Tastes

Perfection. That is the word to describe this whisky. Starting for its natural color, which is almost mahogany; with a decanter that is absolutely lovely; and of course, a superb single cask strength single malt matured in oloroso sherry casks. Edradour is the smallest distillery in Scotland, and they made only 600 gallons of single malt whisky a year, and 2/3 of that whisky goes to blends. So, about 200 gallons are bottled as Edradour single malt, and if you have tried any of it, you know it is good. This one is a expression, distilled in 2004 and bottled in early 2018, at 57.2%abv. Lets talk about the whisky: On the nose, it is overwhelming. Starts with an aroma of Welsh grape juice; cognac, dark chocolate and hazelnut. Toblerone chocolate, cherries, christmas cake, molasses and a fancy aged rum. There are also notes of dark fruits, blackberries, figs, sherry and red wine. Just amazing. After a first sip, it revealed ritter chocolate with raisins; coffee and a more chocolate. Toffee and quince dessert. Incredible. On the palate, it is also a work of art. Cherries, red fruits, pepper spice. Chilli, dehydrated fruits, pecans. It is powerful and mouth numbing. A second sip is amazing, with cherry syrup, pepper, tobacco, coffee and hazelnut. Aftertaste is the perfect ending for a great whisky. Tobacco, oloroso sherry, clove, ginger, very dry. A little sulphur and dark chocolate, with coffee hints everywhere. Overall, this is one of the greatest whiskies i have had. I was actually going to score it 99 over 100, but one of my whisky pals said this phrase: "i just can't believe this is malted barley". And that made me think he was absolutely on the spot with that analysis. This whisky is the perfect example of what a single malt can become with perfect craftmanship. So, my final score is 100 over 100, outstanding dram, there are only 699 bottles of this 2004 edition, and if you happen to find one, buy it. Slàinte Mhath!

Let me start telling you this, i bought this whisky not because of the bottle (which is not the best looking one), i did it since the 21yo one won best blended malt and i said to myself, "might as well drink all of them, and everything from Glenallachie". I have been reviewing lately some Glenallachies, which i found to be very good whiskies, and now i am to the task of tasting and writting my critic on this MacNair's Lum Reek, which is one of 4262829 translations for peat smoke. This is a 12yo peated blended malt, bottled at 46%abv, golden color. On the nose it is like going to a Dry cleaning shop to wash your clothes. No, i was not kidding, this are my aroma notes: Pears, Apples, Cloth softener. Some Spices, Lightly peated; Clean clothes. A dim ashy aroma note. Freshly cut pear. After taking a first sip it gave me chilli on the nose, that is very interesting. Detergent. You can say this one has "clean" notes on the nose. On the palate, it is mostly spicy, to then turn fruity. Spicy right from the start, Pepper and chilli but bot harsh; A little sulphur. Green apples and Pears. Apple juice, Sider. Salt after 12 seconds on the mouth. After the third sip it gave me the heart of a pineapple. Aftertaste is where the peat is, a mild, tasty peat. Nice cigarrette smoke, very well delivered. Ginger. Grassy. Overall, i believe this is like a smokey Glenfiddich 12. I think it is very drinkable, an everyday dram, and i am not happy with my 85 over 100 score for it since it doesn't show how much i truly enjoy it, but my score system has been beneficial other times, this time is the other way around.

Tamdhu was unknown to me till 2020. Now it is essential in my bar. Actually most of whisky drinkers have taste Tamdhu in some form, since it was used for popular blends as the Famous Grouse, J&B and Cutty Sark. This batch strength 3, is the third release of their purest, strongest spirit, bottled at 58.3%abv., chesnut color. On the nose, hard to beat. It starts with a home-made beautiful toffee note, thick caramel, tangerine and caramelized apple. Nutmeg, aniseed, pepper; it is really spicy on the nose!. Chocolate truffle, coffee, oranges, flan caramel, new wood and condensed milk. Marvelous. On the palate it is a little oily, harsh, and spicy, maybe too much. Toffee mixed with wasabi and chilli. A second sip revealed orange juice, pepper, salt and leather. Chocolate milk powder. It gets easier as you drink more :) Aftertaste is great. The first time i had it, it gave me a smokey note. Chilli, white chocolate, tobacco. Medium long. Overall, this is like having a steroid version of the Tamdhu 12. It is very good and rewarding. You should let it breath a little to atone it. My score for it is a solid 90 over 100.

