Tastes

The now famous brand of islay single malt, Smokehead, has released yet another expression, now called "Rum Rebels" since it has been matured in ex caribbean rum casks. Smokehead sources its whisky from a secret islay malt that i can bet my life is Caol Ila. Botlled at 46%abv, with a golden color. On the nose, it starts with a "rumy" molasses note. Bacon, glazed pork and aniseed. On the palate, there is a mixture of molasses an new wood. Quince notes. Aftertaste, is peaty, developing nice flavors. Plastic, Velcro and Sawdust. So weird but good. Overall, this is the most average whisky ever. It is not impressive nor bad. I have no problem with it, since you are getting your money's worth for $50. A little boring, a little simple, but still manages to pass the test. My score for it is 80/100.

I believe this is the second release ever from one of Scotland's newest distilleries, Torabhaig. Allt Gleann, means "Old Glen". Smoke and brine, is the slogan of this expression, let's see if it is any good. Bottled at 46%abv, pale straw color. On the nose, it is very crazy and complex. Pineapple, grapefruit, cotton socks, agave and gooseberries.  It smells like a pond and also like a mexican Mezcal. Tuna. So plastic and artificial, soot. It is a fishmarket. On the palate it is very sweet! Vanilla, coconut, creamy meringue and a Coppertone bronzer. Aftertaste is strong and powerful in a good way. It is like fully inhaling a cigar smoke. Salt and pepper; very maritime. Ceviche. Overall this is a very good offering if you consider that it is a very young whisky (less than 5yo). The complexity of the nose can be too much craziness for some people and i totally understand that, but if you are a peat head, you'll never think of this one as a bad dram. I am eager to taste more new expressions from this distillery, my score for this one is 89 over 100.

Wow. Just wow. Glen Scotia is one of those distilleries that i fail to give the attention it deserves. I actually have liked everything i tasted from them, and i was excited to grab this 18yo expression, but i had it sitting in my home bar... till now. Bottled at 46%abv, it has a deep golden color. On the nose, completely overwhelming. Chocolate bathed raisins, red berries, red fruits, caramel and toffee. Everything is very well delivered. After the first sip, it gave me coffee notes and this thick Ferrero Rocher cream. And then... boom! The greatest sweet plum aroma i have ever perceived in a whisky. On the palate it has 4 notes, and they are just perfect. Hazelnut, chocolate bathed almonds; chocolate itself and a creamy vanilla/ marshmallow note. Fantastic. Aftertaste, is where the peatiness appeared with the great notes of dark chocolate. It has a crazy smokiness mixed with angels and raw beautifulness. Amazing, super rewarding finish. Overall, this is perfection in a bottle. Even if i can tell you that it is not overly complex, the aroma and flavor notes it has are very clean, very enjoyable and elegant. I am not the fondest fan of 18yo whiskies, but this is a spectacular dram. My score for it, if you haven't guess it already, is 100 over 100.  Man, that was good!!!

Back in the year 2000, when Compass Box was founded, their first release was called "Eleuthera", which means "free" in ancient greek. This mythical expression was eventually discontinued and it was lost forever. But the universe has conspired in favor of Compass Box, and that is why they made a special tribute for La Maison Du Whisky on its 65th Anniversary. This special expression was called "Ethereal" which is the definition of perfect beauty, so precious that it is considered out of this world, and it is one of the most used terms to describe the universe. Not only that, Ethereal is actually an anagram for "Eleuthera", since this one is really a tribute to their first blend, the one that now lives only in the vast universe. Bottled at 49%abv, this is a blend of Old Pulteney, Ardbeg, Caol Ila and Miltonduff. On the nose, it starts with a cigar box note; roasted coffee and burnt grass. Povidyn, smoke and gooseberries. On the palate, it is like a marshmallow that fell in a pond. Ashtray. After a first sip, some creaminess appeared. Meringue. Nice thick sweetness. Aftertaste is very enjoyable. Paper, ashtray, liquorice and ginger. Very elegant. Overall, i feel that this blend is one fine, elegant whisky, that has been made for a whisky specialist like LMDW, with a great level of detail. This is not an accident, this was actually well crafted to taste exactly as it does. A nice effort from Compass Box, my score for it is 89 over 100.

A quarter of a century is always a good age statement for a whisky, specially if it comes from the Peat capital of the world, Islay. This is one luxuty dram, the 25yo Bowmore. The official website says that this whisky has been fully matured flr 25 years in ex bourbon and spanish sherry casks. Bottled at 43%abv, with a lovely tawny color. On the nose, starts grassy and peaty. Burnt hay; leather, actually a leather jacket. Some sweetness has risen, cherries and mint liquor. Earthy notes. It has the exact aroma of raw, uncooked rice. The aroma gave notes of old paper, or old envelopes from my law office. After some sips it changed into the most fancy toffee ever, butterscotch. On the palate, it is deliciously sweet, so unexpected after nosing it. Cherry syrup, lemoncello and sawdust. Chocolate everywhere. Aftertaste is peaty and fabulous. Cigarrettes, ashtray and pepper. Dry and woody. Not overly complex, but well delivered. Overall, this is quite an elegant and complex dram. I really liked how the peatiness has transformed into leather but somehow keeps the smokiness after 25 years. The cherry sweetness was fantastic and it came out of nowhere. My score for this amazing expression is 93 over 100.

