Tastes
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Glen Scotia Victoriana
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed May 16, 2018 (edited April 16, 2022)Great dram. Similar to how the Tullibardine Murray is a step up from their core range this to has the similar rich viscous vanilla, honey and creme brulee flavour going on. 4.25 from me. -
In terms of distilleries Highland Park is one of my highest rated on average and it's weird I've never considered them in my top several but maybe I should. Under $50USD for this drop is great value. Its a different type of peat mellow and well integrated with the sherry and sweeter notes which come through. Slightly rougher spirit than its older brethren but that is based against a high standard. Solid 4.
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Glenrothes 20 year Batch 5 (That Boutique-y Whisky Co.)
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed May 13, 2018Dramfest '18. Great dram. Few drops of water opened up nicely and vanilla powered through. Much, much better than the official Glenrothes bottlings I've had. $160 USD and 4.25 -
Macduff 18 year - Batch 3 (That Boutique-y Whisky Co.)
Single Malt — Highland, Scotland
Reviewed May 13, 2018Another day another new distillery which started producing in 1963. A producer for blended single malts by Bacardi and now its juice goes into its subsidiary's blends offered by John Dewars & Son who also owns Royal Brackla, Aberfeldy, Craigalleiche, Aultmore. Well its another great Boutique W job. Great casking. Or cask given its only 372 500ml bottles. Couldn't find cask info (BtW is a bit average on this front). Tastes like first fill bourban but others have picked multi refill sherry but to me you get to much viscous honey and vanilla. Bit of herby vegativeness. The underlying spirit isn't brilliant, bit ethanolly but the casking sure compensates. Cheap for an 18 year at under $100. Solid 4 to 4.25 I reckon. -
Well at a wine and food show you aren't going to get top whisky so a name like Muckle Flugga shouldn't have been a surprise. It looks suspiciously like a play on words I thought..having shades of similarity to a two word offensive phrase but no its a small rocky island north of Unst in the Shetland Islands. Uh but its a Speyside? Yup but its matured the final year on Unst. Not a bad drop, solid 3 I'd give it. Way better than the Broxburn abomination. First fill ex-bourban.
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My second gin from The Spirits Workshop. This one is NZ all the way with all native ingredients complementing the Juniper. Wild harvest Kawakawa and Horopito (BushPepper), Manuka and urban foraged Tarata (Lemonwood). Nice drop but I prefer the recipe #23 I think. Will save the rating for gin experts.
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Another NZ distillery recently opened. The Spirits Workshop based in Canterbury (the middle of the South Island of NZ). They are laying down barrels of whiskey and in parallel are producing other spirits from 2016. Again not a gin fan but this is good enough to rate highly. Lovely blend of NZ ingredients. Manuka honey, Gisborne citrus and Otago Lavender. The flavour profile isn't as impactfull as the Juno Gin but you do get similar flavour components plus a bit more of a range which I could notice but not identify. One of the several other botanicals Angelica Root, Ginger Root, Coriander Seeds, Lime zest, Cinnamon, Cardamon and Star Anise.
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Like the rest of the world NZ is experiencing a bit of a renaissance with distilling. This is a new boutique distillery 'Begin Distillery' based in Taranaki (middle of the North Island of NZ). Interestingly they offer 200ml bottles which I like. The view is they make seasonal variants infusing their gin with what nature has to offer in the season as well as their core line. So for $20USD you can try great gin which you won't have to rush to get through before the next seasonal or random variant pops up. I don't usually like Gin and hence don't rate but this I will. Beautiful balance of juniper, citrus and pepper just like the blurb says...I might be starting to get converted to straight gin.
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Cardrona 'The Source' Rosehip Gin
Distilled Gin — New Zealand
Reviewed May 12, 2018 (edited May 13, 2018)I tried this at the Wellington wine and food show. Nice drop. I think I preferred the Juno but I was a bit distracted to take notes plus I'm not a gin person so will refrain from rating. Looking forward to trying their whisky in several months time. Update: Tried a 50ml sample on cleanish palate and really not for me. Not a fan of rosehip. Prefer strong punch of juniper and citrus....not cheap either.
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