My second Glenallachie, this time the older brother, the 15yo. (Previously ihad and loved the 12yo one). This one is matured in a combination of Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Casks. Bottled at 46%abv, a nice chesnut color. On the nose, it is one of the most fruity drams i have ever perceived. Old orange peel, Dark dry cake; various citrus, green apples and grapefruit. So fruity, so piercing, various fruit pulps and peels. Agave. Dates and raisins. Its like nosing a fresh fruit salad. Lime. After the first sip it revealed lemon, Yeast, Vanilla cake and Cookie dough.  It smells like... speyside. The fields of speyside. It took me back there, ¡¡oh the memories!! On the palate it is super easy drinkable and incredibly smooth. Dark cake, Apples and Sider. Pepper grows after 5 seconds, but very mild. You can hold it easily forever in your palate. The second sip gave me lots of vanilla and Cookie dough. Super gentle. The third sip was all about the fanciest toffee note ever. Aftertaste is fancy and incredible. A little puff of Smoke, Hay. Beautiful spiciness; There is some mouth numbing, dry, after a copule seconds. Sweet and smokey, Vanilla and ashes. Lovely. Overall i truly believe this is a smoother dram than the outstanding 12yo. This one is way fruitier and fresh, while the other one was darker and the sherry influence was better. I can see why this whisky will be preferred over the 12yo, but not in my case. For me, it was very nice, but way too "Speysider". My score for it is a well deserved (and maybe a little harsh) 89 over 100. Good whisky.

My first Glenallachie was incredible. You must know that i try to avoid reading anything about a whisky before having it. That way, i don't feel influenced by information of the casks, or marketing. After having this amazing 12yo whisky, i learned it was matured in PX, oloroso and Virgin oak, which is a combination that has been fully imparted to this dram and you can actually feel every bit of flavor and aroma that the chosen barrels can give to a whisky. Bottled at 46%abv, chesnut color. On the nose, perfect score. Dark dry raisin cake as soon as you uncork it. Prunes; Strong alcohol note. Dehydrated fruits, Marzipan, a very appealing Grapefruit note. Some citrus aroma growing after a minute; also some cherries growing. Old orange peel. After 3 minutes it has become a bowl of fresh aromatic fruits. After the first sip there is this aroma of a maraschino cherry over  meringue.  Meringue aroma note is very clean, amazing. Fancy dark cake note. Beautiful nose. On the palate it takes 5 seconds to kickstart. Starts a little dim, with a Vanilla flavor that grows into Red fruits to then release a Pepper bomb mixed with citrusness. The abv is kicking in a pleasant way, feels higher than 46%abv. Prunes and Citrus notes. Aftertaste is great. Cigarrettes. Bitter tobacco and Old oranges. This is a tasty fellow! Salty, sulphuric; very long finish. Totally mouth numbing, my palate has completely went to sleep. Grassy, robust, rounded finish Overall, this one feels like Glenfiddich and Dalmore had a child. Then, that child married to a Marlboro pack of cigarrettes and had a child of their own. That is the most accurate way i can describe it. Being a little more serious, you can feel the PX influence in the marzipan, dehydrated fruits; then you get the oloroso sherry in the fruitiness and bitterness; and in between, you get this vanilla meringue from the virgin oak. Everything is very clean and well delivered. Amazing stuff. My score for it, and i think i was harsh on it, is a 96 over 100. Slàinte Mhath.

This travel retail expression, tells the story of the Bottled in Bond Act, a law passed in USA back in 1897, to stop distillers who were using other chemicals to flavour whiskey, and declaring exactly what was inside the bottle. This is a 100% proof (50%abv) Jack Daniel's, for extra power and flavor. On the nose, it is very sweet. Thick Maple syrup, maraschino cherries, burnt caramel, hazelnut, cocoa and meringue. After the first sip, it revealed banana peel, cinnamon and vanilla. On the palate, starts fruity and then a pepper bomb hits. Banana overload, vanilla, oak, wasabi and pepper. Very spicy. Aftertaste felt well crafted and nice. Chilli, sawdust. Very dry. Pleasant spiciness. Overall, this is a nice dram, but very straightforward. Not complex at all, which was dissapointing because you expect more notes when you have a higher abv. Nevertheless, this was a good treat, my score for it is a solid 80 over 100.

This vintage looking bottle is how the original Jack Daniel's label used to look (in a ceramic bottle) at least till 1904 when it won the gold medal for best whiskey in the world, then switching to the iconic black and white label. Legacy edition No. 1 is part of a collector's series which i believe nowadays there are three of them. Bottled at 43%abv, caramel color. On the nose, a very nice, fruity aroma. Banana, pepper, red fruits, cherries, glazed pork, burnt caramel. It has the traditional sourness on the nose; milk powder (milk formula), dehydrated bananas, banana milkshake, chocolate milk powder, sawdust. Very fancy and appealing aroma. After a first sip, it revealed prunes, caramel and oak spice. On the palate, it was fairly good. A Sour banana flavor if that exists; prunes, feels fancy; slight hint of vanilla. Second sip was a little wattery; caramel and sweet vanilla. Very easy drinkable. Aftertaste was pleasant. Creamy but also dry. Raw rice, a very enjoyable mild pepper note. Long, rewarding finish, oak spice and pepper. Overall, this one felt like a better version of the classic old no. 7; the extra 3%abv sure gives more flavor to it and a more rounded experience. Nice whisky, 87 over 100.

