Tastes

"Traigh bhan" is the gaelic term for "white sands that sing beneath your feet". That is a magical way to start this review of a 19yo Ardbeg, something that is very luxurious on this day and age, where 5yo Ardbegs are as expensive as any other 12yo whisky. Traigh Bhan is actaully pronounced "tri-van" and it is the beach located next to the distillery. This is my review from the Batch No. 2, bottled at 46.2%abv, with a pale straw color. On the nose, a very complex and fun Ardbeg. Swamp, Merthiolate and pineapple. Wood polisher, pharmacy and gooseberries. The second aroma was wonderful:  coconut dessert, vanilla Ice cream, smoke and a horse sadle. On the palate it is very simple, but also it is fantastic. It has this out of this world flavor of coconut milk, grated coconut and vanilla. Sawdust. In Ecuador there is a very cheap handcrafted brand of ice creams called "Ideal", it is exactly like that. Grandma's drawers (you know exactly that note). Aftertaste follows the same profile. Grated coconut, sawdust, mild smoke and soap. Overall, this one was simple but awesome. I get that sometimes older single malts tend to be easy drinkable and sometimes boring, because most of the times they are intended to big pockets who don't necessarily know a lot about whisky. This is not entirely the case, because even if it is not very complex, and it is a little straightforward, this is very well crafted, it is just delicious. I can also see some hardcore Ardbeg fans hating it due to a lack of power or heavy smoke. For me, it was great and my score for it is a well deserved 94 over 100.

This year i have discovered how amazing the signatory vintage bottlings are. I am now a bit obsessed with the big cork "man torso looking" ones, and i have scored some rarities of those releases. This time a Dalmore (which are not usual to find in independent bottlings, at least they are harder than other distilleries). Distilled in 1990, a 16yo Cask strength single malt, bottled at 61.5%abv. Matured in a 1st filled Sherry Butt, Cask 7320, bottle 295 of 585. Amber color, very heavy legs on the Glencairn. On the nose, a little harsh, and not what you expect from a traditional Dalmore. Acetone, nutty and fondant. Green grapes. Manzanilla tea (chamomile). Burnt pineapple, citric profile. Skin lotion. After a first sip, the aroma was cheesecake. On the palate, a flavorful little fellow. Chocolate and the most amazing Coconut note ever. Pineapple, dry vanilla cake. Aftertaste was fantastic. Raisins, salt, sulphur and very grapy. Lots of fresh Figs and dates. Overall, this wasn't as good as i expected it to be, but it is still a very nice dram. The typical Dalmore profile appeared only on the great aftertaste, but i believe that some people might find it a little simple and harsh, for me, it just "could be better". My score for it is 90 over 100.

Glenmorangie is known for being an innovative distillery. With Dr. Bill Lumdsen as a true whisky creator, some crazy drams have hit the markets. Last year, we had the chance to taste the one and only "a tale of cake", which was great; and this year, to celebrate the holidays, the Highland giants released their newest cask finished whisky: a tale of winter. With a lovely marketing strategy, the bottle and the cardboard box have this "grandma's hand made christmas sweater" label, that tries to bring you memories of a winter holiday. This whisky is 13yo, finished in marsala wine casks, which is a fortified wine from a city in Italy. Bottled at 46%abv, Tawny color. On the nose it is amazing. Cinnamon, pastry chocolate, christmas cake, candied fruits, Jelly beans, Red fruits and hazelnut. After a first sip, it gave me toffeee, Cremè brulee and jello.  There is a nice coffee with milk note also in there. The palate was truly Christmas for me. Capuccino coffee, hot chocolate, Red fruits and your typical Glenmoramgie orange note. Cherry syrup. Perfect score here. Aftertaste is nice but a bit short. Hay, Jelly beans, Dark chocolate, cinnamon and hints if salt. Overall, i believe this experiment was even better than "A tale of cake" from last year. A beautiful dram, very complex, super enjoyable and highly recommended. My score for it is 94 over 100.

