Tastes

Milk & Honey, a young Israeli distillery have released this Apex Cask Strength Single Malt from... The Dead Sea. It has been matured at extreme temperatures in that place, which i was lucky to have visited. The Dead Sea gets its name because of a bigger amount of salt that any other lake, and that makes you float in the water. That is why there are no fish in the lake (it is not a sea) and the most attractive tourist thing to do there is to pick some of the mud on the floor (it is not a sandy place, but a muddy one) and put it on your skin to be rejuvenated... allegedly. Well, this was bottled at 56.5%abv. On the nose, it is very Appealing. Mint and the classic yeast from this distillery. Cake and Cotton candy. Lime. A very spongy cake and lemon ice cream. Red Chilli, lemon citric. It smells exactly like a pancake without the honey. On the palate, it is sweet and fruity. Oranges And chocolalte for a second; then it turns into a nice dulce de leche. The second sip is exactly as a recently made orange juice, acid and very nice.  Aftertaste is a little short, but not bad. Orange peel, metallic. Orange bubblegum and impalpable sugar. Sweet and appealing. Overall, for a Cask Strength, this is not super complex, but it is easy to drink. The nose is very good, and it passes the test in every criteria. A nice dram, i hope to have more from this distillery in the future, my score for it is 85 over 100.

In 2005, one of my favorite two distilleries, Talisker, released a 175th Anniversary edition, which says on the label that it contains some of the rarest casks on the distillery. Bottled at their traditional 45.8%abv, this is one rare bottle, only seen in auctions nowadays. On the nose, it is a little different from other Taliskers. Chocolate with some sea salt. Little smoke. Oranges and mint. Sawdust. After a first sip, the aroma changed to Red fruits: Strawberries and whipped cream. On the palate it is almost perfect. Starts with a cheap orange hard candy, lime, salt and pepper. The second sip gave me cherry tomato (that small tomato from the salads), grain salt, strawberries and lemon meringue. It is like a lemon pie. Aftertaste is very fancy and enjoyable. Heavy sawdust, salt and sulphur. It has two aftertastes, since the 2nd one rises after a couple of seconds after the ending of the first, with a lip scorching ginger note. Very good stuff. Overall, this is what you can call a fancy, very fancy dram. But, it is not my favorite Talisker. I recognize it as a different, birthday expression, full of red fruits and cream, but it wasn't your typical Skye Salt and pepper madness. Still a very elegant offering, my score for it is 91 over 100.

Another Israeli whisky, this time a Cask Strength expression from Milk & Honey, a Pomegranate Wine finish. This should be interesting. Bottled at 59.5%abv. On the nose, the typical Yeasty note from this distillery but super spicy. Pumpkin, very tropical aroma. Peaches. A Tropical fruit punch. On the palate is fairly good. Chocolate with hazelnut. Very rough and salty. After a first sip it was all about creamy nuttiness like Ferrero Rocher bombom. Aftertaste is sweet and spicy. A chocolate hard cream. Salty and something that i can only describe as a spongy pepper. Overall, this is not a bad whisky at all. I could rank it in a third place from this distillery after the Red Wine Cask and the Apex Dead Sea Cask Strength one. A nice offering, but a little rough on the edges. My score for it is an 80 over 100.

My first Ballechin comes from a Signatory Vintage 2010 exclusive for Kirsh Import. This pseudo-distillery is really the peated version of Edradour. It was originally a farm distillery, and to this day is one of the smallest whisky makers of Scotland. Bottled at 48.1%abv, nice chesnut color. On the nose, oh the beautiful strange peaty notes: a pair of cotton socks, sea foam, merthiolate and iodine. Distilled water, stinky cheese and recently cut grass. On the palate, it is very appealing, but a little straightforward. Salted caramel, nutty, Sulphuric and toffee. Very well delivered. Aftertaste is all about peanut butter, butterscotch and some saltiness. Nice stuff. Brown salt. Overall i think this one passes the test. For a 10yo peated edradour, this is the least you expect to get. It is nothing too memorable, just a fine, enjoyable dram. Balanced scored im all of its parts, my rate for it is a solid 84 over 100.

