Tastes

Happy new year 2022!! I believe we are officially in the future or something (or at least that is what i believed that 2022 would be when i was 9 years old, back in 1992). Every new years eve i try to have some awesome, rare dram, to celebrated one more roundtrip around the sun. This year i picked a strange but lovely looking bottle called "The Cat Label", a 30yo Islay Single Malt whisky, bottled by the "Whisky Jury" at 51.5%abv, with a pale straw color. On the nose, you get an ashtray note as soon as you uncork it. Gooseberries, lemon peel and pepper. Its like a bonfire inside a pond. Beautiful citric aroma, there is some medicinal background. Green apple juice. After 3 minutes it has released an aroma of salty sea water. I can guess it is a Caol Ila, it has that profile. Grapefruit and some lemongrass. Fruit peel spices. After a first sip, a superb orange aroma has appeared. It is the most accurate orange aroma ever. I have only found something similar in a 30yo Ballantine's. Orange peel. Grapefruit and other lovely citrics. It is so maritime and fruity, that it has blown my mind. On the palate, you get this beautiful fresh orange, super citric palate; it is like eating an orange from the supermarket. Saltiness rise after a couple of seconds, super easy drinkable.  A second sip gave me Vanilla, salt and a citric explosion that makes my eyes close a little bit. Third sip was sweeter. Marshmallows, sea salt, grapefruits. Aftertaste was great. Ashy, peaty, dry raw rice finish. Wonderful. Cigarretes. It is like licking a paper sheet, it leaves your mouth completely dried, to then make you feel a nice salty/pepper spice that lasts forever. It is so sulphuric in a nice way that it feels i have had a crazy dips lollipop. Smoky neat stuff. Overall, this was a superb offering, i think that there where only 264 bottles ever made, and they were asking like 300 dollars for it, which seems reasonable for what you are getting. I won't be surprised if The Whisky Jury reveals that this was in fact a Caol Ila, which i believe is in 75% of all independent secret bottlings of Islay's single Malts. Lovely whisky, good looking bottle, super collectible; my score for it is 93 over 100.

Ok, it has been a while now since Diageo's Game Of Thrones releases hit the market with lots of bad reviews with some honorable exceptions. Having said that, i remember how expensive some of the expressions were, and this Mortlach 15yo Six Kingdoms was one of those. Don't get me wrong, i haven't had too many Mortlachs in the past, and somehow i thought this one was going to be very good since the price they were asking for it, seemed to be linked to some quality of the "juice" in comparison to other GOT bottlings. Well, i am glad i waited, and just bought a cheap sample of it, since this whisky was another dud from that collection. They are not bad, but most of them aren't good either, and you can say that only Talisker and Lagavulin were good enough. (Then again, it is hard for Lagavulin and Talisker to make bad single malts). This Mortlach 15yo Game Of Thrones was bottled at 46%abv, with a golden color. On the nose, it is very similar to a Cardhu. Yellow apples, honey, hay. Fruity and floral. So floral it feels like polen; Definitively itchy on the nose. It is itchy, not spicy. Red berries. Aroma has changed into grapefruit. Very fresh and fruity. Its like an apple infused tea. On the palate, it gave me bitter tobacco and grass. It is too similar to a Cardhu. Old apples, some honey. After a first sip, it gave me pepper, salt and dried grass. A third sip was like a honeyed cough syrup, which actually is something appealing. Aftertaste starts with a very little smoke note, almost ghostly; salt and dry grass. Mostly salty. Medium long, hints of sider. Old apples. Bitter tobacco. Overall, to describe it properly, It has the saltiness of an Oban, with some of the Speyside fruitiness and tobacco/grassy notes from Cardhu. I told you i haven't had too many Mortlachs, and i am starting to think that Diageo has a profile that they seek in their distilleries. I can see this malt blending in a good way with other peaty malts to make a Johnnie Walker. Not impressed, not depressed; it is just a normal, boring dram, my score for it is 78 over 100.

