Monthly Archives: April 2012

Inishowen Tasting note

Cooley, Tasting

“Light dram with a lovely licorice touch.”

86
Inishowen
A peaty blended Irish whiskey from Cooley, the last independent owned Irish distillery before it was bought by Beam.

Inishowen offers a zesty, rich, smoky flavour.

Highly commended by critics, including Jim Murray who gave a previous batch 93 points.

If you like this blended whiskey, you should try the Connemara single malt, peated whiskey with an Irish touch.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (85): more than average. honey, floral, citrus, vanilla, wood. Sweet but simple. Lacks of any complexity.

Palate (88): . honey, floral, cocoa, spices, licorice, vanilla. light but lovely sweet with a touch of licorice

Finish (86): average. honey, licorice, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Inishowen with 86 points over 100.

Amrut Fusion Tasting note

Amrut, Tasting

“Woo! Serious stuff! It is so much better that the last I tried. Scots be scared!”

92
Amrut Fusion
This high-strength Amrut Fusion gets its name from the fact that it uses two barleys: Indian and Scottish - with the latter being peated for good measure.

A really excellent mouthfeel and palate combining oak, smoke, dark fruit, mocha and high-cocoa dark chocolate. Delicious stuff.

This Amrut was the 3rd best whisky in the world in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. Definitively something not to miss!

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (92): strong. honey, peat, fruits, a little nuts, spices, vanilla, raisins, cocoa. Better nose than the standard Amrut. It is more complex and darker, like a Tim Burton film.

Palate (93): smooth, powerful, oily. honey, peat, fruits, nuts, raisins, vanilla, wood, citrus.

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

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Amrut Fusion with 92 points over 100.

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Amrut Indian Single Malt Tasting note

Amrut, Tasting

“Superb Indian whisky with lots of tropical fruit notes on nose and spices on the palate. Love it.”

91
Amrut 46% Single Malt
The new Amrut Indian Single Malt has been beefed up to 46% and we can't wait to try it.

The peated cask-strength stuff is excellent and this should be a significant improvement on the old 40% bottling.

And in fact it is, just a bit less complex than Amrut Fusion this is a great whisky coming from the Himalaya lands.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. honey, fruits, pears, mango, vanilla, citrus, cocoa.

Palate (91): smooth, powerful. honey, smoke, wood, spices, pears, vanilla, licorice.

Finish (90): average. honey, spices, melon, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Amrut 46% Single Malt with 91 points over 100.

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Dalmore 15 years old Tasting note

Dalmore, Tasting

“Excellent nose and a quite solid sherried whisky but I think it has more water than it should”

89
Dalmore 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The new flagship expression from Dalmore that after fifteen years achieve the perfect balance on the combination of citrus orange, aromatic spices, nuttiness and dried fruits from European oak sherry casks.

But not just any sherry casks, but those that have been used to create some of the worlds most premium fortified wines - Amoroso, Apostoles and Matusalem sherries from Gonzalez - Byass, Spain.

Lovely Dalmore Single Malt whisky. If you like it, you should give a try to some of the Macallan whiskies like this 10 years old Sherry Oak.

This dram has a tawny-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, citrus, tobacco, vanilla, spices, cinnamon, wood, flowers, nuts.

Palate (89): powerful, oily. honey, citrus, nuts, spices, vanilla, wood, cinnamon, cocoa.

Finish (89): longer than average. honey, cocoa, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Dalmore 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky with 89 points over 100.

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Jameson Gold Reserve Tasting note

Jameson, Tasting

“Way better than Jameson Original. It really tastes older and more matured with a quite interesting note of rye whiskey”

88
Jameson Gold Reserve
This Jameson Gold Reserve is an awesome blend with a high proportion of pure pot-still created at Midleton distillery in Ireland.

"If you don't enjoy this, then you just don't get what Irish whiskey is all about. 94 points" wrote Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2008.

If you love this Jameson, you have to try Balvenie 15 years old Single Barrel.

This dram has a amber-like color.

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

Palate (88): powerful, oily. honey, citrus, toffee, vanilla, corn, wood, spices, dust, wood.

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

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Jameson Gold Reserve with 88 points over 100.