Can i call this one a "rarity"? Beinn Dubh "the Black" is one of the darkest whiskies out there, compiting only with a 10yo Loch Dhu for that title. Matured in Ruby Port casks, this single malt from The Speyside Distillery (the "Spey" one, with the tall bottles) is also called "The Flying Scotsman" as a tribute to the first Train to reach 100km per hour. Bottled at 43%abv, coca cola colour. Only 10.000 bottles were ever made. On the nose, pretty straight. Red fruits, Red lingonberries and Chocolate. Red wine. On the palate it is a light red fruit juice. Red wine, Cabernet sauvignon. Actually Salty. Church wine. Aftertaste mantained the rythm. Salty and red fruitiness. Quince. Overall, this felt exactly as a Cabernet Sauvignon cheap wine. Was it bad? Not at all. Was it good? Not really. As an experiment it can be a little collectible i guess, but completely unnecessary for any whisky lover. Boring, too straightforward and very winey, it didn't even felt like whisky. It is so light. My score for it is 69 over 100.

Incredibly for me to say, it has been a long time since i last tasted a Johnnie Walker. I have seen this new travel retail expressions, which are basically blends from specific scottish regions. Of course if i had the chance i was going to pick the Islay one. Bottled at 40%abv. On the nose, your standard nice peaty aroma. Prunes, ashes and smokey profiles. Cotton socks (the ones with the gray colored area for the toes). A rancid vanilla like the one you smell on a cake that has been on the fridge, that is going to go bad the next day, but it is still edible, on its last day. Pepper and salt. On the palate, it is fairly good. Vanilla cake, pepper, salty. It is actually very light for a peaty whisky. Sawdust Aftertaste had a nice peatiness but way too short. Ashy and salty. Sawdust is delivered in a nice way.  Overall, i can understand that JW went super safe on this one, since Islay's profiles can be off putting for some people, and i can also understand this blend as an entry to peated drams. Not bad, not oustanding, very drinkable, my score for it is 80 over 100.

Bowmore is one of Islay's most luxurious brands. I am not talking about the whisky itself, i am talking about how collectible the special bottlings are, and how much money can they end up costing in a few years. Having said that, i don't usually find Bowmore as a super smokey dram, it is rather more "earthy" in my books. This is the Cask Strength expression, which usually means that all the flavors and aromas of a distillery are trapped inside of this type of single malt. Bottled at 56%abv, copper color. On the nose, it has this beautiful profile of aromatic peat. It is spicy and full of red fruits: It makes me feel like i am nosing a rye whisky. Medicinal, hospital, red fruits and chilli. After a couple of seconds an incredible butter cookies note have appeared. When you take a sip, the aroma changes into cigarrettes and ashes. Vanilla cream, and rum and raisins ice cream. More time on the glencairn revealed caramel, prunes, sea water and sawdust. Herbal. On the palate it is very "red". Red fruits, red spices. Chilli, cherries with syrup, acid prunes. It tastes exactly as a hershey's strawberry syrup. Pepper and vanilla. Aftertaste is medium long and very nice. Tobacco, cigar leaf, hay, salt and sulphur. Ginger. Full of ashes it is a little scorching in a beautiful way. Hay peat. Overall, this is a wonderful, very balanced single malt; very fruity and spicy for a Bowmore. The peatiness is nice, but i always crave for a little more. A very nice offering, i can consider this one an everyday dram for the Cask Strength drinker. My score for it is 89 over 100.

The King Of Islay, Lagavulin. I am not the one telling you this, it is actually the slogan of this fancy fire lion bottle. This is the 12yo Special Diageo Release from 2021, bottled at 56.5%abv. The lion itself is the logo of this distillery and its spirit animal. The fire represents the passion in whisky making (i might just have invented that). On the nose, it is not that smokey. Gooseberries and salt. It is actually very maritime! Iodine, oysters, a wet wood from a port. Liquid paper, vanilla with salt; gunpowder. It is like a tar road. Seaweed, grapefruits and wet paint. After a first sip, it became like a horse saddle, and burnt sawdust. You know... the good stuff. On the palate, is this a Lagavulin? This is too sweet!. Vanilla cake, gooseberries. There is this bonfire rising. Wasabi and a pepper bomb. Salt water. After a first sip, it is like a vanilla water, sugar syrup and biscuits. Chocolate milk. Not your typical Lagavulin. Aftertaste is where the smoke lived. Smoke, leather and rubber. Charred oak. Nice, salty finish. It is like a salted chocolate. This was the best part of the dram. Overall, this did not felt like a Lagavulin. It felt more like a Talisker. Is that a bad thing? No. Is this a very good whisky? Yes. Having said that, i don't know if this is what you expect from a special release of this wonderful distillery, and in my books, this experiment might not be what i am looking for. It is a wonderful single malt, just not what i thought i was going to get. My honest score for this delicious single malt that has abandoned the Laga-Style is a 92 over a 100.

