Ardbeg 10 - Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

For some reason, I have always seen Ardbeg as something of a rival to my beloved Laphroaig.

This is ridiculous, I know.

It's the many similarities but critical differences that do it to me.

They're both Islay distilleries that produce an unabashedly peaty malt that avoids being one dimensional.  Key similarity.  A key difference is the "type" of peatiness, with Ardbeg's being the more smoky and dry campfire type and Laphroaig's being the more wet, moist and drippy type.

Glenmorangie Lasanta Tasting Notes and Review

The Story

Glenmorangie is one of the distilleries that is leading the way in experimenting with different cask finishes on their mainstay whisky.  You can think of these whiskies as simply their ten year aged for an extra two years in a different type of cask.  Check out my review of the Glenmorangie 10 Year HERE.

I love cask finishes.  Scotch is great and beautiful and perfect as it is, but it's always nice to experiment with interesting variations.

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

Ahhh, yes.  Laphroaig.

Laphroaig was and always will be my first true love in scotch.  It was a warm summer day... okay, I won't go there.  But Laphroaig's 10 Year offering was the first scotch I truly fell in love with, and it remains among my favorites and among the best values in scotch.

Naturally, I consider myself a friend of Laphroaig, and naturally, I have to get my hands on Laphroaig's yearly Cairdeas offering.

"Cairdeas" means friend in Gaelic, and each year, Laphroaig's master distillers craft the annual Cairdeas malt.  Typically, they put a spin of some sort on it.

In 2015, it was Laphroaig's 200th anniversary, so the goal for the Cairdeas offering was to craft a dram much like it might have been made 200 years ago.

Dalmore 15 Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

The Dalmore is among the most highly regarded scotch distilleries and is well known for its characteristic orange peel flavor profile.

The Dalmore 15 spends its first 12 years maturing in American white oak ex-bourbon casks.  However, this is where things get far, far more interesting, as the whisky is then split into three even shares which spend the final 3 years of maturation in 3 different types of sherry casks, Amoroso, Apostles, and Matusalem oloroso.  At the end of this, the final maturation occurs when the three strains are mixed into a single sherry butt to allow the flavors to optimally fuse.

I was very excited about this bottle.  As a sherried scotch lover, a simple sherry cask finish will get me going, but three different types of sherry casks mingled into one scotch!  A fifteen year old blend, which was at the time of my first tasting, the oldest scotch I'd ever had!  Plus, at ~$75 (depending on who you buy from) it was definitely at the upper limit of my price range.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

Ardbeg is among the companies that has been leading the NAS (no age statement) wave in scotch, and their Corryvreckan just might be the world's most acclaimed NAS scotch.

The Corryvreckan is a beast that has achieved superlative reviews and phenomenal ratings across whisky magazines and review sites.  It won the World's Best Single Malt Whisky award at the 2010 World Whisky Awards, and Jim Murray rated it as the best NAS scotch in his famed Whisky Bible.

The whisky takes its name from the famous whirlpool that lies North of the Islay, and the distiller reports that just like the whirlpool, it is "not for the faint of heart."  Having sipped of this liquid, I would tend to agree.  It is bottled at cask strength at 57.1% ABV and is not chill filtered.

Glenmorangie 10 The Original Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

Glenmorangie 10 The Original is a well regarded entry level single malt scotch from one of the most highly regarded distilleries.  It also happens to be among the cheaper 10 years that you can find out there.

The distillery was founded in 1843 in the Highland Region and reports having the tallest still in Scotland.  This stills are just shy of 17 feet tall, and the distiller reports that because only the "lightest and purest vapors make it to the top," their whisky is gifted with a smoother elegance.

This distiller is well known for using extra finishing casks after basic maturation and produces well regarded whiskies that have received an additional year or two in port, sherry, and wine casks.  However, The Original does not receive this additional treatment.

Glenlivet 12 Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

Glenlivet 12 is the entry level whisky of the best selling single malt brand in the world.

I have to admit to having two different feelings towards Glenlivet 12, one positive and one less positive.

First, I appreciate it.  It is perhaps the most accessible single malt in the world, both in terms of pricing and availability.  At $34 for a bottle, the price is reasonable.  At the same time, the flavor of Glenlivet is middle of the road enough to appeal to a broad market.

Thus, it serves the noble job of bringing single malt scotch to the world.

You have to love that.

Johnnie Walker Black Label - Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

Ahhhhh, Johnnie Walker Black Label, one of the most well known (and well marketed) scotch brands in the world.

I have to admit, I have a history with Johnnie Walker.

As I described in my real Aberlour A'bunadh Review, my scotch journey began with the sherried malts.

But that's not quite the whole story.

Aberlour A'bunadh Batch 52 Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

I have been excited to try the Aberlour A'bunadh.

I spent the last six months on a lengthy exploration of the world's peatier malts, and for whatever reason, I was deep into the caramelly and fruity scotch world before that.

Which is to say, I hadn't had a glass of sherry styled scotch in... a while.

A long while.

Until a week ago.

I happened to be at a liquor store trying to decide which Islay flavor to explore next when I saw a mini bottle of Macallan 12 Sherry Cask at a decent price.  I picked it up, brought it home, and I was immediately sucked into the sherry flavors.