honest score for it, is a well deserved 88 over 100.

Some years ago, Diageo made a special event, called "The Johnnie Walker Mentoring", a type of intensive masterclass, where some rare releases were offered to the participants. As you might have already guessed, this special expressions were never sold in the marlets, and that fact makes those bottlings true rarities. This is the Caol Ila Cask Strength release for the JW mentoring, not for sale, but it fell in ly hands somehow (it was an auction). Bottled at 55%abv. On the nose, it has all the crazy peaty notes we love. A pair of new cotton socks, firewood, merthiolate, a hospital gauze and tape; band-aids. After a couple of sips, the aroma changed into sown land, ashes and a fish market. It feels like entering a 90s discoteque where smoking inside the premises was still allowed. On the palate, it is a little simple and straightforward. Sweet. Very sugary, lemon and gooseberries. Aftertaste is all about smoke, which is so thick that you can actually bite it. Salty. Overall, for a rarity, and for a cask strength, this is not super exciting. Not a bad dram at all, it is a little expensive on the secondary market. It is like your standard Caol Ila, just a bit stronger. My score for it is 89 over 100.

Cadenhead's is one of those legendary independent bottlers or Scotland's finest single malts. I have to confess that i have never been fully drawn to their bottlings since they are not the best looking decanters and labels out there. As a fact, that is a violation to my first whisky rule, which is "if a whisky bottle is famous and ugly looking, i must buy it, since it has to be so good that it doesn't need marketing". (See "Laphroaig" for examples, lol) Well i got my hands on a very decent looking bottle of Cadenhead's, mostly because it was a single ex wine cask bottling of one of the most flavorfull malts of Scotland in my opinion: Auchroisk. This 16yo single wine cask, bottled at 54.3%abv, is one of only 246 ever made, and i have some expectations to it, but i never thought it was going to be THAT GOOD. On the nose, this is the most appealing fruity single malt ever. Starts with melon notes, tangerine, oranges, everything feels super fresh. Chocolate and hazelnuts, very creamy and thick. After a couple of minutes i get some rum & raisins; granma's perfume (very floral), plums and a pastry shop. On the palate, i get melon and papaya. Toffee and pepper. After a first sip, it changed into chocolate and strawberries. Aftertaste is quite the ride. It feels like drinking a slightly hot coca cola or Dr. Pepper. Farm fruits, red fruits and a hint of spiciness. It quickly transforms into dried fruits like almonds and hazelnuts. Chewing tobacco. Overall, i poured this on a very competitive cask strength whiskies tasting event and it was the unanimous winner of the night. Another superb expression from Auchroisk and my first Cadenhead's. I will surely look for more from them, specially this wine cask bottlings. My score for this amazing whisky is 97 over 100. Believe me, for the price it goes, this have no rival in the whisky world. Slàinte!

Ian Macleod once released a collection of three whiskies, all of them single casks from the Dalmore distillery which is one of my favorites, but it is often criticized for their low abv expressions. Well, this is the pure heart of Dalmore's famous and delicious spirit; since the whole collection (i called them the Eagle, the Goat and the Pearl because of their crazy good looking labels), are all bottled at Cask Strength. This is my second review from that collection, this time the GOAT. A 58.4%ABV Dalmore, one of only 285 bottles ever made. It has a 2009 vintage, making this one an 8yo whisky if i am not mistaken. On the nose, it is impressive. Starts with a full orange note, with chocolate and hazelnut. Sweet plums, school glue, coffee, Nutella, marzipan; all the classic Dalmore notes are here, but delivered in a powerful way. After a couple of sips, the aroma changed into milk powder, metallic notes, gooseberries and butter. On the palate, it is perfect. Orange, milk powder, ginger, chocolate and... wet paint. It is super sweet, it actually gave notes of a Pavlova dessert. Acid and sweet. Incredible. Aftertaste is actually salty. Ginger, star aniseed, bitter dark chocolate. Green tea. Grass and almonds. Overall, if i have to guess which sherry cask was used here, i would probably say amontillado. The acid orange notes are uncanny, i was really surprised. An incredible whisky, which is a little less perfect than the first one i tasted of the same collection (The Eagle). A Dalmore heart from an independent bottler, a dream come true. My score for it is 97 over 100.

By this point there is no mystery in saying that the Taiwan Sherry Cask Matured releases of The Glenlivet are by far the best whiskies they probably have made lately. I have loved them all and one beautiful day i found something i never expected... a Cask Strength Release of the whisky i cherish so much. This 15yo rare dram was bottled at 58.7%abv has the most amazing deep copper / chesnut color, that you know it is going to be a sherry powerhouse. On the nose, it starts with a thick blackberry marmalade; figs, plums and metallic notes that are simply marvelous. Cinnamon, coffee and raisins; maple syrup and red fruits. After a first sip, it developed notes of coffee woth milk, red caramelized apples, tobacco and hay. A delicious flavor of red fruits and a thick marmalade are the first noticeable descriptors on the palate. Then a spicy pepper bomb appeared leaving a red chilli sensation. Very winey. Aftertaste was too dry. Coffee beans, bitter, red chilli and ginger. Overall, as expected this was a very beautiful dram, that wasn't perfect on my score sheet and that is an unexpected surprise, since its predecessors were absolutely flawless. It still is the sherry bomb you want, with the thick marmalade notes that i crave. My score for this beauty is 94 over 100.