Flavour tag: Smoke | Tasting Notes

79

Bowmore 10yo – Dark & Intense

The struggle is real. We love Bowmore in general, but this ‘Dark & Intense’ isn’t as dark and certainly not as intense as Bowmore pretends it to be.

87

Ledaig 6yo 2010 – The Ultimate #700321

Almost nothing more reliable than Ledaig (peated Tobermory). I’ve yet to encounter a Ledaig that I didn’t like. The standard 10yo offers real value for money, but so does this 6yo independent bottling by Van Wees.

85

Ardbeg Perpetuum

It’s great seeing all those images from this year’s Feis Ile trickling in. It’s a trip down memory lane and a perfect moment to go through the photos and tasting notes we did on Islay last year. We found one that’s worthwhile!

88

Finlaggan Original

There aren’t many whiskies we can get for under €20 that always seem to deliver. But this bottle of Finlaggan nails it every single time.

84

BenRiach 10yo Curiositas

What are you pouring on this whisky Wednesday? We’re totally in for a peated BenRiach!

88

Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength 4th Edition 2017

Have you ever considered trying a cask strength Machrie Moor by Arran? We strongly suggest you do.

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

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.

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.

89

Ardbeg 10yo

Since the beginning of our whisky journey, we always considered Ardbeg 10yo to be peppery and heavy on the peat. The Uigeadail was always our go to, so we haven’t paid a lot of attention to the Ten. What a shame, because looking back, we clearly missed out. After...

85

Bowmore Cask Strength

Bowmore and the taste of kiwi, to me they are inseparable. I’ve tasted lots of different Bowmores, but this one thing always keeps coming back. It took me a while though, it was just this spark of enlightenment some years ago, when I tried to figure out what that specific note tastes like.

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

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.

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?

87

Glen Scotia 15yo

A well crafted dram for its price, the Glen Scotia 15yo. So full and warming that it’s almost hard to believe that is has matured on bourbon casks only.

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.

85

Talisker Port Ruighe

Talisker, the creator of many friendly single malts, which offer a nice peppery touch of the sea with often a sweet twist. With this port cask finished expression they took the sweetness to another level.

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!

85

Port Askaig 12yo

Let’s wave the summer of 2018 goodbye for good with this pretty independent expression bearing the name Port Askaig. Of course we all know this is Caol Ila, but have you heard they just recently bottled a Bunna for Bresser & Timmer? However, there’s no doubt this 12yo is...

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.

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.

88

Ben Nevis 10yo

We made it a kind of sport to look for other sub €50 whiskies that are at least as good or even better than their better-known colleagues. Enter the Ben Nevis 10yo.

90

Highland Park Valkyrie

Highland Park goes all in on the Viking theme lately. A bit too much in my opinion, but does it distract them from creating a proper dram? Let’s find out.

84

Sherwood’s Orkney 11yo

The second whisky Sherwood’s managed to bottle. This time it’s from the Highland Park distillery, although they weren’t allowed to state in on the label.

86

GlenAllachie 18yo

It’s time to review the third expression from the new GlenAllachie core-range.

88

Redbreast Lustau Edition

Redbreast 12yo Cask Strength has been an all-time favourite in our whisk(e)y collection. So I was beyond excited to try this Lustau edition, which is a perfect marriage between Ireland, the United States and Spain.

85

GlenAllachie 12yo

The second of the brand new GlenAllachie core range, this one feels like the odd one out. Let me explain…

85

Kilchoman Loch Gorm

Kilchoman has managed to left his mark in the ever expanding whisky-landscape, it’s one of the most easily recognizable single malts when tasting blind. What makes it so recognizable?

90

Blackadder Peat Reek RAW Cask PR2017-10

Ever wanted to use your whisky bottle like a snow globe? Well, here’s your chance!

79

Highland Park Einar

Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice. Words to live by, but taking a wee dram of this Highland Park Einar will warm you up in no time, and it takes less effort to do so. Choose wisely.

91

Bunnahabhain Moine Bordeaux Red wine Cask Matured

Imagine yourself on a hot day, with a smoking barbecue with huge chunks of glaced meat, sipping a glass of robust red wine. That’s basically what’s in this new addition to Bunnahabain’s limited edition range.

86

Ardbeg Grooves Committee Release

We’ve had two opportunities to taste the committee release from Ardbeg Grooves. The first was at the Islay Hotel and the second was at the Ardbeg distillery. It underwent an unusual treatment with the use of heavily charred red wine casks. This heavy charring results in deep grooves in...