Flavour tag: Soft | Tasting Notes

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,...

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...

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

Horse With No Name Habanero Infused Bourbon

This bottle brings a smile upon my face. As a kid born in 1990, like many others, I grew up playing several pinball machines in front of a whirling PC with a CRT monitor when it poured outside. When the sun shined, you had to find me outside. Playing...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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....

94

Lagavulin Jazz Festival 2017 Release

Jazz music is not exactly our cup of tea, we tell you that, but this Lagavulin Jazz Festival 2017 release is just what we need. We picked this bottle up at the distillery with the characteristic red chimney back in 2018, when we visited all of the Islay distilleries....

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...

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...

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...

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....

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.

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...

86

Teeling Blackpitts

A while ago, The Teeling Distillery, Chris and Niamh gave us the chance to taste a little bit more of what Teeling has to offer. Including their first ever Peated Irish Single Malt Whiskey: Blackpitts, named after the area just behind the distillery. Matured in Bourbon and Sauternes casks...

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...

87

Scallywag Speyside Blended Malt by Douglas Laing

Recently – with a little help from de Monnik Dranken – we adopted a little Speyside puppy. Don’t feel bad for our best buddy Charlie right here, because this little feller came in liquid form. Scallywag is a mixed-breed of Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes, among others, he’s bred under...

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...

87

Arran 10yo

Today in bang-for-your-buck whiskies, we present you: the Arran 10yo. In it’s all new clothing, but with a taste that makes it a classic nonetheless. We’ve loved Arran since the very beginning of our journey, but it seemed like their wonderful liquid didn’t manage snuck into the cabinets of...

83

Craigellachie 13yo

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

85

Kilkerran 12yo

We’re dealing with a heatwave at the moment, so it’s time for a refreshment! Who needs lemonade when this beauty from the Glengyle Distillery lies around? A rather new expression, since the distillery only reopened in 2004, but it manages to be an instant classic, with a classical but...

82

Teeling Small Batch (04/2019) Rum Cask Finish

After a virtual tasting and tour, we were surprised. Let’s look at the Teeling Small Batch to see what’s that about!