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Highland Park 30 Year
Distiller Score 97
It is wise to take your time with a dram of this nature. Honey dotted with salt crystals, raspberries and cream, ethereal wisps of peat smoke, these are a few images that come to mind by simply inhaling the whisky. As you taste, you'll find a lively whisky with more chocolate and barrels spices than juicy fruits with the continued haze of smoke on your palate.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Laphroaig 30 Year The Ian Hunter Story Book 1
Distiller Score 93
The nose starts with a teriyaki glazed roast, with honey and meatiness, alongside creamsicle, lemon zest, heather and seawater. More of Laphroaig's typical peat smoke, charcoal and salt come out to play on the palate, all working alongside sweet vanillins of toffee and fudge. A long lasting finish is minty, peppery and herbal, with oak and pine, ash, and canned peaches.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Laphroaig 18 Year
Distiller Score 90
If you're looking for the peat, the whole peat, and nothing but the peat, you're in for a disappointment. That element comes at you like a gentle kitten rather than a feral tomcat. Age has a way of reducing the amount of peat phenols in the whisky and that has happened here. Floral, heathery notes are found with stone fruits and a lingering syrup sweetness to finish the dram.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Bowmore 25 Year
Distiller Score 93
Strong sherry aroma on the nose with figs and orange peel standing out. Gentle peat follows with lots of almond aromas as well. The sherried, oxidized notes are dialed back just a bit on the palate, but you'll find a pleasant mix of sweet vanilla and malt along with peat smoke. The long finish is dry and spicy with a smoke ring surrounding it all.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Highland Park The Dark 17 Year
Distiller Score 91
Milk chocolate covered candied oranges lead on the nose, with sherried fruits and citrus peel, all atop of a sultry, smoky, salty side underneath. The palate gets started with more sherry, showcasing walnuts, dark red fruits, dark chocolate, and burnt caramel, along with sea salt, as well as iodine and seashell. A tingly finish showcases salt and pepper, with resonating smoke and earthy peat.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Oban 21 Year Cask Strength
Distiller Score 97
As this is cask strength, it strikes me a bit hot on the nose, but that quickly subsides to some lovely salt air and a bit of peppered caramel. The mouth-feel is soft but assertive, salty and crisp with a bit of cucumber. Once the vegetation subsides a very bold nuttiness ensues with rich roasted chestnuts. If the bar you are in has this, please don’t let it sit on the shelf, drink it!
Reviewed by Brock Schulte
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Highland Park Loki
Distiller Score 91
The peat aroma is certainly more intense than you might expect from Highland Park. On the palate there's a close race between the sweet maple notes and the spiced ones that ends with the latter winning in a photo finish. Fruit appears in the form of orange peels and dried cherries. The malty quality to the whisky isn't covered by the fruit. The finish is on the sweet-smoky-meaty side.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Ardbeg Arrrrrrrdbeg!
Distiller Score 90
The color of the dram is a pale gold and the aroma from the glass exhibits peat smoke, sweet malt, grassy and mossy notes, along with a sea spray and lemon zest. It's an inviting nose for sure. The whisky is somewhat plush and slightly oily on the palate and there's a peppery bite from the alcohol. But the sweet malt comes through and tames the spicy bite a bit. There's a touch of vanilla and chocolate notes along with some oak. The rye flavor comes through on further sips, but it's just a secondary note. With water it comes through a bit more but the barley nuttiness and the peat influences are still front and center. Overall it's another fun release from Ardbeg.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Year Batch 1 (2019)
Distiller Score 94
This malt hits the palate with sweet, smoky grace and a flavorful fruity hook. Smoldering smoke mingles on the nose with exotic fruits braced by chili and cloves. The oily palate is rich and united, balancing an Islay S’more of dark chocolate sandwiched between crackling wood. A late liniment note tugs into a long and heavenly toasted finish with refined peat holding it together from beginning to end. Ardbeg at its best.
Reviewed by Blair Phillips
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Oban 18 Year
Distiller Score 90
On the nose this single malt delivers bright citrus zest, light raw honey, and orange marmalade, with a crisp kiss of sea-spray brininess. Upon first sip, rich spicy oak, warm spiced cider, salted caramel, and golden delicious apples, are mingled with hints of the nearby sea with just a touch of seaweed. The finish is long and oily with warm honey-drizzled fruit notes that elude to its long wait in barrels.
Reviewed by Ryan Conklin
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Highland Park 40 Year
Distiller Score 96
The classic gentle peat smoke profile is a mark throughout the dram. Honey covered almonds, soft and chewy nougat, and oak spice are present on your palate for an extraordinary length of time. The whisky is lively and the wood tannins are woven throughout the whisky beautifully as a supporting rather than a featured role.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Lagavulin 25 Year
Distiller Score 95
Stewed fruits and dried apricots open the nose, with a meaty smokiness, charcoal, both seaweed and seashell, and iodine. The palate enters with drying smoke, with a background of zingy ginger, citrus zest and honey, and layers of smoke, peat, and salt. Big, intense finish, with a hearty Islay trio of smoke, brine, and iodine, trailing off into peat, pepper, and seaweed. There are long finishes, and then there's this, which simply goes and goes. Ongoing flavor continues rolling in, the tumbling waves of Islay's coastlines bottled up.
Reviewed by Jake Emen