ABV: 60.7%
Cask Type: Sherry Cask matured

Bottler: Distillery Region: Speyside
Color: A beautifully rich burnt umber.

Nose: There’s a lot of sherry, clove, and raisin notes on the nose -- it reminds me of glögg, a mulled drink.

Palate: A warm flood of citrus and spice. I know it’s cask strength but I feel like it’s really intense. While I usually like my Scotch neat, I have to say that the alcohol overpowered the palate a bit. With a few drops of water, the deep fruity notes become exceedingly pleasant, and there’s a spice -- ginger w/o water, more peppery with -- that carries into the finish.

Finish: Without water my palate was numb, but after a few drops there’s a dry, oakey finish. Hints of raisin, orange, and something darker (maybe cherry) are there, but really, the finish feels pretty dry, and maybe a bit short.

Rating: 83/100

Overall, it’s a very pleasant dram -- one that I won’t mind having on hand for a change now and then -- and an interesting one to compare to my only other sherried (PX) Scotch experience.

Distiller: Ardbeg Distillery

Region: Scotch

Category: Islay

Approximate Price: $57

Tasting Notes

Nose

A burst of intense smoky fruit escapes into the atmosphere – peat infused with zesty lemon and lime, wrapped in dark chocolate.

Palate

Peat with tangy lemon and lime juice, black pepper pops with cinnamon-spiced toffee. This is followed by a wave of brine infused with smooth buttermilk, bananas and currants.

Finish

Long and smoky with espresso, toasted almonds and traces of barley and fresh pear.

Region: France

Distiller: Brenne

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Cask: AGED IN FRENCH OAK & COGNAC BARRELS

Age: 10 years

ABV: 48%

Price: $60

NOSE The aroma is a fruit salad of bananas, apricots, raisins, passion fruit and guava.

PALATE Like the nose the palate is heavy with notes of fruit salad, bubblegum and vanilla, but here that fruity sweetness gets a sugary bump from some birthday cake and a bit of an astringent bite towards the end.

FINISH Short and fruity with a bit of vanilla and butterscotch ice cream.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL Well balanced sweetness, medium body and a slighty syrupy feel.

Score: 90/100

Alcohol content: 50%

Price: $49.99

Color: Light golden amber

Nose: light, airy, wood, ethanol, wood fire smoke.

Mouthfeel: watered down, almost creamy

Taste: slight wood, some sweet floral notes splash around a bit as I move the whisky across my tongue, small notes of sea salt, light smoke, ending on some odd fruit flavors.

Finish: Small hint of smoke, more pear and then a moderate ethanol burn that fades away after a few minutes. The smoke and sea salt linger.

Score: 82/100

Overall: I like it. But, it tastes young. I’m really struggling for any wood flavors, and I really liked that about the 10 year. The sea salt is what stood out to me in the Laddie 10, and I’m not getting a lot of it here.

Nose: Sweet and malty. Lemon cheesecake and sultanas. Vanilla cream with cinnamon sugar. Charred oak.

Taste: Smooth but thin - yeasty bread with butter and strawberry jam. Also getting some melons. Becomes tangy and tannic.

Finish: Citrusy and peppery. Basil and thyme. Medium, slightly bitter and dry.

It's a very fresh and crisp whisky that's not too sweet.

Great summer dram.

81/100

Cask: Ex-Bourbon & Modified Ex-Bourbon Quarter Cask

Nose

Classic Laphroaig. Seaweed with briny notes. A woody sweetness, like maple syrup, pervades the nose and elevates the peat smoke. Hints of barbecued short-ribs. The 48% ABV can be felt in the nose-prickle. Digging deeper and you taste freshly-baked sugar cookies, and even deeper in some wood char.

Palate

Medium bodied – Right away there is big peat, in that briny, smoked-fish style.

Finish

Long. Initially there is lingering peat, salt water, which yields to vanilla and a very drying oak tannin, which fades into bitter spent wood and green sap.

Nose: Very rum like. Molasses. Caramel. Vanilla. Figs. Dried fruit.

Palate: Medium thin mouthfeel. Lots of sweet tropical fruits. Cloves. Honey. Flowers. Vanilla. Caramel.

