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Another Signatory dram that I tasted at The Whisky Show… and another one that just two things in common with the Laphroaig: It is expensive and it is really good.

“Oh my! Oh my! This Bunnahabhain is matured to perfection and it could make you think you are drinking something ten years older. Get one now”

92

A 1988 vintage Bunnahabhain from independent bottlers Signatory as part of their Cask Strength Collection. Aged in a refill sherry butt for 24 years, the angels left this one for us to enjoy, with the cask yielding 588 bottles.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. nuts, sherry, wood, honey, powder, citrus, spices.

Palate (93): powerful, oily. nuts, powder, spices, wood, honey, citrus, cocoa.

Finish (92): longer than average. nuts, wood, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bunnahabhain 1988 / 24 Year Old / Sherry #2800 / Signatory Islay Whisky with 92 points over 100.

I would have bought this one too but the Laphroaig really won my heart and I didn’t have so much money.

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I love Amrut whiskies since I tasted for first time their single malt four years ago. I have managed to get most of the bottles they have released in Europe but I failed to get Kadhambam when it was first released here and I really refuse to pay the extra collectors “tax”… so when I saw it again I was quite happy.

During Whisky Show 2013 I managed to taste it and later I have tasted it blindly. So to be fair I show you both tasting notes ( which I think it is a quite interesting and humbling experience ).

The Show Tasting Note

So this is what I thought of Kadhambam when I knew what I was drinking.

“Quite complex Amrut but the complexity turns it into a delicious malt to sip and enjoy for hours”

90

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. honey, fruits, spices, wood, plums, mango, nuts.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, fruits, wood, spices, vanilla, liquorice.

Finish (90): longer than average. honey, fruits, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Amrut Kadhambam with 90 points over 100.

Blind tasting note

“Nice whisky. No clue what it can be... it is strange, confusing, intriguing ”

88

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (87): more than average. honey, fresh, citrus, wood, pepper, flowers, cinnamon.

Palate (88): powerful, oily. honey, vanilla, wood, citrus, flowers, spices, pepper, cinnamon.

Finish (88): longer than average. honey, wood, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Amrut Kadhambam with 88 points over 100.

Miguel says…

Well, it is different scores but overall is different styles. I really enjoyed it at The Whisky Show but when mixed blindly with other sherried whiskies I didn’t enjoy this so much. Still, it is a very nice whisky, I would go and try it ( blindly! )

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I got a bottle of this whisky for barely 25€ a few years ago, and still has a nice price. I was told that this bottle was Lagavulin aged 5 years old… and well… if you read the bottle it says nothing about it.

So let’s taste it

“I see why people says this one is a Lagavulin... so much like the 16yo. A real pity the 40% ABV bottling strength. Recommended anyway”

89

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. peat, sweet, honey, vanilla, wood, citrus, salt. It is much like the Lagavulin 16yo but with more peat

Palate (88): light, smooth. peat, honey, earth, citrus, vanilla. Watered down experience... a pity because it could have been awesome.

Finish (89): longer than average. peat, citrus, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Vintage Islay 5 Year Old Malt (Signatory) with 89 points over 100.

Miguel says…

Definitively I think this is Lagavulin. It tastes much like the 16yo but less complex and more peated. It is a real pity that Signatory watered it down to 40% ABV because this whisky at 46% or cask strength would have been cracking.

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Sayonara baby! Another photo of Japanese whisky, all of them closed *sniff*, this time from the Nikka Yoichi distillery with bottles from 10yo to the 1990 Single Cask bottling. Yoichi 10 years old was the first Japanese whisky I had and one of the first single malts I drank, so it fires in me nice memories of old times…

Another post for the Fucking thief. Stealing other persons’ whisky so you can know about it. Is this your photo? Write me to fthief@awardrobeofwhisky.com and I will pay you… homage… and share with A Wardrobe of Whisky’s readers your experience on the tasting. Slainte!

So let’s crack them open, in a figurative way… and let’s review them.

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A few days ago I reviewed this year Lagavulin Distillers Edition and today I do the same with the last year, 2012 in case you were wondering ( vodka does these kind of things ), Lagavulin.

“Personally I think this is the kind of finish that spoils a good whisky... but on the other hand I don't like PX finished... so decide on your own. It could have been better without the finish”

88

Lagavulin 1995 Distillers Edition Islay single malt Scotch whiskey. Pedro Ximenez cask double matured limited release.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (87): more than average. peat, chocolate, wood, citrus, salt, spices. Where is my Lagavulin?! Give it back!

Palate (90): light, smooth. peat, honey, cinnamon, wood, citrus, cocoa, leather.

Finish (88): longer than average. peat, wood, cocoa beans.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Lagavulin 1996 Distillers Edition with 88 points over 100.

