Whisky review : Tasting event SAQ oct. 24 2013 - The Blends

Whisky review: Ballentine blended whisky 21 years old, bottled @ 43%

Whisky review: Ballentine blended whisky 21 years old, bottled @ 43%

-Hurrah for ultra-premium never-to-purchase whiskies !

Colour: light gold, full bodied.

Nose: Very mineral, depth of toffee, candied fruits and cassonade.

Mouth: heavy chewy mineral toffee, spices and hints of ashes.

Finish: lingering caramel and spices.

B- for the taste. It's a good arrival, yet the rest remains uni-dimensional.
E for the price. 163$ (SAQ) is, compare to the Chivas, better yet way off. However, I would suggest to try it, at least once. But avoid buying. There are much better product at much lower prices.
B+ for the presentation. Pristine classy bottle, very nice.  

Whisky review : Big Peat, blended malt, bottled @46%

Whisky review : Big Peat, blended malt, bottled @46%

-Made of Coal Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg and Port Ellen...(probably not much of it tough). 
-Funny label (complete marketing Fail for N.A markets). 

Colour: light gold, pale straw, oily with long legs.

Nose: Incredible depth of peat and ashes, reminds me of PC8. Very well settled, not overpowering and so inviting. Hints of metal and more peat and sweet notes. Brilliant.

Mouth: Gentle and soft ashes and peat, very PC yet different, not as sweet. Chewy peat..so tender. So smooth it's almost flawless. So good.

Finish: lingering sweet peat and light ashes...

A for the taste. Excellent whisky. Highly recommended.
B+ for the price. Great taste for a reasonable price (77,75$). Yes it's NAS, but I would say some of its components are more than 10 years old for sure, maybe even 15. 
B- for presentation. So so for the label, it's funny but not appealing. Yet, I would suggest to take a closer look at it..it deserves attention.

Whisky review: Douglas Laing Double Barrel Talisker and Craigellachie bottled@ 46%

Whisky review: Douglas Laing Double Barrel Talisker and Craigellachie bottled@ 46%

-I love the idea of mixing single barrels
-However, I was told these 2 whiskies are not ''married'' prior to bottling.
-From the colour, I'd say it is natural colouring. But I may be wrong.

Colour: light bright gold. Not very oily with medium legs.

Nose: Very Laphroiag nose, salt, fruits hidden behind peat, a few metallic notes, apples, metallic peat. A tad spirity...

Mouth: Peat, spices explosion, chili peppers mix with fruits, ashes, more peat. My impression is the latter : very unsettled. The Talisker tries to overpower the Craig but dies in the mingling...which results in ether and robust notes. Water makes it more settled yet still confused.

Finish: peat and spices and fruits. Not as long as the Talisker nor as fruity as the Craig.

C- for the price. 88$ for something so unstable is unreasonable.
C for the taste. It's interesting yet unstable and not very the best of those 2 whiskies. Avoid and buy separately.
A for the presentation. Nice modern wild west look. 

Whisky review : Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 years old ''Blue Decanter'' bottled @ 40%

Whisky review : Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 years old ''Blue Decanter'' bottled @ 40%

-1st time trying the Royal Salute
-Sadly...this 21 years old blend is bottled at 40%...what a shame.
-Weird cheap ceramic looking decanter....who would decant anything in this ? Seriously ?

Colour: Dark gold, light bodied, medium legs.

Nose: creamy, grain spirit, light caramel and fruits. That's it. No wow, no surprise, nothing much actually.

Mouth: Arrival = light caramel and fruits, slight turn to ether then......beeeeeeeeeeep......flat, flat, flat. It's a sad whisky, as sad as its decanter I'd say.

Finish: humm, maybe caramel ?, maybe...

E for the price. 184$ is a complete rip off for a mix of grain spirit and weird Chivas malts. Avoid.
D+ for the taste. Flat is the word. Blindfolded, this could be said to be a cheap blend.
E for presentation. Ugly out-of-the-70's decanter....

Whisky review : Wemyss ''The Hive'' 12 years old Blended Malt bottled @ 40%

Whisky review : Wemyss ''The Hive'' 12 years old Blended Malt bottled @ 40%

-Cool name
-Made of 16 different single malts

Colour: dark gold, light coppery tones. A tad oily with long legs.

Nose: Cream Soda, smooth creamy thick fruits, massive honey, pear, touches of wood, very sweet honey pickled fruits. After a few minutes I noticed a distant hint of sweet ash.

Mouth: very thick, sweet, honey, spices, very long lingering spices, vanilla, more fruits and honey coming along. Touches of vanilla as well. The name ''hive'' is very well chosen indeed, it's mouth watering.

Finish: extended spices, honey, vanilla....sticky.

B+ for taste. A very nice Speysider with lots of fruits and honey. I would recommend this Blended Malt to anyone enjoying smooth and fruity Whiskies.
B+ for presentation. A nice metal tubing and cool label with Bees on it. Simple yet effective.
B for the price. 68$ (SAQ) it simply an ''ok'' price. However, it's marketed at 36GBP (58$) in UK, so I guess 10$ of import and taxes if fair.

Whisky review : Ardbeg ''Ardbog'' bottled @ 52.1%

Whisky review : Ardbeg ''Ardbog'' bottled @ 52.1%

-New NAS addition.
-Un-chill filtered
-Mix of bourbon and sherry casks
-Limited release for the Ardbeg day
-Very hard to find now.

Colour: dark gold, medium-oily, long legs

Nose: deep caramel, very dense, peat, spices, more butter caramel, fresh, brine, raisins, something yellow maybe autumn dried peat, very well seated in the glass, baked sugar. The profile of the Ardbog evolves over time and gets back to a mix of caramel and peat.

