Tastes

Well this is bizarre. This clearly is not whisky, its quite the experience but, not necessarily a good one. Bottled at 40%abv, the bottle is beautiful but it says that orange is infused to the whisky. Odd. On the nose is interesting but way to powerful to be enjoyable. Orange, Lemon, Salt, cheap taxi Air freshener, Superbly citric. It reminds me exactly of a "tang" juice formula (a powder that mixed with water that gives you something like an orange juice). Vitamin C pills. On the palate is an acid bomb. Lemon lime and all acid citric flavors. Orange peel. Off putting. Aftertaste is slightly salty. Overall it is something i would not buy nor drink, but i think someone might like it, maybe for mixing it. 67/100

A blended scotch, mostly made by lowland grain whiskies, a cheap expression of Compass Box. Bottled at 43%abv deep gold color. On the nose a dim, soft aroma: Lemon, Coffee, Candy. Not too much happening here. On the palate a little better. Chocolate (typical from grain), Pepper, Oak so pleasant and smooth and Plant spicyness like oregano. Finish is very short. Dissapointing. Overall i give this dram a very regular 71 over 100. Not the best hour for compass box in this one.

As the other Great King Street, this is a blend that doesn't live to the compass box name and can be consider a fair blend for a cheap price. On the nose Dry cake, Some grain presence, Dry grass. Nothing to die for. On the palate Cítric fruit, Prunes, a little Sour and some Dry chocolate cake notes. Finish medium with ginger notes. Overall, 72 over 100 is a score that reflects what this whisky is.

This was the only core expression from Compass Box that i haven't had before, and once again, Compass box dissapoints me a little. CBW is known for been "the best blenders" and the artist of blending, and even been "the ones who make a better whisky by blending them", but to this date, with the exception of peat monster and maybe one other expression i can't seem to remember now (and that says a lot about it), i really haven't had a spectacular compass box whisky. Don't get me wrong, they are fine, better than most blends, but they sure are not as wonderful as their fame says. This one, was bottled at 46%abv. On the nose, fresh field notes, grapes, lemon and acetone. On the palate, prunes, ashes, lemon, citric, and some peat. Not spicy, but ashy, which can be consider as a spice... at least for my palate it is. Finish is very short, lots of points were deducted there. Overall i give this dram a 74/100 and i don't think it is bad, but it is nothing to die for.

Lets talk about this one. If grain whiskies are a little scarce, a blended grain whisky is definitively a rarity. It is not a rarity as "rare & old" would mean (because compass box is popular and this is one of their core whiskies) but rare as a whisky species. Just for you to understand what i mean, i found myself drinking one after 191 whisky reviews. Grain whiskies are made of rye, wheat or corn, and they werent on the market till recent years (20 years or so), because they aren't usually as good as malt whiskies and the whole grain whisky production went to blended scotch expressions. Having said that, vatted grain is very unlikely. Compass box has this reputation in the world of blending and they give us "Hedonism". Bottled at 43% abv, it has a pale staw color. Natural, non chill filtered. It is a very simple dram. On the nose, the normal grain whisky notes: butter and corn, maybe wet green grass, petrichor. Only one note was out of the normal and i think it was interesting but not enough to say "it has an outstanding aroma": sprite or 7up cola. Yep, it smells like sprite from the Coca Cola Company. (18 out of 25 points on the nose). On the palate is not so enjoyable. Creamy feeling, the notes are clove, a hot full sensation but not unpleasant, butter and cereal. Finish is boring, not long and if it were i dont think i would enjoy having the feeling for long. I made a research on this dram, it says its a blend of two different port dundas (different cask that is) and a cameron bridge (never had either before). I know there are people that would enjoy it more than i do, but it just isn't my kind of dram. I give this one a 74 over 100 and it is the lowest score from the group of samples i have been tasting lately. My final thoughts on this one: it feels like it was useless to blend grain whiskies, it tastes as if it were a single grain and nothing interesting came from it, as if it was made just to sell you the experience of ever having a blended grain but not giving you the quality you expect on a whisky. I wouldn't buy a whole bottle, but in its defense, it is better than David Beckham's Haig Club.

This is a fine new release by Chivas, matured exclusively in Grande Champagne Cognac Casks. The only 15yo blend that Chivas has right now. Bottled at 40%abv. On the nose, its very appealing: Tobacco, Green grapes, Burnt oak, freshly cut green apples, Dry grass, Maple syurp and Pear. On the palate: Red apples, Cinammon, Ginger, Burnt oak. Aftertaste is herbal spicy, long. Overall this is a fine dram, an easy everyday whisky. 80/100.

On the nose is very light, you can perceive honey and a little vanilla, also a herbal note. Tons of apples and oranges. Cinnamon and clove. On the palate gets a little better, with honey vanilla and caramel and a strong pepper note as if you where eating a chilli. Finish is soft with almost no kick. Spicy and fruity, amazing blend. 83 over 100.

This is a very pleasant whisky. Known for been the father of Johnnie Walker, Cardhu 12 year old is easy to drink. This dram tells you something as soon as you nose it: spices. On the nose you get strong herbal notes, no vanilla, lots of spices and an orange chocolate aroma. I also got almonds and light caramel on it. Very well balanced, on the palate is fairly good, with lots of oakyness, and there is a smoke hint somewhere but it is hidden. The balance between spicyness and sweetness is very good, its gentle, medium bodied and the finish is medium also, pleasant and spicy. Good dram, worth my while.

After almost two weeks of absence, i can rate another whisky. This is my second Canadian Whisky, and now that i have tasted two, i can tell there is a profile that identifies canadian drams: maple syrup. bottled at 40%abv, this "Premium extra" whisky is rather good, specially on the nose. Tawny color, very appealing. On the nose: Very sweet, with maple syrup, honey, vanilla, prunes and creme brulee notes. On the palate is sweet but also grassy, with pleasant oaky notes, oranges, with a sensation of toffee and tobacco at the same time, with a medium spicy finish. It is light bodied and after adding water the nose turns fully honeyed and the palate turns into lemon bitter notes and tobacco finish. Good average dram, very sweet.

It is a shame that after 300+ whiskies i have never tried before any Bushmills, maybe the most iconic irish whiskey (maybe Jameson is more iconic); but is more of a shame that it is so bad, because even if it is a blend (allegedly), it sure feels only as if it were a grain whisky. Bottled at 40% abv. Pale straw color. On the nose is not very enjoyable due to a strong initial alcohol note (well, it is a $22 bottle), who then develops some grain whiskey aromas: Wine white, Apple juice, Tobbaco, Dim milk chocolate note. On the palate it is almost a single grain. Nothing bad if you like this type of whiskies, just not my cup of tea. Main notes are Corn, dry grass and I can bet the mashbill also has rye because it has that rye spicyness. Very creamy as all grain whiskies are. Aftertaste is medium long with rye spicyness. Overall i give this classic dram a 63 over 100, not what i expected at all.