Tastes

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.

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 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.

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.

A vintage Ardbeg is as rare as finding an 18yo old one. The task gets even more difficult when we are talking about a specific limited expression bottled 15 years ago. This is the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist, a very limited expression, is called "The Beist", and the actual translation for that fancy gaelic name is "The Shelter of The Beast". Bottled at 46%abv, this is a 1990 vintage, Bottled in 2008. On the nose it is incredible. Tropical aroma, a pair of socks, pineapple, cigarrette ashtray, milk chocolate. After a first sip it became even more tropical with grated coconut notes. On the palate it is perfect. White chocolate with red chilli. It is a punch in the face of those two notes. Salty and sweet, pineapple. Spectacular. Aftertaste is deliciously smoky. Aromatic peat, burnt hay. Fantastic. Sugary and smokey. Overall, this is one of the most elegant, tropical, easy drinkable, yet peaty dram. This is the definition of a "rounded whisky". I believe this super expensive single malt (goes for around $700 nowadays), will be a dram that i will remember for a long time. The Beast is actually tamed to be enjoyed fully. My score for it is 97 over 100.

It is time to review another special Ardbeg Release. This time a very popular, a little expensive (aren't they all these days) expression, the mythical 17 year old. This one was released in 1997, so the liquid inside was distilled at least in 1980, and the first "rarity" you can find here is that this distillery bottling is 40%abv, which is not typical for Ardbeg that is used to bottle their expressions at 46%abv, non chill-filthered. Gold color. On the nose, super different from other Ardbegs. Cotton candy, mint, flowers, heather, incense, aromatic peat and moss. After a couple of sips, it gave me a floral perfume with very tiny hints of chocolate. Hazelnut.ore sips gave me hand soap. Lovely aroma. On the palate, it is not too complex and i would never guess it is an Ardbeg in a blind tasting. Sugary water, salty water as well. Vanilla. That was it on the first sip. More sips gave me condensed milk and more sugary notes. It lost some intensity. Aftertaste was very good. Classic smoke, bbq sauce, bacon. Very long finish, very rewarding. Herbal. Grilled pork, salty. Overall, this was a very good single malt, that is very different for what i expected. I can't called it unbalanced, because the nose is fantastic, the palate is above average and the finish is great, but still feels like this is not the best Ardbeg out there. It really lost some points on the palate, and that affected the overall balance and the final score. Don't get me wrong, i would drink it any day, it is a great whisky, but i would never pay the 780 dollars that is nowaday's average price for it. My score is a well deserved 90 points over 100.

On new years eve  i opened one of my most valuable miniatures. A Gordon & Macphail bottling of Ardbeg, vintage 1976, 23yo expression. Bottled in 1999, this one of those famous "map labels" from the Connoisseurs Choice range of Gordon & Macphail's whiskies. 40%abv, golden color. On the nose, it starts with a nice Brownies note; Old Orange peel and moss. Swampy aroma, wet ashtray and medicinal ancestral herbs.Quite interesting and fun. Salted water/Iodine. After some sips, the ashy note became crazy. On the palate, some orange caramel and tons of salt. Pleasant red chilli. Actually it starts pretty sweet. The third sip gave me marshmallows, cotton candy and lots of sugar. Very different profile for what you typical expect from Ardbeg. Finish is all about ashes and salt. Definitively red chilli in a spectacular way. The peatiness is herbal. The third sip gave me a sugar rush that i havent felt in any Ardbeg before. Earthy, sweet, hay, moss, salt, pepper. Overall, this one was quite a ride. For a 40%abv dram, it is very complex and full of flavor. I believe this has various layers of tasting and aroma notes, but definitively the nose is the best part. My score for this beauty is 93 over 100.