Finish: Medium short finish. Black pepper. More cloves and spice. The sweet tropical flavors continue for a bit.

Score: 85/100

This is nice, and very well rounded. Could be better. I would love to see this at cask strength.

Age: 12 years
ABV: 43%

Price: $75

Hibiki 12 years Review

EYE
Dirty honey

NOSE
Spice, candied citrus, caramel and butterscotch followed by notes of vanilla, toasted grains, butterscotch and a bit of smoky char. There is a hint of astringency and alcohol, but they’re light enough to not be major distractions.

PALATE
Caramel, malt, dark fruit, almonds, bananas, smoke and wood all fight for dominance with light bits of dark fruit, spice, toasted grains and alcohol.

FINISH
A bit of spice, wood, smoky char, malt, and fruit.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Nicely balanced with medium body and a warm silky feel.

OVERALL
I really enjoy the Hibiki 12. It’s really the only blend I’ll drink and much more complex than Yamazaki 12. It was a fantastic example of a blend done right and even though it was a bit overpriced it fell in line with the pricy nature of all Japanese whiskies here in the USA. It has a nice aroma, pleasing palate and a complimentary finish that tied the whole whisky together in a nice neat package.

SCORE: 87/100

Price: $65

Nose: almonds, nutmeg, old leather, orange, anise, twizzlers.

Taste: plenty of figs and oak, with some maraschino cherries, old leather, chocolate, brown sugar, strawberries, and apples.

Finish: Has a little spice to it, but not too much heat. Black pepper, oak, a whif of campfire smoke, and acetone.

Overall: The weakest part of Glendronach 12, aside from its measly 43% ABV, is definitely the finish. That being said, it gains some points back for being non-chill filtered and natural color, and its taste and smell are pretty solid.

82/100: Affordable bottle. It benefits from a bit of breathing time to reduce solventy flavors.

ABV: 45.8%
Price: $73
Distiller: Talisker

Cask: matured in specifically selected refill and toasted American oak casks.

Nose: brine. Mushy peat. Raspberries. Some overripe blackcurrant. Ginger. Wood smoke. Some seaweed. A bit muted.

Palate: surprisingly oily mouthfeel. Peppery. Slightly prickly woodsmoke. Toasted malt.

Finish: gingery with slight smoke.

Good whisky. Ideal for someone getting into peaty drams, but really my advice would be to skip this and buy the 10 year.

80/100

ABV: 43%
Age: 10 years
Price: $50
Distiller: D. Johnston & Co.

EYE
Light golden straw

NOSE
Warm peat with caramel, iodine, smoke and char.

TASTE
Campfire smokiness with a hint of graham crackers. A mild peat and citrus. Very rich.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Well balanced with a smooth feel.

FINISH
Smokey with a long pleasant finish.

Distiller: Oban
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: 14 Years
ABV: 43%

Price: $60

EYE
Light amber

NOSE
Apples, cocoa, roasted malt, char, nuts and a bit of sage.

PALATE
Malt, orange candy, spice, apples, toffee, smoke and a bit of pepper and oil.

FINISH
Medium. Malt, orchard fruit, citrus and smoke.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
good balance, medium body and a soft feel.

Region: Islay, Scotland

Distiller Bowmore
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon & ex-Sherry
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 40%

Price: $55

Nose: Malty and cider. Citrus and a medicinal feeling towards the end.

Taste: Vanilla on the tip of the tongue. Saltiness towards the end.

Finish: Raisins and notes of vanilla, citrus, sponge cake. Some sweet flavors mix with the woody ones and give you a nice caramel. Then peat - at the end.

75/100

Region: Osaka, Japan

Distiller: Suntory
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: American ex-Bourbon barrels, Spanish Oloroso Sherry and Japanese Mizunara Oak barrels
Age: 12 years
ABV: 43%

Color: Light Marigold

Nose: Very malty and a lot of cereal sugars here. Barley and a bit of peach.

Taste: Smooth butter and oats. Japanese oak, and white chocolate.

Finish: Short. Nutty aftertaste. Slight smokiness but not in a peaty way.

Overall: I hear a lot about how fruity this is, but to me malt are the predominate notes. Very simple and very overrated.

Score: 60/100