Tastes

This is a true statement: Lagavulin is the best. And the best Lagavulin expressions are the Islay Jazz ones. I am glad we have discussed that. Now let's talk about 2022's special Islay Jazz expressions, because this year there were two of them, a 7yo Ex Bourbon Cask Strength, and this amazing 14yo Ex Brandy Casks, bottled at 55.4%abv, with a beautiful golden color. On the nose, absolutely amazing. Ham, a pair of cotton socks, moss, new shoes, and a fresh can of tennis balls. Brown sugar, burnt rubber, sponge and a rubber duck. Incredible stuff. After some sips it gave me liquid paper, glue and plastic. On the palate, this is a marvelous liquid. Peaches, earthiness, amazing bacon and roasted coffee.  After some sips it gave me  dehydrated peaches and molasses. It was near perfection here. Aftertaste was glorious. Cuban cigars, smoke, ashes and very long. Ginger and Salt. Overall, this was an out of this world dram. I believe this is the first time i have ever had a Brandy Cask finish and it did not dissapointed me. Brandy is actually a type of burnt wine popularized in the netherlands as "Brandewijn", and that "burn" goes fantastic with the Lagavulin spirit. Great, great stuff, my score for it is 99 over 100. (It lost only one point in the palate).

There is nothing like a vintage looking bottle, specially if it contains a glorious "juice" inside. I am not the greatest Glenmorangie fan ever, and i was surely skeptic of this "Traditional" expression, but it really impressed me. Labeled as "100 proof" this bottle makes a reminiscence of the imperial measures back in the old days. Bottled at 57.2%abv. It has been matured in "mountain oak", which unsurprisingly is actually american white oak. It is a 10yo single malt. On the nose, oranges, rose water, perfume, hazelnut, Nutella and Lime. It has this amazing Brownies aroma. After a first sip, the aroma change into butter, croissant. Yeasty. It actually smells like new dollar bills. The palate starts sweet. A full vanilla flavor, very fancy, very well crafted. Brownies crest, tobacco and hay. Quite delicious. Aftertaste is the epitome of this whisky song. Tobacco, burnt grass, chocolate and brownies. Overall, i would never have guessed this is a Glenmorangie in a blind tasting. I truly believe that the high abv has extracted everything from the new wood, which undoubtely is american oak from the Ozark Mountains where Glenmorangie owns a forest. Having said that, this is a fantastic single malt, with tons of sweet flavors. I loved it. My score for it is 97 over 100.

I don't know if it was me who recently discovered how good Ledaig and Tobermory is, or if they are just starting to make very good things. I find this special wine cask maturations releases very appealing and i have started to look for them. This is a 17yo Madeira cask finish Tobermory, bottled at 54.2%abv. Reddish color. On the nose, it starts with Amaretto liquor, oranges, almonds, Contreau and figs. A banana on the last day before it goes bad. Dates and very winey. After a first sip, coffee with caramel. The third sip became very oaky, woody, like licking sawdust. On the palate is super delicious. Purple fruits, like blackberries, raisins and dates. It is like a fig juice, or a blackberry Welsh's juice. Dr. Pepper notes. Aftertaste is very dry and winey. It follows the same rythm of figs, raisins, candied fruits. It is like feeling cloyed by having too much Christmas cake. Very nice. Overall, it was a fantastic single malt. I am really sad that this kind of expressions are very limited, because if this kind of single malts were always available, the whisky world would be a better place. My score for this great dram is 95 over 100.

A quarter cask is a 125 litre oak barrel, that of course has more influence of the wood itself in the final flavor of the whisky, because there is a lot more oak for less whisky. This is important for everyone to know before talking about this very good Cask Strength expression from one of my favorite distilleries, Arran. Arran tends to have a fairly tropical spirit, and i am very curious to find out how a Quarter Cask can change some of the typical Arran profiles. Bottled at 56.2%abv, pale straw color. On the nose, the tropical notes are here, but enhanced. Pineapple, coconut, vanilla, lotion for burnt skin, cake fondant. After a first sip, the aroma changed into Tylenol and red fruits. On the palate, there are less than a handfull of tasting notes, but they are awesome. It tastes exactly as a cherry topping over a creamy "dulce de 3 leches". Chocolate, vainilla. Maraschino cherries. Super sweet. Aftertaste was very spicy and nice. Wasabi explosion. Vanilla, dulce de leche, salt and sulphur. Metallic notes. Rum and raisins. Overall, this is a very good single malt, very hard to beat at the price it is sold, which is not expensive at all. A great nose is followed by a hyper sweet palate and a spicy finish. I really believe that this is an offering that will always make you happy. My score for it is 90 over 100.