I started my whisky journey 6 years ago. This is my whisky review no. 1083, but the first one i ever did, and the first single malt i ever had was a Dalmore 12yo. Obviously, this magic dram was the version from nowadays. But, back in the 1970s-1980s, an older version existed. And this black labeled, long bottle Dalmore 12yo, is that older expression. Let's see if this forgotten jewel has changed in the past 50 years. Bottled at 43%abv, this is the first difference from the expression you can find in a retail store now, which is bottled at only 40%. On the nose, it is quite complex and different. Amazing orange zest notes, fresh gooseberries. Everything citric and quite beautiful. It has the style of most 1970s whiskies, with thick citrus flavors, i have had a couple like that. Dry cherries have rised after 5 minutes nosing it. Beautiful aroma of fruit salad, kiwi and ripe fruits. After a couple of sips, the aroma changed into lemon, airfreshener. Its like every fruit in the world dipped in marmalade. Fantastic. The palate starts with yellow apples mixed with orange marmalade. Incredibly good, salt and sawdust kicks in after 5 seconds. A second sip gave me canned macerated pineapples for cocktails. Salty and dusty. Beautiful. Aftertaste is a little oaky; Sawdust, hay and clove. Herbal rounded finish. It is quite diferent to nowadays Dalmore. It is dry, with tobacco leaf notes; very cowboy-ish. Overall, this was an incredible experience. It goes for around 450 dollars in the seconday market, which might seem a lot for a 12yo whisky, but the truth here is that you are paying for a relic that existed 50 years ago when the world looked very different from now, and not only the world has changed, the Dalmore has changed as well. I believe this is a more complex dram than the one from our century. Both are very good, and i can honestly say that Dalmore is one of my favorite distilleries. My score for this one is 95 over 100.

An award winning blend is always suspicious, specially when that category holds some great contestants as the almighty Hibiki 21 or a super high-end Compass Box. Don't get me wrong, i love blended whiskies, but i am a little skeptical of naming them "Best whisky in the world" specially when you are dealing with super brands that are made mostly to please a broad base of consumers rather than true whisky analysts (if such thing even exists). Well, actually i like Dewars a lot. It is a good, affordable blend. And this 21yo expression, has become very famous due to the awards it has won lately. It says in the label that it has been matured in four casks, mostly Oloroso Sherry ones. Bottled at 46%abv it has a very lovely red color. On the nose, quite nice. Bbq sauce, thick maple syrup, glazed ham and peach halves in their syrup. Honey. It screams Craigellachie everywhere. Not too complex. On the palate, it is super smooth, and i don't use "smooth" ever as a whisky term. Velvety soft and incredibly gentle. Vanilla, red fruit syrup, frutilla, maraschino cherries and fruitspice. Aftertaste is elegant. Hay and ginger. Very woody and dry; more sips gave me this feeling of coffee and milk, toffee and almond milk. Overall, this is a very good dram, but way too gentle and safe for my subjective preferences in whisky. Not very complex but incredibly easy to the palate, it achieves what it intends to do, which is a notorious elegance for whisky drinkers who appreciate a well crafted spirit without any crazy flavors or boldness. My score for this fairly enjoyable "juice" is 84 over 100.

Imagine a Cattle Farm. That is what this distillery was back in 2006. By 2015, the owners decided to transform the Piggery into a Whisky Production facility. Quite the dream. Lochlea was allegedly the farm where Robert Burns lived. And now, it is one of the newest Whisky distilleries of Scotland. Bottled at 46%abv., this is the core expression. Golden color. On the nose, it still feels a little young. Acetone, canteloupe, Salt and pumpkin. Peaches and air freshener. A couple of sips released a wet vanilla cake. On the palates it is all about apricots and honey. Sweet peach halves. Aftertaste is more of the same profile. Peaches, cotton candy. Almost spicy, it feels like hot Honey. Overall, i believe that this very young whisky is a good spirit that in the upcoming years will manage to be a very interesting single malt. It is not a bad dram, but it lacks complexity and maturation to become more round. This is a nice product that should be watched closely in the future for better crafted expressions. My score for it is 77 over 100.