Tastes
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Lately my relationship with Compass Box has evolved into a more stable situation. I used to love their marketing but i often found some bottles to be underperforming in comparison of what they promised. But i have had some really nice drams from them in the past months, and that is why this brand of blended whiskies have gained my heart again. Well, i managed to grab a very hard to find bottle, called "Duokle Angelams", a Lithuania exclusive, for the bar that holds the same name. Actually, "Doukle Angelams" means "A tribute to the angels". The actual blend is not disclosed easily as you could find in any other Compass Box expression. Mostly of it is Linkwood. Bottled at 49%abv. On the nose, wow this is great! Peaches, milk powder, "Suspiros" (a solid meringue cookie), floral and sugar syrup notes. After some sips, stewed apples and fruits. A popular south american dessert called "Pavlova". On the palate is marvelous; suspiros, peaches, impalpable sugar. Super sweet stuff. Aftertaste delivers a wonderful contrast: spicy lemongrass, tobacco, hay, cigar. So beautiful. Overall, this was fantastic. And trust me, i have become a little more hard to convince for a higher score in a whisky, specially a blend. This is truly good; so good, that i shared it on a tasting event with some heavy names in whisky and this was consensually ranked No. 2 of the night behind the almighty Ardbeg Alligator. My score for this incredible limited edition whisky of only 1494 bottles is a proper 96 over 100. Sláinte!
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Some whiskies are just a Myth. Long lost legends that pass through generations, where people who have tasted them tell the younger enthusiasts that there was a whisky once that blew their minds. In Ardbeg's case, such whisky is called "Alligator". A not-so-old special limited edition, Ardbeg Alligator was released back in 2011; it seems like yesterday, but 12 long years have passed. It was named that way becaused Dr. Bill Lumdsen matured it in heavily charred oak casks, so heavily charred that the internal wood broke a little forming ducts or grooves where the whisky moved, talking to the oak, interacting with the molecules of the staves. Bottled at 51.2%abv. On the nose, it is simply spectacular. Starts with a note of a new pair of cotton socks; cotton candy, povydine, really wonderful, interesting aroma. Coffee, dulce de leche, like a cup of expresso. IT SMELLS EXACTLY LIKE TARGET, THE RETAIL STORES. Scotch tape, caramelized bacon and meat. After a first sip, it gave me gunpowder on the nose, swamp, wet plants. The palate is incredible, very sweet. Unexpected. Dulce de leche, vanilla, toffee, marshmallows, everything wrapped up in pepper. The second sip gave me smoke and pepper. Aftertaste was a perfect closure for this dram. I actually wrote in my notes "this **** is great!". It is brown sugar with smoke. A salt bomb, rubber, moss. It is a lovely punch to your face. Overall, let me tell you this, and i am serious: this might be the best Ardbeg i have ever had. And i have had a lot. Maybe some Supernova expressions might debate that statement, but a true fact here is that this legendary dram is exactly what "the folk" said about it. Such an incredible whisky deserves a perfect score. This is a 100 in my books. Sláinte!!!
