Tastes

I split this sample over two nights to let it breathe but i think i preferred it on initial opening. Ryish woody enthanol, bit of sweetness, hint of cherry and maple syrup. Not bad but wouldn't be reaching for another sample. Nearly $80USD over here in nz

Hmm this is a tough one. I loved the 12, 15 and others in this range, this one however I'm not sure about. It has the familiar rich potstill viscous honey profile with a layer of sherry coming through however the ethanol is just to strong and it tips it over to being a slightly unbalanced dram with a hint of bitterness coming through. A few drops of water didn't really help it just washed it out so maybe it was a few to many. I bought out my trusty 57% North Talisker to compare (which never a drop of water has dare defile :-)) and that was as lovely as ever which prompted me to elevate it to a 5 star rating. So it wasn't the my personal aversion to the strength which was causing the perceived imbalance it just seemed to me to be a dram which didn't tolerate such a high abv and allow the other components to hold their own. Now i have tried it twice after the Ledaig 18 so it could be that that has tainted my tasting of this. In my tasting approach high abv and peated is towards the end but perhaps peat should have come after high abv in this case. Regardless I'll give this a 3.5 and given it's a 50% price premium to the standard 12 that's a 3. Will be interested to see how this develops over time

I remember with the 10 it was a mild dislike then a love (a few days later) then after a few months back to apathy as the flavours quickly faded away. Given that i decided to judge this on day 2 it really hasn't improved unfortunately. I love a good peated whisky and i could drown myself in the richness of say a Lore. The peat here has more an acidic/bitter sharpness along with heavish salt profile that makes it really difficult to elicit the remaining flavours. Occasionally i get a glimpse of sherry and other aspects such as clove as they suggest. I know how this tale will most likely end, time will not mellow the overpowering aspects of this dram enough for me to enjoy a balance of flavor, and at $140USD a bottle it's a 3. I paired it with the An Oa as they have a certain characteristic they share. Not the same flavor profile but perhaps the sharpness on the tongue. It will be sacrificed to the whisky group session I'm having on Friday although they for the most part weren't willing drinkers of the faded remnants of my 10 year so not sure how it will be received.

Cracked open this one and even without letting it breathe before taking my first sip I knew it was a good one. Sherry, spice and as the label says even apricot. It reminds me a bit of the Blanton's single barrel I had earlier with the sweetness and liquorice dialed down. I think to do justice to this one I need to let it open up and do a proper review but given its $90USD a bottle for an 18 year the least I can placehold this one at is a 4. Very interested to see if it goes up or down once it's been open for a bit. After a bit more time I'd say more a 3.5 as runs a bit hot for 43% and not really balanced. Was the least drunk whisky of the several I bought along on the night (the rest were great whiskies though to be fair). Rounding up for value the overall rating remains.

When I first tried this I swore it was cask strength given I consumed this after two ~57% whiskies and the first sip blew my tonsils off. It calmed down a fair bit after I let it breathe and then really opened. Now I personally feel most bourbons share the same flavour profile more or less and its the degree of quality which separates them. This has liquorice, orange and other aspects and a lovely viscousity. I couldn't drink too much of it as the sweetness is slightly coying but I do like it. This was barrel 143. The original single barrel sold in nz doesn't seem to have barrel numbers but I'm assuming it's the same range. 3.75 and at $65USD that's a 4.

Devoid of flavour and a lingering taste of alcohol was the summary of an earlier review i saw. I don't have much to add to that paraphrased statement other than it wasn't worth the cost to the environment to either make it or for me to ship the sample over from the uk.

Interesting, interesting. I bought a bottle of this and the Kelpie today (which I tasted and loved on Ardbeg day). Lemony pepper, Ardbeg 10ish is the profile I got out of it. If I was being cynical (and honest) I'd say it's an Ardbeg Ten with a bit of a twist at a higher price point which allows them to discontinue the 10 yr eventually, free up more casks for their NAS range and justify the overall rolling price increase of their core range. So do I like it? It's not bad. Would I buy another bottle? No. Back to back we paired it against the Redbreast Lasatau (and several other 50ml whisky samples) and we kept going back to the RBL. I'll give it a 3.25 rounding down to a 3. Initially I had rated higher but having drunk it a few times more it's to similar to the thin lemony pepper profile of the 10 yr which I'm not a huge fan of vs the viscous tarrish sherrish profile of the Ugie or the rich oily peaty sweetness of the Kelpie. So in summary 2nd to last (b4 the 10) in my Ardbeg favourite list.

Camardicus nailed this in his review. I was thinking how I'd sum this one up and there were all the thoughts in my head :-). Can't believe this is 57% it's so drinkable. Definately my 2nd favourite Talisker and 4.25 or 4.5 rounding up for value or maybe higher I think. I'll have to compare against the 10 as I have a feeling there could be a tie here. Completely smokes the Kilchoman 10th Anniversary of similar % I had a few days ago (sadly not reviewed as I've given up on Distiller adding anything in a timely manner or at all these days)

The score for this one on Distiller wasn't the highest so I held off buying for a fair while. If in doubt I consult josh aka http://thewhiskeyjug.com as he's someone who seems most uncannily to mirror my taste in whiskey. He loved it so I dove in for $80usd a bottle and was very happy. Having thought about it I really shouldn't have hesitated as Irish Potstill and Olorosso Sherry bombs are two of my 3 favourite whisky styles (Islay peat rounds out the trifecta) and I haven't gone wrong with any potstill out of Middleton yet (ok Greenpot didn't wow me but not a fail). This ticks all the right boxes. Creamy potstilish viscosity, spicy sherry. Great drop...now not perfection there is a slight note that sometimes doesn't ring true at the end but definitely a 4.25 at least