Tastes
-
The smell is of gentle peat, suspended between the herbaceous and the smoky with a hint of fleshiness. Cloves, cinnamon, licorice, with a strong bottom of marine salinity. Very balanced and harmonious. The peaty and oily profile also dominates the palate, but always in a non-aggressive way, closely embraced by the salty and herbaceous hints, which even express a certain freshness. Still licorice and cinnamon, to which are added a pinch of orange and vanilla together with a splash of pepper. On the length, the peat becomes more ashy and the salinity becomes clearer, with an overall sensation of smoked algae. Wood in the background. Medium-long and slightly dry finish, of smoked wood, salt and licorice.
-
Kilchoman STR Cask Matured (2019 Edition)
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed January 25, 2020 (edited September 9, 2020)The smell is very delicate, with a soft sweetness of cooked apples, marzipan, honey, dates. The peat gradually opens, suspended between the herbaceous and the smoke, carried by a sea breeze that seems to caress the other aromas. Balanced and elegant. On the palate the peat rises with imperious heat, compact and oily, raising a cloud of smoke in which banana, olives and chili pepper are mixed, a pinch of anise, ripe apple, cinnamon... it is a succession of very different aromas and impressions between them, a layered and complex malt, it takes time to untangle this skein. Hints of wood in the background, the peat that passes from herbaceous to fleshy, with the ash that mixes in the sea water. Tobacco. Lemon. It never really ends: the alcohol content is well integrated, one would drink it endlessly to find other aromas, other suggestions. The finish is long, with ash, sea, banana, vanilla and spices. -
Glen Scotia Double Cask Single Malt
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed January 25, 2020 (edited April 4, 2020)The final aging (for an unknown time) in ex-Pedro Ximénez barrels has definitely left its mark: the nose is a triumph of raisins and marzipan together with mango, pineapple and yellow fruit, floral scents and a light biscuit base note. Very soft and caressing. The palate turns to more muscular notes, albeit in the spectrum of sweetness, with alcohol that warms the spirits and introduces a hint of cinnamon and dried apricot, with candied orange, caramel and a smear of salted butter, together with a biscuit base woodiness. Intense and determined. The finish is long, of wood, salted butter and cinnamon. -
Tamnavulin Double Cask
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed January 25, 2020 (edited September 11, 2021)The nose perceives a note of disinfectant, a not very pleasant background that remains all the time. Banana, vanilla, caramel, honey, a pinch of cinnamon, in a sweet but flat profile, lashed by a sour and vaguely lemonade whiff. In the mouth, the sherried profile prevails, which soon dissolves in a rather monochromatic alcohol bath, with candied orange, cinnamon and honey that sprout with little conviction. On the length, the wood tends to be felt with a certain intrusiveness. Medium-short finish, of wood and cinnamon and a lot, too much alcohol. -
Longrow Peated
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed January 25, 2020 (edited October 9, 2020)The peat is immediately present on the nose, with a slightly acidic note, more vegetable than smoky. Unripe pear, lemon zest, a touch of vanilla. A sweet and rough smell at the same time, intriguing. And on the palate the peat brings out all its ppm, with an explosion of smoke and embers from the fireplace, of well-toasted wood. As the embers are moved, a lot of lemon, herbaceous hints, pears, honey, vanilla, a pinch of salinity are spread. Very warm and enveloping, almost a peat herbal tea to sip in winter. Drinking does not vary over time, but remains largely (and dangerously!) pleasant. The finish is rather long, with ash, honey, lemon, wood and a very light spicy note. -
The nose is immediately wrapped in cereals soaked in wine (try it!), accompanied by lots of orange, honey, raisins. The profile is very warm, soft and sweet, at times almost cloying. Christmas is already a memory now, but at times it almost makes one think of the typical Italian cake, panettone. On the palate alcohol makes itself felt more than it should, and flows into the mouth with a certain astringency. The sweet profile from the smell here is dampened by an underlying acidity that breaks the balance in a disordered way: candied orange, yellow fruit and alcohol, almost (God forgive me) a hint of grappa. Something went wrong, the promises of the smell are broken and you feel a little almost betrayed. The finish is medium, cereals return along with alcohol and orange.
-
Abhainn Dearg X
Single Malt — Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Reviewed January 19, 2020 (edited June 2, 2020)Golden yellow in the glass, all natural. The nose is sweet and delicate, with marked herbaceous hints, very fresh. Rusks, honey, almonds, a touch of cherry: not very complex, young, but pleasant. On the palate, barely pungent alcohol, accompanying without stunning the freshness of the lawn which is the background to a profile that is always very delicate: still honey and almonds, biscuits, a pinch of lemon and salt, wood. Considering the harshness of the place where it was distilled, it is a very peaceful and still whiskey, simple and linear. The finish is medium-long, with wood, grass and lemon. -
GlenAllachie 12 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed January 4, 2020 (edited February 1, 2020)In the glass flows a pleasant caramel, all natural. The aroma on the nose is clearly sherried, a lot of raisins infused in alcohol with cinnamon, ripe apple, caramel, candied orange. Undercoat of malt and some herbaceous splashes, with a very slight acidity. At the entrance, there comes a slightly unsettling bitter note that remains throughout the drink. Not very full-bodied, with unripe banana, cooked apple, raisins, cinnamon and a pinch of anise. A touch of woodiness and lemon on the length. A more bitter sweetness than smell. The finish is medium-long, which still leaves a bitter background with cinnamon and cooked apple. -
Kavalan Distillery Select No. 1
Single Malt — Taiwan
Reviewed December 22, 2019 (edited August 26, 2020)The color is dark caramel (all natural). The smell is sweet and at the same time pungent, of caramel, anise, plums, pineapple and a pinch of pepper. In the background, a certain hint of rubber that gradually fades but remains present. On the palate, the fruity flavors are strengthened, remaining wrapped in caramel, with the addition of milk chocolate and a marked saline note. The flavors are a little fleeting, flicks that appear and disappear in the mouth, without much substance, quickly letting alcohol and still the gum perceived in the nose emerge. Fairly short finish, fruity and salty with a touch of spices. -
The color, all natural, is a beautiful dark amber. A powerful and fleshy peat explodes in the nostrils, with a load of burning and crackling wood. Under this blanket of pungent smoke clearly emerge licorice, banana, walnuts and rivers of disinfectant. Sprinkle with marine salinity. An overwhelming and exciting nose, like standing in front of the fireplace chewing licorice while you disinfect a wound by making seawater aerosol (okay, maybe it's not exactly the image I wanted to evoke). On the palate it is fleshy, intensely burned, almost as if you were eating some bacon wrapped on a burning ember (NOTE: no, do not try). But as for the sense of smell, there is not only smoke but also sweeter notes of caramel, still licorice (a lot), salted butter, dried (walnuts and even almonds) and dehydrated (dates, apricots and let's put some coconut) fruit. The medicinal note remains present but more in the background, while marine salinity is a continuous flow that creeps between the aromas. All this is an harmonic and seductive music, with a pinch of spices that titillates the senses. The finish is long, very long, ashy and medicinal, with salt and spices that accompany you and you would never like to say hello.
Results 71-80 of 126 Reviews