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Highland Park Freya
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed January 31, 2023 (edited February 4, 2023)Freya, the goddess of love, lust and fertility, is also portrayed as a deity of war, since she has her own version of Valhalla, where half of the fallen viking warriors go when they die in battle. Freya is also the third expression of Highland Park's "Valhalla Collection", a 15yo whisky that promises the lust, love and war in a glass. Bottled at 51.2%abv, it comes with the now classic viking ship. On the nose, it is very good, although a little dim. Starts with green apple juice and pears, you almost feel that you have poured a Glenfiddich 12yo at the first aroma. Heather, stewed apples, white wine and a nice maritime note. After some sips, it changed into a wet vanilla cake, pineapple and fruity gas water. On the palate it is sheer perfection. Fruit punch, fruit salad and then a powerful spice flavor of ginger and clove. It is delicious. Macerated fruits. It has a cold feeling. Wine sangria fruits. Amazing. Aftertaste was the peaty part. Herbal, a warrior peat, a lip and tongue scorching feeling in a good way. Maritime with ginger notes, sider. Overall, this one accomplishes the mision. It offered a lusty, lovely dram, which traduces into the great, clean fruitiness to it; and it also offered me some war notes, that are heavily found on the finish: pleasantly spicy, peaty and scorching. The nose is where it lost some points, but this is a memorable single malt. My score for it is 96 over 100. -
Arran Smuggler Series The Illicit Stills Vol. 1
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed January 30, 2023 (edited January 31, 2023)I did it backwards. I finally completed the tasting of the whole Arran Smuggler's series collection, and i can truly say that they are not only one of the finest looking bottles (with the whole book box) ever, but also they are impressive whiskies. The first one i tried, was their third release, the "Exciseman", which was a fantastic single malt. The second one, was of course "The High Seas", which was even better, something truly hard to achieve. I had big hopes for their first release, "The Illicit Stills", since Arran has never made something wrong, and this collection has proven in the past to be outstanding. Bottled at 56.2%abv, Golden color. On the nose, i got chocolate, the Arran typical pineapple note, caramel flan and a tropical punch. It also gave me white chocolate and some "suspiros" which i have no idea who to translate it to the english language. On the palate, it was beautiful. Delicious. White glazed donut, pineapple, super tropical notes. White chocolate, hazelnuts, almonds. Sweet magic. Aftertaste was pleasantly spicy. A hint of smoke is also present. Hay, salty, tongue scorching in a lovely way. Overall, this is a wonderful whisky but... the other two were a lot better. Actually, it feels less complex although it mantains its excelent flavors. The nose was a little simple and not too powerful. Having said that, this is a great single malt, that i would have any day, and i would definitively buy again (if it wasn't so expensive). My score for this dram is a solid 91 over 100. -
Macallan The Harmony Collection Smooth Arabica
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed January 29, 2023 (edited January 30, 2023)Macallan has released yet another limited collection of whiskies, exclusively for the travel retail market and guess what, they are already being sold in the secondary market for 4 times the price. Having said that, the Macallan Harmony collection are 4 single malts, called Smooth Arabica, Intense Arabica (the coffee expressions), and, Rich Cacao & Fine Cacao (the cocoa/chocolate expressions). All of them are 40%abv, and they are enviromentally friendly, even the box is made out of coffee and cocoa discarded husks. Well, i opened one of the Smooth Arabica ones, hoping for a coffee type dram, let's see how it went: On the nose, the typical Macallan classic, unmistakeable aroma: Snicker chocolate, Milky way, Tobblerone; old apples, sawdust, toffee and hazelnut. Very nutty as expected in any Macallan. Plums and dates. Fresh aroma that dropped in power after a first sip. On the nose, a very refined, fancy vanilla. Rum and raisins ice cream; Sawdust. Very oily with smooth vanilla notes. Cappuccino, lots of coffee beans notes here. Nice. Aftertaste was a perfect bitter coffee, an expresso. Hay. It feels exactly as a cup of an everyday normal coffee. Overall, i believe that Macallan fails to deliver a top whisky again (as per usual these days) but at least this time they did manage to give you something that actually smells and tastes like coffee, which is the name of the expression. What they intended to do, they accomplished, but it is not going to impress anyone. Not a bad whisky, maybe a mediocre nose is the part that drops the ball. Buy it if you find it on a duty free for the original price which is below 200, and then keep it stored for years. It will certainly be worth a lot more, then, buy a Glendronach with that money, lol. My score for it is a 86 over 100. -
