Tastes

After ordering a taxi to take me on an hour and a half trip from Aberdeen to the Glendronach distillery, the least I could do is bottle my own "juice." The truth is that it was an incredible experience, which is why I chose it to be my review # 500. This Glendronach is out of cask # 218, which entered the barrel on June 5, 1992 and bottled it on May 24, 2019, that is, it lacked 12 days to be 27 years of maturation; something that is very easy to discover with the almost black ebony color of the whisky that came out of the barrel. The best thing that could happen to me is that I splashed a little because i poured too much, which allowed me to try it, to get the tasting notes and guess what? It is one of the best whiskies I've tried and I'm sure it will be on the podium this year for me. Bottled at 59%abv, in the nose of this "monster" I found: nuts, almonds, chocolate, toffee, "colacao", a tiny presence of peat and lemon. On the palate, it literally tastes like a thousand-leaf candy! It also has coffee, milk chocolate and Dulce de Leche; all wrapped in a spicy oakyness normal for a 26 years old dram. The aftertaste is simply sublime, with very marked chocolate notes, ginger, tobacco, peat and ashes. I rated it 101 out of 100, not only because each of those points are justified in the palate, nose, aftertaste and balance, but also because it gave me a spectacular experience, Sláinte Mhath friends!

Oh this is a great dram. Lately i have tried some expressions from this distillery and they are all good. This one is a 1999 vintage, 19 year old, Red Wine Cask matured. A jewel. Bottled at 48%abv. Deep copper color. On the nose, wine, raisins, cherries, cinnamon, chocolate bathed raisins and coconut. AMAZING. On the palate another perfect score. Chocolate, mixed with prunes and red fruits. Dulce de leche and vanilla ice cream . Aftertaste is a lot different but it is so clean and delightful. Bitter tobbacco. Red fruits. Overall this is a superb dram. If you can find any bottle, just grab it. It is perfect, my score for it is 100 /100. Sláinte!!

Spectacular dram from "Scottish little gem". Edradour has proven me that they make perfect whiskies, obviously taken advantage of their marvelous sherry casks. This one is their 21yo expression, an Oloroso Sherry Finish. Bottled at 56.2% it has an amazing deep copper color. On the nose: perfect score. Coffee, Orange caramel, Brown sugar, Cherries; Sherry wine that feels old and thick.Thick caramel. Letting it breath will release a chocolate note. Vanilla with dulce de leche. Awesome. On the palate: (CAPS LOCK) OUT OF THIS WORLD!! VANILLA, SHERRY, CHERRIES, DRIED FRUITS, CHOCOLATE, MILK POWDER. ALL AT THE SAME TIME. 25 Points +1 since it is so good. Aftertaste is also perfect. Dry feeling from the oloroso sherry. Tobacco, Milk powder and Milka Chocolate. This might win whisky of the year this tear for me. (I know it is going to be on my top 3) my score for it is.... 101 over 100. It is THAT good. Go buy it. Sláinte Mhath.

Today i have achieved 5k followers on my instagram account (thewhiskritic) and decided to celebrate it in the best way possible: with a Dalmore Quintessence sample. Ok, lets start with my overall conclusion for this dram. It is not a begginer's dram. It is by far the most complex, different and difficult dram i have ever had. In a good way. Lets add some perspective here: this dram was made in limited proportions by Richard Patterson when he celebrated his 50th anniversary in charge of the Dalmore Distillery (how old is he?) It has been matured initially in american ex-bourbon casks (as most Dalmores) and then it was finished in 5 different californian red wine casks: Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Bottled at 45%abv, AMAZING red old oak color. On the nose, well it depends on how much time passes: First 5 minutes: Grapes, Lemon, Glazed pork, Orange old peel, Meaty; Citric but special. Syrup. Its not that powerful in the aroma at the beggining but definitively different. After 5 mins: blackberry marmalade. Blackberries. Wine. Hints of chocolate When it breaths, it releases milk powder aroma notes. After 10 minutes: banana. Maple syrup. It turns super sweet. Dehydrated fruits. Plums. SO FREAKING COMPLEX. Time for a sip (i got only about 3 sips with one 3cl sample, lets make them count). On the palate: It doesn't feel like whisky at all. Super light, Super winey. Chocolate, Tobbacco, some Bitter notes. spicy. After first sip chocolate invades the nose. Oranges bathed in chocolate is the exact aroma note now. AFTERTASTE WAS FANTASTIC. Long as a monday; Allspice, Pepper, Grape astringent, tannin, Ginger Incredible finish very winey. Clove. Marvelous. Orange zest aromas go crazy after the second sip. Chocolate and citric notes are now predominant. Mouth drying as wine. Overall i don't think this is the best whisky i have ever had (full bottle goes for around 1000 pounds in the U.K.), but it is the most challenging, complex, beautifully crafted whisky i have tasted. I give it a 100 points, because it is what whisky lovers and critics want, complexity, emotions and something different. Great dram, i wouldn't pay 1000 pounds for it (or for any other whisky), but definitively a joyful experience. Slaintè Mhath!

Continuing my series of reviews of "the Distillery Reserve Collection" whiskies from Pernod Ricard, i am about to tell you about one perfect dram. An amazing sherry dark bomb. It is the Aberlour 17yo, Single Cask Strength. So much flavor in one 50cl bottle. Just amazing. Bottled at 52.8%abv, deep copper color. On the nose, it is spectacular. Blackberry marmalade, Sherry madness, Red wine, maybe Cabernet sauvingon. On the palate, its a sweet monster. Chocolate, milk powder, Almonds, Sherry and Cherries. Sublime. Aftertaste is also a work of art. All spiciness comes from the sherry profile. Pepper, Ginger, more Sherry and pleasant Tobacco. Balance is the name of the game. This whisky has it all, and has this score well deserved. 100 over 100, Sláinte Mhath!!!

My first Bourbon, didn't like it. On the nose you get acetone, oakyness and a little smoke. On the palate is very hot. Not sweet at all, there are some wine-raising notes there somewhere. Very hoy finish, tends to be alike some Usa whiskeys, where you can find wine-grapes-raising notes on the palate and in the nose but totally inferior. Worst whisky so far

Worldwide known as the worst whisky in the world, Fujikai 10yo is a bad dram, but not as near as the disgusting thing i have heard. Countless reviews put this one as something unbearable. It is bad, but because it has no flavor at all, but nothing really off-putting. Bottled at 43%abv, only 8808 bottles were ever made. On the nose, it is weird. I have seen people talk about it like the aroma has a diesel /kerosene profile, but for me it was: Humid Clothes, wet socks, it feels like it tries somehow to be fruity, but fails and delivers a gasoline note. On the palate, it is nothing. It has no flavor. I don't know if the bar where i had it threw water on it, but it would make sense because it tastes like water, it has no flavor. Aftertaste is also very thin. Its like it tries to be peppery in some way, but it fails to do so. Overall it is not as bad as i thought, it really has no flavor and that is why it is bad. I believe that i have seen to many bad reviews and i expected it to be worse than what it really is. 20 over 100 and maybe i am been too good here. Avoid it.

Oh my god, this one must be a dud. It cant be THAT bad. It is plain water. I hope this was a bad batch, because this goes around for $520, and it would definitively be a shame if you spend this much money and get this "nothingness" of a dram. Bottled at 40%abv. On the nose, sparkling water, soda water cookies, malty, foam, acetone. Nothing at all. On the palate, its oaky i guess, WATER, nothing and chocolate. Yes, nothing is a note here. Lol. Zero aftertaste. Ok... the score for this is.... 34 over 100. And, i think i gave it a high score. Run. Run from it.