Tastes

On to my second bottle of GlenDronach 12. Tasting side by side with my first bottle it seems to have changed a bit. Getting a deeper tropical fruit flavour on the palate in the older bottle, almost like a jackfruit...Non existent in the new bottle. Interesting. Also the clove/red liquorice flavour is stronger as well. Could it be oxidization? Just under a 1/3 of a bottle left. Maybe...But I think it's a bit older. I purchased it around 2 years ago so it has been opened for a while. Hopefully that's all it is... But it is certainly more well put together with deeper aromas and flavours at the moment. Anyways... Here in Ontario, we have a problem with insanely overpriced single malt scotch. A good example is something like Tomatin 18 retailing at between $45-$50 USD, and about $150 CAD! Absurd. However, here we have a rare example of a bargain. I purchased this on sale for about $75 CAD which works out to around $50 USD (I think)...I have seen people pay upwards of $60 USD so it is one of the very few good deals in Ontario...And to sweeten the deal even more, it's excellent. Nose: Dark chocolate, leather, vanilla, red lollipop, pears, butter cookies, raisins Palate: Slightly tart, sweet, mild burn on the tongue, red rope liquorice is dominant, clove, nutmeg, hay like oloroso sherry finish, mild lemon, granny smith apple. Finish is not very long..The taste lingers a bit, but tartness and sweetness disappear quickly. I've actually never had the pleasure of trying out the standard exclusively sherry matured Macallan 12, but I hear this is better. I can see why...It's very flavourful, and easy to sip plus it won't break the bank. Kinda rare to find decently priced single malt scotch with an age statement, fully matured in ex sherry casks and with no chill filtration. I'm going to assume the casks are American oak based on the price and the fact that generally sherry is aged in American oak, but it's got a dark enough profile that it's hard to tell which type of wood it is. Might not be quite as good as my last bottle, but It's not too drastic. As long as they keep it where it is right now, i'll keep buying it...

79/100??? I do not agree. Here in Ontario decent Canadian Rye ranges from about $35-$70. I picked this up admittedly on clearance for about $34 and was very surprised by it. I didn't expect it to be this flavourful which is why i'd been avoiding it for years. It regularly sells for around $43 which is more expensive than Wiser's triple barrel, Lot 40 and CR Northern Harvest Rye so I just never really paid much attention or expected much with it usually being on the bottom shelve. I figured the Canadian options were probably better....But no, this is pretty good. It's got a lot of rye characteristics I enjoy. Floral notes, dill notes, menthol notes and baking spices from the fresh oak like clove, nutmeg and vanilla. I'm not sure why this gets such a low mark for something relatively inexpensive and decent quality, but if I were to give it a mark out of 100 it would be 88 at least...It's definitely not a 90+ but if you like rye whisky and you can get this for a decent price, it's good stuff. So what if it's marketed as a mixer. So is Rittenhouse, but it's great.

Pleasantly surprised by Naked Grouse. Didn't really know what to expect, but I was in the mood for something sherried and not too expensive. This one delivered! Nose:. Slightly sour, sherry, plum, a bit of floral spice from the ethanol due to the youth, mild peat smoke, heavy butter Caramel and vanilla. Palate: Medium barely sugar, salty, sherry, slightly youthful off note, hay, lots of dried apricot on the finish with mild peat...The finish is mostly all oloroso sherry. Anyone who's familiar with Sherry will know this taste. Definitely a younger blended malt, but after some time in the glass the ethanol vapors evaporate and leave you with something smelling like a 10-12 yr single malt with a nose somewhat reminiscent of a younger Maccalan. A definite winner for me! Note/Update: After drinking decent 12 year olds all night and coming back to this, 3.5/5 may have been a little generous...I'd give it a 3 now, if that. Definitely can't compete with the likes of Bunnahabhain 12...But it is half price and on it's own, as a starter quite good.

My first ever peated scotch. I'm not ashamed to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. That is, until I decided to go online and read the nearly unanimously awful reviews. Suddenly I wondered if there was something wrong with my sense of smell and taste, or perhaps me in general. No... There was nothing wrong with me. Just a lack of experience... For I was an Islay virgin before that dram. However I am now cursed as I hold a dear nostalgic bond to this now admittedly rather sub par peated offering from bowmore. I lost my Islay virginity to McLellands Islay single Malt, and for that reason I will always long for it. I could smell an intensely chocolaty sweet aroma from the glass almost five feet from my nose, and as I sipped the smoky spirit from my newly purchased glencairn glass while gazing through a large window at my snow covered street, I felt as though I was being warmed by a well fueled fireplace on a cold winter night. I had never tasted anything like it before. The campfire smoke filled my nostrils, and the clay/plasticine finish reminded me of my early days in kindergarten when I would sculpt what I considered to be masterpieces. From my earliest memories as a child, to my happiest memory as an adult sipping scotch by myself in the dead of winter at 2am... McLellands Islay single malt brought me to a place and set me down a path that no other Scotch whisky had or could have before. I owe my love of peated scotch to it... Today, malts from Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Laphroaig reign supreme, but on that particular night it was a young bowmore that had my full undivided attention. She was objectively not the best looking, but to me on that night....A goddess.

2.5/5 - Meh. Good if you're an alcoholic trying to save money...Not the best sipper. But then again, at sub $45 there isn't much out there anyways. Only Weller as far as I've encountered. Tastes like a higher abv Jim Beam, even a bit like Jack Daniels No. 7, only thing is Jim Beam Bonded is cheaper.

Good, but far over priced at the LCBO for $175 for 700ml. The only thing Uigeadial has going for it is sort of the higher than average abv which intensifies the mouthfeel and works well with the heavy smoke and sweetness of the sherry on the palate. I must say however, I'm getting some noticeable youth in this particular batch as far as i can tell. It has that young sour note on the nose that I smell in a lot of younger blended Scotches. There is probably older stuff in here but the majority seems to be around 8 years old or even younger. Like all whisky, the batches are likely not consistent and stocks and quality fluctuate constantly. This is probably not the same whisky that so many people have raved about in years past however it's Ardbeg so it's definitely decent. I just feel it's not worth this kind of money considering I like Ardbeg 10 more for $75 dollars less. And Lagavulin 16 is a much better value if you're looking for a sherried peated scotch with interesting flavors , but I will say if high abv mouthfeel is you thing this is a step up from most 40%-46% bottles.

My first experience with a peated whisky was McClellands Islay single malt, which a lot of people had compared to Lagavulin.......AND I can actually (kind of) see why. Although side by side I'm sure they are miles apart... It's a similar style, but it really lacks the punch of the added years in the barrel, much higher ppm, and is a lot sweeter on the nose. This is apparently aged in mostly Spanish oak seasoned with sherry, but I otherwise would have assumed it was ex Bourbon because of the particular fruitiness on the nose. The arrival also has all the characteristics of an ex bourbon casking. On the nose: Clay and creasote peat, quite a bit of ethenol... it's noticable but not too distracting. Some pipe tobacco, and a slightly chocolatey thing going on. Arrival: Damn thats good! Peat, fruity oak intensity, sweetness on the tongue.. Clearly not a 10 year old islay. Development: Pineapple, almond extract, cantaloupe, chocolate fudge after some time in the glass, pipe tobacco, new car smell... Really tastes the way a new car smells right now, and that's pretty much the finish. I think what most people want to know is whether or not it's worth more than Laphroaig or Ardbeg or Bowmores standard offerings and to me it is.... Not much better than Ardbeg 10 to be honest, but quite a bit better than Laphroaig 10 and bowmore 12. 6 years makes a difference for sure and is worth the money to me. Ticks all the boxes.