Flavour tag: Orchard fruits | Tasting Notes

79

Highland Park Drakkar

Let’s have a look at Highland Park Drakkar, a travel exclusive from a while ago. You can still get it in various shops, so let us guide you on whether to buy this badass looking dragon bottle, or not.

86

Talisker Distiller’s Edition 2003-2014

The Talisker Distiller’s Edition (a second maturation on Amoroso sherry) is making a splash on this beautiful spring day. This is a whisky that never fails to deliver.

90

Glendronach 21yo Parliament

The Glendronach 21yo Parliament needs no introduction, because you know what’s coming: sherried flavours galore! It was one of my first Glendronachs, next to the old Revival and it’s still a staple on my shelves. Despite some major differences in flavour throughout the past years (my first bottles were...

85

Macallan 12yo

Let’s do a classic on this “Macallan Monday”, the 12yo Sherry Oak.

90

Highland Park Dark Origins

Look at this people, it’s the the hero everyone deserves. But do we need it? The Highland Park Dark Origins is my favourite HP to date, let’s find out why.

77

Paddy Irish Blended Whiskey

Try a Paddy they said, it’s smooth they said. Oh yes it is! Not really a big fan of the basic Irish whiskeys, but it doesn’t hurt to get to know the typical characteristics. RedBreast however, is an Irish brand that we love deeply, but I always have that...

89

Glen Garioch 1995-2012 Vintage Batch 10

Glen Garioch was one of the distilleries I started my journey with. They’re a bit of an underdog in the scene, but definitely worth exploring. The 12yo and Founder’s Reserve are great daily drams, but these Vintage Batches offer a whole different experience.

86

GlenDronach 11yo 2003 Single Cask #5552 for The Old Pipe

Gotta love GlenDronach’s Single Cask bottlings. Despite the prices that have gone up in the past three years, they’re still a no-brainer for me. My first one was an 11yo Oloroso which was bottled for the Netherlands. And I still like this one today. So when I came across...

88

Bunnahabhain An Cladach

Bunnahabhain and its names… I don’t have much trouble pronouncing and spelling Bunna’s awkwardly named expressions. But this following anecdote is a reminder of the fact that it doesn’t always come in handy. Or maybe it does…

90

Caol Ila 15yo Unpeated (2016 release)

Caol Ila, often referred to as the workhorse of Islay, is capable of doing incredible stuff. And so they did with this 15yo Unpeated release.

84

Glengoyne – The Legacy Series Chapter One 2019

A new global limited release by Glengoyne. It is, or will be soon widely available. We’ve spent some time with it, so allow us to let you know our thoughts.

84

Balblair 1989 3rd release

This Balblair was gifted to me by a shop owner when he fell victim of another buying spree of mine. I don’t think it’s necessarily a good sign, just ask my wallet and please don’t tell my wife. Let’s go tasting this yellow lad.

91

Lagavulin 12yo (bottled in 2012)

Lagavulin, one of the heavier distilleries on Islay. Not particularly because of the peat level of the barley, because that’s exactly the same as Caol Ila’s. It’s the shorter fermentation and shape of the stills which make Lagavulin this bold and full of phenolic flavours.

85

Bruichladdich 1990-2005 Scott’s Selection

What a beauty of a Laddie this is. Distilled in a previous era (1990) and bottled in 2005, this Bruichladdich should give us a sense of what it was, before the new owners started distilling again in 2001.

89

Macallan Amber

We were a bit sceptical of Macallan Amber, until we tried it at a tasting and we loved it.

89

The Arran 14yo

A fruit cocktail in a bottle, this is one of those overlooked drams, which might steal your heart when you try it.

83

Balvenie 15yo Single Barrel 1997-2013

A Balvenie in its pure form, albeit a bit thinned with water at 47.8% ABV. It’s a bottle that we had around for a while now, so it was about time we wrote something about it. This ex-bourbon matured Balvenie is a favourite among many whisky lovers. To be...

85

Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16yo

Maybe not the prettiest bottle, but the price and taste certainly are. Let’s have a look at this rather unknown independent bottle, named Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16yo.

93

Bowmore 10yo Tempest Batch IV

A whisky that captures the spirit of Bowmore perfectly, that’s what I’d like to call this Tempest Batch IV.