Mouth:  Very spicy and big caramel arrival, rubbery notes, peat, sweet notes, touches of ether as well, very intense, sherry spices and sweetness, remain very heavy at the end, coats the mouth. Pretty good yet different for an Ardbeg. The caramel and spices mixed a more gentle peat is quite nice. After a few minutes in the glass, it becomes more butter-creamy caramel mixed with nice peat notes.

Finish: Lingering butter caramel notes, peat, ashes, medicinal and sweet spices, and a few off bitter notes... This being said, the finish is not nearly as long as the 10 years old or the Uigeadail.

A for the taste. It's a different ardbeg but a very well made and very interesting one. I still feel there some robust immature notes in this whisky. However, it does not affect too much the final result which is pretty enjoyable.
A- for the presentation. Could be mistaken for the regular ardbeg if not looked at properly.
C+ for  the price. Why ? (1) 90ish $ on the US market, (2) it's a NAS release (3) considering taxes and import I'd say 105$ might be more interesting. 

Whisky review : SAQ Tasting Event 10 Octobre 2013 - Islay

Whisky review : Laphroaig cairdeas ''Origin'', bottled @ 51.2%

Whisky review : Laphroaig cairdeas ''Origin'', bottled @ 51.2%

-NAS
-Cask strength
-Un-chill filtering
-Between 13 and 21 yo apprently
-bottled 50-50 with new spirit matured 7y in Quarter casks. 

Colour: pale gold, medium bodied, medium legs.

Nose: Classic Laphroaig, ether, peat, medicinal oil, white ashes after a fire, very well seated in the glass, creamy and sweet notes, touches of fruits

Mouth: mix of soft ether and peat, juicy peat, with fruits notes. More caramel then the usual and some spices as well. However, it seemed to be flawed as the massive ABV tries to hide the low arrival. It develops well in the mouth after, yet the initial impact is a tad off.

Finish: ether, light sweet peat with ashes, lots of white ashes.

A- for taste. It's a good Lap for sure. However, flaws are preventing greatness here.
B for the price. 100$ is actually reasonable if not on a budget.
B+ for the presentation. I'm use to the white tubing...the green one looks just weird.

Whisky review : Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2006 bottled @ 50%

Whisky review : Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2006 bottled @ 50%

-Un-chill filtered
-Higher abv
-Yet another nice unpeated expression of B

Colour: light yellow straw, short legs, light bodied

Nose: light creamy fruits, barley sugars, rolls down to a more profound fruity expression, fresh, light, seems delicate yet very straightforward. Similar to the Bere but turns to a different sweet profile. A nice mouth watering malt.

Finish:  sticky, fruits, salted notes, lingers a little bit on fruits and creamy notes.

B++. When it comes down to the taste, it's pretty nice. A nice B to try and possibly to buy.
A- for the price. at 65$, it's easily accessible and good value for the money.
A for the presentation. Clear bottle with nice information, just what we need

Whisky review : SAQ Highland Whisky tasting event (October 3rd, 2013)

Whisky review : SAQ Highland Whisky tasting event (October 3rd, 2013)

(left to right)

- Benrinnes 23 years old
- Clynelish 2008
- Dalmore 18 years old
- Longmorn 16 years old
- Aberlour 12 years old

Whisky review : Benrinnes 23 years old bottled @ 58.8%

Whisky review : Benrinnes 23 years old bottled @ 58.8%

-1st Benrinnes
-Outrageously expensive
-Cask Strength

Colour: Dark mahogany, copper, oily, very dense.

Nose: Very thick caramel nose, Butter caramel arrival, touches of medicinal oil, band-aid,

Mouth: Thick butter caramel, spices, pine wood, medicinal, chewy, touches of leather, mineral. Does not need water, excellent spirit quality.

Finish: lingering mineral, leather, butter caramel notes. Very pleasant malt !

A for the taste. Thick, chewy, sweet. Excellent.
B+ for the presentation. Would be nice to know if this is or not un-chill filtered.
D for the price. 406,25$ (SAQ)....what more can I say ? Yes it is 23 years (from 1985)...but it stays out of reach for common whisky amateurs. 

Whisky review : Clynelish Bottled in 2008 Batch CLBR 171-3H bottled @ 46%

Whisky review : Clynelish Bottled in 2008 Batch CLBR 171-3H bottled @ 46%

-1st reviewed Clynelish

Colour: dark gold, light bodied

Nose: fresh fruits, coastal winds, barely sugar, yellow fruits, salt water, ripe fruits

Mouth: creamy fruits, mouth watering, light spices, very light sherry, lots of fruits.

Finish: long lingering creamy red fruits, touches of oakes

B for taste. It has an interesting flavour profile but...no wow effect...not a lot of effects anyway.
B for presentation. Sad brown looking bottling.
C for the price. at 139$ (SAQ) it's a complete rip off. Way too much for what it is.

Whisky review : Longmorn 16 years old, bottled @ 48%

Whisky review : Longmorn 16 years old, bottled @ 48%

-1st Longmorn
-48%

Colour: dark gold, medium bodied, a tad oily

Nose: very soft and shy nose, light yellow fruits, pear, creamy, fruity chewy paste

Mouth: tad crisp, more fresh yellow fruits, pear,butterscotch, touches of honey. Very light yet tingly. Nice malt indeed.

Finish: gentle fresh ripe fruits, sweet, honey

B for the taste
A for the presentation, great packaging and leather-looking band.
C for the price. For 100$ (SAQ) it's a bit overpriced compare to its suggested market retail price (76$). I wouldn't say avoid it, but taste prior to buy as this is not and entry level nor a good introductory whisky.