Flavour tag: Complex | Tasting Notes

95

Clynelish 10yo Special Release 2023

We’ve been very lucky to have sampled the Diageo Special Releases from the past three years. And everytime the beautiful packed samples arrive, we speculate about which one will earn the title of our favourite. When the Clynelish name appears, it automatically rises to the top of our speculative...

86

The Glenturret 10yo Peat Smoked 2022

During a live tasting hosted by @monnikdranken in the heart of Twente at the beginning of this year, we got to taste peated Glenturret new make. It was such a good spirit, that I wouldn’t mind them bottling this as is. I couldn’t get enough of it really. A...

90

Teeling Renaissance Series 5

What do we have here? It seems we have stumbled upon something quite special during an online tasting – the Teeling Renaissance series 5. And not just any bottle, mind you. It’s an 18 years old one that has been finished on ex-Calvados casks, after an initial maturation on...

99

Littlemill 45 years 1976 – 2022 – 250th Anniversary

We already considered ourselves lucky for being provided multiple opportunities to taste whiskies we never tried before. But this tops it all: a taste of a Littlemill 45yo 1967-2022. Bottled for what should’ve been their 250th Anniversary, if the distillery would still exist. I’m 32 years old myself, and...

88

Ben Nevis 2015 6yo by Roger’s Whisky Company

We’re an absolute sucker for Ben Nevis malts, so I’m glad a couple of our favourite indies do an expression from time to time. It’s an instant buy for us! The one we have right here is a banger by Roger’s Whisky Company. Just look at that label for...

95

Clynelish & Ardbeg 1996-2021 25yo Horizon Sunset & Horizon Nightfall by My Name is Whisky

At the @whiskyconsutants.nl HQ, we like to broaden our horizons every now and then and luckily we happen to have friends in very, very powerful places. For example, Simon Paul and Francesca Murat from @mynameiswhisky_official who has been extremely kind to us in the past and once again provided...

96

Octomore 12.3

Last november we took part in another great virtual tasting hosted by Bruichladdich’s Nick Bayens. This time we were up to the task of tasting the latest Octomore trio. I’m still in love with the Octomore 7.1 which I killed just a few weeks ago. But Bruichladdich has arrived...

90

Ben Nevis 22yo 1992 WM Cadenhead Small Batch

There’s two types of Ben Nevis: good and better. At least, as far as I’ve discovered. So what mostly remains, is the price factor. I bought this particular Ben Nevis two years ago for around €220,-. Normally I won’t risk it without tasting it first, but considering it’s a...

98

Mortlach 1997-2019 22yo Giorgio D’Ambrosio by My Name Is Whisky

Like it’s meant to be. It was my birthday 2 weeks ago and my brother in law presented me with a Mortlach 12yo, my wife gave me an 11yo bottled by Signatory and as a cherry on top, we received a mystery package by the Italian bottler My Name...

97

Bunnahabhain 28yo ‘Untold Riches’ by Wemyss Malts

Back in february we bought this stunner of a Bunnahabhain by Wemyss Malts. We liked it so much, that we forgot to meticulously write down our notes. Instead, we sat back and relaxed. And that for many times after our initial purchase. Now the bottle is already half empty,...

94

Ben Nevis 1998 17yo by Claxton’s

In our quest for the most delicious bottle, there are no certainties. Every whisky you buy, is some kind of guess. A quick taste before you pull out your wallet is great, but sometimes a dram falls short, just because it’s not the right moment and/or your palate isn’t...

90

Kilchoman 2011-2016 Oloroso Matured Single Cask for Bresser & Timmer

I (Dennis) am not the biggest fan of the combination of sherry and heavy peat. That doesn’t mean there are exceptions to this rule, I only tend to be more cautious when choosing what to buy. And if there’s an Islay distillery that manages to do it well in...

90

Port Charlotte MRC: 01 2010

If there is one distillery who releases whisky for all tastes, it must be the Bruichladdich distillery. Who doesn’t know about Octomore or the classic Laddie? We have to say, the ‘regular’ expressions are somewhat tame in our eyes, but they’re doing a fantastic job when it comes to...

94

Àlainn 27 Year Old 1989 – The Vatting by Murray McDavid

What we have here is a very special and dangerously drinkable Islay blended malt by Murray McDavid. A vatting of Bowmore and Laphroaig from 1989, having matured for at least 27 years. My guess, based on the taste, is that it’s predominantly Bowmore, there are some hints of Laphroaig,...

91

Ben Nevis 10 Year Old Cask Strength 2008 Batch 1

Ben Nevis came on my radar just 3 years ago. When I bought the regular 10yo I was sold. It was still widely available and fairly priced. Not anymore… Luckily there are plenty of independent bottlers to fill my needs for Ben Nevis. I’ve tasted some wonderful examples, which...

90

Lagavlin 9yo House Lannister

I’m a huge fan of Game of Thrones, but wasn’t so sure about the themed whisky releases by Diageo. And here I am, I just couldn’t resist buying the cask strength Clynelish and this 9yo 46% ABV Lagavulin. I’m happy I gave in, because I thoroughly enjoy this dram....

90

Dailuaine 7yo 2011-2019 ex-Islay Octave Finish by Scotch & Tattoos

We’ve got to know a lot of people with the same ‘hobby’ through Instagram. Everyday we are thankful to have gained so many friends in this lovely whisky community. It is a wonderful community to be part of. One of our friends, whom many of you guys may know,...

