Tastes

The Spey distillery is one that is not very known despite the fact that they use the name of the most famous whisky river in Scotland. They actually have beautiful bottles of whisky for their single malts, which are mostly well crafted qith very mainstream flavors. This review is for the Spey Golden Choice, bottled at 40.8%abv. On the nose, thisnis a breakfast. Honey, hot stroofwaffles, yellow apples. On the palate, i get more of the same. Honey, apples and pears. Aftertaste is just a balanced ending for the same honey notes. Honey cereal. Overall, this is a very safe, enjoyable whisky; it won't change anyone's life, but it can be considered an everyday dram. Simple, yet tasty. My score for it is 84 over 100.

My last review of the amazing "Masters of Magic" collection, is one pompous name: Tobermory. This island distillery also produce a wonderful single malt called Ledaig. This time; the label shows again the great Master of all magicians, the inspiration behind nowadays big names like Copperfield or Chris Angel; it is no other than the Great Kellar. Kellar of course, founded an university for magicians, where they could learn some impressive tricks like the flying princess of Karnak. Well, this label shows us Kellar learning his tricks from a group of small devils, the alleged source for his magic knowledge. This is an 11yo Tobermory, bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, some crazy peat notes. Rubber car tires, socks and something i can describe as a swampy rainforest. After a first sip, i got yeast, plastic and water balloons. Wet paint is an accurate aroma note for this one. On the palate, just three well delivered notes. Coal, smoke and cigarrettes. Peaty stuff Aftertaste follows the peat trail. Earthy, ashes, bonfire. Not to long and slightly salty. Overall, this was the peatiest of the four expressions i had, but also, the less complex one. I like peaty whiskies and i am a fan of tobermory, but this one fell short in comparison with the rest of the releases i had the pleasure to taste. My score for this one was a honest 87 over 100.

By now, you know that i have bought some single malts from the independent bottler "High Spirits", from a very limited and unusual collection called "Masters of Magic". Well, on this third review, i got to tell you about Thurston the Great Magician. Howard Thurston was one of the mlst famous magicians from the early 1900s. His magic show was so big, he needed 8 train wagons to carry everything from venue to venue. Of course he exploited the infamous popular belief, that magicians from that era, had a pact with the devil. That is why, one of his shows was dedicated to answer the question: "Do the Spirits come back?" This bottle is actually a 12yo Linkwood, bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, it is way too interesting. It starts with vinegar and red chilli. Pepper and humid notes. Grapefruit and something i can only describe as the aroma of mud. After a couple of sips, the aroma became very cowboy-ish. Lots of hay notes; this is the scarecrow of whiskies. Vanilla and again this earthiness that feels like mud. Wild aroma. On the palate this was completely unexpected after the aroma it had. Red fruits; Acid notes. On the second sip, i got red fruits again but in a much more "syrupy" way. Apricots. It tastes exactly as a creamy italian Gelatto. Aftertaste was the perfect mixture between the nose and palate. Spicy Marmalade, tobacco and recently cut grass. It feels very cowboy-ish again. Overall, i honestly believe that the crazy notes here made me feel this was a much more interesting dram than the ones i had before from the same collection. It is bold, crazy and strange, everything in a very good way. The muddy notes on the aroma took me to my childhood when i visited some animal farms as a kid. A superb experience, this whisky deserves at least a 92 over 100.

My second review from the "Masters of Magic" collection comes from a distillery that i have never tasted before, and one that has a little bit of a good name in some places. I am talking about Macduff, a rather "new" distillery that was founded in 1960. It is located in the scottish highlands, next to the sea. This second expression from the Masters of Magic, shows a beautiful and crazy label of Blackstone the great, a very famous magician, famous for his show about spirits materializing. This is a 11yo Macduff, bottled at 46%abv On the nose, it starts with hazelnut, waffer, and chocolate notes. Sawdust, camphor, almonds. Buttery. After a couple of sips, it gave me an aroma note of an spicy marmalade. On the palate, it is incredibly creamy. Chocolate notes, red chilli. It feels like a creamy thick cheese. Aftertaste is great. Chocolate, red chilli, tabasco sauce. It is deliciously spicy. Lulo fruit acid finish. Overall, this one was quite the ride. Lots of unexpected flavors and aromas happened here. Many of those notes were very bold. The sweetness mixes with the spiciness in a lovely, interesting way. I don't know if all other Macduff whiskies are like this, but now this distillery has my attention. I will definitively look for more expressions from them. My score for this truly enjoyable and fun single malt, is 91 over 100.

There is a new collection from Compass Box, and if you thought that their artistic labels where incredible, you have no idea of this new expressions. The Extinct Blends Quartet collection, is a group of bottles that honours lost and discontinued famous blends. Their first release was called Ultramarine. A previous looking bottle, with a great strength of 51%abv to deliver more flavor. This one really commemorates the extinct Johnnie Walker Oldest, which itself is the predecessor of nowaday's Johnnie Blue Label. On the nose, it is very good. Smokey with some coconut notes at first. Piña colada cocktail; Sambuca liquor. Cream, fondant and ashes. A cheap lemon note, that makes this a very tropical dram. Cremè Bruleè and Hawaiian Tropic sunblock lotion. On the palate, this is absolutely out of this world. Thick, creamy and rich body. Cake, coconut, super salty. It feels like a salty vanilla cookie. Danish cookies, very buttery. Delicious. Aftertaste, is a great ending for an outstanding dram. Wasabi, gunpowder, bonfire. A full but fancy coconut note. Super rewarding. Overall, this might be overly expensive, but it has delivered so many flavors and aromas that surely feels like it is worth every penny. This first expression might be one of the greatest Compass Box ever released, and i would definitively buy another one before its price goes to outer space. A truly great whisky, my score for it is 94 over 100.

