Tastes

My final single malt from the amazing tasting tour i did in the Glenlivet Distillery, was a very fancy 18yo single cask strength expression, drawn from the cask #6106, a second fill sherry butt, bottled at 60.8%abv. The Glenlivet is not only the first legal single malt of Scotland, but also the first one to obtain an intelectual property for a Whisky. Glenlivet as a name was so popular in the early 1800s, that it was used commonly as a synonym for the term "whisky" itself. On the nose, it is almost perfect. Bananas, and peaches. Actually is like an aroma of old bananas and mint liquor. Chocolate, cream. After a first sip, the aroma revealed coconut and Rafaelo bombons from Ferrero Rocher. Almonds and chocolate. Palate is good but super simple. Peaches, milk chocolate and old bananas. Aftertaste is excelent. Sawdust, a little scorching spiciness like ginger. Black tea;  but also chocolate cream. Butter cookies and red chilli. It is quite the experience. Overall, this is a great closure for a tasting experience in a distillery with so much history and experience in the whisky making business. A traditional dram if you may, in its most original state possible: a single cask strength. About the "juice" itself, it lost some points on the simplicity of the palate. It still is an outstanding dram, that is why my score for it is 91 over 100.

The Third expression we tasted in our distillery tour in The Glenlivet, was another single cask collection, but this time a 16yo fully matured in a first fill sherry butt, bottled at a wonderfully strong 62.1%abv. A true cask strength. On the nose, it starts with a red fruit syrup caramel. Hazelnut and a power acetone note, which was expected at such a high abv. Recently squeezed Lime juice, very citric. Humidity aroma and Leather. After a couple of sips the aroma changed into banana notes and cherry mana (brigadeiro sweets). On the palate, wonderfully sweet. Chocolate and oloroso sherry madness. Orange, and a tongue scorching pepper. Aftertaste has notes of Cherry syrup, Pepper and salt. Everything is tingling in your throat. Overall, this is a little too spicy and powerful due to the abv to actually be elegant, which is something you would expect after a great 12 and 14yo Single Casks from the same tasting event. Having said that, this is still a superb dram with some complex flavors and aromas that last very long. My score for this special single malt is 93 over 100.

I really feel respect for Master Distillers who manage to use bourbon casks and deliver a wonderful whisky. And i said that, because a bourbon maturation is the most standard in the world of whisky and i happen to find it sometimes a little boring. Sherried whiskies and Peaty profiles are more interesting in my opinion, but i got to say this cask strength ex bourbon cask matured single malt is one great dram. Bottled at 52.1%abv, drawn from the barrel #100302. On the nose, full vanilla, banana and coconut. White chocolate and marzipan are very well delivered. Butter. Super perfumed, Ice cream banana notes; Super appealing actually. On the palate, it is a buttery madness. Butter cookies, danish cookies. Banana, coconut and very creamy. After a first sip, it gave me dulce de leche, flavors have tamed. Toffee. Aftertaste follows the bourbonish profile in a great way: Vanilla, Shortbread, cookie dough and a ghostly pepper. Overall, this is a wonderfully crafted whisky. Delicious and super easy to enjoy. The sweetness and buttery of the flavor and aroma notes here are really amazing. My score for it is a solid 93 over 100.

Visiting The Glenlivet is always something marvelous. Specially if they have refurbished the whole visitor centre, as they have. The "First Legal Single Malt" have take advantage of the pandemic to work in their distillery, to enhance the experience of the people who visit the premises. There, i booked a Single Cask Strength Tasting; and they gave us some really awesome whiskies that you can only access by buying them in the distillery, nowhere else (except maybe a second hand bottle in auctions). I will start my series of reviews with a Beautiful Glenlivet 12yo Cask Strength, drawn from a single 1st fill sherry butt, Cask Number #238202, bottled at 58%abv. On the nose, it is very Sweet. Coffee, banana, vanilla, candied cherries. A second sip gave me oranges, hazelnuts and aromas like a waffer with cream. The palate was pure perfection. Prunes, gooseberries, oloroso sherry, red fruits. Very sulphuric and powerful, red wine and black pepper. A second sip gave me tiramisú dessert and sherry. Aftertaste is wonderfully sweet. Chocolate, shortbread, vanilla, cream and christmas cake. Overall, we have started this whisky flight with an amazing whisky. Glenlivet has an amazing spirit that at a higher strength, with a perfectly picked barrel should always develop into a great single Malt. Full of flavor and very enjoyable, my score for this beauty is 96 over 100.