Glenlivet 14 Year Sherry Cask Matured (Taiwan Exclusive)
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed January 28, 2023 (edited February 4, 2023)Listen to this marvelous story. I once was staying at Linn's house, Chivas Regal Castle in Scotland. The host let me drink any whisky i wanted from the first 3 shelves of a 7 shelved wall full of incredible bottles. I picked a strange looking Glenlivet 13yo which liquid was almost black due to the sherriness. It changed my life. This was a 13yo Taiwan exclusive sherry cask matured Glenlivet. Since that moment, i have managed to score more than 10 bottles in the past few years, i got only one left. Then, i found out about a 15yo bottling, of the same sherry cask matured series for Taiwan. I also scored a few bottles. Both expressions were a perfect 100 score drams for me. Well, guess what i have found now? THE 14YO GLENLIVET SHERRY CASK MATURED FOR TAIWAN. Bottled at 40%abv, the most reddish color ever, dracula would have drank this thinking it was blood. On the nose, the most incredible aroma ever of red fruits, red berries and milk powder formula. Dark chocolate, cotton candy and floral profiles. After the first sip, the aroma changed into this out-of-this-world maple syrup note. Coffee and cocoa. On the palate, cherries bathed in chocolate. Wonderfully creamy and very winey. Sweet Prunes. Argentinian dulce de leche; Super fruity and sweet. Aftertaste is all about red fruits, maraschino cherries. Ginger and a sherry bomb. Marvelous stuff. Overall, this might be, the greatest Glenlivet known to man. Also, the 13yo and the 15yo Taiwan Exclusives are the best Glenlivets known to man, lol. This is the most impressive sherry bomb ever crafted, it should be considered the standard objective of all other sherried single malts. I believe you can guess that i rated this spectacular whisky a perfect 100 score. Sláinte!! -
Edradour 1973 Connoisseurs Choice (Gordon & MacPhail)
Single Malt — Scotland
Reviewed January 23, 2023 (edited January 28, 2023)Another beautiful Edradour from the 1970s, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, released under their prestigious "Connoisseurs Choice" vintage whiskies collection. At the time, Edradour was the smallest of all scottish distilleries, with only 2 workers who produced roughly 12 barrels a week. This one has a burnished gold color, bottled at 40%abv. On the nose it starts with some red dehydrated fruits with a powerful pepper spice. Chocolate cocoa powder. Cheap church wine, white chocolate. Actually it smells quite good: Grapy and really winey; blackberry jam. There is a beautiful mix between red fruit syrup and white chocolate. I could actually nose this all day. The blackberry jam intensifies on the second aroma, there is definitively some red apples in there. Perfect score. On the palate, a little straightforward but fairly good. Red fruits, sawdust. On the second sip i got red apples, sider and fruitspice. It tastes like a calvados or another apple liquor. Aftertaste has that old whisky style, a little rough on the edges with lots of sawdust and slight red fruitiness. After a second sip, the aftertaste was delicious; tobacco, hay, sawdust and a overall dry finish which is very rewarding. Hazelnut and waffer. Overall, this was a lot better than the 1972 expression, it felt more rounded and well crafted. It takes a little while to fully open on the palate and aftertaste, because the nose is just incredible from the moment you uncork it. My score for this wonderful single malt is 93 over 100. -
Bowmore 10yo, 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival
Single Malt — Scotland
