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“Good Caol Ila whisky but if you ask me I prefer the 12 years old.”
88
Extra ageing has calmed the impact of the phenols, with the peat arriving on the palate late, and tempered by smooth oak. A very mellow, mature Islay malt.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
peat, salt, vanilla, citrus, spices.
“A most surprising gin. Smells of fruits and taste of blueberries. Stunning one!”
78
Delicious gin from Brockmans. This is made with Bulgarian coriander, blueberries and blackberries as well as bittersweet Valencia orange peels. The result is well balanced and full of flavour.
This dram has a white-like color.
Nose (77): average.
fruits, strawberries, blueberries, smashed fruits, floral.
Surprising! Like a macedonia.
Finish (90): longer than average.
peat, wood, floral, a little peaches.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Millburn 1972 / Gordon& Macphail Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky with 90 points over 100.
“Quite malty nose that is overwhelmed by a very floral whisky. Not bad anyway”
84
From Glen Grant, a very reliable quality Speyside from a distillery founded in 1840.
Glen Grant is one of the world's best-selling single malts and is particularly popular in Italy.
This single malt scotch whisky is the most basic bottle in the Glen Grant range. It is a non age statement whisky that it is really nice if you like dry floral whiskies.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (86): more than average.
honey, floral, vanilla, toffee, malt.
“A very promising nose but a weaker taste and finish don't keep it to the level. A good rum nonetheless.”
86
A very rare blend of some of Appleton Estate's finest aged rums, Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum is a smooth sipping rum that will leave a lasting impression on even the most discerning of palates.
The rums in Appleton Estate 21 Year Old, each aged a minimum of 21 years, bring their own special characteristics together into a truly glorious harmony
This dram has a mahogany-like color.
Nose (88): more than average.
sugar cane, brown sugar, cinnamon, floral.
I have joined Jean-Marie Putz of whisky-distilleries.info and twenty other whisky zealots in the fifth blind tasting session of this year.
The principle is that whisky producers supply whisky they select themselves, according to their marketing goals. The sent whisky bottles are sampled and sent to about 20 tasters who write their impressions about every whisky. Their impressions and their quotation are published in Whisky distilleries blog.
The Whisky Tasting sessions are a flight of six whiskies tasted blind. Usually bottles are from independent bottlers that are really strong sellers in central Europe.
The samples arrived a few weeks ago in a supercool box. Each samples was 2.5cl and bottled in a small flask. Work has been been delaying me on tasting the six samples but finally this Thursday I had a few spare hours to taste them.
Usually I try to short the samples as explained in the how to taste whisky article, but this time I just decided to enjoy and go ahead. Mainly because if I sort the samples I will lack of time to taste them properly.
Sample N 1
“Unpromising nose but then a really delicious taste. Maybe Redbreast?”
89
Impressive whisky from Macduff distillery bottled by Malts of Scotland from the 1980 vintage.
This single cask malt has been matured in a bourbon hogshead and bottled at cask strength at a whopping 54,1% abv.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (87): more than average.
floral, honey, spices, vanilla, citrus.
Very irish style.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Aberlour 17 years Anam Na H-Alba with 88 points over 100.
Sample N 3
“Very nice sherried whisky. I think I have already tasted this one...”
89
A single malt whisky distilled in the Macallan distillery.
This whisky has been bottled at 47.1% abv from the 1989 vintage by Whiskies of Scotland
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
toffee, floral, vanilla, peaches.
Very closed nose but really nice.
Palate (90): smooth, powerful, oily.
honey, wood, vanilla, citrus, spices, cinnamon, tobacco.
I am sure I have tasted this one before... umm... no clue right now.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macallan 1989 Whiskies of Scotland with 89 points over 100.
Sample N 4
“Superb nose! I am almost sure this one is An Cnoc single malt”
90
This vatted whisky, or blended malt whisky as the Scotch Whisky Association prefers, is the result of blending together a Dailuaine 1999 with a Linkwood 1998.
Bottled by Jean Boyer - Le Puits Whisky at 43%. This bottled belongs to batch 116.
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
toffee, vanilla, citrus.
An Cnoc! It must be an Cnoc! Delicious!
Finish (89): longer than average.
honey, spices, nuts.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Macallan 1990 Fino Sherry Hogshead Malts of Scotland with 90 points over 100.
In conclusion
It has been a very nice tasting, really fun. And I have tasted two Macallans! Tasting the first one I was really really sure that I have already tasted it. Also really impressed by a very nice Bunnahabhain with its incredible peat and sherry style.
“Like chewing an Habano cigar! Powerfully intense whisky from Craganmore distillery”
90
A full-strength Cragganmore 1997 bottled in 2009 from a single sherry cask by Diageo for their Manager's Choice series.
A marvelous cask strength Speyside whisky but Diageo clearly missed the goal when the marketing deparment set the price for the Managers' Choice range.
Awfully expensive.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
honey, floral, fruits, spices, apples, plums, vanilla.
Palate (91): smooth, powerful, oily.
honey, spices, floral, some tobacco, vanilla, wood.
Very intense with lots of tobacco leaves taste.
Finish (90): longer than average.
honey, tobacco, vanilla.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Cragganmore 1997 Managers Choice with 90 points over 100.
A secret recipe cocktail created by the genius minds at Master of Malt.
This cocktail was created in occasion of this Leap year and Master of Malt organized a contest for guessing with five ingredients are used in the recipe.
The winner will be also entitled to name the cocktail when it is released to the public.
Awesome drink.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (88): average.
gin, honey, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom.
Very nice nose.
Palate (90): smooth, oily.
honey, ginger, cinnamon, gin, rosemary, red hot peppers, wood.
Finish (89): longer than average.
ginger, honey, floral.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Secret Leap Year Cocktail with 89 points over 100.
“Nice overwhelming Oloroso whisky. The first sherry monster I am really scared of”
89
The Glendronach Parliament both complements Glendronach core range and continues the great GlenDronach tradition of offering fruit-laden intensity in its single malts.
This Speyside whisky matured in a combination of the finest Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
This is a stunning single malt whisky from this Speyside distillery with a massive sherry flavor. Only for sherry-heads.
This dram has a old oak-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
floral, citrus, nuts, leather, wood.
Buy on Master of Malt for £82.79
Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £82.95
Buy on The Drink Shop for £88.61
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Buy on Drink Supermarket for £139.99
Buy on Whisky Online for £105.00
