Flavour tag: Floral | Tasting Notes

79

Spearhead Single Grain Scotch Whisky

Some while ago we touched briefly on the incredible variation that the Loch Lomond Distillery is able to offer with their three types of stills. And while we may be acquainted with the distillery by now, Spearhead Single Grain Scotch Whisky didn’t ring a bell, until we received this...

83

The Whistler – P.X. I Love You

Whether you’re having someone special, or trying to seduce Cupid into finally aiming his arrow to your secret love. There’s always a reason for gifting whisky. And we have a striking one right here. This is the The Whistler – P.X. I Love You. This single malt drop of...

87

Cardhu 14yo Diageo Special Release 2021

Let’s be honest, Diageo knows what they’re doing when it comes to marketing. We received an incredible package a while ago, containing samples of all of the 2021 Special Release expressions. It is safe to say that we were speechless, and that’s a rare thing. This Cardhu 14 years...

82

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon

We’ve learned to appreciate bourbon more and more during the last two years. Still, it feels more like tiptoeing instead of going full send, but we hopefully have some years till we grow old and grumpy to explore this realm even more. Today we’re going back to one of...

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...

79

Tomintoul Seiridh

I’t time to wave the summer goodbye. Like Dion mentioned earlier it wasn’t a spectacular one, weather wise. But frankly, being a spring and autumn kind of person, I kinda liked it this way. Mostly because firing up the bbq and tasting whisky in the garden, to me, is...

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...

84

Eaglesburn Distillery 2017-2021 Double Wood

Living under the smoke of Arnhem, how could we not have tasted the whisky that was founded in Arnhem by Bart Joosten? He might have thought the same, because he kindly sent us a bottle of the 2017-2021 Eaglesburn single malt, that had matured on bourbon casks, topped off...

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...

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...

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...

83

The Epicurean by Douglas Laing

The Epicurean is a connoisseur of the arts of life and the refinements of sensual pleasures, especially when it comes to good food and drinks. We didn’t know there was a word for something we feel so deeply, until the Epicurean set a foot on our doorstep. The Epicurean...

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,...

87

Cù Bòcan Creation #2

Last in line during this Cù Bòcan week, is the Creation #2. If you talk about experimental maturations and finishes, you’ve got to see this one. A regular virgin European oak (16%) in combination with a Japanese Shochu cask (84%). This might be interesting! To be completely honest with...

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...

84

Cù Bòcan Creation #1

It is an open secret that we’re into the fact that distilleries experiment a lot with different maturations and finishes. This Cù Bòcan Creation #1 is a perfect example of having the courage to try something different. Matured/finished on Black Isle Brewery Imperial Stout (28%) and Bacalhôa Moscatel de...

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

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....

85

Method and Madness Irish Pot Still Whiskey – Mulberry Casks

M-m-m-m-madness… The lyrics by Muse’s Madness directly came to mind when receiving this beautiful package by the Irish Method and Madness. The bright colours, the striking design and the words ‘Mulberry Casks’ can mean only one thing: we’ve got an unconventional whiskey right here. We hadn’t heard of the...

83

Rock Island by Douglas Laing

We think there is truly something magical about whisky, the craftsmanship, the community, it almost feels like a fairytale. Everytime we visit a distillery, we feel like we’re time travelers. Distilleries often do have some amazing stories behind their releases and that is, in some cases, what can make...

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...

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...

85

Arbikie 1794 Highland Rye Whisky

Arbikie released the first scotch rye whisky for over 100 years. We’re able to count our previous encounters with rye whisk(e)y on one or two hands and most of them were American or Dutch. Dion and I have different opinions on rye, Dion often finds it too heavy and...

86

Caol Ila Distillers Edition 2003/2015

When it comes to peated whisky, there are several drams that quench our thirst. But the Caol Ila distillery always feels a bit special for us. The strange thing is, we can’t give you valid reasons for that. Yes, they’ve released some beautiful expressions over the years, and indeed,...

87

Glen Scotia Double Cask

A combination of first fill Bourbon barrels and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. Music to our ears, if done correctly, for that matter. We didn’t know what to expect when this classic Campbelltown malt knocked on our door. Just like every artist, there are songs and albums which you don’t...

86

Tomatin 15yo Moscatel Wine Finish

We’re just two simple lads from the East of the Netherlands. If we see a Tomatin with an out of the ordinary finish or maturation, we buy one. Or two, or more. You shouldn’t be surprised that when we stumbled upon this beautiful Tomatin 15 Moscatel we immediately bought...

83

Glen Scotia 11yo Sherry Double Cask Finish

By recommendation of Whiskeytemple Vladimir, I put this Glen Scotia on my Sinterklaas wishlist. Him and I are pretty much one the same page whatever whisky he reviews, so I didn’t look anything up and rolled with it. And so my wife picked it from the list and gifted...

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...

85

Tullibardine 24yo 1993 Bourbon Hogshead by Claxton’s

In our constantly changing whisky collection, we try to maintain a healthy balance between different casks and maturations. Of course, some types are over-represented but we try to stay honest and ignore or neglect no one. We feel like, for example, sherry matured or finished whisky is a lot...

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....