Tastes

Fourth stop in Douglas Laing's core expressions, Rock Oyster, a "pearl inside a bottle"; an Island Blended Malt, made with spirits from orkney, jura, arran and Skye. Bottled at 46.8%abv.... and it is great. On the nose, is like having a Jura prophecy with a lemon touch. Clove. Douglas laing typical cake notes coming after a couple of minutes. On the palate Lime with salt and pepper. Rock salt. Island pepper. The typical orange note from island whiskies. Finish is medium, mouth numbing. Overall it is a faithfull reflection of island whiskies. Is a blended malt that feels a lot like any island single malt whisky. 92 over a 100, recommended. Slainte!

I had long awaited to finally taste this dram. The incredibly famous Redbreast 21yo was supposed to be the most chocolaty-amazing whiskey in all the land. I was at an Irish Bar, and this was the most expensive glass of them all. $50 was the price to pay for this tasting moment. And when they brought the whiskey, i felt it didn't have the aroma i expected. Actually it took a few minutes to open up... then it was wonderful. Well, lets do this: On the nose: Vanilla mixed wirh grain whiskey. Coffee. Burnt caramel but not as creme brulee. Cocoa. Dark chocolate; Peanut butter, Definitively buttery. Butterfinger chocolate and Dulce de leche. Such a treat. On the palate, explosion of chocolate and Butter. Maybe peanutbutter. Very thick, lots of character. Aftertaste is spicy with clove notes. Overall this is a fantastic dram, BUT YOU MUST LET IT BREATH. Its overall sensation is that you are having a Milka Caramel Chocolate. 93 out of 100. Sláinte!

Ok, i hated the Bruichladdich classic laddie. This is another thing. A very different one. This is not as heavily peated as other heavily peated whiskies and it is super pleasant in the palate. Bottled at 50%abv. On the nose is peated but not a super bomb. Its fairly peated, with Grapes, burnt cake crest, plum, heather and "shoe box" notes. Nice. Interesting. On the palate starts sweet with orange, toffee and coffee, to release a spice pepper bomb, with earthy-heathery peat. Aftertaste is long, salty and sulphur. Gunpowder, spent fireworks. Amazing. Overall i originally gave it a 91, but i think that is way too much. 89 over 100 is a good score to keep it in the 4.0.

Indian WHisky...When i first started this "hobbie" i would have never thought i will be drinking Indian Whisky, And this, is my second one. (The other was amrut) Bottled at 46%abv; pale straw color. I happened to meet the brand ambassador of Paul John indian whisky in whisky live and he was the typical Hindu guy just like great tiger from NES (that is a "punchout" videogame reference, and if you didn't knew it, your childhood was not as good as mine). On the nose is incredible. The "BOLD" Expression is the heavily peated one. So Peat, orange, honey, and some spice... wait... is that...CURRY? (Typical Indian Food). Amazing. On the palate it gets a little more "normal" with a very spicy mouth bomb, very hot and oaky, the term "bold" fits perfectly. The finish is medium and full of spices, wasabi and pepper, but much more controled. Overall i give this very interesting dram an 88 over 100 and if you find it, taste it. It is an experience.

Indian whisky keeps surprising me. This time, a 46%abv expression from Paul John Called "Brilliance", which allegedly uses barley grown at the Himalayas. On the nose, first aroma note caught my attention, it was Naranjilla. Naranjilla is a tropical fruit very popular in Ecuador, and the only other time i hace ever perceived it in a whisky was in another indian malt, amrut fusion. What a coincidence. Ok, the aroma is beautiful, Naranjilla, Vanilla, Milk powder, very citric. Tobacco and Some dim chocolate fudge. The palate was great also, with naranjilla and oranges with hints of chocolate. The promise from the nose, delivers on the mouth. Aftertaste was a little less than the palate and nose, with just a peppery but pleasant finish. Overall this is a super interesting dram that i fully recommend, i don't think it is expensive at all, and it is a different whisky for you to try. 88 over 100.

This is actually the first time i have ever heard of the Orphan Barrels. It seems Diageo has some special, unique, "orphan" Barrels, that contain diferent whiskies from undisclosed distilleries. Actually a pretty good story, because they say that this are all very limited bottles and once they are gone, well... they aren't coming back. Bottled at 45.1%abv, Ok. The story is something. The tasting and nosing notes are another. Caramel in the nose. Metallic coins, creme brulee. A little toffee. Vanilla. A little refined aroma notes. On the palate, very herbal and butterscotch. Apricots. Aftertaste is medium, long, very pleasant. It is a fine bourbon. But it is not a Pappy. Not a John E. Fitzgerald 20yo. Compared to those two, this one is fair. 85 over 100.