The second recreation of the most legendary story in whisky history is called "The Journey", and even if the bottle looks exactly the same as the first recreation (called "the discovery") this is a very different, more modern blended malt. Just to remember the story, this is a recreation of a whisky that was found on Antartica after a hundred years, since Ernest Shackleton left it behind in 1907. Bottled at 47.3%abv, golden colour. On the nose, very complex and fruity. Heathery peat, oranges, chocolate. Yeast, cake, lemonade, and this agave/tequila aroma, very interesting. Cherries and sherry. After a sip, it developed into a maritime character, iodine and salt. Vanilla and oranges; it also has this "old library" aroma note. On the palate, it is rather peaty and full of flavor. Earthy, sulphuric, peaty, pepper and oranges. There is this oloroso sherry profile present; it is a lot fruitier than the first recreation. Aftertaste is very nice. A very elegant peat. Some spices: pepper and ginger; chocolate and tobacco. It is so well crafted and balanced that feels like a Compass Box Blend. Overall, this is a much more modern whisky than the first release. It doesn't feel old and dusty as the other one, and it appeals to "today's palates". It is still a great dram, 92 over 100 is my score for it.

A limited travel retail expression, that honours the viking Leif Eriksson, the first european who allegedly came to America, before Christopher Columbus. This was around 1000 A.D.; the Icelander Eriksson was the son of Erik the Red the conqueror of Greenland. This is not one of Highland Park's Warrior series. Bottled at 40%abv, fully matured in american white oak (because of the whole "first person to discover to america" story), golden color. On the nose, it gives you the typical Highland Park Notes. Heathery peat, oranges, creamy vanilla. Very floral. After the first sip, it gave me peaches, vanilla, banana, milk powder. More sips revealed marshmallow and salty water. It screams: "Highland Park in american white oak!" On the palate it is not very complex, nor interesting. Starts very sulphuric and spicy. Pepper and salt. A couple of sips gave me a silght hint of orange and vanilla. Mostly spicy. Aftertaste is very nice, with smoke, tobacco and a leathery finish. A little oaky, ashy, salty and dry. There is this iron / metalic sensation in the palate and aftertaste too. Overall, this is a textbook Highland Park, nothing to die for, but not a bad whisky either. It is good for begginers on this distillery, the orkney peatiness is present. My score for it is a fair 81 over 100.

The Dalmore Black Isle is an early 2000s travel retail expression, a 1 litre bottle, that is now discontinued. This whisky is all about the famous scottish "Black Isle" which is not an island, nor Black. Actually the Black Isle is a very fertile, green penninsula; and it is located in front of The Dalmore distillery. This landscape has been appreciated by the distillery workers, and this bottling is a tribute to that lovely place. Botlled at 40%abv, this whisky has been matured 50% in European oak and 50% in american white oak. Deep copper color. On the nose, perfection. Cherries, red fruits, caramel, coffee with milk, sherry, glue, black chocolate and maple syrup. After the first sip, it revealed a Maple syrup overload, mixed with coffee beans. Maraschino cherries. Amazing. On the palate, the first sip is very fruity!. Orange juice, lemon, lime, very citric. Ginger spice. Everything changes on the second sip, revealing a sweeter profile: honey, maple abd caramel. Aftertaste is really interesting. The most clean red liquorice candy (the unchewable one), clove, ginger. Tobacco bitternes. Finally after some sips, it gave me CANDY BEANS, super clean and accurate. Incredible. Overall, as a fat guy, i really loved this whisky. But i want to go even further in my conclussions. I have read about how good Dalmore was in the past and how mediocre it is nowadays. Listen, i love, truly love present expressions of the Dalmore, and i don't think that they are mediocre, actually i think this is one of the best distilleries ever. BUT, having tasted 3 or 4 past expressions, i can truly say that those antique bottles are better. It is true, the Dalmore before 2010 made better, more elegant and complex whiskies. That doesn't mean that the expressions we have in the present are bad, they are actually very good. Having said all that, my score for this very enjoyable whisky is a well deserved 93 over 100. Slàinte Mhath.