Flavour tag: Dried fruits | Tasting Notes

83

Laphroaig PX Cask

I have to admit, Laphroaig gave us many headaches in our early whisky exploring years. Our good friend Stefan has been a fan since the very beginning and always managed to persuade us into drinking ‘one last dram’ at the end of many whisky nights. And it was almost...

86

Glengoyne 12yo

We consider ourselves very lucky, both growing up in the early nineties. Born and raised in the Netherlands during prosperous times and in a safe environment. How different it was to our grandparents, born before or during the Second World War, or is to the less fortunate people today....

91

Arran 12yo 2006 James MacTaggart 2nd Edition Palo Cortado Finish

We have a license to kill, to kill this wonderful bottling by Arran. Maybe the best Arran I’ve recently purchased, a true diamond. Luckily diamonds, just like the memories of it, last forever…

92

Tomatin 2006 12yo Amontillado Sherry

It’s an open secret that we’re a huge fan of Tomatin whisky, but we know that not all that glitters is gold at the same time. We think that it just depends on the right approach when it comes to Tomatin.

89

Spey Tenné Cask Strength – Batch #1

Never have I experienced something like a ‘port bomb’, until this release by Spey. We aren’t the biggest fans of port matured whiskies, but this one made us realize once more: you can’t apply one single measure to everything. We were introduced to Spey with the regular Tenné expression....

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...

84

Lagavulin 16yo

Light up the fireplace, get a glass and put your feet up. On moments like this I pour myself a dram that doesn’t require much thought. And while Lagavulin 16yo has no permanent spot in my cabinet anymore, I can’t help myself but feel this is one of the...

89

Benromach 10yo

Benromach 10 definitely exists on our short list of whiskies that everyone should have in their cabinet. If it isn’t for the taste, then it’s for the value for money. You don’t see this bottle highlighted very often, in fact, we’ve only discovered how good Benromach actually was last...

83

GlenDronach 8yo “The Hielan”

As our feed shows, we’re a big fan of Glendronach. We think the current Glendronach labels exude ‘Whisky’ and they look incredibly sexy on our shelves. Luckily, the spirit itself is not too bad either. Online, and in every shop since our first Glendronach, we kept looking for more...

87

Scallywag Speyside Blended Malt by Douglas Laing

Recently – with a little help from de Monnik Dranken – we adopted a little Speyside puppy. Don’t feel bad for our best buddy Charlie right here, because this little feller came in liquid form. Scallywag is a mixed-breed of Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes, among others, he’s bred under...

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...

87

Scotch & Tattoos: Caol Ila 13yo 2007-2020 by Torsten Paul Whisky Company

Here’s the third release in the Scotch & Tattoos series by Torsten Paul Whisky Company. And the first peated single malt of the three. Not only is it peated, it’s also from our beloved Caol Ila distillery, what could go wrong? The label for this 13yo bourbon matured Caol...

84

The visit of ‘Uncle’ Big Peat

Last week we were pleasantly surprised with the visit of our ‘Uncle’ Big Peat, arranged by our friends of De Monnik Dranken. So a huge thanks to them for hooking us up! We figured the best thing we can do with an uncle you haven’t seen in a long...

87

Arran 10yo

Today in bang-for-your-buck whiskies, we present you: the Arran 10yo. In it’s all new clothing, but with a taste that makes it a classic nonetheless. We’ve loved Arran since the very beginning of our journey, but it seemed like their wonderful liquid didn’t manage snuck into the cabinets of...

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

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...

87

Benriach 1999-2016 17yr Ventisquero finish

Lately, Dion is aiming for whiskies with a wine finish or maturing, so when we stumbled upon this beautiful looking Benriach bottle, finished in a Viña Ventisquero Grey Carmenere Barrel, we couldn’t resist.

84

Bunnahabhain 2001 16yo Bn7 – Elements of Islay

Heave Ho, hoist the colours high for this Elements of Islay Bunnahabhain 16yo. Bottled at a 55.7% cask strength. We always feel a strong connection between Bunnahabhain and the pirate’s life. Maybe it’s the location of the distillery, overlooking the Sound of Jura. Possibly it’s the prison-like look of...

87

GlenDronach 12yo Original

Can you name a better way to ease into the dreaded Monday than with this classic from the Highlands? GlenDronach 12yo is easily one of our go-to sherried twelve years olds. Mainly because it’s, of course, GlenDronach. But also because it’s balanced to near perfection. A good introduction to...

84

Edradour 2008-2018 9yo 1st Fill Sherry by Beek

Beek is a fairly new Dutch brand by Jan Beek, know for The Ultimate. After our tastbuds exploded with the Millstone bottling, we were of course incredibly curious for the Edradour. Fun fact: only the first batch of bottles wear Edradour on the label, Jan Beek had to relabel...

92

Glenglassaugh PX Sherry Finish

Let’s have a look at this easy to enjoy dram from Glenglassaugh. In particular for sweet tooths like us!

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…

85

Millstone Special No. 14 Peated American Oak Moscatel Finish

I love experimental distilleries. How small the Dutch Zuidam Distillery might be, they sure keep us entertained with special releases of Millstone whisky. And so does this one!

90

Glenrothes 6yo 2011 – Cooper’s Choice

This is where the love of independent Glenrothes bottles began: with a mere 6 year old by Cooper’s Choice.

85

Aberlour 12yo Double Cask Matured

A classic in a renewed packaging. The Aberlour 12yo is a good showcase of typical Speyside notes, with some extra warmth coming from the second maturation on sherry casks. It’s been a while since we’ve tasted this one, so when this new year’s gift by Aberlour arrived on the...

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!

85

Edradour 10yo 2009 Straight From The Cask Sherry Butt 59

Can it get more autumnal than this? Last weekend we purchased the Edradour 10yo Straight From The Cask.

83

Bimber Distillery Vertical

London’s brand new Bimber Distillery was so kind to send us a couple of beautiful samples last summer. We were quite impressed and let Matt know our thoughts. Let us share our findings with you too. Here are our unaltered notes, as sent to the distillery…

86

Classic of Islay by Jack Wieber’s 2018

As a Dutchman I’m very pleased to have such great neighbors. Among many other independent bottlers, Germany brings Jack Wieber to the table. This cask strength bottle, named Classic of Islay is a solid staple in our collection. It has no age statement and it’s probably a young sherried...

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.

89

Aberlour A’bunadh Batch 47

Time to revisit my favourite batch of Aberlour A’bunadh: number 47!