There is a new independent bottler around, or at least is the first time i have heard of it, called Fable Whiskies. They have released a collection of eleven bottles, with labels made by Hugo Cuellar, a popular cartoon animator, who has given this bottles a very interesting theme: The Clanyard Ghost Piper. In a very "Tim Burton" way, this collection, that starts with this Caol Ila 12yo bottled at cask strength (57.5%abv), this bottle tells the story about a very good scottish piper from Clanyard Bay, who entered a horror cave filled with bad fairies, that curse anyone who dares to enter their home. It seems that the piper was trapped in a labyrinth inside the cave, and nowadays you can only hear his bagpipes on scary nights. On the nose, there is this newspaper on fire note, An inmidiately mixture of vanilla cake crust, grapefruit, peat. Recently baked brownies, hard mint candy, medicinal notes like povidine. Skin lotion. Its the most medicinal Caol Ila i have ever nosed. A peppery note with gooseberries appeared after 3 minutes. It has a creamy medicinal profile. After a first sip, it became like margarine. There is this bonfire aroma were chemicals have been burnt. More sips revealed a lemon meringue aroma. On the palate, it is very good. Chocolate for a second. Gooseberries and a nice pepper. A second sip gave me a buttery chocolate note which is very nice. Salt caramel. Aftertaste could be longer. Ashy, citric, salty finish. Very maritime, it tastes exactly as fresh seafood, very interesting, unexpected but a little bit odd. Not very long. Finish is nice. Overall, i believe this is a very collectible bottle, having said that, buy two, so you can drink one. There were only 288 ever made, but it doesn't seem hard to find (yet). If you can, watch the animation by Hugo Cuellar of this bottle's story, the Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay. A very good whisky, my score is 90 over 100.

There is a very famous french whisky store, called "La Maison du Whisky", where they don't only sell very fancy and rare single malts, they also bottle their own. Considered a top independent bottler, "LMDW" has made a name for itself in the whisky world, and i got to say i have tasted very few of their expressions. One of the most interesting collections that La Maison du Whisky has, is the "Artist" Collection, which are very limited releases with specially made labels by modern artists. I have managed to buy a sample of this Bowmore 15 yo, artist #7, label by Lino Di Vinci, a modern painter from Genova. A beautiful looking bottle, at 56.7%abv; only 286 decanters where ever made. The whisky has a white wine color. Very pale. On the nose, dark fruits as soon as soon as i opened the sample. Latex, a beautiful burnt dry grass note. Dates. Foam. Chocolate cookies. It doesn't have the cleanest aroma at the beggining. Acetone. Definitively some chocolate chips cookies. Letting it breath revealed a welch's grape juice aroma. Lots of chocolate and purple grape aromas. It smells exactly as a purple "bubbaloo" chewing gum. It needed air, to breath a little bit to explode. Red fruit syrup. It is like a powdery super grapy artificial aroma that reminds me of childhood. Incredible. Oh you can't even imagine the aroma it has after a first sip. It is a parafise of figs, dates and dark fruits with cherries and hints of a very mild peat. Mint leaf, pine, other very fresh mountain trees. The aroma here is just crazy. Water balloons. On the palate it follows the nose. Grapes, winey, dark fruits. Amazingly fruity and sweet. It has power but not overly spiciness. Mild ginger. Some burnt grass. Hints of smoke. I have written all this with the holding the first sip in my palate. It is THAT easy to drink. Purple Grape peel. A second sip gave me chocolate, some saltiness, much more astringent than the first sip, all the winey tannins have risen. Aftertasted is very dry and winey, it resembles like licking the glue to close an envelope. There is a cigarrette feeling, almost in the back of your mouth without been overpowering. Very nice, complex and interesting dram. Not very long. Feels like mashed grapes with their peels. This is a delicious whisky, and i just find out there are only 286 bottles ever made. It is so good i had to go to the online store where i bought the sample to inmidiately buy a bottle and i saw two things: it is a little pricey (€400) and it was sold out :( Overall, i deducted 2 points from the short-medium finish, but this was close to perfection. It has opened my eyes to whiskies bottled for "La Maison du Whisky". An "Out of this world experience", my score for it is 98 over 100.