Scotland's national sport, was their own invention, and it became so popular worldwide that it moves millions of dollars annually. We are talking about golf. Having said that, Bruichladdich released a special collection called "LINKS", which is a particular type of golf course that has the sea near to it, making the grass of the course to be more rugged and difficult. The most popular golf courses are the ones from the majors, and maybe the most popular of all is "The Masters". The Masters is the Augusta Major, played in the United States. This whisky, Bruichladdich Links, Augusta Major, honours a specific hole, number 16, known as redbud. Bottled at 46%abv, pale straw color, this is a 14yo single malt. On the nose, it starts with Raisins dipped in brie cheese. Oranges, orange spongy cake. Candied fruits and yeast. A soapy / detergent note and recently baked brownies. On the palate is quite good. Orange Cake; almost dead grey grass, pepper and a rancid vanilla. It is very "cakey". Lime and marshmallows. Aftertaste is where the peat lived. Burnt hay, tobacco, sulphur and metallic notes, it is like licking the glue of an envelope. Some cigarrette notes as well. Roasted marshmallow. Overall, this is a vintage "Laddie" and it was quite a good one. I liked the sweetness from the nose and palate and the slight peatiness from the aftertaste. A nice surprise, a very collectible bottle that has been lost for years now. My score for it is 91 over 100.

It is always fun to try a japanese whisky single malt, specially if someone else is inviting. I have had some Kurayoshis before, but this one, from the Matsui range, is different... it is peated. The label is absolutely gorgeous, it shows a japanese warrior, that after a deep google search i could only find that it is somehow related to the Tottori city or its ancient history.  Bottled at 48%abv, this one is a japanese only exclusive release and it seems to have been aged in barrels of undistilled raw sake. On the nose, it starts with this raw rice aroma note. Grapefruit, gooseberries and forest fruits. After a couple of sips, it became an apple cake. On the palate it is like a peachy water. A nice spiciness of ginger has appeared. Cotton candy and mostly peaches. Aftertaste has this thing that i can only describe as a cotton candy peatiness.  Apple pie. Very gentle dram. Lemongrass and lemon spice. Overall, this was a very enjoyable and easy drinkable single malt. Nothing overly fancy or complex, just a fruity, gentle dram. My score for this "rarity" is 84 over 100.

One of Campbeltown's distilleries that i haven't had too many expressions to form an overall opinion of their whiskies, is this Glengyle Distillery, home of the Kilkerran Single Malt. The name Kilkerran, comes from the gaelic "Cean loch cillie kiaran" which kind of translates to "Home of Saint Kieran", who is one of the Irish Apostles, who is widely accepted to have been a prior top saint to Saint Patrick. This is a 12yo expression, bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, very tropical. Pineapple, vainilla, peach halves and dates. Definitively notes of figs, pastry cream and a mild peat, that shows itself as a pond / swamp. On tne palate, it starts with a lovely Capn' Crunch cereal, maize. Raw rice and the glue you lick to close paper envelopes. Aftertaste has a nice punch to it. A ghostly cereal note, honey and ginger. Overall, my second Kilkerran ever has not dissapointed me. This is a solid good dram for a 12yo core expression. Maybe not too complex, but the notes it has, are very well delivered. My score for it is 88 over 100.

Everyday you get to find and taste a Ballechin, it is a good day. The reason for that statement is that Ballechin is actually a heavily peated Edradour, which in my books it is the best thing it can ever happen to someone. Well, imagine a Cask Strength limited one. This is the case. A 14yo expression, bottled at Cask Strength, 58.8%abv, with a lovely chesnut reddish color, this one was a exclusive for the popular online whisky retailers, The Whisky Exchange. On the nose, it starts with rubber, actually it took me to my childhood, where i had this "He-Man" action figures, with the rubber heads; this is exactly the aroma i get first. Wood polisher, camphor, a leather wallet. Povidyn and Iodine. Muscular liniment and burnt rubber. Red chilli and creolin. Amazing, crazy aroma. On the palate, it is incredibly sweet, that was so unexpected!. Pure chocolate, hazelnut, almonds and a pair of cotton socks. Again the povidyn note. Aftertaste starts with a pepper bomb. Chilli, wasabi and Tabasco sauce. Then, completely out of nowhere, the most amazing blackberry note ever. Overall, this is a super pleasant rollercoaster. It is amazing how a 58.8%abv dram can be so easy drinkable when it is so well delivered. The sweetness and the peatiness are exactly what you expect when you say "This is a Heavily Peated Edradour". Very nice whisky, it could be a little more complex though. My score for it is 89 over 100.

A 20 year old Dalmore, what more can i say. I often hear and read that Dalmore is all about hype and that it dissapoints some people. That is almost never my case with this distillery. I am a fond fan of the expressions i have tasted, which are a lot, and i really think there is less than a handful exceptions to that rule, maybe "valour" or "The Trio" werent that good, but in my books they still manage to achieve more than 80 points. Well, this "Dun Bheagan" 20yo Dalmore, was released by Ian Macleod as an independent bottling. Almost all they made is fantastic, so i am really happy to try this one. Bottled at 46%abv, with an oloroso cask finish. Only 669 bottles were ever made. On the nose, it is a cocoa and coffee explosion. Impalpable sugar, Tiramisu dessert and the classic orange. Tangerine peel. Glazed ham, kiwi and cherry "brigadeiros". Bbq sauce and meringue. Out of this world!; "Tres leches" dessert. So sweet! On the palate itbis more straightforward but also fantastic. Cocoa butter, hazelnut and dark chocolate. Glazed white donut and milk chocolate. Aftertaste is just sublime. Chocolate powder formula; Salt and cherries. A little acid, acid prunes actually. A lovely metallic note. It is eternal, long finish of milk chocolate. Overall, another superb offering from Ian Macleod who seems to do a great job in every whisky they bottle. I would be ashamed of myself if i deduct any points from this amazing 20yo single malt that gave me such a happy moment when i was tasting it. Great whisky, perfect score. 100/100.