Islands | Tasting Notes - Whisky Consultants

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...

84

Arran Sherry Cask Strength

From the very first whisky we were intrigued by Arran, we just can’t get enough of their (mainly) tropical drams. We’ve tried several expressions done by them which start its life at Loch Na Davie, high above their distillery. Surprised by and enjoyed every bottle since the beginning. They’ve...

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....

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...

91

Arran 12yo 2006 James MacTaggart 2nd Edition Palo Cortado Finish

We have a license to kill, to kill this wonderful bottling by Arran. Maybe the best Arran I’ve recently purchased, a true diamond. Luckily diamonds, just like the memories of it, last forever…

88

Tobermory 1994-2020 25yo by Kintra

We came across this bottle by Kintra a couple of months ago. It ticked all of our boxes: Tobermory, sherry matured, 25 years old, cask strength (50.9%) and an empty wallet. Well, that last box wasn’t all too bad actually. It set us back around € 140,-, which is...

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

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...

91

Ledaig 15yo 2005 Single Malts of Scotland

Sadly, due to the pandemic, it’s a year without whisky festivals. Among many others, “Whisky in Leiden” had to be postponed till 2021. Especially for this festival, Elixir Distillers bottled this beautiful fifteen years old Ledaig under the Single Malts of Scotland Range. The organizer of the festival made...

88

The Arran 18yo

Guest review by our good friend Jan Temming This Arran 18yo is “a wonderfully balanced expression of the arran malt whisky which displays the tremendous depth of character of our distillery” the label says. Matured in 70% ex bourbon and 30% ex sherry cask, we where very excited to...

85

Arran Small Batch 2009-2019 St-Émilion

This is a guest review by our good friend Jan Temming Arran St-Émilion is specially bottled for the Netherlands with only 1920 bottles. As the name says, the whisky has completely matured on St-émilion red wine casks (Bordeaux, France). There has been no colouring and the whisky is bottled...

85

Arran Amarone Cask Finish

The typical fruity and coastal Arran style is beautifully enhanced by the sweet spicyness of the amarone cask, check out our notes right here:

83

Jura 10yo Origin

It may not be entirely our taste, but we can’t deny the fact that many starting whisky lovers find in Jura a good starting point. We often referenced a certain hint to ‘an almond urinal block’, which is definitely not something you’d say is mouthwatering. But as with many...

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Highland Park 12yo

Another well-known classic, the Highland Park 12yo.

89

The Arran 11yo 2008-2017 Trebbiano Casks

We own mostly red wine maturations, but then we came across this beauty, I had to buy it. This is a special release from Arran, bottled for the Netherlands.