Tastes

I had heard and read a lot of good things about this one and its brother "Ledaig". I think i expected too much. The nose is spectacular but the taste and finish are very low. Bottled at 46.3% with a pale staw color. On the nose is lovely, Instant great aroma. Brown wedding cake, vanilla cream very appealing, prunes, Nutmeg and fresh pear. On the palate is a cheap whisky. That is the best description i can give. Thick, hot, young oak and almonds. Ginger aftertaste very boring. Overall i give this dram a 68 over 100, and if it werent for the good nose it has, score could have been a lot lower.

Another normal, forgettable irish whiskey. It is not bad. Actually it almost made the 3.5 stars mark. It is just not something you will cherish or remember. Bottled at 40%abv. Golden color. On the nose it is pretty grainy. Grain whiskey, Vanilla, Fondant, Milk Chocolate. Very alcoholic; Nutty - malty. On the palate, it is very straightforward. Apple and Vanilla. Not bad, not interesting. Aftertaste feels young. Oily, Sour and Grainy. Overall this is your typical, standard irish whiskey. Nothing to see here, move along. 69 over 100.

A Blended Japanese Whisky, that is intended for a large group of consumers. Bottled at 40%abv with a burnished color. On the nose is rather light, i get brown cake with raisins, prune peel, vanilla, oranges, brown sugar, the smell of the branches that comes with grapes, and honey. On the palate i found brown dry grasses, tobacco, clove, cereal, oak. It is light bodied, and the aftertaste is medium long full of oakyness in a pleasant way. Overall is a good dram, not good enough to buy a full bottle but interesting. 72/100

I saw this Suntory Royal bottle at a friend's house and when he said "pick any bottle" i obviously went for the "old looking Suntory", thinking of course that it was the hardest one to find. The result: a not too enjoyable dram that is easily forgotten. On the nose: Grain whisky right from the start. Lemon, dry cake, Yeast, raw rice. Very similar to haig club. On the palate: spice, butter and corn. Not good. Aftertaste is short with yeast notes. Basically a grain whisky, this one could be avoided. 68/100.

Its no wonder why i like Chivas Reagal 12yo and 18yo, it is because is full of this "rare" whisky. And i say rare because they only sell (as the official distillery) this 12yo expression leaving everything else for the Chivas Reagal and for the independent bottlers. Lots of history around this distillery, it once burned in a fire and some other time it exploded (1876 and 1879). But history does not pay in this dram. It is a little simple. Bottled at 40%abv with a deep gold color. On the nose is a little fruity, green apples, oranges, vanilla cream and honey. On the palate 3 notes: hay, tobbacco and bitter nutty finish which is very short. Overall i give this dram an 78 over 100.

Very good whisky, specially for the price. Very enjoyable on the nose, with mild smoke, vanilla, chocolate, almonds and a little flower note. On the palate you get caramel, almonds, oak for a sweet flavor that change into a hot flavor. The fininsh is medium.

I got to say i was eager to try a Scapa, but i never knew it was from Orkney. Island whiskies are always a good thing but this one in particular lacks a little emotion. Bottled at 40%abv deep copper color. On the nose peat but very dim, spices but very dim, orange candy, impalpable sugar (i dont know if this is its right name), salty and sweet. Nice aroma but not too strong. On the palate, Chocolate, Tobbacco, Spicy, Too smooth like water, first 2 seconds is like nothing. Cake choccolate dry, Similar but inferior to highland park. Bitter notes. Finish is way too short. Overall it could be better. 73 over 100.

An apple juice. Dissapointing for a 21yo whisky, it is exactly as buying a Glen Moray Nas. Bottled at 40%abv. Nose and palate are very simple. On the nose: fresh apples, vanilla and a dim spicyness (cinammon). Palate: coffee, brown sugar, liquorice. Finish oregano herbal note. Seems a lot like a speyside whisky. Very simple and not a worthy 21yo. It is about €90, so that is suspicious enough for a whisky of that age. Overall i give this dram a 68 over 100.

Royal Brackla is one of those distilleries that are unable to impress me. Not bad whiskies at all, but all too boring. This expression, as the 21yo lacks of fun and i would not buy them. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose Orange jam, Oranges bathed in chocolate, Caramel and Orange candy. Not bad. On the palate, Artificial flavors, Spicy "crazy dips", Excess of oak and a Cloying sensation without been too sweet. Finish has a chocolate note, very short. Overall i give this dram a fair 74 over 100.

My No. 99 review comes from a Welsh Whisky, Penderyn Legend. Not sure what to expect before tasting it, but it was fairly interesting. This young whisky, is bottled at 41%abv and has a pale gold color. On the nose is not strong, but its notes are nice. Grapes, Vanilla Cake, Raisins, artificial apple juice and some spicyness. Not to powerful, but pleasant. On the palate is very enjoyable without being fabulous. A lot of wood, new wood. There is something like raw cocoa, light bodied but mouth watering. Nice clean finish, pleasant and smooth. There is a dark chocolate note and some slight spicyness. After 10 minutes it became strangely thick, like chewable. I didn't touch it, (didn't add water at all) and it felt like bitting an orange. The Nose also evolved into milk chocolate bathed raisins. Overall is a good whisky. Easy drinkable, but there is a lot better drams out there. 3.25 out of 5. (73 out of 100