86

Welcoming 2019 with Port Askaig 19

And as we move towards the last hours of 2018 and the reflections have been done, it’s time to look forward. Which beautiful whiskies will we encounter in the everchanging landscape? And what trips are we going to make?

85

Aberfeldy 16yo

Aberfeldy has been off our radar for some years now. Dion owned a 12yo in back in the days and it was a perfectly smooth whisky for us at the time. But we were mere beginners and when our journey proceeded, we didn’t really consider Aberfeldy anymore. Until now…

85

Glen Garioch 6yo 2011-2018 by Càrn Mòr (Morrison & MacKay)

There’s something about young expressions of whisky bottled by independent bottlers. I always feel that there’s a lot of honesty involved. You’ll get a real taste of a particular moment at the distillery instead of tasting a whisky which tries to be the same in every batch. A snapshot, so to speak.

87

Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Cask

Don’t get confused here people, this is not a peated Glenlivet, but it’s a Glenlivet that has finished on a cask that previously held heavily peated whisky. We’ve see that more often lately, and it’s quite an enjoyable way of finishing whisky.

84

When in doubt…

… visit Islay! Figuring out which region to visit on your next or maybe even first trip to Scotland? We’d recommend everyone to visit Islay at least once in your life.

83

Jura Superstition

We often tell people: no association is wrong when writing down your tasting notes. But a hint of ‘urinal cakes’ in a whisky? Are you crazy? We proved we aren’t with this Jura Superstition.

93

Starting the Festive Season with Redbreast 12yo Cask Strength

The leaves have fallen and it’s getting colder. The festive season has started! The robins are looking for food in our gardens, and we love to help them a bit. Especially when the robins (or Redbreasts as we roughly translate it from our Dutch language) look like this.

90

Laphroaig 18yo

To me, this Laphroaig encaptures the spirit of Islay perfectly. A sadly discontinued expression, but luckily I still have some juice left in the bottle to enjoy.

82

The Dalmore – Cigar Malt Reserve

Smoking kills. But does smoking kill the dram? Depends on who you’re asking. We don’t pair cigars with whisky a lot, but so now and then it’s something we do, especially when it pairs well. In the case of this Dalmore it does, the cigar and the dram enhance each other.

93

Delicious discoveries: Deanston 10yo PX Finish

I have the annoying habit of finding the first couple of drams of new whiskies incredible, getting a little bored after a while and looking for something new.. But certainly not with this one!

89

Octomore Masterclass 08.1

We’ve already talked about high peat levels and how it doesn’t matter that much. We brought this one to a blind tasting two weeks ago and asked the participants which glass contained a whisky with such a high peat level as this Octomore (168ppm). Most of them were wrong, and chose an Indie NAS Lagavulin, which is only peated to a level of 35ppm. So let’s focus on the taste, which is most important of course!

91

Raasay While We Wait 2nd Release

What to do when you’ve built a distillery, but you have to wait before your whisky reaches the age of 3 years old? In the case of Isle of Raasay Distillery you just show off your skills by taking whisky from another distillery and let it finish for a while, to reach something that resembles what’s yet to come.

96

Mortlach 1997 18yo by Wilson & Morgan

Wilson & Morgan are one of my favourite independent bottlers, especially their barrel selection. No need to turn around it: this Mortlach is incredible. It was finished on Marsala cask, but it didn’t overshadow the true character of the spirit.

83

Connemara Irish Peated Whisky Orginal

Frankly, my expectations weren’t very high for this one. The bigger was the surprise when I bought a bottle and tasted it for the first time. This highly affordable bottle grabbed my attention, because it’s a peated Irish single malt. Looks like some inspiration from Islay crossed the sea and created this rather unusual dram.

85

Bruichladdich The Organic Scottish Barley

This awkwardly shaped liter bottle of Bruichladdich is perfect for hot summer days. “But it’s autumn” I hear you say. Well, the weather in the Netherlands is pretty much confused at the moment, the thermometer hit 26 degrees Celsius last weekend. So bring in the Laddie!

87

Glen Garioch 12yo

Good memories, it was 2014 and I bought myself two bottles: a GlenDronach 15yo Revival and a Glen Garioch 12yo, both are still whiskies that I can’t live without.

90

The Glenlivet Nàdurra 16yo

Does this one need any introduction? It’s easily my top core-range Glenlivet. Bottled at cask strength, non-chill filtered and matured in American oak, which makes your taste buds explode with honest, natural flavours.