Tastes

Back in the 1990s, Bruichladdich used to matured some of their finest spirit in some italian and other special red wine casks, for 13 to 16 years, and as a result they released in the early 2000s some delicious expressions. One of those rarities is this Bruichladdich Recioto della Valpolicella, vintage 1993, exclusively released for Oddbins, the spirits retail store in UK. Bottled at 46%abv, with a lovely red color. Recioto is actually a sweet raisin wine, made out of a blend of some grapes: Corvina, Corvinone, Negrara, Orseleta and Forselina. It is pretty similar to Amarone, but amarone completes a longer fermentation. On the nose, it starts as expected, with sweet red fruits. Cherries and sunmaid raisins. Dr. Pepper and strawberry marmalade. Port wine, dates and bacon. Red apples, grapes. After a first sip the aroma changed into a typical soapy note i always get from Bruichladdich, school glue and red berries. On the palate it is good. Red fruits, some orange peel notes; very floral. Rose chocolate. You would never guess this is a Bruichladdich at a blind tasting event. Aftertaste is amazing. Tobacco, oranges, tangerine, and citric grapefruits. Super long, rewarding finish. Cocoa bitterness. Superb. Overall, this is one incredible offering from "laddie"; the Recioto cask has imparted most of the flavor and aroma notes and has turned this single malt into a wine in steroids. Great job here, my score for this rare beauty is 95 over 100.

There is a great whisky retail store in Belgium called "The Nectar". You can find incredible bottlings and some really bespoke special ones, released just for that place. One of their suppliers is the famous Compass Box. As a matter of fact, Compass Box have released two special expressions for them, one on their 10th anniversary; and this one, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their time together selling top whiskies. Compass Box The Nectar, is mostly made of Laphroaig, for a peaty character. Bottled at 49%abv, this one promises to be very good. On the nose, it starts with a buttery popcorn, fresh can of tennis balls, seaweed and Cookies & Cream. Butterscotch; it smells spicy, banana cake, caramel and the classic creaminess from Compass Box. After a first sip, it changed into iodine, swamp and rainforest. Spectacular. On the palate, it is a great whisky. Creamy marshmallows; the typical Laphroaig peat, hay. After a couple of sips it gave me a fruity profile: grapefruit and some saltiness. Oily body. Aftertaste is the best part of this masterpiece. Smoke, tennis balls, medicinal peat, salt. Absolutely amazing. Overall, this is one is truly one of the greatest blends this company has ever made. The sweetness and the peatiness have been married to perfection. A full bodied, well crafted, powerful dram. My score for it is an honest 94 over 100. If you can find it, don't even doubt to buy it. Slàinte!

Ok, brace yourselves for an incredible story. Back in the 1990s (it sounds like a long time ago nowadays), the whisky investments were starting to rise. Of course, scammers were on the rise as well. This is the story of a Gibraltar based company called Pearldene and Hamilton Spirit Management, who offered customers casks of a new distillery called "Grandtully" and also "Gleneagles". Both distilleries never existed and the company received at least 1.7 million pounds for those whisky casks that were a nothing more than a scam. When the authorities found out, they started chasing the criminals, and they attempted to send bottles from other existing distilleries to the scammed investors in order to hide what they have done. The Scottish Whisky Association managed to retrieve this fake bottles (actually the liquid was real but not from Grandtully nor Gleneagles) and they re-labeled them with the proper distillery names, so the scammed investors at least could recover some whisky for their troubles. Well, one of those bottles came into my hands, an ARDBEG, called Ard Bog, bottle No. 28 of 377, part of the "GREAT WHISKY SWINDLE" of the 90s. A true piece of history. Bottled at 46%abv, this is a 10yo expression of Ardbeg, but from the 1990s, when Louis Vuitton was not yet the owner of the destillery. Pale straw color. On the nose, this is a very interesting whisky. It starts with a crazy note of a pair of cotton socks, plants / moss; dust. It smells like a hospital, creolin, medicinal notes. A pair of Converse shoes, black thick pepper and lemoncello. After a sip, the aroma changed into oysters, oregano, vanilla ice cream and brie cheese. Air freshener. Amazing and crazy stuff here. On the palate, it is delicious. It is a perfect mixture between a vanilla ice cream and black pepper. Cotton. On the second sip i got white chocolate, apricot and some maritime notes. Sweet and salty. Aftertaste is wonderful as well. Sawdust, black pepper, mint and salt. Super long finish. Overall, this was a fantastic Ardbeg, that we can consider it to be the 10yo expression from 33 years ago. A super rounded, heavily peated whisky with crazy tasting and aroma notes. I honestly believe that Ardbeg was better than today, specially with all the new releases that lack some depth lately. My score for this beauty is 92 over 100, and the story behind it is really fascinating.

