Flavour tag: Dry | Tasting Notes

84

Glenglassaugh Torfa

When I talk about my go to whiskies, I often forget to mention Glenglassaugh. Quite wrongly so, because their Evolution is the one I keep returning to as an example of a well crafted bourbon matured whisky. It’s the dram I take to make my palate ready for a...

82

GlenAllachie 12yo PX Sherry Wood Finish

Having had the entire core range from 10 to 25yo at the moment they were launched, I can safely say that GlenAllachie is not my favourite kind of dram. Ginger and lime formed a big part of their backbone and those flavours usually don’t have my preference. Sure, they...

88

Mac-Talla Mara by Morrison

Being an independent bottler seems like a difficult job to me. You’re dependent (oh the irony) of what distilleries or cask brokers have to offer, so you’ll have to carefully pick a cask that suits your brand. And there’s the consumer, who is heavily influenced by brands they know...

87

Highland Park 15yo Single Cask 2003-2019 bottled for Dutch Flagship Stores

If you look just at their age-statement core range, Highland Park has great balance overall. We loved them when we were early in our whisky journey, and we won’t say no to a dram of the 12yo. Would we still buy a bottle of the 12 or 18? Not...

84

Arran Sherry Cask Strength

From the very first whisky we were intrigued by Arran, we just can’t get enough of their (mainly) tropical drams. We’ve tried several expressions done by them which start its life at Loch Na Davie, high above their distillery. Surprised by and enjoyed every bottle since the beginning. They’ve...

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...

87

Benromach 15yo

As mentioned in an earlier post, my love for Benromach came (far too) late. Not because I didn’t like it at first, no, it’s just because I never felt the urge to buy a bottle. One time, in an early “let’s-buy-everything-that’s-peated-period” I bought a Benromach Peat Smoke, but it...

83

Kamiki Blended Malt Whisky

Last week we reviewed Umiki Japanese Whisky by Yoshino Spirits. Now, over to a whisky from the same stable: Kamiki Blended Malt Whisky, bottled at 48% ABV. The world’s first Yoshino-Sugi (Japanese Cedar) cask finish whisky brand. A massive thanks once again to Yoshino Spirits for providing this bottle....

90

Glenlivet 12yo 2007 Cask Strength The Ultimate by Van Wees

Which whiskies you started your journey with? For me it was a trio of Famous Grouse, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet. I had an arrange of different bottlings and tested my palate by figuring out the differences and resemblances. My early whisky journey can be divided into certain periods, when I...

80

Umiki Japanese Whisky

There are lots of different styles in the whisk(e)y world, and we all have our preferences. Last Friday Dion spoke about his preference towards the bolder facets of scotch, in contrast to the more crisp and elegant style of the Irish. Pure from a taste point of view. I’m...

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...

83

Glen Keith 22yo 1993-2015 Cooper’s Choice

‘’Whisky is for old men’’ I (Dion) consider myself a young dog in this wonderful world of whisky. Born in 1993, I am, in fact, relatively young for being in this business. In the beginning, people always tend to take my opinion or advice about whisky with a pinch...

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...

85

Laphroaig Select

Laphroaig is a typical example of a love-or-hate whisky. We tended towards the latter in our beginners’ years, but after paying a visit to Islay, it was instant love. This is the magic of visiting our first Islay-distillery at work. We always have a 10yo at hand, so we...

94

Glen Spey 30yo 1987 – Dunes an Òir

How often do you buy, or even taste a 30 years old whisky? We certainly do very rarely. When we came across this bottle by one of our favourite bottlers and whisky shops, we didn’t hesitate for too long. This 30yo Glen Spey by Malts of Scotland was bottled...

86

Ledaig 12yo 2008-2020 Hermitage Finish by Gordon & Macphail

What a crazy year it has been. Sadly no big family reunion this Christmas due to obvious reasons, but now me and my wife were gently forced into spending some well deserved quality time together and with our daughter. We cooked, we ate together and went through the year....

87

Ardbeg 5yo Wee Beastie

Ardbeg’s latest core range addition sure shook some things up. In one corner we have the influencers, praising the bottle no matter what. In the other corner we have the sceptics, grumpy and disappointed and wanting everybody to know. We don’t really care what label is slapped onto us,...

85

Arran 21yo 1997-2018 (51.5%)

There are a few liquor stores here in Holland we always need to visit when we are near. Versailles Dranken Nijmegen is definitely one of them. They have an incredible collection of whisky from all over the world and we’ve already spent hours and hours of our life searching...

83

Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà

When Toiteach a Dhà was announced a few years ago, we were a bit sad, because one of our favourite peated drams and predecessor Toiteach was about to be discontinued. Although batches differed hugely, the good old Toiteach remained a staple in our cabinet. The Toiteach a Dhà, which...

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...

88

Finlaggan Red Wine Cask Matured

Finlaggan is no stranger to the liquor stores here in Holland, but somehow we always managed to ignore the expressions of this Islay Single Malt. Until we bought our very first Finlaggan, since then, you can always find several bottles in our collection. If you are in love with...

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

Whisky Row Smoke & Peat

Knock knock knocking on heaven’s door with some holy water. Who’s there? It’s Whisky Row to put some long gone Edinburgh flavours back on the map. Our good friend Terri (@dmscotland) kindly introduced us to this new kid on the block by Gleann Mór Spirits. You wouldn’t say, because...

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...

88

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2020 Port and Wine Casks

If there’s one distillery that really bonds with its ‘fans’ or friends, if you like, It is Laphroaig. We’ve been ‘friends of Laphroaig’ ever since our first bottle but it took us years to finally ‘seal’ our friendship. Back in April 2018 we visited Islay and of course we...

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...

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...

83

Craigellachie 13yo

Let’s revisit a bottle that we haven’t had in a while: Craigellachie 13.