Tastes

Not that complex as you expect yet very warming, calm and sweet. A way bit too biting for a travel retail. Mouthfilling, way too sugary (really twee). You feel baked apples with honey, coffee, a bit of raisins. Finish is not outstanding. Slight pepper and spicy caramel touch.

Unpredictably and pleasantly surprising Irish whiskey! Very smooth but solid and ripe (a bit above mellow as it states on the label). Honey sweetness and a bit of caramel with almost no spiritous notes to the nose. Ripe fruits too. The taste is almost the same with some spiced hints. Triple distillation affects Bushmills badly but not in a great part. It lacks some diversity in taste but it still delivers in a great way. The finish is great by still keeping the honey leitmotif - longer than average what is ultimately satisfying.

It has much in common with Buffalo Trace. The same start, approximately the same strength to the tongue at first. To the taste - oak, some cinnamon and fruits (apricots?) - spiciness (due to high rye %), warmth, brown sugar. But! Nuts prevail to the taste. It is really marking and very pleasant. The finish is longer than in Buffalo Trace. Very gentle with nutmeg and almond tones.

Very unexpected and extraordinary. It welcomes you with a smooth, milky aroma of almond, sweet citrus, ginger and of course peat and smoke (not very much - it is a case when peat turns really gentle) and leather. And then the things get strange (in a positive way) - some classic creamy anCnoc notes undoubtedly (coconut palate and butter) mixed with amazing pepper, tar and bitumen taste, again peat and citrus. Finish is also stubborn and deep - bitter tar and leather on the edges of the tongue with deep sweetness and cinnamon.

Having a travel retail exclusive version of 12 yo - 48% abv and unchillfiltered - and probably these are the main issues why GG12 seemed this highly appreciated. The colour is pale wheat-y yellow. To the nose - very light and gentle, floral, honey sweet with vanilla and cinnamon. Fruits dominate here - fresh pear, plum, apples. Sweetness implements in fruit paste with slight sour aroma. Even some olives and black olives are to be mentioned. The taste is more biting than the aroma. Sour(!) green apples, also sweet mellow apples, gooseberry, some spices and vanilla. Well, apples indeed! GG12 reveals much apple cider or more like apple brandy vibes what enhances its wonderful performance and reassures its succeeding ability to impress. Finish is more sweet than sour as compared to the taste, heavier, sharper and imposing in a right way to say. It obviously comes high above the expectations. One may expect a more gentle, calm character, wateriness, a mawkish taste. However, here we have a perfectly balanced and defiant in the same time Speysider but not a typical one though it might be easily considered as such. The main highlights are its amazing sourness and the balance between drinkability and sharpness.

Very nice colour. Deep dark amber, bronze. Intense sweetness to the nose - banana, caramel, many dark raisins, some vanilla, creme-brûlée. Also some oak and a barrel and rye notes. To the taste - a bit more harsh version of Buffalo Trace, maybe a bit more complex. Still some berries to the palate. Definitely some nuts and brown sugar (some rum tones). A bit spiced. Overwhelming but very pleasant sweetness all over the mouth. Finish is quite long - with tobacco hints, and it’s like you ate banana slices in a creamy porridge, really.

Just beautiful. Natural light golden colour same to young peated anCnocs. A unique Lagavulin style is recognizable right away. Nose is primarily sweet with deep peat, heavy medicine notes which are even more stressed as compared to Laga 16 according to the age of 8 y.o. version. However, the overall picture of the aroma is a bit muted due to the increasing sharpness and roughness. Aroma is peppery with bonfire smoke and juicy medium-rare steak meat. The taste is sharply peated again, so the sweetness is consequently harder to get but it’s obvious on the edges of the tongue. Some tobacco on the tongue, sweet on palate with some cigar ashes on the farther edge. Softly sweet prunes and milk chocolate. Pickles as well. It may seem a bit angular in comparison with the elder brother but Laga 16 is a hit hard to achieve. Definitely dominates over all the other young peated islanders/highlanders. Finish is utmost satisfying. Long, tough, heavily smoked (with some smoked meat as well) and spiritous at first but aftertaste is completely sweet: honey, citrus zest. The wood smoke lingers for quite a long time. I might not prefer it over Laga 16 but it’s gonna be an all-time favorite among the Islay’s top-notches.

Tbh, I don’t remember much about the Duthac apart from really enjoying it and catching the classic Glenmorangie warm honey sweetness vibes. The nose is full of vanilla, nougat and caramel. Some wood as well. A bit of chocolate and nuts. Again even more sweet to the palate. Vanilla, toffee, nougat, apricots, butterscotch and milk chocolate. Maybe even not that young though it is a NAS release. Aftertaste is sweet as well ultimately exposing its Glenmorangie core. In overall it may lose on points towards the Quinta Ruban but still it’s a good example of what travel retail whisky should be like.

It is a pure art. So smooth, so balanced as though it is made in heaven. To the nose - true wine-ish with spicy and fruity notes. Some classic Glenmorangie with caramel, toffee and sweet vanilla hints is perfectly fitted into the structure. Same to the tongue and with a strudel taste. Also some nuts - almond, probably cocoa both to the nose and tongue. And brown sugar too (truly a Buffalo Trace trace) It is really smooth and gentle but you can feel the abv strength. Finish is just perfect, very long with evenly decreasing sharpness and intensity so you are able to feel every hint of the taste again. Also to mention an amazing colour: deep amber with red and even pink notes.

Colour is deep amber with bronze tones. Very dark and intense aroma of mellow fruits, even raisins, pear, with nutmeg and vanilla hints, some honey indeed. The taste is dry with hints of chocolate and raisins - very solid and overwhelming. Apparently much honey - even honey cake, also some marzipan and dark fruits. Finish is intense, it disappears evenly and lasts long and nice. A true toughie but a classic one. Deep, hard, intense and very solid. It has everything in moderate - both sweet and dry enough.