Glendronach, the most beautiful whisky in the world. At least when Billy Walker was around. This is hands down my favorite distillery, everything they touch is magic. Having said that, after the Almighty 18 and 21 year old expressions, the batch strength ones are the next in line. This review is for the Batch 5, matured in Px and Oloroso Sherry. Bottled at 55.3%abv, with a lovely copper color. On the nose, your standard perfection. School glue, christmas cake. Dark chocolate and Milo chocolate powder. Cocoa and condensed milk. The cleanest, more accurate apricot note i have ever nosed is here. After a first sip, it gave me dates, chocolate and raisins. Red fruits; macadamian nuts and cranberry. Impalpable sugar and molasses. The real good stuff. On the palate, it is heaven. A velvety bodied dram: dates, and powerful, astringent dark fruits. Blackberries and raspberries. Lots of red fruits on a second sip. Cranberries. Very winey. Again this impalpable sugar note, molasses. This is fancy. Aftertaste was not the best of the Glendronach batch strength expressions, but still manages to score highly.  Oaky and woody in a good way; mouth drying and almonds. A second sip revealed cigar and tobacco notes with an orange citrusness. Bitter dark chocolate. Overall, this is a fantastic dram. But... i think i have had better "Glendro's". The perfect nose and palate is not matched by a very good but a little oaked aftertaste. That makes not only to lose points in finish but also in balance. A truly amazing dram, long live the King Glendronach. My score for it is 97 over 100.

On april 11th, 1970, the Saturn V rocket took Apollo 13 to Space, on a mission destined to failure. To be even more supersticious, it was on april 13 that one of the oxygen tanks blew up and the crew was endangered. In an awesome maneuver, and also one of humankind greatest mathematical achievements, the crew managed to use the moon's orbit to propel the lunar module back to earth. The whole crew was saved. This incredible history has been honoured by "The Whisky Barrel" independent bottler, who released this Highland Park 13yo "HOUSTON WE'VE HAD A PROBLEM" as part of their "Apollo Conmemorative" bottlings. I have already tried like 5-6 of them, and Spoiler alert... this is one of the best of that collection. Matured in a first filled oloroso sherry cask, bottled at 61.3%abv. Golden color. On the nose, super appealing. Blackberries, currant and marmalade. Some mild smoke. Hard toffee, mint and pepper. Fancy and grapy; Dr. Pepper Soda. It is super spicy on the nose but in a pleasant way. After a first sip, it gave me this purple jelly juice. I am astonished by how spicy it is. This is a monster, a very good one. On the palate it is wonderful. Herbal; black tea. It has scorched my lips. Very spicy, this is the real pepper atomic bomb. A second sip gave me a blackberry juice, but much more natural, not like Welsh juice. Figs. This is a pretty good whisky. Aftertaste follows the greatness. Sulphuric, this is the most gigantic wasabi/pepper bomb ever found in a dram. Savage spices, but not unpleasant. It kicks your face like an UFC fighter would. It is so spicy that reminds me of Indian food. Fig syrup. Overall, i believe this one can cure things, lol. If you feel sad, drink this. If you feel tired, drink this. Incredible pleasant rocket fuel dram. It is, along with the Auchroisk, the best in the series ( i have only missed the Bowmore 17, the Edradour 10 and the Deanston 10). Memorable dram, there were only 322 bottles ever made, so if you happen to find one, don't hesitate in buying it. My score for this beautiful single malt is 94 over 100.