In my early years as a whisky enthusiast i always watched a youtube channel of a great critic, his name is Ralfy. If you haven't met Ralfy, he is quite the whisky superstar, just like Horst Luening or the guys from Scotch 4 Dummies. Well, Ralfy is so worlwide known, that after one time where he named GlenAllachie his favorite single malt of the year; the "Valley of The Rocks" distillery decided to release a special expression for his website, called Ralfy.com That incredible expression, was a 59.9%abv, single Port Cask Matured GlenAllachie, 13yo, vintage 2006. Only 890 bottles were ever made... and i had one of them. It has the craziest reddish color ever, non-chill filthered and no colouring added. On the nose, it is crazy amazing. Red fruits, Crème Brulee, maraschino Cherries, glazed ham, school glue and some floral notes. After a first sip, the aroma changed into acid prunes, red chilli, molasses and quince. More sips made the aroma change into strawberry marmalade and dried coffee. The palate is powerful and gorgeous. There is this Maraschino Cherry madness, powerful red chilli and strawberries. After some sips, it has become a cherry juice. Cinnamon, quince and christmas cake. Aftertaste is where the 59.9%abv hits, but in a lovely way. Sulphur, copper, red fruits, strawberries, cinnamon and aniseed. Prunes. Overall, this was an out of this world single malt, that doesn't feel nearly as powerful as it is, and that is because the whisky has been crafted in a remarkable way. Anything GlenAllachie does is great, and a super high abv expression was not going to be the exception to that rule. Flawless, my score is 100/100.

Listen to me. If you ever find whiskies finished in Sassicaia Casks, buy them. Buy them immidiately. Let me tell you my story. I often buy whisky samples (3cl and 5cl) to try new things and rate some hard to find drams. One time, i had bought an Arran called Sassicaia Wine Finish. It was absolutely amazing, one the best whiskies i have ever had. When i started looking for a whole bottle online, i wasn't able to find it. Nowadays, i have obtained one bottle of that incredible scarce Arran, and i have tasted some other Sassicaia wine finished whiskies, like Benromach. Well... in 2003, Gordon & Macphail released this peaty private edition Caol ila, finished in a finest Tuscany Sassicaia wine casks. Bolgheri Sassicaia wine can only be made by Tenuta San Guido, the only Italian Bodega that has the permission to make it. Bottled at 46%abv, it has a lovely tawny color. On the nose, smokey and sweet. Orange caramel with ashes. It smells like a pond; merthiolate. Carrot cake, farm fruits and lulo. More sips made the arome change into a cotton candy. On the palate it is almost perfect. Orange, acid fruits, lovely caramel. The sweetness is incredible. Lulo fruit, vanilla. Aftertaste starts with grapefruit, pepper and sea salt. It is marvelous spicy. Absolutely amazing finish, very rewarding. Overall, this continues to be my favorite type of wine finish for whisky. It is very elegant, full of sweet flavors, that have mixed in an incredible way with Caol Ila's signature peatiness. A flavorful and aromatic dram, my score for this beauty is 95 over 100.

Imagine a 27 year old whisky from Islay. Now imagine various 27yo whiskies from Islay. Good. Now blend them. Ben Bracken is a brand from Wallace & Young Distillers, an independent bottler. In 2017, they bottled this twenty seven year old blended malt, made out entirely of Islay's whiskies. This is like music to my ears. Bottled at 46%abv, this is not too much expensive for its age. Golden color. On the nose, i like the first aroma of crazy things, like a pair of socks, ashes, a hospital, old cheese and talcum powder. Gooseberries, hospital gauze and tape, cotton. After a couple of sips it gave me an aroma of a pond, naphthalene, leather and fireworks.... oh, that's the good stuff. On the palate it starts sweet. Lemon, meringue, vanilla and pepper. Gooseberries and a beautiful puff of smoke. Salty water. There is a chocolate note somewhere. Aftertaste is just amazing. Smoke from a hot cocoa cup, plastic and star anise. Wasabi and a wonderful sawdust. Overall, this was a peaty marvel. The tasting notes definitively seemed like some Caol Ila and Bruichladdich. That would be my guess. Having a 27yo dram is always a nice experience and for the price, this is quite a bargain. My score for this beauty is 96 over 100.