Today i managed to get my hands on a 2021 Diageo Special release from the distillery that is the heart lf Johnnie Walker, Cardhu. I am not a fond fan of Cardhu, i find it mostly boring and too straightforward. I have had quite a few expressions and i am still waiting to be impressed. This natural cask strength release, was bottled at 55.5%abv and has been finished in red wine casks. On the nose, it is quite aromatic. Grapefruit, impalpable sugar, acetone and a super floral note that is overwhelming. Roses, goosebeeries. Farm fruits, very clean notes here. This is the best aroma i have ever found in a Cardhu so far. There is definitively some spiciness here. Burnt hay. After a second sip? I got chocolate and toffee; hints of lemon. On the palate, this is different from most Cardhus. Red fruits, pineapple; toffee madness.  Dulce de leche. Salted caramel. Very enjoyable. Aftertaste follows the same rythm with a twist. It is like small toffee pieces,  crazy dips lollipop. Salted caramel and acid fruits, very appealing. Overall, this is by far the best Cardhu i have ever had. It is not a life changing experience, but this is definitively better that any other expression i have tasted before. The cask strength and red wine finish has imparted really nice floral and farm fruit notes that are very appealing. My score for it is 92 over 100, scoring 23 points in every criteria.

Oh today was a good day. And i can honestly say that because i went to a friend's house and he told me he had found a relic in an old cabinet. It was a 1980 vintage Glenfarclas, bottled in 1999, a 18yo expression. It had this lovely red, almost bloodish color. A long lost bottle, it even stated "highland single malt", something that has changed nowadays where the region were Glenfarclas is located is Speyside. 43%abv, definitively a heavy sherry maturation has been used here. On the nose, it surely feels old, like a library. Red fruits and gooseberries; cherry syrup and a slight sawdust note. Old oranges, Tangerine and school glue. There is a stinky orange peel note. After a first sip, it gave me honey, vanilla, rum and raisins, chocolate and hazelnut. On the palate, it is all about oranges. Saltiness and super citric, sawdust. There are cherries and hints of dark chocolate. Delicious. Aftertaste is very acid and interesting. Old oranges, orange peel, tangerine. A dry envelope glue, sawdust. It feels very well crafted. Overall, it is always good to find a rarity like this one, specially when it is free. I truly enjoyed this whisky and i am in a new path to try more from one of Speyside's iconic distilleries, Glenfarclas. My score for this beauty is 92 over 100. Slàinte!

My favorite whisky distillery of all time is Glendronach, and i have been dreaming to taste an old bottling from them, one belonging to the times where Billy Walker wasn't the Master Distiller, just to experience the difference from nowadays expressions. Well, i managed to get my hands on a nowadays "rare" 1980’s bottling of Glendronach 12yo. It was matured in second-fill ex bourbon casks and finished in sherry; unlike today's 12 year old which is fully sherried. Bottled at 40%abv, golden color. On the nose, I get this hay, oak thread that i often find in old whiskies. Red Apples is the main note here. Honey and a chocolate bar that you have stored in a fridge. A floral very appealing note;  It has a caramelized apple aroma that imidiately takes your memory to a circus from your childhood. Fresh fruitiness, lovely aroma; impalpable sugar. A hot apple pie from McDonald's. Hot cinnamon. After a first sip it gave me school glue that came out of nowhere, not very appealing. Acetone. The second nose was a little bit of a setback. After a minute it released an awesome cotton candy note; very sugary. After a second sip, the arome went super sweet: apples dipped in dulce de leche. Toffee exploded here. Im impressed of this aroma specially for a 12yo. A very creamy vanilla ice cream. On the palate, more red apples. It gives me this "Aberlour" feeling. Cinnamon. Red apple peel, honey. The second sip gave me a fancy toffee. A spicy mixture of hay and apples. Aftertaste is spectacular. Hay and hints of smoke. Tobacco. Beautiful finish very rewarding. The overall hay flavor is quite lovely. Overall, i truly believe that this one is way better than nowadays 12 year old expression. This is far more complex, and you can tell they have used some very nice ex bourbon casks for this whisky. I deducted some points here and there, but the nose and aftertaste were almost perfect. My score for this one is a very well deserved 93 over 100.

