Macallan Cask Strength (My 50th Review)

Macallan Cask Strength, 58.2% ABV, $300 USD Nose: Walnuts, almonds, marzipan, figs, grape jelly, very slight oak, little bit of chocolate-orange, fruit punch flavored Kool Aid powder, Flintstones Vitamins, strawberry and grape bubble gum. Taste: Grape bubble gum, marzipan (big time), cherry syrup, slight oak, strawberry jam, orange marmalade. Finish: Very long, very viscous. Grape bubble gun, slight oak, and chocolate-orange linger. Thoughts: The best … Continue reading Macallan Cask Strength (My 50th Review)

jeremy03/12/201724/02/20182 Comments

Review

Bruichladdich Black Art 5.1

I have an odd relationship with the Bruichladdich Black Arts line. Not odd like I’m secretly in love with the bottle design (though I do love my goth ascetics) or odd that I’m going to make a joke about somehow using it as a fleshlight. Google that. At work. In front of your boss. It’ll be funny. No, from the first time I saw this… Continue reading Bruichladdich Black Art 5.1

TOModera12/10/201712/10/2017Leave a comment

Review

Glenburgie SMWS 71.42 “Sinbad preparing for a journey”

Thanks to /u/devoz for sharing a dram of this one. I’ve been told I need to check out this distillery, Glenburgie more. So since I’ve caught up on some other drams, why not it? Stopped by devoz’s place to have a couple drams and hang out, and he ended up saying I needed to try this dram. Like, I NEEDED to. So I agreed to it. Twist… Continue reading Glenburgie SMWS 71.42 “Sinbad preparing for a journey”

TOModera11/09/201711/09/2017Leave a comment

Review

Glenfarclas 15 Vimy Ridge

Thanks to my buddy John for sharing this dram with us. In October 1914, a German army would take control of Vimy Ridge. This ridge gave them a ten kilometre view around it, naturally giving the German army an advantageous location to defend it. During the next couple years, many lives were lost over this ridge. The French were able to capture it once, however… Continue reading Glenfarclas 15 Vimy Ridge

TOModera05/09/201705/09/2017Leave a comment

Review

Arran-mageddon: 12 reviews of Arran single casks, LEs and crazy finishes

So I’m at the precipice of hitting both 300 scotch reviews and 500 total whisky reviews on reddit and plotted out my path to those milestones. Inspired by /u/tomodera‘s recent Arran-pocalypse posts (Part 1, Part 2), I decided to do a smaller multi of the Arran drams I haven’t posted here in the past. It’s kind of like the B-movie version of his post… it’s Piranha … Continue reading Arran-mageddon: 12 reviews of Arran single casks, LEs and crazy finishes

Bryan Vanderkruk14/07/20171 Comment

Review

Kavalan Solist – Vinho Barrique & Sherry Cask Reviews

Kavalan Solist – Vinho Barrique, 57% ABV, Bottled 4/25 2013, £35 (196ml) Nose: Sweet bourbon-like caramel and rum-like sweetness, raspberry, strawberry, oranges, stale fruit candy (like expired wine gums), coco powder, oak spice, and buttered popcorn. Taste: Heavy plums and raisins, fruit cake, ripe banana, mild leather and cinnamon. Finish: Long, well balanced, high viscosity. Thoughts: A heavy hitting whisky with lots going on. Extremely … Continue reading Kavalan Solist – Vinho Barrique & Sherry Cask Reviews

jeremy14/04/201714/04/2017Leave a comment

Review

Review for International Scotch Day: Arran 21st Anniversary LE

Arran 21st Anniversary Limited Edition (52.6%, matured in ex-Oloroso sherry hogsheads, 5,988 bottles, 2016 Limited Edition, ~$210 CAD) A limited edition released in late 2016 to celebrate Arran’s 21st anniversary, this bottling is made using whisky distilled during the first 3 years of production (from 1995 to 1997). Nose: Red apple, honey, mango, hazelnut, citrus, nutmeg, hint of cocoa Taste: Stewed apples, cinnamon, honey, walnuts, … Continue reading Review for International Scotch Day: Arran 21st Anniversary LE

xile10/02/201710/02/20171 Comment

Review

Aberlour A’bunadh Three-Way Review: Batches 6, 46 & 53

As many of you know, I live in the Great White Land-of-Provincial-Liquor-Regulation, and our prices for whisky suck. See, the government had this whole prohibition idea, and then when it ended, they decided they still needed to babysit us and ensure we didn’t drink too much. Thus was born the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which today has morphed into a retailing giant that spends … Continue reading Aberlour A’bunadh Three-Way Review: Batches 6, 46 & 53

Bryan Vanderkruk24/01/201724/01/20174 Comments

Review

Review: Macallan Cask Strength

Macallan Cask Strength 58.4% I waited a long time to a do a review of this Scotch. It was somewhat of a Unicorn for me as I got into scotch long after it was discontinued. As such, I never dreamed of getting a chance of this wonderful dram. This bucket list scotch experience came out of the generosity of a member of the TWS! I … Continue reading Review: Macallan Cask Strength

DistillAsian07/12/201608/12/2016Leave a comment

Review

Review: Macallan Cask Strength Sherry

This is an old review from a few years ago… before I cared about photo quality apparently! I was at the Manx Pub in Ottawa which has a wide selection but mostly entry level scotches. Busy place, lots of hipsters. Was one pint deep when I got the scotch list and saw this for a reasonablly priced pour. Macallan Sherry Cask Strength 60.1% ABV Appearance: Served in … Continue reading Review: Macallan Cask Strength Sherry

Bryan Vanderkruk07/12/201631/12/20161 Comment

Review

Review: Scotch Malt Whisky Society 30.91

SMWS Code: 30.91 Code Name: “Deliciously dark and sweet” Distillery: Glenrothes Age: 18 years Cask: Refill Ex-Sherry Gorda Appearance: 1.1, Burnished Nose: Rum raisin ice cream, Christmas fruit cake, spent matches, ginger snaps, masala chai, plum pudding. What an odd nose. Am I detecting sulfur? For some reason, the sulfur is not overt here, or it’s blending weirdly with the other notes… Taste: Is this … Continue reading Review: Scotch Malt Whisky Society 30.91

Kyle Butler05/12/201605/12/2016Leave a comment

Review

Review: Scotch Malt Whisky Society 71.41

SMWS Code: 71.41 Code Name: “Curious and intriguing” Distillery: Glenburgie Age: 17 years Cask: Refill Ex-Sherry Gorda Appearance: 1.3, Russet Nose: Dominated by sulphur on the nose; gunpowder and spent matches. Fairly difficult to pick out much beyond that; a hint of some cola cubes, almost cherry coke. Taste: Arrives with a crescendo of dry fruit, almost a biting dryness initially, gunpowder note is present but … Continue reading Review: Scotch Malt Whisky Society 71.41

Kyle Butler24/11/201624/11/20161 Comment