Tastes

Great briny seaside smell as soon as you pop that top! If this is supposed to compete with the Laphroaig Triplewood, then they are doing well on the nose already. Honey with mint..pepper, and maybe some oranges. 46.6, so it's off to neat land! Medium mouth coat on oil. There was smoke on the nose, but not on the palate. I like it a lot better than the standard 10 because I am not getting lemon on the taste either. What I do get is refreshing peat, barley, malt, faint chocolate, and nuts... like a cashew with some spice..maybe nutmeg on the back end. The finish is medium length, but a little dry, with a ton of smoke - ashtray style. The only "complaint", and I use this word very lightly, would be that the deep smoke isn't here like an Oogie or Corry, but wow, for a nice summer/autumn dram, I can see getting this from time to time when I want something lighter. Even though it sounds complicated, it's not. $70 before tax!

Very nice dram, but would I pay $210 again after tax for it? Not so sure. The nose is caramel, sweet dark brown sugar, and dark roasted coffee. The palate has the chocolate with some major fruit currants. Black cherries as big as mountains. This all sounds superb, but after some oxidation, I started getting an off-putting banana note. If you like bananas (not for me) then you'll grant it 5 stars, hands down. It does have a nice medium length spicy finish.

Do I enjoy every note I get out of this? Not exactly, but do I respect every note, hell yes. Wow man, I thought the Ardbeg Kelpie was a complex dram, but this one is a complete mindfuck, but not all in a negative way. Usually, I stick to peat and smoke, but this is none of that. On this nose, I get spices, lavender, sherry goodness, and citrus. On the palate, there are mushrooms in there, I kid you not. There is tropical subtle pineapple mixed with chocolate and Chinese five spice. This is insane. Malty aftertaste on the finish with a hint of chocolate fudge. It's like reading War and Peace. It's exhausting, but a great exercise. There is literally so much going on that I think it would take an entire bottle to sincerely reach everything there. Thanks to a Dram Dude (you know who you are) for the sample.

Nose is milder than anticipated, but pleasant. Not as intense as the Dark Origins. Makes me think toffee/caramel with the some peat (it was light for me, but I drink Laphroaig every other day). On the palate, it's less chocolaty than the Dark Origins, but more sherry/malt influenced. Got some nuts and cream in there too. To me, the finish almost had a very light espresso/coffee with slight alcohol. I liked this more than the Dark Origins as well, so I see why they went with this as a replacement. It is an enjoyable glass, but I wish the finish was less alcohol burn influenced. As a side note, I will pop a couple drops of water to see if it helps. I think it did help with that.. hmm, limit to literally two or three droplets though. For the price of 80ish bucks though, I think I'd rather get the Ardbeg Oogie, just sayin' =) 73 W3AAX

This was my first ever scotch...ever, and I liked it from the start. I should have reviewed this eons ago, but I forgot all about it. It was in a bar, and I decided it was time to try scotch. I ordered a flight that started with Glenmorangie 10, then it when to the Isle of Jura 10, and finished with this... glass. Starting with the Glenmorangie 10, I was happy that it wasn't corn liquor (I hate bourbon), but it wasn't anything interesting to me. The Isle of Jura was a *tad* different, but it was more of the same. When I tried this nectar, something happened. I literally said to myself, "There is something about this I love, but I have no earthly idea what it is". Obviously back then, I had no idea what peat or smoke was, or tasted like, but it was the only the beginning. From that day forward, I asked every liquor store if they had a bottle of (esss-lay), which was a pretty sad pronunciation. I've come a long way. I'll be popping a bottle of Bunnahabhain Ceobanech in a day or two.

Welcome to the gateway of scotch with a sherry influence. This seems to be a fine starting point for new scotch drinkers. Nose time. Nice slight floral with sweet fruits. Some sugary caramel scents. Pretty nice and time for the palate. Easy to sip at 43 ABV neat. Slight burn, but not bad. Thin mouthfeel, so I prefer the Glendronach 12. Sweet sugary fruits come in the taste but not a complex dram because of age. One thing really going for it though is a pleasant medium finish.

Whoa Bobo!!! Take my arse to Campbeltown!! This was my first Springbank, and I can't WAIT to get the cask strength I just saw in a local store. This is by far, the best balanced, yet intense, 10 year old scotch I've ever tried. The nose had peat, honey, tea, vanilla, and the palate had those plus caramel drizzle, cinnamon, cream, TCP/iodine goodness... gracious... I could have drank the whole bottle in one night. This is not your flashy NAS offering, this can stand well on its own without gimmicks. This tastes as it could be straight from Islay. A very great experience, as well as a surprise. I think I'll be spending A LOT of time with this distillery in the future. The theme of this dram needs to be a sexy song since it’s a passionate dram. I am thinking “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen.

I swear that I am no where near a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail, but the nose on this is eerily similar. Maybe also some lapsang souchong, as I usually also detect from Lagavulin 16. On the palate neat, it's a nice smoke, but I miss that oily mouth coat. That maybe from immaturity. Smelled a bit like a port, but the taste brought the peat. This is not super duper hot, just a little, so let's just drop a few small drops on this and see what happens. The intense chocolate fudge is still there, maybe even more so. The sherry finally comes through a bit more, which I wanted, without losing the pepper and peat. Better mouth feel, and less burn. With just a few drops of water, I'd say a 2.8-2.9 , so I'll round up a smidgen to a 3. Glad I tried it on vacation this week. The color says natural, but it is intensely dark. I wish I knew the ages of what's going on here.

Well, this brings to mind the saying, "you get what you pay for", and I will say it's true 90% of the time in life. Anyway, well, I had this at a restaurant, so I will reapproach the review at a later time if I come across another experience, but if I am going to throw down cash, you better believe that it's going to be the 15 at least, my brethern (and sisters). This is a little sacrilegious, but this reminded me of the Glenlivet 12. Now, this is not an insult, by any means, because that dram has a soft spot in my heart. The fruit is prominent, with a *minimal* amount of peat, along with some spice. It's not bad, but it's not great either. The difference between the 18 is light years, so I look forward to trying the 15 next.

People might wonder why I would give this 5 stars, but here's the deal. First, see my notes on the Committee Release. This bottle is that without any additives. No water needed, and it's damn good. Now, will it hurt having a few drops here and there? Negative. So, if you want to feel like you are travelling to the high seas near the Black Sea, while fighting the Kraken, then this is the bottle for you. I loooooove it.