Tastes

I have been a little dissapointed with some Bunnahabhain expressions lately, and i did not found the tasting at the distillery to be a very good experience, since they just hand you some samples and they do not guide the tasting, the people at rhe distillery just leave you alone to enjoy your whisky, and i believe that it might be appealing to some, but not for me who have traveled from another continent. Having said that, one of the samples they gave us, was this 2004 vintage, Moine Px, which would mean it should be peated sherried.  Bottled at 52.8%, this looks promising. On the nose, it was out of this world. Dehydrated pineapples, peat, earthy. Aromatic chocolaty peat; Heathery peat; Grassy. Some fruit syrup and sherriness.. Sweet. The chocolate has appeared after 5 minutes (yes it was so nice i nose it for a loooong time). Beautiful  coffee; Toffee and coffee. Coffee and cacao, So creamy! On the palate, it was perfect. Chocolate and caramel, Impalpable sugar. Pineapple with some metallic and sulphuric notes. Delicious. Milky, chocolaty and creamy. Salty in the second sip, some cake fondant, more chocolate. Aftertaste continued the perfection. Ginger, prunes, some farm fruitiness, and gooseberries. Peat has appeared with gunpowder. Amazing Overall, this is the perfect Bunnahabhain. Absolutely amazing, it took me back to a nice impression of the whiskies from this beautiful place. Peaty, sweet, sherry, chocolate and much more. Incredible dram, my score is 100 over 100.

Welcome to another Bunnahabhain unpronounceable expression, this time the "STRUYERYER" (that is how it sounds, allegedly, when spoken). Stiuireadair means Helmsman, who is the sailor that steers the helm of a ship. Bottled at 46.3%abv, matured in first and second filled sherry casks. On the nose, it is very tropical. Pineapple, spongy cake, tropical fruits like peaches. Honey; very appealing on the nose, yeasty cake. There is a gosthly chocolate and brownies. I loved it. On the palate, it is very sweet. Vanilla, spongy cake and "dulce de tres leches" topping. It is very spongy and cakey. Reminds me of glenmorangie a tale of cake. Aftertaste was good but was the least good part. Chocolate, salty and gingery. Vanilla, Tres leches and red fruit finish. Overall, this was actually an incredible whisky for a very good price. This is not expensive at all, and it is full of flavor, an instant favorite, everyday dram. It has a decent amount of abv to achieve all this nice notes. My score for it is 93 over 100.

For ages i have told you my dear reader, that i am not the fondest fan of Bruichladdich, but i have also told you that i understand that there is an incredible amount of people who love it, specially the classic 10yo expressions which i find "soapy" and "shampooy". I never fully understood the fandom till this moment, when i have tasted the 80s and 90s version of this classic whisky. It was given to me by the hotel owner in Islay, a small miniature, that was released in the times when Whyte & Mackay was the owner of the distillery and was bottled at 43%abv. On the nose, there is this CHOCOLATE BEAUTIFULNESS; Peaches and tropical fruitiness. Pineapple heart. Its like a hot, nice honey. Recently baked brownies. On the palate it starts with a creamy vanilla. Coconut and ginger. Very good actually, although it became a little watery after a couple of sips. Aftertaste is all about hazelnut and dark chocolate perfection. Impalpable sugar. Very sugary, like cotton candy. Overall, i loved it. I found it complex, full of flavor, good, enjoyable flavors. No soap or shampoo in my list of notes is always a nice thing. Really a dram that can create a fan base, specially if it was only a 10yo, which i believe was not expensive at all. Great whisky, my score for it is 92 over 100.

The last dram i had at Bruichladdich distillery, was a Port Charlotte. Let me explain how this works: Bruichladdich makes 3 whiskies, one with the same name, usually unpeated; Port Charlotte, allegedley heavily peated (really "normally" peated); and, Octomore, an atomic peat bomb. This one is a 2012 vintage of Port Charlotte, matured 10 years in bourbon and finished in a sauterness cask. Poured straight from the cask around 60%abv. On the nose, it has an aromatic peat. Lemon peel, hand lotion, soap and sider. Lemon peel spiciness, malted barley and a humid cardbox. Impressively oily and spicy. On the palate it feels cold. It is like a peach heart. Salt and malted barley. Not too complex. Aftertaste starts with aromatic peat, plastic. Dry and not too long but super fun. Fruit peel and earthy notes. Overall, this is a nice whisky. I believe that it lacks a little complexity bit the peaty notes are well delivered. The nose is the best part with the aftertaste. My score for it is 84 over 100.

Continuing my series of whisky reviews of whiskies i had on my lat trip to Scotland, one very nice one was from a distillery i am not a fond fan... Bruichladdich. In the warehouse tour they gave us some rare straight from the cask expressions, and one of those was this 17yo Cask Strength, 2004 vintage. Matured First fill bourbon cask, poured at 60%abv. On the nose, quite interesting. Recently made rice; grapefruit, green fresh apples and fondant.  It is like an apple spice, peach halves, and recently baked brownies. After a first sip, it released the "soapy" notes from Bruichladdich. Corny; Apple juice, green Apple peel. On the palate, it was great. Peaches, sugar syrup, sawdust and apples. Brownies. Pepper and strong spiciness. Afterraste was a bit unusual for a "Laddie".  It felt charred. Ashtray, chocolate, scorching but pleasant. Dark pepper. Overall, this was a super complex great dram, that is starting to change my overall perception of this distillery since i have also had some of their "Black Arts" expressions and they were fairly good as well. Really a beautiful single malt, my score for it is 93 over 100.

