Tastes

Not bad at all. Over 10, it is a 7.2. I had a glass of this at a restaurant. This 17 dollar Whisky bottle should be awful but it isn't. Very sweet and mellow, not complex at all, very straight foward but enjoyable. It is almost a dessert. Bottled at 40%abv, with light gold color. On the nose you first find a slight perfumed peat, then when it fades, caramel, honey, vanilla, lemon and a hint of tobacco. Nothing too fancy but not bad at all. Fun on the nose for the price. On the palate, it is very gentle, light bodied, starts with caramel, then it changes to peat and spicyness. Long but harsh finish, with ashes and peaty notes. I was surprised of how good this blended scotch was for the price and its almost no fame. Bacardi is the owner of this brand. 1.8 over 2.5 in the nose 1.8 over 2.5 in the palate 1.8 over 2.5 in the finish 1.8 over 2.5 in the balance. Cheers!

Recently i reviewed the Whyte & Mackay NAS blended scotch, and it was surprising because it was the cheapest expression. This time i review the 13yo one, which should be better, but it isn't. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose, pepper, vanilla, a dim, very dim sherry/grape note. Not too fragant and quite simple. On the palate, there is this strong grain whisky presence, and that is not a very delightful thing here. Some caramel, oak and herbal notes. Finish is regular with hints of dry chocolate cake. Overall this is a very simple dram. 76 over a 100 for this, and i am generous in this score.

The spice king is part of the Wemyss malts, which are easy drinkable whiskies. They have the honeyed one, the peaty one, the highland / balanced one; and this Spice King. Is it good? Lets find out. Bottled at 46%abv. On the nose everything starts nice. Brown cake, dark fruits, christmas cake, a dim red wine note and cinnamon. On the palate is where everything starts fading. There are smoke, ashes and raisins notes, not in a balanced way. Aftertaste is too harsh, oaky and peaty but unbalanced and a little unpleasant. Overall this is a dram that definitively could be better, specially in the aftertaste. 72 over 100.

A Blended Malt, that won a Silver medal in the International Spirits Challenge in 2012. As the name implies, the whole mood of this dram is honey. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose: Cola. Darker aromas like coffee and chocolate. Almonds. A dim honey note and Caramel. I thought it would be a honey madness but it is not. On the palate: Very easy drinkable. Honey and almonds. Peanuts. Dry fruits. A little oaky, but pleasant. Aftertaste is very rewarding and easy, honey and almonds, vanilla powder. A hint of clove spice. I don't think this is a bad dram at all. This is just a more easy going / not so complex whisky, it might be great for begginers. Not my cup of tea, but not bad. 68/100.

A higher strength Tullamore Dew, nothing special actually, i feel this is a dram that lacks small things to become a good whiskey. Bottled at 55%abv, the story of the dram is that the town of tullamore suffered in 1785 a tragedy where a hot-air balloon fell into the town and the blaze almost destroy the entire place. This whiskey is a tribute to Tullamore and its capability to emerge again from the blaze, like a phoenix. On the nose, the grain whiskey influence is way too powerful. Hay, Sider, Grass; Perfume shop and Nutmeg. On the palate, it is a typical irish whiskey with an excess of chocolate notes. I got some chocolate with salt, spicy chocolate and hay. Aftertaste is short and bitter. Overall i score this dram a fair 79 over 100, not enough here to call it a memorable dram.

Another Irish Whisky in its core version. Nothing to fancy but not bad either. Bottled at 40%abv, old gold color. On the nose you will find maily butter notes, sweet corn, ginger, prunes, vanilla cake, mashed banana and cola. Nice. On the palate is a little less appealing and more straight forward, but very very smooth. Pepper, oak, new freshly cut wood, with a light body but a long spicy finish very pleasant. Overall i give this a 72 over 100, i would not buy another bottle but i would drink it if they invite me one.

I got to say that before going to speyside, i have never heard of this malt. Now i know it a little better since i now have tasted 3 expressions, and i wanted to start my review on them from the youngest to the oldest i had, in order. Tormore 12yo is a 40%abv typical speyside single malt, with fruitiness all over the place. On the nose: very cítric. Orange, tangerine, Caramel, Vanilla, orange Zest and Lemon. On the palate, it is more bitter and acid that you would normally expect. Orange and tobacco. Nice and easy. Finish is full of ginger and hint of orange acidic flavors. Medium long. Overall this is a textbook speyside dram. A normal, easy drinkable whisky. 77 over 100.

My first tomintoul was this 16yo expression, and it was a normal, not remarkable whisky, that has a little peatiness. On the nose there are apple and honey notes. Not much else but nothing off-putting either. The palate is full of apples with a dim earthy peat. Aftertaste is peppery and ashy, actually nice. Overall this dram deserves a 74 over 100.

Well, this one is a dud. Totally unappealing, i rated it 62 out of 100, and when i see that number i think is too high for what it really is, but the finish is long and it helps it a lot in the score. Bottled at 43%abv, pale Staw color. On the nose the aroma is so difficult to perceive, it is too light and you almost have to put your nose inside the glencairn to get some notes. I let it rest for 10 minutes and it didn't change a thing. Notes: corn with butter on it, tobbacco leaf, prune peel, hay and maybe ashes. The aroma is so dim it is difficult to tell. On the palate: oak, hot taste with a pepper note, mouth watering and long lasting finish with the same flavor profile. Nothing special. I added water, a couple drops, it killed the rest of the aroma and kill any flavor, two drops and now it is water. I dont know if i got a bad batch or something, but i would not recommend or buy any more of it.

Togouchi Blended Whisky is not an actual Japanese Whisky, it is entirely made of scottish whisky, and just bottled in Japan. Bottled at 40%abv its the most transparent Whisky i have ever seen, with a Gin Clear color. On the nose it is very dim, you have to let it sit for quite a while. After 10 minutes, notes will appear: plum, slight peatyness, alcohol, vanilla cookie, pepper and chocolate powder. On the palate its actually not bad, a little bitter, with cereal, pepper, ashes and dry brown grasses. Finish is short and body is medium. Overall it is a 69 out of 10, maybe suitable for cocktails.