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.

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.