Have you ever made a whisky, blend some important malts with grain, and then you mixed it with a type of french apple liquor called Calvados? Well, Compass Box did. Spoiler alert: it didn't work. Affinity gets its name from a mixture of a blended scotch whisky with Calvados, an apple liquor that comes from a city with the same name. The actual combination is 62% whisky, 38% Calvados. You can't called this whisky legally, that is why this is labeled as a Spirit Drink. Bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, it is terrible. Sider, mr. Clean cleaning chemicals. Yellow apples, cleaning thinner, vinegar. It smells like wet paint. On the palate it is bad. Its like a red apple "flambe". Not good. Aftertaste is like bubblegum. Actually bubblegum ice cream, the blue one. Overall, you should avoid this. Compass Box, let me tell you this, i love you, but don't ever do this to me again. I am dissapointed, cloyed and even sad of having to rate this. My score for it is 41 over 100.

It is always good to have a Laphroaig. It is even better when it comes straight from the cask at the distillery premises. This is the case of my last single malt of the Laphroaig tour, a 17yo that was initially matured 8 years in ex bourbon casks and later finished for 9 years in Madeira barrels. Poured at 54.4%abv On the nose, it is all about thick syrupy red fruits. Floral, milk chocolate and Cigarrette ashes. Hazelnut. Very good stuff. On the palate, it is sweet, chocolaty and a little peaty. Milk chocolate mix with almonds. Toblerone chocolate bar. Metallic/copperish and toffee. Aftertaste explodes after a muted start. If you wait three seconds it gives you a sonic boom of chocolate and chilli. It has a nice bite, chocolate and hazelnut with the classic Laphroaig "fresh can of tennis balls" peat. Overall, this was an spectacular dram, quite sweet for a Laphroaig. The medicinal peatiness mixed well with the chocolate and almond notes, for a lovely experience. I really look forward for more madeira matured single malts from this epic distillery. My score for it is 95 over 100.

Back when i was at Laphroaig distillery, i had the chance to taste another whisky straight from the cask. This time an 18yo single malt that has been triple matured, first for 5 years in a bourbon cask; then 1 year in a Quarter Cask, and finally 12 years in american white oak. Poured at 49.6%. On the nose, it is very fresh and minty. Lemon air freshener, peppermint, vanilla ice cream. It has the classic Laphroaig aroma of a fresh can tennis balls. Citrus and vanilla. Very citric lemon peel. On the palate it follows the same rythm. Lemongrass, vanilla. Pepper and salt, lots of lemon leaves. After a first sip it became a vanilla ice cream. The lemon reigns here. There is a nice aftertaste. Medicinal, lemon. Very fresh and minty. Ginger spice. Overall, this can be described as the most typical Laphroaig there is. It has every tasting and aroma note that you expect; but delivered in a more elegant, tamed way. This is the proof that distilleries like Laphroaig are better when their spirits are younger and bolder. It is a very good whisky, but for a 18yo straight from the cask, it feels it should be better. My score for it is 89 over 100.

My last whisky in Ardbeg's distillery was their newest expression, the Ardcore. This one honours punk rock music and attitude, and it has been distilled from Black Roasted Barley, which is a new experiment from Bill Lumdsen. Of course, as most Ardbeg Day expressions, this one has a Committee release as well, bit this review is for the normal one. Bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, it feels yeasty and spongy. Beer and Chocolate. Not much else, but nice. On the palate, it follows the same rythm, there is this Chocolate and Vanilla note that is mixed with some salty yeast. Aftertaste is the best part. A smoke explosion. Beer and yeasty. Salty. It feels like charcoal smoke and charcoal rocks. Nice. Overall, this is not the best Ardbeg out there. I thought my palate and nose were a little off, then i went online and i found a bit of backlash against this one. Even Ralfy is criticizing it. I don't think it is a bad dram, just a little simple, straightforward and not full of complex notes. My score for it is a dissapointing 83 over 100.

Ok, lets restart the counter, this is my whisky review 1001 and it is a new beggining. In my visit to Ardbeg, i convinced a guy in the distillery to let me taste one of their old special expressions, and i got lucky since i had the chance to taste the famous Ardbeg Renaissance. This single malt, was part of a collection that was released to commemorate that Ardbeg was reopened in 1997, and they made 4 whiskies, "very young", "still young", "almost There", and this one, "Renaissance". As the name suggests, this whisky celebrates the reborn of Ardbeg, in hands of Glenmorangie Distillers, later to be owned by LVMH. It has been bottled at 55.9%abv and it has one particular characteristic: it was bottled from the first new make spirit made in 1998, as soon as it was 10 years old in 2008. This is, the first new Ardbeg. On the nose, it is actually super sweet. Red fruits, vanilla cake, almonds. Deep nutty cake, pine, grassy. Very herbal. Coffeee and black pepper. It can be described as herbal peatiness. On the palate it is ok. Vanilla cream, chocolate cream, salty. Sulphur and metallic. Actually very salty and maritime. "Swampy". I liked the aftertaste more than the palate. Smoked metals. Copper. Black pepper. Meat balls. Maritime salty water. Overall, this is not the best Ardbeg out there, but it that does not mean it is bad. It is actually very enjoyable, but lacks some complexity and maturation, it feels young. Having said that, it is undoubtedly a piece of history. My score for it is a well deserved 88 over 100.