Another special edition from my favorite distillery in the world, Glendronach. Back in 2015, some special cask finishes were released, with some lovely white labels and some other "pastry" colors. This Glendronach 14yo virgin oak finish is one of those rare expressions, that i have luckily grabbed from an auction. Bottled at 46%abv, a deep golden color. On the nose, really nice. Starts with a meringue / lemon pie aroma. Glazed donuts, vanilla cake. After first sip, the aroma changed into a dulce de leche and herbal profile. Mountainside aromas, grated coconut and animal crackers. On the palate it is super elegant. Vanilla ice cream and a super creamy burrata cheese. It is wonderfully creamy. Lemon and lime. After some seconds it released a super pleasant pepper bomb!; more sips gave me some saltiness. It is sweet, salty and peppery at the same time. Aftertaste is a great ending for an oustanding whisky. Vanilla ice cream, waffer and a crazy pepper explosion. Overall, the only way i can describe this one is "elegant". This is suitable for a king. It screams "virgin american oak" everywhere, since it is super sweet and spicy. Incredibly creamy for a single malt, my score for this is 92 over 100.

My first Mexican whiskey, (yes, with an "e") is this 53040, which was a lovely present from their distillers, who sent this incredibly looking bottle to me, in order to write an honest critic for it. The first you need to know is that the decanter is plain wonderful. It is a small oil can, which happens to be fully ecological. After talking to the distillery owner, he told me that the name "53040" was the zipcode of his hometown when he was a kid. 53040 is made out of four types of corn. Black, yellow, white and red, all from the Oaxaca zone in Mexico. Bottled at 43%abv, a copper color.  It was matured in french oak, american oak and sherry casks. Pretty complex stuff. On the nose, starts with "old" notes and then it changes into a very sweet aroma. Old books, mountainside aroma, sawdust, dehydrated oranges and coffee. Vanilla and chocolate. Humidity. Marshmallows, chocolate topping of the ice cream. Coffee with milk. Very appealing. On the palate, some crazy new notes that i haven't experienced in any other whiskey before. Tree tomato juice. Grapefruit juice. Gooseberries and vanilla. On the second sip i got a white chocolate note and again this tree tomato juice flavor. It has a nice power to it. Aftertaste follows the same path, giving me the same grapefruit juice, the tree tomato juice and some salty and sulphuric notes. Overall, this was an exciting dram, to say the least. First of all, it doesn't have the creaminess of other grain whiskies; and it has the complexity and level of a good single malt. It is actually oily and not creamy, something that would have made me guess this was indeed a single malt and not a single grain if i had this at a blind tasting. Some of the flavor notes are so crazy for me, like the tree tomato one, and that is enough to earn a good score, specially if the whiskey is very good as this one is. My score for it is 89 over 100.

I really love when a friend calls me and tells me that he has found a very old bottle from their parents or grandparents, stored in a closet for a long time. This was the case, where i got the chance to try a nice looking bottle of "Justerini & Brooks", yours truly, J&B. This expression is called "Royal Ages" by Justerini & Brooks. A 43%abv blended scotch whisky, that looks from the 1970s. On the nose, it starts with lots of grain whisky aroma. Then it gave me some notes of old books, humidity and sawdust. After a while, the fruitiness appeared. Gooseberries and old green apples. Bread and yeast notes, very nice. Bbq sauce. The palate is very straight forward. Honey, sider and green apples. Aftertaste has a nice spiciness and a lovely honey mustard flavor. Medium long. Overall, it is fantastic to have the opportunity to taste this bottles that are kind of a time machine, made of whisky. I love to think, how was the world, what was happening when this was distilled and bottled. Great experience, average dram, my score for it is 80 over 100.