Tastes
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It has been a long time since i last truly enjoyed an Ardbeg Special Release. But i can honestly tell you, and i am giving a serious spoiler here, that finally this Islay distillery has given us a worthy whisky. "Bizarrebq" is one crazy name for a dram, and it is made to resemble a backyard BBQ. Actually, the whole brand has a partnership with the now famous "DJ Bbq", whose videos cooking food with Ardbeg are quite popular. This has been made in Px sherry casks and also in "Ardbeg's BBQ Casks" (???) Bottled at 50.9%abv, this is a core-limited-edition, which is a contradictory statement but you know how marketing works nowadays. On the nose, it is spectacular. Spanish curated ham; a pair of new socks and ashes. It smells like a "Pancetta" or a Brisket, cooked with lots of salt to produce a dry part of the meat which is delicious. Ashtray. On the palate, it starts with salty water than after one second turns into a creme brulee with pepper and Ardbeg's potent swampy-like peatiness. It feels like chewing the head of those "He-man" toys from the 1980s. Moss and caramel; peaty and sweet. Incredible experience. Aftertaste is good but a little simple and straightforward. Ashes and gunpowder. Salty. Overall, this was a great and powerful release by Ardbeg. They achieved here exactly what they wanted to: to give you a BBQ experience. This whisky can pair incredible with smoked food. Lovely really. My score for it is a well deserved 93 over 100.
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Bunnahabhain Canasta Cask Maturation (Fèis Ìle 2023)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed July 9, 2023 (edited November 18, 2023)Feis ile is always a great time where Islay's distilleries release new beauties. This 2023, Bunnahabhain made two releases; one a Manzanilla Cask super expensive and fancy one; and this Bunnahabhain Canasta Cask matured. Canasta is the spanish word for "basket", which has nothing to do here, since Canasta apparently is also a type of Oloroso Sherry. Well, this one has been bottled at a beautiful 51.2%abv, with a lovely tawny color. On the nose tjis is quite impressive. Orange peel, a tangerine caramel; Sawdust and white chocolate. Apple peel, crushed almonds. It is freaking aromatic! After a first sip, it became creamy beautiful on the nose. It smells like a "brigadeiro" sweet. The citrus here is out of this world. Perfect score on the nose. On the palate, it is great, with an starting white chocolate like "Ritter"; impalpable sugar and orange acidity. On the second sip i got this marvelous sugary note with milk. Aftertaste was good, but not aa impressive as the palate and nose. Sawdust; hay. Maybe a little overly oaky. Overall, this is a very enjoyable single malt for a very affordable price. I truly believe Bunnhabhain did a great job in this one and if i ever cross paths with this one again, i will not hesitate to buy it once more. A proper dram, my score for it is 91 over 100. -
Glendronach 18 year old Marsala Cask Finish
Single Malt — Speyside(highland), Scotland
Reviewed July 3, 2023 (edited July 22, 2024)Imagine this scenario: my wife tells me that she can buy a bottle that i truly like, but i have to choose it, pay it and then discount that amount from anything that i owe her from the daily house expenses. It might seem like it is not the best deal, but trust me, i got the best part of it! Of course i got my hands on a Glendronach 18yo, but a rare one, a Marsala Cask finished. Bottled at 46%abv, with a lovely almost orange color. On the nose, this is quite different. Floral in a beautiful way; dulce de leche, a milk dessert and white chocolate. Lovely. On the palate, it is a wonderful sweet thing. It is a biscuit that has a vanilla glazed feeling. Light red fruits, red acid fruits. There is this white chocolate profile. It might sound crazy, but it is like a drinking a thorny rose. Really very floral. Aftertaste has this crazy prune and acid super fruity profile. Very dry. On a second aip it gave me a surprising forest fruit note like gooseberries. Overall, if i had this in a blind tasting, i would never ever guessed it to be a Glendronach. Having said that, this is the most floral whisky i have had from the scottish highlands. It feels like a japanese whisky. My score for this very interesting and surprising single malt is 90 over 100. -
GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 12
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed July 2, 2023 (edited November 21, 2023)There is an old saying, "every rule has an exception", and that eveb applies to the almighty Glendronach, a distillery that seemed undefeated in my humble critics. I have had quite a few of Glendronach's Cask Strength releases, and i just gave a perfect score to a couple of them, but the latest expression, Batch No. 12, was not my favorite. Bottled at 58.2%abv, it has been matured in oloroso and Px sherry casks. On the nose it starts buttery and young. White wine, white chocolate and almonds. It smells like "new make" whisky too much. It appears overly young. On the palate it is slightly better. White chocolate, almonds, spices. peppery feeling. Afteraste again feels young, with blurred notes of bitter chocolate and spices. Overall, not much happened here. This is the first time that you put the words "Glendronach", "Oloroso", "Cask Strength" and "Pedro Ximenez" together and you dont get complexity, beautiful aroma notes and a rewarding finish. A very average dram, underwhelming and a little dissapointing, my score for it is 85 over 100, and i believe this might be the lowest score i have given to a whisky from my favorite distillery. -
GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 2
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed June 30, 2023 (edited July 30, 2023)Have i ever told you, how great is The Glendronach? Some years ago, Glendronach, one of my three favorite distilleries, started releasing batch strength expressions. They even had the vision to name them by numbers. I have had some of them, but this time i got my hands on Batch No. 2. This single malt has been matured in Oloroso and PX sherry, and has been bottled at 55.2%abv. Only 16.500 bottles where ever made. On the nose, this is a MONSTER AROMA. A floral madness; a chocolate & hazelnut bomb. Nutmeg, cocoa powder. It has a dusty feeling to it. It smells exactly as leaving a Crunch chocolate bar in the fridge. It is the best chocolate note that has ever existed in the history of mankind. After a first sip, the aroma changed into something that i can only describe as red berries on steroids. Breathtaking. On the palate, it starts again with a very clean floral note, which is new for me in Glendronachs. Chocolate and something that i can describe as a "raisin wine". Strawberries dipped in chocolate. Aftertaste follows how inmense this dram is. Chocolate, floral; Dry. It is impressive; Chocolate and hazelnut. Nutty overall, almonds and pecans. In conclusion, this is the power of Billy Walker. This was released under his reign. Out of this world dram, this will definitively be on my yearly top ten, of 2023. Did i mention that this is the most "chocolatey" whisky ever, even dethroning the Glenmorangie Signet. I am speechless. Perfect 100 point score, because i can't give it 1 million. Slàinte Mhath!!! -
Glendronach 29yo, Single Cask Hand Filled, Cask 2463, Oloroso Sherry.
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed June 29, 2023 (edited August 20, 2023)Everytime you go to Glendronach's distillery, the very kind people that work there will let you taste both Hand Filled expressions that are available at the shop for you to take home. One of those, will almost always be an 11, 12 or 13 year old whisky, which is going to be amazing, for under 200 dollars. The other one, will be an impossible to pay (for guys like me) 27, 28 or 29 year old superb intergalactic whisky that is darker than my conscience, lol. Of course, i can't waste the opportunity to take notes and taste that wonderful whisky they are giving me to taste. So, this are my thoughts on Glendronach's 29yo, Oloroso Sherry Cask, vintage 1993, cask number 2463 MARAVILLOSA RED FRUITS JAM GUAYAS bottled at 55.5%abv on the 3rd of may, 2023. On the nose, incredible. Tobacco, granola, figs, macerated fruits, grapes and marzipan. Simply wonderful. So much happening here. On the palate, it is everything you need and expect from Glendronach. Chocolate, almonds, very sugary. It is nutty Toblerone bar; Red fruits. Dry cherries, chocolate and nuts. Aftertaste is exactly a Toblerone chocolate bar. Almonds, hazelnut and... Toblerone! Overall, i can only ask a question: have you ever tasted a whisky that taste like a Toblerone chocolate?; that fact alone makes this whisky an amazing experience, specially if you consider how good it is on the palate and the nose. Perfect score here, but it is so expensive that i cried for two days because i could not buy it. My score for it is 100. -
The Glendronach Hand Filled, 12yo, Px Puncheon, cask #3173, vintage 2011
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed June 27, 2023 (edited June 28, 2023)The most amazing thing about visiting the Glendronach distillery, is that you can taste and hand filled some single cask strength expressions, which usually are so powerfully sherried that the whisky itself is almost black. Everytime you book a Glendronach tasting at the distillery, a lovely lady called Vicky will pour you 5 drams and 2 sherry glasses; just for you to fully live this brand experience. Two of those drams will inevitably be the single cask strength expressions you can hand fill at the shop. I believe this is a proper strategy to get you a little "happy" before you step into the shop, which will have the consequence of you buying everything you can find. This was the case of a 12yo, hand filled "Glendro", drawn from a single Px Puncheon, bottled at 58%abv, distilled on the 25th of april of 2011 and bottled on May, 2023. On the nose you get this full Pedro Ximenez nose, which is fantastic. Herbal notes, hazelnut, maraschino cherries. Raisins bathed in chocolate. After a first sip, an aroma of red fruit jam appeared. Strawberries. Magnificent. In the palate it is almost perfect. Red fruit marmalade; red chilli, Chocolate. On the second sip i got raisins and a winey profile. Aftertaste is out of this world. It is absolutely rewarding. Lots of dark chocolate. Bitter in a marvelous way. (Here i thought: i am totally buying this). Whoa! It is superb; the overall feeling is incredible. In conclusion, i got to say that after a couple years, Glendronach has risen the prices of their distillery hand filled expressions, but for a 12yo to be this outstanding, the fee you pay for it, feels properly paid. An enormous single malt, with an spectacular aftertaste and a sherry madness, my score for this is a well deserved 97 over 100. -
GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed June 26, 2023 (edited June 27, 2023)¡Oh Glendronach, that lovely distillery that is undoubtedly the best in the planet! When you get the words "Glendronach" "Batch" Strength" together, you know you are about to have a beautiful time. I was visiting the premises back in may, and of course i signed myself and a group for a wonderful tasting event. The first whisky they gave us was the Batch 10 expression from The Glendronach's annually cask strength releases. Bottled at 58.6%abv, this sherry bomb has a very dark reddish color. On the nose, it is a glass of a powerful Oloroso sherry. Shortbread; peppery on the nose and dehydrated oranges. A full nutty aroma with some granola notes. On the palate, it was wonderful. Red fruits; kid's cereal (trix is for kids) mixed with blackberries and red berries. Winey, nutty, full of raisins. I love that kind of stuff. Aftertaste was a little bit dissapointing. Overly oaky, too much sawdust and an overall woody finish that i hate to use to describe a whisky. In conclusion, this is a very good whisky, but it is far from been the best Glendronach, it doesn't even get to be the best batch strength. I recently had the batch 11, and that one got a perfect score in my books, this one has an underwhelming aftertaste that suffered most of the point deductions. My score for it is a honest 89 over 100. Try the batch 11 instead. -
Talisker 25yo Natural Cask Strength, vintage 1975, bottled in 2001
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed June 25, 2023 (edited June 27, 2023)I always ask people, what whisky would you take to a deserted island where you must only drink that only whisky for the rest of your life. My answer is always the same, it would be a whisky from one of my two favorite distilleries, Talisker or Glendronach. I love Talisker, i have had crazy vintage expressions from them, 50yo, 44yo, 41yo, 30, 27, 25, 18, everything that i find from them, if i can manage to get a dram, i will do my best to try it. Having said that, not many people know that Talisker had some years ago, some 25 year old releases, which were distillery exclusives, bottled at cask strength. This is the case of the Talisker natural cask strength 25yo distillery exclusive bottling of 2001, limited edition of only 6000 bottles. With a lovely 59.9%abv, this was distilled in 1975, 8 years before i was born, and it waited for me to find it at Craigellaiche Hotel in Speyside, where i stopped for lunch, and found it. On the palate, orange and maritime notes, bit in an incredible lovely way. It is an orange hard candy, one that i have only obtained in my childhood from a birthday piñata. It smells spectacular, but not complex at all. After a first sip, the aroma gave me vanilla and bbq sauce. On the palate, it is pure perfection. Sweet orange candy, salt, a tangerine heart; Fanta beverage. On the second sip, this is a monster dram; astringent and acid from the orange profile. Salt kicks in beautifully. Aftertaste is epic. Smoky, salty, sea water. It is super dry becuase of salty notes. It actually makes your lips go numb because of the powerful, delicious abv it has. Overall, i don't really know why i am deducting 3 points from this masterpiece. Actually, the nose is where it lost a couple points, and that was due to a lack of complexity; it was too straightforward despite how nice it felt. A truly amazing single malt, i could definitivelt take this one to my deserted island; my score for it is 97 over 100. -
Glenfiddich Orchard Experiment
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed June 23, 2023 (edited December 21, 2023)Its been a long time since Glenfiddich released what i thought was their last "Experiment", Fire & Cane. Well, last year they gave us the 5th expression in the series, the Orchard Experiment. This Glenfiddich is inspired in Sider, well, actually in a family from england that make apple sider and brandy, something that fits perfectly with Glenfiddich's historic fruity profile. Bottled at 43%abv, it has been finished in Somerset Pomona casks, which is an apple spirit drink. On the palate, it is exactly what you expect it to be: Pears and apples. Stewed apples, grapefruit. A super fruity, fresh dram. It is like having a mixture of every single fruit peel that exist in the world. On the palate, the fruit salad comtinues. Pineapple, pears; a mild and decent spiciness. Dim salt and something that i can only describe as a cube of sugar. Aftertaste is a Glenfiddich classic: Hay, burnt grass and impalpable sugar. Overall, i must say that even if this type of whiskies are not my favorite, this one achieves exactly what it offers: a fruity explosion that is so fresh that must whisky drinkers will enjoy without overthinking this dram too much. It is my least favorite of the experiments collection, but somehow it passes the test. My score for it is 82 over
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