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Today Diageo has unveiled their plans to satisfy the hordes of deep pocket whisky investors connoisseurs with the release of a non age statement bottle of Port Ellen: an Espens Iveone

This new addition to the range of Diageo’s whiskies will be bottled at 53.9% ABV and they have promised that only the best of the best of Port Ellen whisky is inside this bottle. In fact they have reopened the distillery to add a dash of young whisky to invigorate this ancient single malt. With a retail price of barely £59999.99 it will surely make the delight of whisky aficionados all around the world.

As Mr. Hallmark said “We saw everyone was releasing NAS whiskies like mad so I proposed why not making a NAS bottle of that pesky Port Ellen to see if we can finally get rid of all that woody stock and well here is the bottle: Port Ellen An Espens Iveone that translates into the bottom of the glen full of gold”.

You can go now and reserve yours on online retailers before it is too late.

[ Happy April Fools’ Day ]

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Tasting Jameson’s range of whiskeys for celebrating St. Patrick day. A wonderful sweet and delicate pot still experience like only Irish know how to do. It is about time for a Jameson whiskey review!

Ouch! I am seriously lagging behind. I were going to do this tasting for St. Patrick’s day with Steve from The Whisky Wire but unfortunately was ill and couldn’t attend. So Miss Whisky stood up and manned this tasting with a lot of great whisky friends.

To be fair, I tasted some of the Jameson on the old days when I began drinking whisky and the experience wasn’t nice or interesting at all. I am curious to revisit some of them about 1,200 whiskies later.

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Today I don’t review a whisky but a book about Whisky: “The Science and Commerce of Whisky” written by Ian Buxton and Paul S Hughes ( and you can guess which part has each of them has written :P ).

If you come to me and ask me a good book about whisky this won’t be my first recommendation but once you have read Michael Jackson’s Whisky book and you start wondering how whisky is done, how whisky became what it is nowadays and what is its future then this book is a great reading.

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This one looks like from a big fish because it is too perfect. It lacks of the heat that human made photos exude… nice Ardbeg bottles, many of them from their Committee release, yeah, those whiskies that members of the Commiitee were able to buy before the big release to give feedback to Ardbeg… closed. Sad.

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!

I haven’t taste all of them. They are so expensive and rare now… but let me tell you about the one that I tasted.

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Compass Box isn’t just about whisky… and they show you it in each of their whiskies. So when I went to the Whisky Show and I saw some people wearing a sticker that says “I love smoke” that I though it was some kind of protest against smoking bans.

When I finally entered the show I saw the answer at the Compass Box stand, they have created two version of their Great King St. Blended whisky: one with a sherried character and the other with a smokey touch. You had to choose between them.
So let me show you both whiskies and then I tell you what I chose.

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I had already tasted a Glen Mhor before but being a rare whisky which distillery was closed on 1983 and not being as famous as Port Ellen it is a rare occasion to find a bottle of it.

“Deliciously floral single malt whisky from this lost distillery. A tragic loss with hints of candies and spices. *sniff* *sniff*”

90

A 1982 vintage Glen Mhor bottled by independent bottlers Signatory at the end of 2012. This was distilled a year before the distillery closed, one of the many casualties of the cull of 1983 and bottlings are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. floral, spices, candies, wood, citrus.

Palate (91): powerful, oily. honey, floral, citrus, spices, pepper, vanilla.

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

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glen Mhor 1982 / 30 Year Old / Cask #1606 / Signatory Speyside Whisky with 90 points over 100.

A real privilege to taste this dram… and also a great whisky.

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And to finish my review of finished Glendronach whiskies, today I review the 15 years old Moscatel finish dram. Moscatel is a kind of Spanish wine doing with grapes from the Moscatel variety. They are very sweet and most of them are half-grape, half raisin.

So let’s review this Glendronach 15yo Moscatel Finish.

“That's a pretty interesting whisky. Not as great as the 15yo Revival but quite quite drinkable. From a man that doesn't enjoy sweet wines finishes”

89

70cl / 46% / Distillery Bottling - This 15yo Glendronach was originally matured in European oak before a finishing period in Moscatel, the (normally) Iberian fortified sweet wine, which has added an extra layer of tropical fruit and marzipan aromas and flavours.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. honey, citrus, vanilla, raisins, wood, toffee.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, wood, citrus, spices, wood, leather, chocolate, sultanas.

Finish (89): longer than average. honey, spices, raisins.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glendronach 15 Year Old / Moscatel Finish Speyside Whisky with 89 points over 100.

Miguel says…

Quite interesting I say, if you enjoyed Parliament go and give it a try you will enjoy this one.

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Today Master of Malt has released a new member of their Secret Bottlings series, a stunning 60 years old single malt whisky for… umm… let’s see… Brora 40yo is £7,000, a Macallan Lalique goes for around £30,000… so this 60 years old Speysider will be sold for…

What?! £1,000?! I don’t have the money but I have to agree that it is an interesting proposal. One of my favorites is Glenfarclas 40 years old and it goes for barely £240… so a 60 years old whisky for £999 is around the ok price. But why speak about money when I have a dram of this stunning stuff waiting to be tasted?

So without any delays… here it is…

Master of Malt Speyside 60 years old

“Delightful experience... not everyday one has the honour of drinking liquid Scotland history. I think this whisky is even better than the mythical Glenfarclas 58yo released a few years ago for a fraction of the price”

93

Part of Master of Malt award-winning Secret Bottlings series, this 60 years old whisky has raised the bar yet again with this single malt Scotch whisky from a famous Speyside distillery.

It is Master of Malt's oldest bottling to date and one of the oldest whisky releases in history.

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (94): more than average. honey, nuts, cinnamon, spices, vanilla, dried flowers, citrus, wood, sandalwood, cloves. Lovely layer after layer of aromas. Not even woody for a 60 years old in a cask as I was expecting... This whisky reminds me of... nevermind.

Palate (93): powerful, oily. honey, nuts, citrus, spices, pepper, dry, raisins, candies, vanilla, liquorice.

Finish (93): longer than average. honey, candies, spices, pepper, wood.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Master of Malt 60 years old Speyside Single Malt Whisky with 93 points over 100.

Miguel says…

I have tasted old whiskies that where incredible but that need time to approach and enjoy them fully… this whisky on the other hand assault you with pleasure from the very first moment. Not too sweet, not too woody, not too spicy.

It is a crazy guess but I think this whisky could be a Glenfarclas… because it reminds me powerfully of their Glenfarclas 58yo and because it is one of the few distilleries I can think of that can still have such old and good whisky.

You are just £1,000 away from perfection.

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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.

Buy this bottle at

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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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