Yet another Aberlour A'bunadh, which are released in batches. This time batch 62! Wow, how far have they gone. Cask strength as always, this is the star in Aberlour's core range, and it has slight changes between batches. This one, has been bottled at 59.9% with the classic reddish copper color you expect from every a'bunadh. On the nose, the expected profile. Apple, cinnamon, a fancy toffee/Dulce de leche and Dr. Pepper. After q first sip i got some nice lemon notes. On the palate, very simple, but delicious. Classic red apples from Aberlour. Cinnamon and pepper. Aftertaste is so well delivered that no harsh alcohol note is felt. Sulphur, salt, apple, cinnamon and toffee. Overall, i fell that Aberlour A'bunadh is the safest expression on the Aberlour range; and that is a particularity, because it is actually released in different batches. It always have the red apples, the cinnamon and the toffee. Boring? Maybe. Enjoyable whisky? Definitively. My score for A'bunadh batch 62 is 88 over 100, scoring 22 points in every criteria.

Everytime i taste a new Jameson, i am skeptic of what i am going to get. This caskmates expressions haven't been the best in the past, at least in my opinion, and i went absolutely with no expectations to try this whisky, and i got surprised. Bottled at 43%abv, golden color, matured in Stout Beer casks. On the nose, it was quite clean and interesting. Orange peel, fruit spice, cotton candy, and the most incredible meringue note. Lemon and hay. The palate followed the same path. Again this Meringue note, very appealing. Lemon peel, very citric. A second sip gave me vanilla ice cream. Aftertaste was incredible. Meringue finish; Lemon and sugar; christmas Eggnog, Air freshener and mild spiciness. Overall, this was so pleasant to have. Nothing too complex, a very nice whisky. Irish whiskies require an extra touch of experimentation to score good points in my books, since i am not the greatest fan of Irish drams. This one gave me clean and well delivered notes, i really enjoyed it. My score for it is 90 over 100, and most points were scored on the great aftertaste.

I have enjoyed quite a few expressions from GlenAllachie this year, and i was specially interested in the Batch Strength series that came out periodically. After having a little dissapointing experience with the awarded Batch 4, this Batch Strength 5 was incredibly better, and actually restored my faith on this high abv, 10 year old releases. Bottled at 55.9%abv, Chesnut color; matured in Px, Oloroso, Rioja and Virgin Oak Casks. On the nose, incredibly winey. A Px explosion, coffee beans, banana, dates. Impalpable sugar, Caramelized apple, candied oranges. After the first sip, it released this "Patron Tequila cafe" note; royal's caramel flan. Acid prunes and dulce de leche. On the palate it was as good as the nose. Oranges, coffee, salt and pepper. Lots of Oloroso sherry profiles, a very fancy caramel. Aftertaste was outstanding. A marvelous well-crafted creamy chocolate,  mild peat, tobacco and salt. It is very delicate and beautiful for a cask strength whisky.  More sips gave me more notes: hazelnut and raisins. Overall, this one was far better than the World Whiskies Awards 2021 winner batch No. 4. I really loved this dram, i believe it to be very complex, not harsh at all, and incredibly enjoyable. My score for this great single Malt is 95 over 100.

