Tastes

For a 46%abv malt, this is a rather simple dram. The bottle is very beautiful but what's inside is what matters. Easy drinkable and fairly decent, this is not a bad dram, but nothing to lose your sleep either. Bottled at 46% abv, amber color. On the nose, honey and toffee, very fresh. Pear is also present. Sweet aroma. On the palate, honey, corn flakes (honey corn flakes), sugar, slight wood flavor like cork. Aftertaste is interesting, chilli is the spice here, not unpleasant. Overall this is a fair dram. 78 over 100 can be a decent score for it.

Harsh on the nose and palate. Mostly vanilla with hints of peat and clove. Strong flavor.

A little dissapointing. I have read incredible reviews about this one. Bottled at 43% abv is much stronger than normal blended whiskies. On the nose you get a strong vanilla note, with very little hints of peat (that peat from johnnie walker red label that stinks a little), herbal notes, and spices. You then know: "this is going to be very very spicy" As a matter of fact, on the palate is the spiciest i have ever tasted, i am not a fan of certain spices so spicyness is not the best for me. Very spicy, very hot on the palate, with caramel and toffee notes, maybe also nuts or almonds and oakiness everywhere. So hot that burns, the finish is firey, medium-long lasting

A plain bourbon. Caramel, vanilla and banana on the nose. Maybe prunes. On the palate, more of the same, vanilla, clove and caramel toffee. Finish medium with clove. It is suppossed to be somehow a special bottle because the one i drank was very old, maybe from the 80s. Overall a 67 over 100.

My second Japanese Whisky ever tastrd. The first one was the hibiki Harmony which was beautiful. It is a fairly good whisky, you can tell it is very young by just tasting it, it is a little bit tricky since it is very different on the nose compared to the palate. As soon as you open the bottle you'll inmidiately grab a honey note. On the glass you'll find the floral notes of any japanese dram, there is very little peat, vanilla, but the most noticeable aroma is orange peel. On the palate is totally different. As soon as you taste it the impression is what is this? I haven't nosed this. There is a wood flavor. Not the oaky wood flavor but another wood. Maybe Cardboard. Very interesting. Wet cardboard. Very peppery, very nutty, with a medicinal remedy touch. (Remedy for the throat) Very interesting flavor but, it is medium body and has NO FINISH AT ALL. That is a fail which i cannot accept so points are deducted. Nevertheless is a good whisky, i had fun tasting and nosing it. I recommend it. 75/100

I will now start a series of reviews for a series of whiskies that are the core malts for Ballantine's. Basically, i am talking about 3 whiskies, but in this case, they will all be 15yo expressions, which are hitting the markets this year. Miltonduff 15yo, is a speyside malt, and its new label clearly says: "Ballantine's single malts" in order to relate that best selling whisky with this little known distilleries. Bottled at 40% abv. The nose is standard, clean. Caramel, Coffee, Vanilla, wet grass, Floral and Fresh fields. Palate is a little watery. Chocolate, Pepper. Maybe some orange. Aftertaste has mostly a pleasant spiciness. Wasabi, Pepper, Tobacco. Overall this is a normal dram, easy drinkable and suitable for begginers. 78 over 100.

I never tasted before this classic Bourbon, and my impression was "well, it is better than Jim Beam". Bottled at 45%abv, russetmusscat color. On the nose is very Bourbonish, grapes, prunes, vanilla, cream, cola and a little amount of pepper notes. On the palate is a little harsh, starts with caramel, then switches to hot oak, slightly spicy and the finish is short, with tobacco notes. Overall it is a 67 over 100. Cheers!

My first sweddish whisky. Actually a very light, pleasant and very easy drinkable. Bottled at 41.2%abv, very light pale straw color. On the nose, Grape, Plum, White wine, orange candy and carnival foam (really). On the palate, it seems like a typical speyside scotch, just a very light pear juice. Finish is spicy/salty with ashy notes, aftertaste is the best part. Overall this is a begginers, entry level whisky, i dont think it is expensive and it can be used as an everyday drink. My score for it is 78 over 100.

Oh Macallan and this new expressions that feel that they are looking to fetch money to pay for the new distillery rather than giving people their money's worth in whisky. This is another 12yo from Macallan, a follow up to the "double cask", this triple cask has been matured in European sherry seasoned casks, American sherry seasoned casks and American ex-bourbon casks. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose: Typical macallan aroma, but much more nutty. Vanilla cream, Vanilla oak, Very creamy. A little sherriness and Sawdust. Actually the nose is not bad at all. On the palate, everything starts falling. Very oaky, Too woody. Smooth but say too woody for any flavors to develop properly. Not even toffee. Aftertaste is short, with a mild oak spice and peppery note. Overall this is a forgettable, normal, not remarkable dram, which you can just pass by. 71 over 100.

A NAS alternate version of the double cask expression (the other one is a 12yo); and obviously a younger Macallan that is actually a good option for only $45. Bottled at 40%abv On the nose, your typical macallan; the almost cliche chocolate, dulce de leche, snickers, milky way and butterfinger, BUT the herbal notes here are almost non-existing leaving an acetone/alcohol note which is actually not un-pleasant. On the palate it is a little rough but mantains the toffee and nuttiness of the 12yo, but it definitively feels younger. Clove aftertaste, short. Overall this is a cheaper, but not so different in flavor and aroma, expression to the 12yo, it deserves at least a 76 over 100.