by Oliver Klimek on March 12, 2010
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General Release – 57.1%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Bright amber
Nose: Smoked bacon, honey, vanilla, apples
Palate: Peat, caramel, vanilla, a vague fruitiness, pepper, minmally bitter
Finish: Very long, smoky and slightly sweet
Overall: Some prefer it over the Rollercoaster, but I think it has a certain lack of oomph that is not really made up by greater complexity or better balance. Still very good though, mind you.
Score: 86/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 11, 2010
2010 Committee bottling – 57.3%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: White wine
Nose: Very intense, smoky, slightly medicinal, sea shore, lemon, orange
Palate: Peat, liquorice, salt, lemon peel, ginger, a bit of honey
Finish: Very long, dry, smoky and a bit salty
Overall: The Rollercoaster received slightly mixed reviews, but I really like it. The vatting of 10 vintages gives is an astonishing complexity. Overall character is rather dry compared with the standard 10yo
Score: 90/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
Side note: Read about the launch problems in Ardbeg’s online shop.
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Rating: 8.0/10 (2 votes cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 10, 2010
Bourbon Hogshead 4751 – 58.4%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Water with a yellow tint
Nose:Mostly vanilla, with a hint of lemon and a tiny whiff of smoke
Palate: Nuts and vanilla, lemon, a bit of orange, ginger
Finish: Long, dry and minimally smoky
Overall: Nice and well balanced, much more complex than the very pale colour suggests.
Score: 84/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 8.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 9, 2010
Buy at the Whisky Exchange
The famous single malt from Japan – 43%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Dark amber
Nose: Dried tropical fruit, mainly pineapple and banana, honey, minimally smoky
Palate: Tropical fruit, vanilla, a bit of smoke, pepper, nutmeg
Finish: Long, first fruity, then smoky
Overall: A delicately balanced mix of fruit, smoke and spice. Sophisticated but still not too complex for casual sipping. Very good.
Score: 85/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 8.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 8, 2010
Bourbon Barrel – 59%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Bright gold
Nose: Honey, vanilla, apples, a hint of lemon
Palate: More honey and vanilla, lemon zest, a mild spiciness that grows by adding water
Finish: Medium long and quite dry
Overall: A straightforward but quite enjoyable bourbon cask whisky.
Score: 82/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 5.5/10 (2 votes cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 6, 2010
Sherry Butt – 54.6%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Cognac
Nose: Acetone, even a hint of vinegar, rum soaked raisins.
Palate: Very fruity, almost like rum soaked gummi bears and yes, vinegar
Finish: Very long and rummy
Overall: This is sherry gone crazy, just too much of it in my opinion. The chemical nose puts me off as well. But I am sure some will love this dram.
Score: 75/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 5, 2010
Autumn Distillation – McGibbons Provenance – 46%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Pale straw
Nose: Smoke, vanilla, honey, a bit of lemon.
Palate: All that’s in the nose plus a little salt.
Finish: Very long, sweet smoke.
Overall: A bit similar to the Benriach Heavily Peated, but doesn’t quite reach it. Still a very nice peated Speysider, though.
Score: 84/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 8.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 4, 2010
Bourbon Cask #140864 – 58.9%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Pale straw
Nose: Quite weak and grainy, a bit of vanilla and lemon, becomes a bit stronger with water.
Palate: Vanilla, honey, nuts, a hint of lemon, very spirity wihtout water.
Finish: Medium long, nutty and a little sweet
Overall: A very light-bodied malt, might be suitable as an aperitive but has not much to offer overall. Needs much water to overcome the sharpness of the spirit.
Score: 72/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 3, 2010
Buy at the Whisky Exchange
57%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: White wine
Nose: Faint smoke, orange zest, vanilla, nutmeg
Palate: Slightly peaty, oranges and other tropical fruit, pepper, ginger and nutmeg again.
Finish: Very long, dry and fruity
Overall: Most enjoyable and suprisingly little peat. In a blind test I might have guessed “Cask strength Hazelburn” because is has that typical spicy orange profile.
Score: 88/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 2, 2010
Bourbon Hogshead 1683 – 46%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Pale straw
Nose: Dry smoke, even a bit medicinal, lemon.
Palate: Quite smoky and phenolic, citrus fruit, vanilla, a touch of honey
Finish: Very long, sweet and smoky
Overall: An amazing peated Speysider. I think it can be best described as “clean peat”. Without the maritime character of the Islay malts but with a distinctive medicinal character that comes close to that of a Laphroaig. And yet it is surprisingly smooth. What a great whisky!
Score: 90/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
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