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Miguel says…

This is the kind of stuff that I don’t enjoy that much. I really love Lagavulin but this one feels like spoiled by the finish… and don’t get me wrong… it is a 88 over 100, it is a good whisky but I have the feeling that it could have been so much better…

On the other hand… if you enjoy PX finished whiskies, this one is really powerfully flavoured.

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You can’t drink enough Signatory whisky… this Caol Ila almost 30 years old was fantastic but… ooops… let me show you the tasting note first.

“It is a Caol Ila with very little peat muscle and almost no sherry influence ( it says sherry cask aged ). It is quite good but I have tasted better old Caol Ila whiskies”

91

A sherry cask bottling of 1984 vintage Caol Ila, hand picked by The Whisky Exchange and bottled by Signatory at 29 years of age. Peated whisky from sherry casks can be exceptional, such as this example.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. flowers, peat, honey, spices, vanilla, candies.

Palate (91): powerful, oily. honey, peat, earth, citrus, spices, floral.

Finish (90): longer than average. floral, spices, wood.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Caol Ila 1984 / 29 Year Old/ Sherry #2758/ Signatory for TWE Islay Whisky with 91 points over 100.

As I was telling you the whisky is fantastic but the price isn’t that interesting. £150 for a 30 years old independent bottle is too much for me… but you have deeper pockets than mine it certainly worth it.

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So after reviewing the Virgin Oak finish, today I review the Sauternes finish. Sauternes is a sweet desert french wine made with grapes that have been infected by “noble rot” that partially turns the grape into a raisin.

So after a delicious Virgin (oak), my hopes on this one are high.

“Umm... I really don't like the finish. If you like PX Glendronach this one may be worth trying by yourself ”

87

70cl / 46% / Distillery Bottling - Released in summer 2010, this 14yo Glendronach has been finished in Premier Cru Sauternes barrels after initial maturation in European oak. Sauternes finishes can work very well (the 16yo version from Glendronach's sister distillery Benriach is a case in point), so high hopes for this.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (88): more than average. honey, fruits, citrus, spices, plums, vanilla.

Palate (87): smooth, oily. honey, fruits, wood, cocoa, spices, citrus.

Finish (87): longer than average. honey, cocoa, wood.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glendronach 14 Year Old / Sauternes Finish Speyside Whisky with 87 points over 100.

Miguel says…

Do you like Parliament? Not the same thing but something similar, not a bad whisky but I don’t like the way the finish play on the whisky.

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Ok, Christmas is just a memory far away and New Year eve is still echoing on your head because of that nasty stuff you drank… but keep your hopes up. There is whisky beyond J&B or Johnnie Walker. You many know that I am really a man of single malt whisky, after so many blended disappointments…

But these are ten blended whiskies that really make believe!

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Another cracking dram from the Signatory stand at The Whisky Show. The Balmenach distillery isn’t seen everyday on the shops’ shelves and that it is because most of it ends up as blended whisky.

“Such greatness in this whisky! I bought one bottle of it. I couldn't resist”

92

A single cask bottling of 1988 vintage Balmenach, hand picked by The Whisky Exchange and bottled by Signatory at 25 years of age. The distillery very rarely produces an official bottling, as most of the production is used for the owner's, Inver House, range of blended whiskies.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. honey, wood, spices, cloves, vanilla, candies, floral.

Palate (93): powerful, oily. honey, spices, candies, liquorice, apples, pears, citrus.

Finish (92): longer than average. honey, spices, floral.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Balmenach 1988 / 25 Year Old / Cask #1132/ Signatory for TWE Speyside Whisky with 92 points over 100.

Well… already said it I love it so much that I bought one bottle. Well invested money.

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I am a big fan of Glendronach whiskies, I love their 15 years old whisky and their single casks, and I really love the fact they are not assholes rising and rising the price of their good stuff ( although the single casks are expensive ).

So today I review a Glendronach 14 years old finished in Virgin Oak. What the hell is Virgin oak? Let me explain it briefly… whisky is aged usually in oak casks, those casks that has contained before other liquids like wine, bourbon or cognacs, are usually charred in the inside to help them impart more flavour to the spirit… but virgin oak casks are just that casks that have never contained anything.

Enough smalltalk… the whisky

“Damn fantastic whisky! I love their sherried expressions but this one, being completely different, is even nicer!”

90

70cl / 46% / Distillery Bottling - A special edition Glendronach, matured initially in re-charred puncheons befroe finishing ina small batch of American virgin oak casks, which have imparted abundant toasty oak, coconut and tropical fruit aromas and flavours to the final blend.

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, malt, citrus, vanilla, spices, flowers.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, spices, citrus, vanilla, pepper, liquorice, wood.

Finish (90): longer than average. honey, wood, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glendronach 14 Year Old / Virgin Oak Finish Speyside Whisky with 90 points over 100.

Miguel says

Of the Glendronach Finished range that I tasted this one is the cheapest and my favorite :)

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