A few days ago i told you my story on how i got my hands into two pappy van winkles, the 15yo and this one called "Van Winkle Special Reserve 12yo Lot b". Equally as impossible to find as the other ones in the family, this is a little less great than the 15yo, but still a marvelous complex bourbon. 45.2%abv, deep copper color. On the nose is where it is a little standard, losing some points. Caramelized apples, Brown Sugar, old mashed bananas, rust as in a penny coin, no alcohol note at all. On the palate is very very very complex. Ill describe the taste by sips: 1st sip: sour at the beggining. Sour prunes, orange, caramel, a rye spicyness, and a little burn in the finish. 2nd sip: herbal notes, liquorice, clove, orange jam/cough syrup. 3rd sip: bourbon's typical prune notes, herbal spicyness and... crazy dips? (Yeah that crazy lollipop that popped in your tongue)(its not the first time i have seen it in whiskies). 4th sip: mostly vanilla and clove. Well to summarize it: IT IS VERY COMPLEX AND FULL OF LAYERS. The aftertaste has fresh clove and ginger notes. Ginger made my mouth so numb. After the first two sips, vanilla was present on the finish. Mostly ginger, lots of it. My score card gave me a 94 over 100, but due to its complexity i feel compel to give it at least a 96 over 100 to make it a 5.0 stars bourbon whiskey. So that's that. Cheers!

It lived to my expectations. Spectacular on the nose, nice on the palate. Bottled at 46%abv, with a burnished color. On the nose is amazing. The most sweet dram i have ever nosed without a doubt. Caramelized apples, brown sugar, chocolate, lemon, prunes, caramel rolls, sophisticated vanilla, cinnamon, hints of liquorice. Sweet and complex. On the palate is delicious but can be too sweet and can numb your palate. Liquorice, caramel, apples. A full tobacco sensation as soon as it hits the tongue, transforms into a pleasant elegant hotness. Full mouth sensation. Even the nose gets a little action. Herbal notes, very pleasant. The spices are very balanced. An amazing dram truly. Very enjoyable. Made for experienced drinkers. Lots of cinnamon in the nose and palate. Just the right amount. Finish is long but too sweet even for me. Overall i give this baby a 93 over a 100. Absolutely recommended.

Currently visit in the mountains of Ecuador in a very cool Place called "baños" i entered a bar and looked atthe whisky shelf and found a rarity: a limoted 15yo Old parr. I bought a glass, neat, to make the most important kind of tourism there is: whisky tourism. First of all it is a lot better the the normal old parr, i believe this blended scotch is not too famous in the US or Europe bur here in South America is like drinking water since it is so popular. Bottled at 43%abv light gold color. On the nose: stinky peat (like Johnnie walker red label) spicy notes, coffee and Salt, it is nothing special on the nose. On the palate is rather good, starts with caramel (i can bet it is colored) spicy, peaty in a good pleasant way, medium bodied, smooth and oaky. The finish is medium - long, very pleasant. With peat and spiced. Very well crafted. After adding a couple drops of water all peatyness is gone to enhance spicyness and the toffee, caramel flavors and nosing notes. A rarity. If you can find it in any journey, buy it, you wont be dissapointed. 86/100

Another rare finding, a very vintage bottle (from 1976), in a porcelain decanter, 43%abv (86 proof), but lots of flavor and interesting notes here. This Old Fitzgerald conmemorates the bicentennial celebration of the United States of America. It even has some of the original patriots drawn in the bottle (not talking about Tom Brady here lol!). On the nose, Brown sugar; Old banana that has gone like brown. Grain sugar sweetness. Soap. On the palate, Banana, Prunes; feels Much more "bourbonish". Soap and Pepper. Aftertaste is also very good and interesting. It feels dusty, like old. Ginger notes and has some overall dust note. This is a good whiskey. It has been made to celebrate and in a very fancy way. It is not something i would drink daily (specially since this is a very rare and expensive bottle) but i can say it exploits my scoring system to get this high score: 91/100.