Arran has become a synonym of perfection in whisky making. I often say i have never tried anything from them that haven't scored more than 88 points in my books. Recently, they revamped they whole image, with new decanters that look like a milk bottle, and simpler labels. This is the review for the 21yo Arran, from their new bottlings. Hope this is as good as their previous 21yo, with the purple/black label. On the nose it is very perfumed, with citric notes of a recently cut orange. Orange juice, melon. Herbal, school glue and hazelnut. Amazing. On the palate it is out of this world. Caramel, orange peel and red chilli. Red fruits, gooseberries. On the second sip, it gave me dehydrated fruits, turkish delight. It feels super fancy but complex. Great stuff. Aftertaste is perfect.Tobacco, burnt hay, cigarrettes and crushed almonds. Impressive. Overall, this was a fantastic dram, with such complexity that it gave me layers of different flavors and aromas. I believe that for the price point of this one, it is simply unbeatable. I am starting to believe that it is safe to say that Arran might be on the top 5 scottish distilleries nowadays. My score for this monster is 97 over 100. Absolutely spectacular.

Once upon a time, The Dalmore released a collection of 4 whiskies for an evironmental cause: mantain the most important Scottish rivers. The four rivers are Spey of Course, Tweed, Tay and Dee. They have clean water and lots of tasty salmon fish. That is why this prestigious distillery used fishes for their metallic-looking labels. This first review is for the "Tweed Dram". Bottled at 40%abv; this was bottled on 2011. Tawny color. On the nose, it starts with the typical caramelized orange you used to find in Dalmore. Spices and peaches. After the first sip, the aroma changed into apples, pears and cinnamon. I get some cotton sugar notes and milk formula. On the palate it is very velvety and delicious. Oranges, vanilla and cotton sugar. So sweet. Aftertaste was surprisingly salty. Oranges and tons of citric profiles. It has become a spicy monster; it feels a lot stronger than 40%abv. Ginger. Note: i tend to nose the empty glasses and this one really blew my mind: it was dark chocolate with hazelnuts. Overall, this was a very enjoyable thick and oily dram, that had a super citric and spicy profile. It felt like a refined version of the standard (and very good) 12yo. I know Dalmore has a lot of resistance for their low abv bottlings, but i almost always find my way out of that prejudice and manage to score it properly. In this case, a very good whisky, that i can honestly say it deserves an 89 over a 100.

You have to know something about me: i love crazy looking labels in my whisky bottles. When i saw this "Masters of Magic" collection, i needed to buy as many as i could. I actually scored 4 bottles, and they all have printed label of the greatest era of magic: The Vintage Magic Posters. Back in the late 1800s, Magicians where the most important entertainers. Many believe that black magic did exist, and a legion of great performers where able to capture this feeling to make great shows. Every show had a unique poster, like the one shown in this Benrinnes bottling. This is a 11yo, 46%abv Benrinnes, called "SELF DECAPITATION" which was one impressive magic show from the King of Magic, Harry Kellar. On the nose, such a fruity/aromatic aroma. Gooseberries and grapefruit. Tangerine and green apples. Air freshener. It is truly a floral floor detergent. The second sip, started with red apples with toffee. Citric notes. It smells exactly like "Skittles". Starburst sweets. On the palate, it starts with creamy vanilla like an italian Gelato. Green apples, grapefruits. Some sulphuric notes. The second sip is very creamy!; Goosebeeeries. Really good. Aftertaste started with some peatiness. Cigarrettes, italian gelato. Some metallic notes and cinnamon. Red chilli. After a couple of sips, it gave me some sugar with milk. Overall, you will never guess that this was peaty when nosing it. A truly complex, super fruity dram. I would not normally rate a single malt with this profile so high, but this one truly deserves it. A great release from the prestigious "High Spirits" store, my score for it is a solid 91 over 100.

Everyone that loves a good sherried whisky have tried an expression of the almighty Edradour. Arguably the smallest distillery in Scotland (there seems to be two smaller ones), they mostly release limited expressions and lately they have been experimenting in some wine cask maturations, that are simply amazing. This one is a Moscatel cask matured, with an age statement of 10yo, bottled at 57.8%abv. On the nose this is incredible. White chocolate, buttery, almonds, lemon zest. Citric notes have risen; very floral as expected due to the moscatel maturation. A vanilla, almond butter. Wild berries. Outstanding aroma. On the palate, it is almost perfect. White chocolate, red berries and powerful spices. After a second sip, thick caramel, sulphuric power. Aftertaste is very good as well. Pepper and red fruits. Delicious. Overall, this whisky can be described as the one with the most white chocolate and wild berry profile ever. For a 10yo dram, that costs less than one hundred pounds/dollars, this is pretty much unbeatable. Lots of flavor and power. The aroma is out of this world. I should call it my recommendation of the year. My score for it is 94 over 100.

The Taiwanese Masters of Whisky, Kavalan, have released a new very interesting expression, although a little low on Abv. This one is called "Triple Sherry" and as the name suggests, it has been matured in Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel casks. Bottled at 40%abv, it has a lovely red color. On the nose, this is exactly what you expect, a sherry madness. Lots of dehydrated oranges, red apples, lemongrass, watermelon and hazelnuts. Very fruity. On the palate this is very rich. Very winey; px sherry and blackberries. Aftertaste is all about lemoncello and tangerine notes. Very acid and a nice sour profile. Overall, this is a lovely everyday dram. Not expensive at all, it is hard to think a proper rival to this one for the price it goes. Incredibly enjoyable, i truly recommend this single malt. My score for it is 84 over 100.