Reviews by: Dr.Whisky
teacher's highland cream
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- Brass knuckles
- Nose
- Soft sweetness and a slightly astringent grain are immediately present, but smoke and tobacco, toffee, fruit and malt make appearances as well.
- Body
- Gorgeous texture, milky almost. And the flavour impact seems to start at the tip of the tongue, waft over the middle, and then poke around elsewhere at will.
- Palate
- Toffee and barley. The sweet grain whisky is balanced head-to-head with a peatiness that creates a bittersweet chewiness in the middle. Again, it activates all parts of your mouth and throat with flavours, texture, and heat.
- Finish
- Fades gently with some smoke and shortbread but leaves the taste of a used wet wood cutting-board.
Great balance in this whisky. Okay, it isnt fantastic stuff that will win awards in blind tastings of premium whiskies, but it is very good value and very delicious. Great warm-up dram, great first time tipple, great ubiquitous bottle-on-the-shelf.
ardbeg uigeadail
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- A cop's bronze/orange sunglasses
- Nose
- Sweet, but sweaty and very smoky. Meaty. Norwegian smoked salmon. Caraway seeds. Red plums. Shaving cream. Smoked cheese. Beach parties with fires, cigarettes and other smokables, wet bathing suits, and sexy salty skin. And I could go on... this thing just doesnt stop giving!
- Body
- Big Impact.
- Palate
- Somehow enters the mouth softly, amazing at the strength! The taste is hot and bothered, but soft. Powerful yet not pushy. Immense peat fires. Cocoa and weak instant coffee.
- Finish
- Long sweet malty finish on a bed of burning peat
Masterful stuff. A peat-lovers dream at a great price for the immensity of flavour.
glengoyne 17 years old
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- Dark honey
- Nose
- Bittersweet and deeply enticing. Chocolate, hard black raisins. Hay and grass and fresh air. Some wine oakiness and a good fruity sweetness.
- Body
- Full and rich
- Palate
- This is like diving into a cask for explanation of what oak aging does!!! I get oak first that then explodes in two directions: (1)the flavours of raisins and chocolate, malt and yeast, wine and rum cake, and (2) vanilla yogurt creaminess and almost citric sweetness. It somehow remains light while having a great rich depth of flavour.
- Finish
- Soft sherry characteristics carry on for minutes. Long finish.
This dram rocks my world. If you think unpeated whisky is boring, give this a try.
old pulteney 12 year old
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- Perfect pancake
- Nose
- Lovely and light creaminess, freshly churned butter, shortbread, some exotic fruit. Black licorice, toffee, vanilla roobios tea. Confident, firm, and very appetising.
- Body
- Great weight in the mouth, like humid warm wind on a cold day.
- Palate
- Sea air. Creaminess in the taste, like Cool Whip, celery, peaches, flan, crumble crust.
- Finish
- Finishes with drying oak and dehydrated dates, or some other dried fruit.
Great value for everyone and great entry malt for first time whisky drinkers. This is a bottle that gets consumed and replaced often on our shelf becuase it goes down well in any malt mood.
serendipity
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- Navajo White
- Nose
- Sweetness comes off first, bourbony vanilla. Then comes the dirtiness. Peat, feet, sweat, diapers/nappies. Wet stone(?), moss, earth. Still sweet, creamy (Coffee Mate?) and these flavours arrive together, beautifully united rather than on two separate planes, which is unexpected.
- Body
- Medium to thin, soft.
- Palate
- Vanilla, peat and chocolate. Smoking while changing a diaper (like in the good ole days... can you imagine seeing that today? we would all turn up our noses, no doubt). Baby powder, and skin. The initial attack of flavour is SO pleasant, like a bubble popping that contained essence of sweet cakes, vanilla, fire and flatulence(okay, maybe not so pleasant, but great in context of this whisky's character).
- Finish
- Medium length, smoke. About 5 minutes later I had a nasty metallic and chlorine like taste in my mouth.
This stuff isn't pretty, but it is pretty drinkable. Serendipity is a great whisky and is probably the most guilt-free way to quaff 30yr old Ardbeg. Although with its limited availability, those guilt-free days are numbered.
the macallan 10 years old cask strength
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- Deep auburn, like a gorgeous redhead
- Nose
- (Full strength)First a bitter tickle in the nose that turns sour and then finally sweet. Very interesting. Vanilla, oak, marzinpan and chocolate. Crême brulee, candied almonds, maple, demerara sugar. Does not prickle the nose as it could at this strength. Still, breathe carefully... (reduced) Chocolate cake, a French patisserie, strawberry essence, oranges, dust and the pages of old books, freshly stained wood. Hot or burnt hair, like the smell in a hair salon.
- Body
- Thick and pungent, softer and oiler when cut with water.
- Palate
- (Full strength)Dry wood, oaky, thick and pungent sherry influences of sweet dried fruits. Burnt sugar. Toasted chestnuts. Oak again. Long finish that is very warming, sweet, and woody. (reduced) More pleasant in the mouth, but seems to yield less flavour. Still nutty, flavours of wood resin, sweet sherry, prunes and raisins. Perhaps a light peat whiff? Smoke for sure.
- Finish
- Long finish that is very warming, sweet, and woody. Reduced, it has a shorter finish. I would advise against cutting it, if your ulcer can handle it... Probably just depends on mood.
No messing about, this is Macallan. Sherry, fruit, oak in beautiful elegant balance. Many people complain that Macallan's sherry casks kill the 'whisky', ie. the barley spirit character. At times I might agree, but that doesnt make this malt a failure as a whisky. Really gorgeous wintery stuff. It is a real star, and if you have the opportunity to get it at travel retail or UK duty free shops, it would be just silly to fly without.
bunnahabhain 12 year old
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- White wine
- Nose
- Light and breezy, sea air, yoghurt and orange syrup. Baking flour and vanilla. Balsamic vinegar. Fruity and salty/sour.
- Body
- Nutty/oily. Chewy
- Palate
- Smooth and very pleasant. Feels great in the mouth. Sweet creaminess. Sour cream on a bagel. Turns bitter, like orange juice after brushing teeth, and slightly peaty showing off its Islay ruggedness.
- Finish
- Oaky, creamy, and slighly salty finish. Doesn't linger.
A 10pm go-to dram for many people. Often found on optic in Scotland pubs as malt-of-the-month.
johnnie walker black label 12 years old
- Reviewer
- Dr.Whisky
- Color
- The way orange chocolate fudge tastes
- Nose
- Sweet, apples and honey, soft brown pears, custardy cream smell, cakey, lively and fresh in the nose. malted barley and a good whisky smell. Not necessarily a peatiness, but a definite burnt or toasty character about it.
- Body
- Has a grainy assertiveness that keeps you on your toes. Tingly and warming like good ballet.
- Palate
- Subtle and constantly changing in the mouth. Starts really sweet, but a nice sweet, like kissing rather than talking about kissing. Moves into oaky territory, winey and grapey with leafy breezes of herbal tastes. Slowly developing long finish of smoky clothes sweetened with a body spray of vanilla, apples and honey.
- Finish
- Pleasantly sweet for introductions and then takes you on a pleasant ever-developing flavour ride. Long finish.
I like this stuff. Innovation in blending passed down through generations. Clever opportunism. Marketing genius. Branding and re-branding. Skill to be able to constistenly blend a tasty whisky for over 150 years. Put it in a sexy bottle to decorate our shelves and you have a world-class knock-out blend. "Maybe" at full price, "yes" on offer, "of course" at duty free (crazy deals in the middle east!!!).