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Blanton’s Special Reserve Tasting note

Blanton's, Tasting

“Great bourbon. Very spicy with lots of floral notes”

86
Blanton's Special Reserve
Bottled at the lower strength of 40%, this is the perfect introduction to the fabulous Blanton's family of small-batch and single barrel bourbons.

Still bottled by hand like they used to do one century ago, this bourbon is really a nice startup in your path to whiskey knowledge. Give a try to Buffalo Trace after this one if you enjoyed it.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (87): more than average. corn, honey, fruits, varnish,, vanilla, pepper, wood.

Palate (87): powerful, oily. corn, honey, pepper, floral, wood, vanilla.

Finish (85): average. corn, honey, citrus, pepper.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Blanton's Special Reserve with 86 points over 100.

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Your First Blonde, which one was your first Whisky?

News, Whisky

sexy-blonde-amanda-harrington

Do you remember your first time? Which one was the sexy blonde that turned you to single malts? Which one was your first whisky?

I have to make a confession.
My first whisky was a Chivas Regal 12 years old and the experience was so awful that I stopped considering whisky for around two years.
How to explain the way I felt… I was expecting a nice sexy whisky and found something like this

uglyest girl ever

At the time I tasted Chivas 12yo it was a big investment for me, around €30, so my face of astonishment when I tasted the beverage was memorable.
Years later, someone talked me about a Macalan whisky that was the very best whisky in the world and luckily in one of my visits to Gibraltar I saw it on a shop, a Macallan 12 years old Elegancia for €50, which I now know it was a rip-off…, so I asked the guy if it was good and he told me that it tasted like whisky but sweeter. I liked sweet drinks do I decided to buy it.

The rest is history. Drink turned into hobby, hobby into passion, and passion into madness.

Was such thing in your whisky travel? I would love to read about it.

Linkwood 22 years old 1989 Rare Auld Tasting note

Linkwood, Tasting

“Toffee and vanilla bomb! You won't say how good it is just by nosing it. Surprising and highly recommended.”

91
Linkwood 22 Year Old 1989 - Rare Auld (Duncan Taylor)
This single malt whisky was distilled at Linkwood distillery in October 1989.

This was aged for 22 years in cask 5040 before bottling by Duncan Taylor for their Rare Auld range in October 2011. A cask strength release of 256 bottles.

An incredible whisky that is a bomb of vanilla and toffee. A must have for any whisky aficionado.

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. honey, floral, varnish, vanilla, apples, wood.

Palate (92): smooth, powerful, oily. honey, toffee, floral, citrus, spices, wood, vanilla.

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

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Linkwood 22 Year Old 1989 - Rare Auld (Duncan Taylor) with 91 points over 100.

The Macallan Oscuro Tasting note

Tasting, The Macallan

“It is a nice Macallan whisky with a very interesting nose. I wonder how old is it...”

88
The Macallan Oscuro
Interesting single malt whisky from this Speyside distillery.

Originally a travel retail exclusive, Macallan Oscuro is a combination of casks of whisky distilled between 1987 and 1997. They have combined the collect ability of Macallan with their trademark rich sherried elegance to create a much sought after whisky.

This is a great sherried single malt whisky that is part of the the 1824 Collection that was originally created as a travel retail exclusive.

This dram has a old oak-like color.

Nose (87): more than average. molasses, floral, citrus, vanilla, spices, nut meg. Interesting aromas for a Macallan. Smells more like a very old naval rum.

Palate (88): powerful, oily. honey, wood, citrus, spices, vanilla, floral.

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

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this The Macallan Oscuro with 88 points over 100.

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Compass Box The Last Vatted Grain Tasting note

Compass Box, Tasting

“Good grain whisky just a bit short of being great.”

90
Compass Box Last Vatted Grain
Launched alongside Compass Box The Last Vatted Malt, The Last Vatted Grain was launched to mark the end of "vatted whisky".

From the 22nd November 2011, blends of single grain whiskies may no longer be called "vatted grains". Instead, they must be labelled "blended grain whisky".

This particular stunner is a mix of 42 year old Invergordon, 14 year old Cameron Bridge, 29 year old Carsebridge and 20 year old Port Dundas.

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. corn, honey, spices, vanilla, wood, banana, tropical fruits.

Palate (90): smooth, powerful. honey, corn, spices, wood, fruits, cinnamon. Very nice but light. I prefer stronger whiskies.

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

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Compass Box Last Vatted Grain with 90 points over 100.