One of my favorite scottish distilleries, Arran, has finally achieved one of their goals for the future: to create a sister distillery, with peaty characteristics and release smoky expressions of the almighty Arran. This new distillery is called "LAGG" and it has already made an inaugural release; well, actually they made 3 inaugural releases, and i have tasted the "No. 3", an allegedly heavily peated malt, bottled at 50%abv. A limited release of only 10.000.bottles, it was matured in ex-bourbon casks for 30 months and then finished for 6 months in ex-Rioja red wine Firkin casks. On the nose, it has a peaty character right away. Ashes, aromatic stewed pineapples, and Bbq sauce. Meringue is the most important note here. Herbal spiciness. Meringue sweets. On the palate, this is a super spicy dram. Red chilli; Feels very pungent and young. Definitively red chilli, very strong. Tabasco sauce. On the second sip, it became a sugary water, milk with sugar. The red chilli appeared again. Meringue. Aftertaste, it is very smoky, but also a little straightforward. Strong mint; It has a herbal feeling. Overall, i believe this whisky achieves what it offers, a heavily peated single malt that is good enough to impress anyone who tries it, considering this is a 3 year old dram. I am eager to taste older expressions in the next decade, Lagg definitively has a good spirit, that needs to mature a little more. My score for this one is 85 over 100.

After 1103 rated whiskies i have finally had a legend of the "Aquavitæ world, the Bailie Nicol Jarvie, a blended scotch that dissapeared from the shelves in 2014. After a quick research, the bottler of this baby was Macdonald & Muir  (who later became the Glenmorangie Company). It was said that this blend had the ‘highest malt content of any blended Scotch whisky’. Islay, Speyside and the Highlands are the Scottish zones picked to create this dram. The grain came from Girvan. The youngest component whisky was at least 8 years old. Bottled at 40%abv. The nose starts with a very clean fresh apple note, hazelnut, some saltiness appear as well. There is definitively a caramel chocolate aroma here. Pears and honey. Fresh, very standard whisky aroma. Spicy on the nose, like oregano. The second nose has a very maritime scenario: lots of sea salt and sand aroma. Coconut bronzer. Rum and raisins ice cream. Very clean, well delivered aroma. Toffee. Honey, toffee, hay, sider and salt, it matches the nose perfectly. It is very easy to enjoy. Grassy/hay is the most predominant note. Nice ashy, tobacco/cigar finish. There is a decent amount of peatiness. This is the kind of smokey/salty finish that created the good reputation of scotch whiskies. On the second sip it became much sweeter, with a solid toffee note. Actually this is a pretty balanced, fairly enjoyable dram. I bet this pairs perfectly with a cigar, and it is not super peaty; actually it has a hint of smokiness, only on the aftertaste. It is really nice, very "Cowboy-esque" style. I am sad that it doesn't exist anymore, because i can bet this wasn't expensive and it can be a great everyday dram. My score for it is 89 over 100.

Maker's Mark, one of the biggest Bourbon producers in the US, launched a Cask Strength expression called FAE-01, which was made by "Stave finishing"; that means they introduce an extra stave in the middle of th3 cask where the whiskey is maturing. This FAE-01 actually is made using the extra stave, slightly seared on one end, and raw on the other. Bottled at 55.3%abv (110.6 proof) with a lovely red color. On the nose, it starts witha lovely red fruit syrup note. Bubbaloo bubblegum; maraschino cherries and Marshmallows. Maple syrup. On the palate, it is an strawberry hard candy; cherry syrup. Maple. Delicious. Aftertaste is all about fruitiness and sour prunes. Cotton candy. Overall, this is one incredibly tasty bourbon; perhaps the fruitiest i have ever had. All the notes are very clean and delicious. I am super impressed by it, i did not expected it to be so good. Even if it is a little straightforward, the tasting and aroma references are uncanny. One of the finest bourbons that i can remember, my score for this beast is 96 over 100. Amazing.

Lately i have been tasting some of the best Highland Park releases, and that is a very cool thing to say from a distillery that has suffered some backlash because they have thrown too many expressions on the market nowadays and not all of them have been well received by the critics. Actually, i have had this bottle unopened for some years now, this is a Cask Strength, 58%abv expression called "Orkney Rowing Club", a limited release of 4000 bottles, which commemorates this famous club, that has gathered some of the viking tradition to sail and row to find new lands and adventures. On the nose, starts with a lovely pineapple and toffee note. Coffee, pineapple pie, dark chocolate and liquid paper. Apricots. After a first sip, the aroma changed into povidone, white chocolate and milk formula. Very nice. On the palate, a little straightforward but delicious. Oranges and chocolate; those to things mixed with a powerful and citric red chilli. Creme Brulee. Aftertaste is great. It bites. Impalpable sugar, sider, hard toffee so sweet it can be almost cloying. Overall, this was a very lovely Highland Park, that was thoroughly discussed by everyone at my tasting event, and we all loved it. The high abv allows some very clean and fancy notes to appear and it was really a very enjoyable dram. My score for it is 95 over 100. Nice single malt, super recommended.