2021 World Whiskies Awards Best Single Malt absolute winner, was this GlenAllachie Batch Strength No. 4. I have to say that i have had some GlenAllachies this year and almost all of them were fantastic. Remarkable expressions as the 12yo and the Grattamaco wine finish have made a true fan of this distillery. The man behind it, the legend, Billy Walker have scored some awards in just three years as the new owner/Master Distiller. He has also said that he needs ten years to make this distillery the best ever, and i trust him, he made all my favorite Glendronachs. Well, time to review the "World's Best Single Malt". Bottled at 56.1, chesnut natural color. On the nose, we have started with perfection. Apricots, dehydrated oranges, thick honey, coffee and dark macerated fruits. Peaches, turkish delight dessert and mild spiciness. It smells exactly as "Whoppers malted chocolate milk balls". Dehydrated citric fruits A second sip gave me some maraschino cherries; it has this orange/tangerine caramel that is just fantastic. On the palate it wasn't what i expected. Bitter; Orange juice, super citric; Salt bomb. The second sip was definitively oaky and salty, way too salty. Aftertaste was nice, but far from incredible. It is dry, with Chocolate, hay and tobacco notes. A nice bitter finish, sawdust. Overall, i had the Batch 5 before this one, and that one blew my mind. The awarded Batch 4, was not super impressive. A very good dram, very enjoyable, but too salty and oaky. I was a little dissapointed here, but the good news is that the Batch No. 5 was out of this world, that should mean that they improved the "juice". My overall score for it was 89 over 100 and most points were scored because of the amazing aroma.

The final release of the "Concept" travel retail series, the Macallan Concept No. 3 has been made by establishing a collaboration with David Carson, a famous Graphic designer. I got to say that i really liked the Concept No. 2; and i had high hopes for this one. Bottled at 40.8%abv, Burnished gold On the nose, a beautiful vanilla and a creamy chocolate. Sawdust, hazelnut, hints of bee honey. There is a slight note of burnt hay. There is a burnt pineapple somewhere. Very appealing on the nose. It has the typical Macallan profile, coffee and bitter cocoa. Capuccino. Some herbal profile as well. Feels nice that Macallan is going back to its roots on this one, at least on the nose. Wonderful coffee beans and honey note. Perfect score here. On the palate, it was ok. Honey, toffee, sawdust and oak spice. There is this pear peel note. Oaky, bitter, and not very sweet. Aftertaste wasn't the best, without been off-putting. Burnt grass finish. Tobacco and bitter spices. Soft and short finish. In conclusion, i really liked the nose on this one, and that saves the overall score. I don't think it is a bad dram, i believe that Macallan fans will be somehow pleased with this one, but single malt enthusiasts will only appreciate the effort of Macallan to look like a little bit as their older expressions. It is boring on the palate and the finish is short. It lacks some power, but in no way this is a bad dram. I believe my 85 over 100 score is fair for it.

I have already closed my top ten rankings for best whisky of 2021, and after i did, this INCREDIBLE WHISKY APPEARED IN MY LIFE. Let me start telling you, that if i had another bottle, i would never share it again, i don't care if "Cairdeas" is the Gaelic word for friendship or anything like that. This is one of the most wonderful drams i have had this year (and i went crazy on good bottles in 2021). It has already reached my top ten of 2022, it is that good. Bottled at 58.9%abv, Chesnut color. On the nose: perfection. On the palate: perfection. Aftertaste: perfection. There you go, that is my review, lol. Ok let's get real: on the nose: Maple syrup, nerf toys, pond, fishtank, fresh smell from a new car, Figs and Cough syrup. YES ALL THAT CRAZY STUFF. After a first sip, aroma gave me a sheet of paper, chocolate, coffe and peat. Swamp, Wet grass, rainforest. On the palate it is just too good. Cherries, maple syrup, sulphur, Peat. I actually wrote while tasting it: "Es buenisima esta mi*rda" which translates to "this is some serious good sh*t". A sherry madness with salt. Such a beauty. Aftertaste gave me plastic notes, bacon; very dry. Chocolate, Peat and Salt. Perfectly delivered and long finish. Overall, Can you guess what my score is for it? You know me. It is a 100. BUY IT. OR DON'T, LEAVE IT ALL FOR ME. Slànte