Tastes

Ok to be fair to this dram Talisker 25 yr and Ardbeg Renaissance were going to be hard acts to follow but I'm with @Cascode on this one. My tasting notes are a limited subset of his. As mentioned needs time and water but even then it shows youth and not much complexity.

Bloody hell I have no idea why this is so lowly rated.. straight out of gate it was beautiful without any water. Sweet peated vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. By the end there was the edges of lemony peat coming out which I'm not a huge fan of but still impressive dram. A must try for any Ardbeg fan.

Ok I'm doing something I very very rarely do (in fact I'm pretty sure I could count on 2 fingers the number of times and one was a mistake)...and that is post a separate review. Generally I might tweak up and down a bit but when there is a quantum leap up or down where I don't think it's just my taste buds then a new rating arises. Yonks ago I had a quite poor version of this in fact my worst ever Talisker which given the amount I've drunk of the distilleries offerings is saying something! This is a different beast all together. Very nice creamy peaty vanilla..beautiful blend. Definitely 4.25 territory...the prior version was over wooded from memory. Redemption! Although saying that I'd rate this a 3 way joint 2nd with the Neist and Rouge and behind the 8 yr Special Release. Oh and this was the 45% version.

A nice dram however after trying the rest of the Glenlivet single cask range this is very young and a bit hot and rough. It's got good sherry bones but whilst drinking this I'm definitely hanging out for the 18 yr Torrain or the 15 year Mornish. Tough one to rate as on pure value at $60 it's a decent drop but then again it's not something I'd by a bottle of.

Definitely a game of two halves with these Glenlivet single casks. The Torrain is definitely no 1, this one doesn't reach the same heights but still a solid if over priced dram. Whilst the Perth and Tom An Uird didn't make much of an impression the Torrain and this dram were a step up. The aftertaste of the first two was faint the Torrain quite long a powerful...this is strong but rough. Water tamed it but I then I overdid it so definitely one which needs a precise touch on the aqua.

I'm not sure if it's because the more I drink the more amenable I come to whatever drop comes my way (in fact from experience I should actually adjust the rating for this factor :-)) but the Glenlivet single cask series I'm working my way through seems to get better each one I try. Honey melon was the order of the day last time. This time caramel toffee. Initially I thought they all shared the same characteristic of having the flavour profile upfront and then fading pretty fast but once this once opened up it really delivered on that front. First one that actually might be VFM in the range. Hmm, actually having just googled the price after at $190 that's probably a stretch...

Quite a nice drop almost honey melon like on nose and palate. A step up from the 16 yr single cask. Still not much of an aftertaste. I haven't been that impressed by any of the Glenlivet single casks so far specially given they aren't cheap at ~$180

This is definitely an interesting profile. Almost like burnt rose water (maybe because I tried this after a Caol Ila Sassicaia wood dram). It's a bit like what I'd imagine a rose wine mixed with a pot still spirit to be. Initially I thought I wouldn't buy a bottle but by the end I think I just might. It was my favorite on the night due to it's point of difference. The aftertaste is slightly ethanolly but still good. Interestingly it includes malt distilled at the now-closed Hanyu distillery. Looking fwd to trying more of Chichibus offerings.

Colour is similar to the Pinot Gris my wife is drinking. Nose doesn't offer to much. Orange, Apricot and Spiced Cocoa are the tasting notes for this which I agree is pretty spot on. Aftertaste is relatively non existent and slightly weird.

Not bad not great just middling. Thin faint vanilla and not a lot more going on. Water didn't seem to do much.