95

Caol Ila 2012-2020 8yo by Golden Drops Danmark

I took this photo in the morning, when golden drops of sunshine entered my office. Fitting for this bottle that was gifted to us by Golden Drops Danmark. With the elegant white label, stating one of our most beloved Islay distillery: Caol Ila and the glorious words ‘Oloroso 1st...

86

Kavalan Solist Port Cask #0100505024A

Kavalan is one of our favourite new world distilleries. The Taiwanese distillery proved itself several times with some great examples like the Solist Vinho Barrique and (our favourite) Solist Sherry Cask About time we looked at another one in the series: Solist Port Cask. Matured on a post cask...

89

Caol Ila 5yo by Single Note

This dark 5yo Caol Ila is inspired by the maker’s passion: Jazz. Jazz is like whisky, it’s about experimentation, passion and interpretation. It’s the first release of the new Dutch independent bottler Rick van Diepen, the brand has been given the name Single Note. How high or low the...

93

Blair Athol 1988-2014 25yo by the Ultimate

The temperature has dropped, the whisky season has officially started! We drink whisky all year long, but some drams just taste better when it’s cold outside. Oh baby, when it’s cold outside. This van Wees The Ultimate Blair Athol 1988 is one of them. This whisky performs incredibly well...

88

Tobermory 1994-2020 25yo by Kintra

We came across this bottle by Kintra a couple of months ago. It ticked all of our boxes: Tobermory, sherry matured, 25 years old, cask strength (50.9%) and an empty wallet. Well, that last box wasn’t all too bad actually. It set us back around € 140,-, which is...

85

Linkwood 11yo 2007 Oloroso Octave Finish by 3006 Whisky

My holidays mostly take place in our own country, even before the pandemic. There’s so much to discover in this small piece on earth (the Netherlands, that is). There’s one tradition I try to maintain, and that is the tradition of finding a good liquor store to buy me...

95

Aultmore 8yo (cask 900020A) by The Single Cask

Our good friend Torsten Zimmerman introduced us to The Single Cask a while ago. You see, that’s where friends are for. They even arranged two wonderful bottles for us to do a giveaway with. We almost took part in the giveaway ourselves, but we managed to stay sincere. In...

90

Lagavulin 12yo Special Release 2019

There she stands, with her pale skin, her light hazel eyes, her curvy body pleasing to the eye. I’m a difficult man to impress, but this was love at first sight. Lagavulin is not very high on my list anymore. I’ll admit, I was pretty unimpressed by our previous...

89

Kilchoman Sauternes Cask Finish 2018

I’ve been a big fan of Kilchoman since the beginning. They offer a great core range with diverse types of sherry and bourbon maturations, and the best thing is that they’re very open about which casks are used and in what ratio. It gives the buyers a good understanding...

91

Ledaig 15yo 2005 Single Malts of Scotland

Sadly, due to the pandemic, it’s a year without whisky festivals. Among many others, “Whisky in Leiden” had to be postponed till 2021. Especially for this festival, Elixir Distillers bottled this beautiful fifteen years old Ledaig under the Single Malts of Scotland Range. The organizer of the festival made...

90

Edradour Ballechin SFTC 12yo Heavily Peated Bordeaux Cask 2007-2019

It’s an open secret that I (Dion) am really digging into the wine-casks lately, I personally think that a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a nice Malbec is the next best thing. But don’t worry, whisky was my first love, and it will be my last. I promise you that. That...

90

Glen Garioch 1990-2009 Vintage Batch 34

We planned on visiting Glen Garioch next month, Destination Management Scotland did a great job on mapping out an awesome trip through the Highlands, but we had to cancel a while ago. Not because of Covid-19 tough…

90

Port Charlotte 10yo

This ‘shampoo bottle’ may look weird, depending on who you ask, but who cares? It’s one of our go-to peated malts. It’s everything but the casual peated Islay-whisky and beautifully complex. As lovers of the Octomore range, we often speak of this as ‘Octomore Light’. It doesn’t provide that...

88

Edradour 10yo SFTC Sauternes Matured 2008-2018

Sauternes matured whiskies are my new addiction. It just works very well with scotch. Let’s see how it plays out with this recent bottling of Edradour Straight From the Cask.

87

Glenrothes 11yo 2007-2018 PX Octave Finish by Claxton’s

We have a thing for independently bottled Glenrothes. It’s just very hard to find one that isn’t tasty. We have a huge indie ‘rothes line-up waiting to get reviewed, but this is the one we’d like to start with. It perfectly suits the drizzly weather that we’re facing at...

91

Tomatin 14yo 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Matured

It’s very hard to find a Tomatin that’s not tasty, this Cabernet Sauvignon matured edition is a fine example of that!

91

GlenDronach 1995-2017 22yo PX Sherry Puncheon #4038

I love rainy autumn days like these, it’s a perfect moment to enjoy some bold sherry flavours in the form of this GlenDronach Cask bottling.

88

Springbank 12yo Cask Strength 2019

Never been much of a Springbank fan, but this bottle might tempt me to change that fact!

93

Glendronach 1994-2018 23yo Malts of Scotland #18011

I love it when two of my favourite things come together: Glendronach and German bottler Malts of Scotland. Both almost never lets me down, so I was incredibly excited when I received this birthday present from Dion.