Tastes

I remember the days when these Game Of Thrones expressions hit the market. The hype and prices were unreal, specially this expression of Royal Lochnagar 12yo "House Baratheon", which was one of the few i did not taste back then. And i really passed on it since it was one of the most expensive bottles of GOT (it was $250 and now goes for $75). This is my second Royal Lochnagar, the other one was the mainstream 12yo which i liked. Bottled at 40%abv, ambar color. On the nose, lots of woody aromas. Sawdust and old wood. Honey and a little cereal. Hazelnut, it feels powdery. Mostly woody on the nose. After a first sip, it released marshmallows and apples. On the palate, it is very simple. Thick apple syrup. Lots of oaky flavors and a decent honey sweetness. Aftertaste is boring. It is like licking a wood table. There is a mild oak spiciness. Tobacco. Overall this was a disaster. It is not awful nor off-putting, but it is like the most standard, normal, boring dram you can have. It feels like a honey syrup and nothing else. I don't even like using the "woody" and "oaky" notes in my reviews, but here those notes are unavoidable. For the price that this one originally was found, it feels like a scam for Whisky enthusiasts. My score for it is a terrible 60 over 100.

Singleton is one of those typical speyside whiskies that are not really my cup of tea. Everytime you taste a new expression from this distillery you are likely to expect a super fruity and light dram, usually bottled at 40%abv. This 12yo release, called "luscious nectar" is no exception to this rule. In the back of this thin bottle says that this one has been finished in Px casks, that is why i am a little interested in trying it. Lets see how it went: On the nose, starts spicy, to then release the fruitiness. Peppery, toffee and stewed apples. After a first sip it released honey and red fruits. Not bad, not amazing. On the palate it is enjoyable, very sweet. Honey, vanilla and almonds. Some red apples are present. Aftertaste is not very appealing. Raw rice. Cereal, raw finish. Dry and short. Overall, i did not find any PX profile on this one. I have to accept that the palate was nice but the nose was a little simple and the aftertaste was not very good. This one you can avoid and you won't feel like you lost from drinking something special. My score for it is 69 over 100.

Amrut is one distillery that i love. Everything they do is amazing and this Kadhambam is no exception. The name of this expression is the Tamil word for "Mixture" and it is matured in blue brandy casks, Oloroso Sherry butts and Rum barrels; a promise for a complex whisky. Bottled at 50%abv, beautiful copper color. On the nose, right from the moment you uncork the bottle, it gives you this feeling that you are in the presence of something truly special. Thick sherry  syrup; Crazy good aroma. Coffee and molasses, pineapple and coconut (the rum barrel hit here). Glazed pork. After a first sip it gave me lemon and caramelized oranges. Heavy lemon zest and condensed milk. On the palate it was amazing. Starts quite sulphuric and almost peaty, with leather notes. Red fruits and cognac. Vanilla cake, prunes and lulo fruit. Aftertaste was magnificent as well. Lots of earthy profiles here: a leather wallet, salt and pepper. Very winey and dry. Ginger. After a third sip it gave me a wonderful peaty/ashy note that took me to heaven. Overall, this is a fantastic whisky. I don't think it is overly expensive, goes for $120 if you have a normal skill in searching for online whiskies, and it is very hard to beat at that price point. Super complex, delicious, with a fairly amount of power; the mixture between the peaty, brandy, rum and sherry flavors is very well delivered. Amazing dram, i don't really feel i can deduct points anywhere here, so, perfect score. 100 over 100. P.S.: don't you really love when you find a whisky that blows your mind?

A wonderful expression is this Kavalan Distillery Select No. 2, far better than the first one. An elegant, fruity and floral single malt. Bottled at 40%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose it is very appealing. Starts with a lulo fruit note (called Naranjilla in my country, lulo is a citric fruit); acetone and earthy profile. After a first sip, the aroma changed into some humid notes as cork or an old library, to then release a citric explosion, like nosing a freshly cut orange. On the palate, it is very fruity but acid. Again this lulo fruit flavor, incredibly nice. Very oily, acid prunes appear. Aftertaste followed mostly the same path. A metallic, sulphuric note. Very citric, with a remarkable orange juice note. Overall, this is not a very expensive whisky and it really is an enjoyable malt. I would drink it without hesitation, you won't regret having a bottle of this. My score for it is 87 over 100.

