Tastes

A solid 3.7 vat of some bourbon plus malted barley. Easy to drink and yet misses that characteristic mild peatiness of those traditional aged statements from Japan.

Very nice!

No. Just say No.

Midway through the first gulp of the Spaniard I thought to myself, these sulphurous notes have got to come from non charred Spanish oak. And they were. Some vanilla from American oak might have helped here, but then again, it might not have been an Spaniard...

I think the name just gave it away LOL. Yup, they were not exaggerating on the label; this will give you all the fruity and spiced flavours you can muster, and leave them on your mouth for eternity. A triumph of oak marriage into a delightful dram. Loved it.

Hardly a challenge to the 18 yo Sherry Cask which retails at the same price point. I was looking for words to describe this dram until C picked up the glass, smelled and concluded: This lacks a bit of body. I can't hardly disagree with her. As always.

I had absolutely no faith in this peated Macallan, much less one at this high price point. My God the rare cask series continue to be the best expressions Macallan has come up with IMHO. A very fine dram from this rare cask Black edition. Now, can we drop these prices please....?

The King George Edition Johnny Walker Blue label actually does taste different that your run of the mill blue bottle. The initial feeling, having tasted them side by side, is a lot more bright on arrival and smokiness on the middle palate. These are not my favourite drams by any chance, but they do taste quite a bit similar to each other. I still believe money should be best spent someplace else... Even in the Green Label neighborhood borhood if you are into JW's.

One good thing about JW's Blue Label is the fact that you'll hardly feel the taste of grain so common in blended Malts. Having said that, I'm not sure you'll find any taste of Malt either, though there's a quite noticeable taste of smokiness on the middle palate.

Do not pay attention to these reviews. The Brenne 10 is an amazing dram on the nose that actually matches its rating on the mouth. A real improvement from their NAS younger brother.