Flavour tag: Earthy | Tasting Notes

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...

86

Cardhu 16yo Special Release 2022

Whenever we get tired looking for easter eggs, we get a little bit naughty and wonder what more the Easter bunny has to offer. We must say, every year it’s at it again. This year it surprised us with this absolute beauty, the Cardhu 16 years old, part of...

85

Amrut Fusion

Two worlds collide with the Amrut Fusion, which is made of barley from India and Scotland. An interesting concept, since the origins of barley and its influence on the taste is often neglected. So far Amrut, a Indian distillery, has never disappointed us. Offering a variety of solid and...

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...

84

Old Perth 12yo by Morrison

Autumn has definitely arrived here in the Netherlands and after a hot and dry summer, a strange phenomenon occurs every now and then; Rain. During the summer we always tend to pour ourselves some light-hearted, mostly peated drams. It just blends so well with the higher temperatures we get...

89

The Epicurean Glasgow Edition by Douglas Laing

Meet the Epicurean, traveling from town to town, storyteller at heart. Charming and a little bit cheeky. We meet him for the second time already. As the night settles he pours us a dram of his own blend of malts. And then he starts telling… He’s full of stories...

85

Smokehead Twisted Stout

Smokehead’s newest release brings us back to our time on Islay. At the table of the Ardview Inn at Port Ellen to be specific. At the end of a long day of travelling from distillery to distillery and tasting wonderful whiskies, drenched in peaty flavours, there was only one...

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...

86

Old Pulteney 12yo

We can’t deny it any longer, autumn has definitely arrived here in the Netherlands. Leaves are falling, rain is pouring from dawn to dusk and the temperature is dropping massively day by day. We get a little sad every year when summer ends but these weather conditions make us...

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...

85

Smokehead Islay Single malt

From a lot of whisky worldwide, you can not see what is hiding inside. The looks of the bottle doesn’t give anything away about the character of the dram. This Ian Mcleod’s Smokehead clearly isn’t one of those, one glance at the frightening exterior gives you an idea of...

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...

85

Caol Ila 12yo 2008-2021 by Single Note

At the beginning of this year, we’ve covered a wonderfully sherried 5yo expression of Caol Ila by the fairly new Dutch bottler Single Note. Now they’re back with another Caol Ila, but this time it’s 12yo and has been matured on fresh bourbon barrels. We like the sound of...

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,...

80

Timorous Beastie by Douglas Laing

To a Mouse Hey little creature, What are you doing up there? So small, but fierce and brave, And definitely not scared. Timorous Beastie, I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion, has broken Nature’s social union. I know you have been scared for many, many years, because of what the awful...

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...

85

Oban 14yo

What can we say about Oban 14yo that hasn’t been said before? This classic is one of the best bottles our local (non-whisky-specialist) liquor store had to offer back when we started our journey. We haven’t had this bottle for maybe 7 or 8 years, before my second brother...

89

Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength Batch 011

It happens every now and then that we really dig a dram, but it lacks a bit of a punch. The whisky could be even better when it is bottled on a somewhat higher abv, but certainly not every bottle has a cask strength version, which is something we...

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...

88

Tomatin 2008 12yo Rivesaltes Casks

Last month, we got the opportunity to take part on the live tasting for the launch of The French Collection by Tomatin. As a fan of Tomatin, we were thrilled! The French Collection is a four part series, the whisky is distilled in 2008 and has initially matured on...

89

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

When the weather is hot, like it is right here right now, I like myself an Ardbeg. The 10yo is always a solid pour, but I tend to rotate between editions. At the moment, Corryvreckan sits in my cabinet and from the regular CS expressions, I maybe like this...

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...

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...

88

Cù Bòcan Signature

We start our Cù Bòcan journey with their Signature whisky. A lightly peated malt that has matured on bourbon, oloroso sherry and North American virgin oak casks. That’s quite a lot of different casks, it’s not something that makes our heart beat faster usually, because more often than not,...

90

Glenrothes 14 Year Old 2005-2019 #13132 Old Particular (Douglas Laing)

As you might know by now, I have a huge crush on independently bottled Glenrothes. Although my buying habits are shifting towards bourbon matured whiskies, there’s always a deep love for sherry left in my DNA. And there’s one distillery that I can rely on when it comes to...

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...

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,...

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...

79

Glenfiddich Fire & Cane

I postponed this review for more than two years now. I have this bottle for a while and I just don’t like it, but as always I wanted to give it a fair chance. So I took it to several blind tastings in the past to see what other...

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...

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...