Don't you just love when you don't expect anything from a whisky, and when you taste it, it really is a great expression that leaves you with a happy feeling? Well, tasting a Suntory Old can give you one of those nice moments. Suntory Old Whisky is one of this brand's most renowned blended expressions and has been around for a long time, specially from 1940 to the late 1980s where it started to dissapear from the shelves. This one has the most quantity of different looking labels i have ever seen in a whisky (even more than Johnnie Walker Black Label), and it seems like one of those drams that only an older generation tried, praised and now has been forgotten. Bottled at 43%abv, burnished gold color. On the nose, quite surprising. Vanilla and Chocolate. Pears and Apples. Everything normal so far. Oranges rise after a minute and then maize. Almonds. After a first sip it gave me a beautiful melon note, feels velvety. Very mineral and "Rocky". On the palate it is creamy, fruity and very easy drinkable. Apple pie, sawdust, mild pepper, melon. After one sip, it became more "mainstream" with toffee, caramel and vanilla notes. Very nice though. Aftertaste is a little crazy, which in this case makes it interesting. My first impression was that i was licking the glue of an envelope to seal it. Raw rice, salty in a pleasant very well delivered way and a ghostly sulphuric note. Overall, this one was very cool to drink. I thought i was going to find a raw, young, harsh dram, but it was nothing like that. Very fruity and sweet, super easy to drink and enjoyable, this whisky is one that i will remember. My score for it is a well deserved 88 over 100. Kanpai!

In june 2018, Arran released a series of expressions called "The Explorer Series". In the labels of this new collection, you can find different scenes from the Isle of Arran, that show its nature and most popular places. Brodick bay is the first release, a 20 year old single malt, matured in bourbon and sherry casks, to then be finished in an oloroso sherry butt. Bottled at 49.8%abv, with a honey color. This is a limited release of 9.000 bottles. On the nose, it is just perfect from the moment you uncork it. Espectacular honey aroma. Coffee beans, hazelnut, homemade toffee. Thick sweet bee honey.There is a ghostly red fruitiness and Vanilla biscuits. After a first sip, a floral aroma has appeared, adding itself to everything else. The other aromas didn't fade, it just added a lot of things. Sawdust, recently baked Brownies. Cherry syrup just appeared. The toffee here is just fantastic. Even some citric aromas are rising. After a couple of sips, all the tropical and red fresh fruits have overpowered everything else. This is a fantastic aroma. On the palate it is very pleasant. Instant melting marshmallows, vanilla, salt, pepper, some very pleasant spiciness, and the typical arran pineapple. A second sip felt very maritime, like sea water; i have never experienced that in an arran before. The tropical fruits rise after a couple of seconds. Coconut. After a couple of sips, it tastes like the milk left in the plate after you finished your cereal, lots of spices. Very latic. Cherry syrup. Aftertaste wasn't as great, but still gets a nice score. Hay, ginger, very dry. A Pineapple heart (the one you should not eat); Very long lasting. A secomd sip gave me sawdust, its like licking a new white wood stave. Cotton candy has appeared. Overall, this is a great dram. A solid, fancy, tropical single malt. It has the best of the Arran Profile and manages to show the salty scene from the bay shown in the label. A wonderful whisky, my score for it is 91 over 100. Slàinte!

Finally The Dalmore returned with a Single Malt that truly deserves everyone's attention. The final release of a 2020 travel retail series; this Dalmore The Quintet is a five cask finished whisky, inspired in the King Alexander III (and it is actually better). Finished in Moscatel, Madeira, Tawny Port, Cabernet Sauvignon and Matusalem Sherry, this is an amazingly complex, flavorful dram. Bottled at 44.5%abv, chesnut color. On the nose, it is so good i don't need to drink it; i could spend hours just nosing it. Candied fruits, marzipan, figs, aniseed, blackberries. Dr. Pepper, almonds; wedding cake. After a first sip, it gave me cinnamon, hazelnuts, blueberries and marmalade. It is very cakey/spicy. Dehydrated and red fruits. Incredible. On the palate it is delicious. The most accurate dark wedding cake with raisins i have ever met in a whisky. Cinnamon, cherries, cognac and red fruits. Caramelized apples and Baklava. Aftertaste is also a work of art. Silicone, nuts, red wine, salt and ginger. Brandy and a red fruit marmalade. Very long. Caramelized apples. Overall, this is perfection. A dram to enjoy, and the best part, is that it is not super expensive. Actually cheaper than the King Alexander III, you can get one of the best expressions that Dalmore has made in recent years. My score is a flawless 100 over 100, since no points were deducted in any criteria. Amazing whisky.