I was eager to try this 23yo expression of Craigellachie, since it has been praised by some critics, and i have had the 13yo which blew my mind for a Speyside Whisky. What better way to drink something from this distillery, than in the Craigellachie Hotel itself. Bottled at 46%abv a nice yellow golden color. On the nose, the Craigellachie typical honey note is here. Apples, orange peel, super elegant and fancy aroma. Gooseberries and a little burnt hay; very clean hay note. On the palate, honey and lemon is the name of the game. It is like a Cough medicine, but in one of those hard caramels; Cough candy. Aftertaste is sulphuric and elegant, but a little short. Salt, Honey, candy. A little dim. Overall, i believe this is an enjoyable dram, that offers nothing more than the great 13yo. It is actually pretty similar, but goes for 150 dollars more. Craigellachie is the home of Dewars, and you can feel this single malt is the heart of that famous blend. Having said that, this is good, but not my first choice for the price.... i won't be a choice at all. The 13yo is far superior in that way. My score for it is 83 over 100.

In my recent visit to Scotland, i went to the super famous Craigellachie Hotel, home of one of the world's most famous whisky collections. There i took a wonderful picture with two of the Glenfarclas Pagoda Bottles, ruby and Sapphire, and then something shiny stood up and i saw it... a bottle of HIGHLAND PARK 40 YEARS OLD. Love it or hate it, Highland Park is one epic distillery with super releases. Yes, sometimes marketing strategies have given unrealistic expectations for some of their special bottlings, and yes, they have released a lot of expressions lately. That does not make it a bad whisky, nor a hated one. Matured for 40 long years, this has been bottled at 48.3%abv, matured in refill casks. On the nose, a heather elegance. The aroma is exactly as putting out a cigarrette, very fancy. There is red fruitiniess, cherry ans Hershey's straberry syrup. A second sip gave me coffee and a mix of red fruits. Toffee with milk. On the palate, it is very light and gentle. Red fruits, the peatiness is rising after a couple of seconds.Feels like a cask strength because of a pepper bomb that has appeared out of nowhere. Cigarrettes, prunes. LOTS OF FLAVORS AND LAYERS, sawdust. Perfect score here. Aftertaste is wonderful. Cigarrettes, sawdust, bonfire, but also red fruits and syrup. Sweet and peaty. It is the most complex Highland Park ever. Ginger spice. Overall, there is a reason why you shouldn't mix 40yo whiskies with anything. They have been developing phenols, particles of high alcohols, cresols and Guaiacols for a long time to become super complex. The usage of refill casks was a good idea, since newer casks can impart too much oaky notes in such a long time. I believe this is not the perfect whisky, but it gets very close. The palate was superb, but the wonderful nose and aftertaste couldn't reach that high ceiling that the palate created. My score for it is 97 over 100.

I find Glen Scotia super interesting, actually i have a great impression of almost everything that is produced in Campbeltown. Having said that, this might be the cheapest in their core range, going for 30 pounds in a scottish supermarket where i bought it. Can it pass the test? Lets see... Bottled at 40%abv. Golden color. On the nose, it starts with Honey, and slight saltiness. Yellow apples and Red fruits. A scond sip gave me cherry syrup. A little dim, not bad. On the palate it follows the nose, in a better, more complex way. Honey, dry apricots, vanilla. Peaches and Salty, very salty. Very honeyed as well. Aftertaste continues the rythm. Salty, Honey, Pepper and maritime overall. More sips revealed salted caramel. In conclusion, i believe this passes the test for a maritime and sweet malt that goes for a cheap price. I believe you can get a cheap Talisker for something near that price and Talisker will always defeat this whisky; but this is not a bad offering. The aroma could be a little better. My score for it is 79 over 100. Not bad though.

Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt that ia good and cheap. I believe it goes for $30 in any travel duty free retail shop; and it is a blend made from Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Glenkinchie. The Smokey Monkey is the peaty spin-off of the "shoulder". Bottled at 40%abv. On the nose, it is nice. A burnt sawdust; fresh can of Tennis balls. Feels old. A field full of cows. Hay stack. Stinky but attractive peat. On the palate, it is also standard good. Hay, vanilla water. Very salty; tongue scorching for a 40%abv. Mineral and rocky. A second sip gave me vanilla ice cream and Coconut milk. Aftertaste is a barbecue. Lots of salt, is like an overly salted piece of meat. The last sip gave me burnt sawdust and Burnt grass. Overall, i believe this is a good whisky. I am completely sure this one is cheap, and it can be a great entry level for peaty whiskies. Some crazy notes are always good, and for the 40%abv i get a lot of complexity really. This won't change your life, but i won't ruin it either. My score for it is 82 over 100.

Back in 1971, when Mercedes Benz was inventing the airbag; when Jim Morrison tragically died; back when the NASDAQ was released and "El Chavo del 8" aired on tv for the first time, ... back then, my favorite whisky ever was been distilled. Let me put you in perspective, i was born in 1983, so that means that 12 years before i was ever born, a special "juice" was preparing to be drank 51 years later, by an Ecuadorian, in the distillery where it never left home. The Glendronach 1971 vintage, 42 year old single cask, a PX puncheon #1246, is the name of this fantastic whisky, older than me, distilled on february 1971 and bottled in may 2013. 44.6%abv is the strength of my now favorite whisky ever. On the nose, i could stay only appreciating the aroma for days without even have to drink it. Dark old fruits, red fruits. I get a marvelous note of blueberries, that is a first! Chocolate fudge, Chocolate bars, red berries. After a first sip, it became the most amazing cherry syrup ever. Red fruits syrup, very elegant, best aroma ever. On the palate, i don't believe i will ever taste something so clean and delicious like this. Strawberries, sawdust, impalpable sugar and dates. Increible figs. A second sip gave me prunes and acid fruits, beautiful stuff, gooseberries and an expected sawdust. Aftertaste is heaven. Red berries, impalpable sugar, hazelnut, sugar and sawdust. Powerful eternal aftertaste. It has this feeling of a library; Everything about chocolate and red fruit monster. So thick, so enjoyable, perfect. Overall, i want to tell you something, this is no placebo effect. I am not been impressed by the old age and the price tag of the bottle. I have had older and more rare whiskies, but i have never tasted something like this one. I have always known that my favorite whisky ever was the 26yo Hand Filled Glendronach that i filled back when i was on the distillery in 2019. Now, that whisky, that lies on my house, is the number 2. This 1971 Glendronach is the best whisky i have ever tasted, every single drop was magic. My score for it is one million over 100. Slàinte mhath my friends!!!

The Glendronach has a collection or diferent wine finishes, with lovely labels with pastel colours, that are very hard to come by. One of those, is their fuchsia label, the 15yo Moscatel finish. I bought a glass of this beauty in Glendronach's distillery bar, after having 5 super whiskies that were included on the distillery tasting. I thought i could use the occasion to try some jewels they have there. This Moscatel finish, has been bottled at 46%abv and has a lovely pink/peach color. On the nose it is SUPER FLORAL. Pollen, heather, flowers. Hazelnut and overall nutty. Ferrero rocher chocolates. Very appealing. On the palate, the floral notes are still there. Super perfumed, roses, oranges and flowers. Amazing. It has a floral finish as well. Roses and cotton candy. Impalpable sugar. Not too long. Overall, this is a rarity. And i got to say that this is the most floral whisky i have ever had, which is not one of my favorite profiles, but here it is very well delivered. A very interesting experience, this is a completely different Glendronach, lighter in body and velvety in the mouth. Elegant dram, my score for it is 94 over 100.