Amrut is one of my favorite distilleries. That is why i had no doubt in which bottle to pick in a total wine store in my latest trip to USA. i actually scored a beautiful bottle, this "special limited edition" cask Strength Amrut matured in ex-rum casks. Bottled at 60%abv, golden color. On the nose, very nutty. Almonds, pecans, coffee. Ferrero Rocher chocolate. After the first sip, the chocolate aroma went crazy and intensified heavily. Molasses and hazelnut. Sawdust, dulce de leche. On the palate, quince, molasses and other sugary sweet red fruits. Vanilla, almonds and toffee. Aftertaste was sublime. Ginger, dark chocolate with salt and almonds. A very fancy dram this is. Overall, i loved this whisky as most Amruts. It didn't actually felt like a rum cask matured dram, but rather a sweet, chocolate and full of almonds. If you find it, grab it. My score for it is 92 over 100.

I believe we have all heard and taste the great Indian whiskies Amrut and Paul John. But there is a third big brand, and actually they have the biggest distillery of India, the one and only Rampur. I have to say that this is my first Rampur, a distillery that claims to be the oldest in India after its foundation in 1943. I am pretty sure they didn't do whisky back then, but they have appeared in whisky markets in the past 3 years with some force. This expression has been initially matured in ex Bourbon Casks, to then be finished in Pedro Ximenez barrels. Bottled at 45%, i had a lot of expectations for this single malt. The decanter actually comes in a fancy velvet bag inside the cardboard can. On the nose, all the aromas you expect from a PX matured whisky. Sweet plums, Panettone, Christmas cake, cherries, wedding cake and raisins. After one sip, the aroma changes into this lovely apple pie cookie crust. On the palate, super sweet and incredibly enjoyable, but a little simple. The most accurate raisin aroma ever; cherries. Red wine and burnt pineapple. Aftertaste is great, with hints of smoke under the sherriness. Dry, winey, cherries and puffs of smoke. Coffee beans. Nice stuff, medium finish Overall, i loved this dram. It is exactly what i am looking for on a PX sherried whisky. Super sweet and enjoyable, it reminds me of Christmas. My score for it is a solid 91 over 100.

The Beam-Suntory company has grown so big, that they own whisk(e)y everywhere. Proof of that, is this worldwide blend, made from whiskies from the top 5 countries that produce this marvelous spirit: Scotland, Ireland, Usa, Japan and Canada. There is a little bit of everything in here, and i really did not know what to expect, but i got something i really like: peat. "AO" means blue in Japanese, and it makes sense for this whisky to have that name, since there is nothing more global in planet earth than water, and also the word "whisky" comes from the gaelic Uisge-Beatha, which means "water of life". Bottled at 43%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose, a peaty little fellow. Prunes, iodine, sea. Peat and sawdust. Sea foam and hazelnut. Lovely. After a first sip, the aroma changed into a smokey, salty chocolate. Hints of Maize. On the palate, it was very sweet, a Vanilla explosion. Super creamy and floral, maize and vanilla from grain whiskies. There is definitively a bourbon profile here. Vanilla cream, fondant. Aftertaste was mildly peated. Sawdust, tobacco, barbecue. Very ashy. Iodine, pepper and salt. Metallic notes like iron. Feels like a Bowmore (which is owned by Suntory). Overall, this was a surprise dram for me. I didn't expect it to be this good and enjoyable, since the whisky profiles from the different countries used are somehow disonant if you taste them one by one. A good offering, my score for it is 84 over 100.

