Tastes

Oaky and dry, musty and spicy with vanilla, orange and caramel. Thin mouthfeel but spice kicks in and sticks around. Baking spices, musty wood linger. It’s very quaffable but lacks a little body and viscosity. I wish they wouldn’t have watered this down so much but then again it might have been so oaky to be undrinkable if they hadn’t. I wouldn’t buy this again but would happily drink it if someone else did! I paid about $170 for this, which isn’t too bad but I’ve had better bourbon at that price point.

N: peaches, plums, baking spice. P: canned fruit in syrup, wood spice, mild lactic funk (which I love) Finish: medium length, sweetness gives way to a pleasant warming wood spice and candied mustiness I associate with old whisky that’s been aged in sherry. The expectations were high for this one. Maybe unrealistically so. I’d been on a hunt for a black art since trying the 5.1 a few years back and being blown away by it - that’s a top 5 whisky for me. I acquired this bottle of 6.1 at the distillery while on a scotch pilgrimage with good friends, which further adds to the pressure to live up to the hype. It was just under $400 which isn’t too bad compared to what one would have to pay to buy it in the wild near me. I think the 6.1 falls just short of those lofty expectations. I’ve just opened it so I’ll wait to see what happens and revisit after we get closer to the halfway mark (although that’s hard to tell with the black bottle!). I’m thoroughly enjoying this - I’m just not sure it warrants the $700-1000 I see this selling for if you can even find it. Update: it’s been 6mos and i’m halfway through (shared a fair bit) and im bumping this up a notch. Its excellemt. The finish is long and complex which makes up for the relatively thin mouthfeel. Every time i taste it theres something new and different. That alone puts it in 90 territory.

I think I’ve finally arrived at the post hype stage of my ardbeg relationship. I’ve been so disappointed with pretty much every special release since blaaack, that my default stance is to expect to be disappointed. So when I finally got around to pouring the half bottle I shared with a mate (with a full one locked up for enjoying later) I was prepared to be underwhelmed. The nose is very intriguing. Vanilla, sweet candy and peppermint spice with swirls of wood smoke. Im surprised how sweet it is on arrival. Wood smoke and mild peat kick in, but don’t overwhelm. The spices from the rye really round this dram into form. It’s very good. Might be one of my favorite special releases in recent years. Surely ahead of scorch, ardcore, hypernova. It’s a solid sendoff for Mickey.

Really enjoy this wander back to the basics. You need to like medicinal peat, and loads of salt. It’s salty sweet like a salted vanilla pretzel. Right in my wheelhouse for a bourbon islay. I like seaweed and tar. If you don’t, I wouldn’t recommend this.

2 notes come through in joyful abundance: jammy and salty. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would buy again.

This was a sample shared with me by a friend who shelled out the dough. So I won’t talk about the price. Other than to say it’s too damned high. Sadly I don’t see this trend reversing anytime soon. Strong notes of lemon, followed by yoghurt funk and mild peat and smoke. It’s very balanced and easy to drink. Maybe it’s the extra fermentation or 13 years in the cask but the smoke and peat come on slowly and in moderation. Kind of a muted Ardbeg but enjoyable for all that. Since i didn’t buy it I’m giving it a 4. It was enjoyable and I wanted more of it. Not at $200 though. If I’d paid for it I might dock it .25-.5.

My first Blair athol and won’t be my last. Has a very musty, malty opening that’s right up my alley. Only had a small sample but it left me wanting more.

Really enjoy kaiyo. It’s hard to find interesting spec Japanese whisky for under $300 these days and kaiyo isn’t afraid to experiment. From the web: “3 years in Japanese Mizunara oak barrels. 3 Month Ocean Maturation. 7 additional years maturing in Mizunara. 4 last months finished in first-fill ex-Ruby port pipes.” It’s an interesting combination and one that pays off IMO. Candied oranges and milk chocolate on the arrival, with a moderately long finish punctuated with wood spice. I’d consider buying another although it’s not exactly cheap. I suppose it’s all relative given what Japanese whiskies retail for these days.