Reviewed January 17, 2023 (edited January 18, 2023)Back in 1988, in Glasgow, a special festival was held. It was the Garden Festival, a 0.49km zone that was "reclaimed" from the city's industrialized zone, and turned into a green area. Of course, Bowmore, as it often did in the 80s and 90s, released a special bottle for that event. The 10yo Bowmore 1988 Garden Festival is quite a rarity nowadays. It can only be found in the secondary market and it goes for around 550 dollars, which is a hefty amount for a 10 year old whisky. Pale straw color, 40%abv. On the nose it is a bakery. Bread, yeast. Citric meringue and burnt hay. Horse stable, burnt grass and Silicone. Lovely, very yeasty and buttery. There is a ghostly citric profile in the back. After a couple of sips the same notes intensified. Vanilla sponge cake. After a third sip it became "beachy": salty, sandy. On the palate, it is very sweet. A vanilla wet cake, then after 5 seconds, gunpowder. A long time has passed since the last whisky that gave me the "gunpowder note; i thought i lost it, and i have now recovered it. Fireworks. After a first sip, it became even sweeter, then a minor salt bomb exploded. It starts very sweet then it changes into some deep saltiness. Aftertaste seems to be a little straightforward. Salty, maritime. Quite long for a 10yo dram. Pepper and the salt used for grilling a steak. Overall, this legendary whisky is very straightforward and not complex at all, but that doesn't make it a bad single malt. It is actually very enjoyable and rewarding, but a little simple in my opinion. My score for it is a well deserved 82 over 100, and i believe that when it went for the original retail price, it wasn't a bad deal at all. -
Jura Tide 21 Year
Single Malt — Islands, Scotland
Reviewed January 15, 2023 (edited January 19, 2023)Jura used to be a lot better. In the past 5-6 years, its name has lost some popularity, and you can feel how the owners are incapable to stop the down trend they are suffering. Having said that, this 21 year old Release is one attempt to recover some of their good old fame. This is one of two 21yo expressions, that were released at the same time, called "Tide" and "Time" in a very confusing way. Even the marketing and the labels are super difficult to tell apart. This "Tide" has been matured in american Ex Bourbon barrels and then finished in virgin american oak casks. Bottled at 46.7% abv, it has an orange caramel color. It has a really amazing nose. Dark Christmas cake; chocolate cake with raisins and candied fruits. Very yeasty, lovely aroma. Recently baked brownies. Dark dehydrated fruits, figs and dates. After a first sip, it gave me an exact aroma of stroopwaffles. After more sips, out of nothing a salty sea breeze appeared. Great. On the palate, it starts with thick honey. Cough syrup, hot honey. A second sip gave me stewed apples, apple pie. It is hot on the palate, its been ages since i felt a hot note on a whisky in the palate. Syrup. Long flavor that never lost its intensity. Aftertaste has the aromatic peat smoke with hints of salt. Very well crafted, but not too long. Heathery, earth, grass. Smokey. Pepper and sea salt. Overall, this one is a delicious whisky, but It is not complex at all. The simple notes it has, are very well delivered, and incredibly enjoyable. For a 21 year old whisky is way too safe, and easy drinkable but it lacks some emotion. I would definitively drink it if some gave me a glass, but i don't think i am buying it for myself. My score for a very good whisky that could be better, is 89 over 100. -
Ben Bracken 40 Year Old Highland Blended Malt
Blended Malt — Scotland
Reviewed January 12, 2023 (edited January 13, 2023)On sunday january 8th, i turned 40 years old. It was only fitting that i had a whisky as old as me. For over a year i have been waiting to open this bottle, a Ben Bracken 40 year old highland blended malt, a whisky that has lived in a barrel the same amount of time as i have been in this planet. Ben Bracken is a brand of scottish blended malts owned by a german retail store called Lidl. Bottled at 43% abv, in 2017, the youngest drop of this whisky was at least distilled in 1977 (like Star Wars!) On the nose, it is a great. Hay and recently baked brownies. Old macetared red fruits, strawberries. Rich rounded aromas. Red fruits syrup, lovely aroma, very elegant. After a first sip, it released chocolate, toffee and caramel "tastetemptions". Chocolate bar. On the palate it is pure perfection. Macerated fruits, welsh grape juice, blackberries. The second amazing sip gave me christmas hot chocolate. Raisins bathed in chocolate. Oranges, dehydrated fruits, candied fruits. Aftertaste is super elegant and not overly oaky for a 40yo dram. Pepper and ginger, Acid prunes and the juice from squeezing figs. Slightly hay smoke. Incredible Overall, this was everything you dream for a birthday dram, and the most amazing thing about it, is that this is not expensive at all for an age statement like that. This is a limited edition of only 2880 bottles, which might be hard to come by, but not impossible. Wonderfully elegant, fruity, flavorful. I had a very nice time with it. My score for this great blended malt, is 97 over 100.
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