One of the strangest whiskies i have ever had, this Willowbank (also called Dunedin) (also called Wilson distillery) (also called Milford) (also called Lamerlaw) used to be the farthest southern distillery of the world, located in Dunedin, New Zealand. It begun operations in 1974 and was bought by Seagrams somewhere in the 90s. Then, the whisky giant sold it back to the town people in Dunedin in 1997, and they mothballed it around the year 2000. There is this "New Zealand Whisky collection" company managed to score more than 80k barrels from different distilleries, specially from Dunedin, and stored them in an airplane hangar. Then they bottled some of it, and one of those rare bottlings is this 50cl Willobank, 16yo, matured in exbourbon and french oak red wine casks. Bottled at 40%abv, this is a blend of 70% single malt whisky with 30% grain, all from the same willowbank distillery. It is very cloudy and has this crazy reddish color as a tree tomato juice. On the nose, it is a bloody mary, it smells exactly like one. There is also some white chocolate and vanilla. After a first sip it gave me some maple syrup and... ketchup (that's a first!) On the palate, it starts with a cookie dough note. Vanilla cookie dough, red hot chilli peppers (not the band). The second sip was "swampy"; again this bloody mary flavor, olive oil. It is light and weird. Not bad, just weird. Aftertaste was all about olives, pepper and salt. It is super dry, it feels like a cherry tomato salad.  Raw rice. Overall, i am glad i had a New Zealand whisky, even if this one could be a little strange. I was surprised because of the cloudiness of the dran itself. Some weird tasting and aroma notes here and there, but definitively worth trying to cross it out of the list. My score for this unlikely dram is 75 over 100.

Legally, a rice whisky is indeed whisky. The proper definition says it clearly: a distillate, that has only 3 ingredients, Water, A CEREAL, and yeast. Matured in oak casks for st least 3 years and bottled at least at 40%abv. This Japanese rice whisky, is matured in single brandy casks. Bottled at 41.9%abv with a peach color. On the nose, very fruity. Spicy clove and plum liquor. Raw rice; Prunes and plums. Sider. After a first sip the aroma changed into glue, and a blackberry marmalade. On the palate, gooseberries, raw rice, ginger. Very grapy, winey. The brandy cask is very present here. Aftertaste is the best part. Again this Raw rice feeling, ginger, sider. Spicy and dry. Overall, if you have this at a blind tasting, you will surely think it is a sweet plum liquor. Very fresh and easy drinkable, not very complex and short finished, this is not a bad dram, it just doesn't feel like whisky. My score for it is 82 over 100.

Let's discuss it. The Ardbeg 8 year old is one of their newer expressions, and the first or second one if i am not mistaken from Ardbeg's new master distiller, who was a former Lagavulin whisky maker. This whisky labeled "for discussion" is bottled at 50.8%abv and it is a committee release. On the nose, it starts powerful with a crazy aroma note of "poviden" lotion; then it turns into a chocolate mixed with earthy mud. Creolin, ashtray, coal. After a first sip, the aroma released vanilla ice cream, gooseberries and prunes. There is some bacon note in there too. On the palate, it is a little simple, but as most Ardbegs, it manages to give you an interesting experience. Vanilla, sulphur, wet grass, salt. It feels like s swamp mixed with a sea wave. Aftertaste is peaty and very typical from this distillery. Peat, ashtray, bonfire. Salt and a permantent marker. Crazy but nice stuff. Overall, this felt a little crazier than most Ardbegs, but also lighter. You actually don't feel all the usual powerful roughness from this distillery. If you ask me, it is like an Ardbeg mixed with Lagavulin. A nice whisky that i believe can be even better with more maturation. My score for it is a fair 91/100.

So, i managed to get a rare Glendronach, not your typical 15yo from the core range, (which is fantastic by the way), but a different one, a Tawny port finished. As most Glendronach, anything from them that is matured im some fortified wine is going to be great. The spirit of this distillery just fits perfectly in ex Sherry or Ex Port casks. Bottled at 46%abv, with a beautiful deep copper color. The previous maturation before the tawny port cask, was european oak. On the nose, divine stuff. Starts with a lovely maraschino cherry note, to then release a very clean cremè bruleè aroma. Cotton and glazed ham. After a first sip, the nose changes into a more winey, grapy profile. Bubbaloo chewing gum, and finally a chocolate madness. Just beautiful. On the palate, it is perfect. A salty but very fancy toffee; red fruits, maple syrup and cherries. A deep tobacco note and a citric prune flavor. Magnificent. Aftertaste follows the greatness here. Cherries, sherry, red wine, vanilla, figs and oak spice. An amazing chocolate finish is here for your tasting pleasure. Overall, i love Glendronach, i love whisky, i love single malts and i love how this distillery manages to impress me once more. I deducted some points here and there because it feels that it is close to perfection but it can be even better. My score for it is 98 over 100.