The second edition of the whisky picked by David Coulthard, a recognized Scottish Formula 1 driver who won 13 grand prix, and Highland Park released this particular expression to honour Scotland's flag, called "Saltire". Bottled at 43%abv, tawny color. On the nose, the heathery peat and the sherriness are very present. As soon as you nose it, it seems that it needs some time to open, everything feels unpacked. Cinnamon, floral notes, oranges. A dusty aroma, figs and sherry. After a first sip, it released orange leaf, marshmallows, maple syrup and hazelnut. Earth fertilizer. On the palate, it tastes nice, but it tends to drop its power with every sip, which isn't a good thing. Liquorice, cinnamon, clove and mild spices. Earthy, hay and grass. The second sip is exactly as drinking water with salt. Chocolate is present. Very salty, metallic, it tastes "bloody". Aftertaste is sulphuric, the Highland Park way. Smokey, hay, pepper. The next few sips, it dropped dramatically. Salt. Overall, it is sad that every sip gave me a little less. If it mantained the flavors and aromas from the first impression, it would have achieved at least 86 points, but since the experience dropped, without ruining the dram completely, a fair score for it is 80 over 100.

In 2018, John Glaser along with the whole Compass Box people, held a special contest. They recruited bartenders from all over the world and the one who made the best whisky cocktail would have the chance to make their own Compass Box blend. The contest was named "The Circle" and was won by Rosey Mitchell who picked this special recipe, made by: 78.8% Tamdhu 14.8% Clynelish 4.9 % Highland Park 1.5 % a Highland malt blend. The label has a sun, since Rosey tried to make a whisky that resembles a sunshine. Bottled at 46%abv, burnished gold. On the nose, it is very appealing. Starts with a solid chocolate fudge, Cinnamon, pineapple, the most incredible white chocolate aroma note ever. Stewed apples, very creamy, coconut. Very elegant stuff. On the palate, it is not as good, but not bad, just mediocre. Very light and creamy; vanilla and dulce de leche. White chocolate; salmon. Super smooth and spicy. Aftertaste is peaty and nice. Earthy, pepper, metallic. It has this amazing recently-baked brownies note, very long finish. Overall, i liked this dram, but it won't rock anyone's world. The palate could be better, but i guess it is a very balanced whisky. The white chocolate notes are really nice. My score for this blended malt is a solid 85 over 100.

This is not your typical Ardbeg (nowadays almost monthly) release. This one has made with love. To commemorate Mickey Heads, who has been Ardbeg's Master Distiller for 13 years and is now retiring. He wouldn't pick any normal Ardbeg for his own tribute, so, there is this Arrrrrrrdbeg! (With 13 letters, one for each year). A lovely looking label with Mickey Heads drawed as a pirate with shortie the dog in his arm. Bottled at 51.8%abv, finished in Rye casks. On the nose... KABOOOM! Bacon, car tires, white wine, green grapes, plastic, horse saddle, pork rind, thick vanilla and Smoke. Yes, it is THAT crazy. After a first sip, the aroma changed into a more maritime profile. Gooseberries, iodine, povidine, and those diet rice rounded cookies. Smells like a pond, a nerf toy, or a water ballon. Very "Rocky" and mineral. Fantastic stuff. On the palate, it is an amazing rollercoaster. Starts with chocolate fudge, salt, sulphur, red fruits, spiciness from rye whiskies. Powerful, yet friendly. Super smooth, smokey, thick delicious vanilla. Aftertaste just follows on how great this whisky is. Chocolate, mint, a pair of new cotton socks, a leather wallet, aniseed and smoke. Very long finish, smokey, tar, petroleum oil. INCREDIBLE. Overall, this whisky felt perfect. Everyone on the tasting event i hosted loved it big time. It is not harsh at all, but super powerful and incredibly complex. A marvelous dram, my score for it is 100 over a 100. Slàinte Mhath Mickey Heads!