I'm not sure I like this trend of distilleries moving to not using age statements. Not that age always matters..

I cracked the HP18 few days ago. Have to echo what others have said here, very, very good.

To support spam obv

Hi manndl,

short answer I wouldn't!

Yea it's very much for a beginner to the islay malts, all eight are what we consider entry level/flagship Islay malts, great as a gift or for a miniature collector.

I hope it's not too spammy as I'm not overly looking for sales from this thread more informed opinion from a whisky-centric audience

Mann, are you referring to the laddie being discontinued? I googled it and it seems to be a rumor for now.

duck: I was gonna mock you for spamming and delete that (it may still get deleted by another mod) but since your store doesn't even work and your next reply is solid I'll keep this up for now. I can't see your second and third images. What are the 8 Islays?

ET: Did you get the Talisker cask strength or 18?

mann: Awesome tasting notes as always, thanks!

Diablo,

I got the cask strength, and it should be arriving this week. I already have the 18 and the Distiller's edition so I may pick up the 10 to complete my little Talisker collection.

Did you pick up any bottles after the Companta?

Ardbeg 10
Bowmore 12
Bruichladdich 10 aka laddie ten
Bunnahabhain 12
Caol Ila 12
Kilchoman Spring 2011
Lagavulin 16
Laphroaig 10

...Are the eight working distilleries in Islay and what we considered the flagship or entry level dram a couple of years ago.

The laddie ten is also not in production anymore and has been replaced by Bruichladdich Scottish Barley I'm fairly certain of this

Also the pics that didn't work are on the twitter page

Duck,

What is volume of each mini and how much are you selling that for? I think that's a pretty solid lineup to show people what islays are about.

Each bottle is 50 ml which is a standard 'double' measure in the uk, so 8 minis and a glencairn glass to enjoy them in.

price is 50 pounds sterling plus postage which is crippling depending on where it is being sent.

I can find exact prices but it's approx ...
10 uk
15-18 euro
19-25 usa

Duck,

So $83 for slightly over a half bottle of whiskey. I don't think that's a crazy premium for getting 8 tastes but I think something like $50 would be more reasonable. I actually think a fair price is something like 50-100% markup for making it into a sampler, so something like 75-100% avg retail price for a whole bottle of those.

true but the prices in the europian shops are allready going up

i just checked their website.
http://www.bruichladdich.com/the-whisky
sadly all whiskies with a age statement or gone

That really sucks, I love the 10 year old and wasn't a big fan of the organic barley. Mann, have you tried the Laddie 16? Wonder if it's worth getting a bottle now that it's being discontinued ($110 at klwines).

sorry no,i only have a bottle of the bruichladdich 16 bourbon cask.

it`s a nice fruity malt(almost sure older than 16 years,because they were closed 16 years ago)
just took a dram
nose: pineapple,coconuts some vanilla,honey
taste:seaweed,than tropical fruits with honey ends with some cask and gets dry
semilong

almost forgot i had the whisky
just ordered an other bottle for 50€.

Damn, 50 euros sounds like a bargain for it. Thanks for the tasting notes!

Got a little tasting today in 4 hours

On the menu is.....

Littlemill 1985
Macallan sienna
Highland park 18
Longrow 14
Ardbeg uigedahl

Any experiences anyone would like to share?

i dont know the littlemill but the rest are good-great whiskies.
longrow and ardbeg will be very smoky highland park will only have some smoke.
have fun!

i checked some whisky blogs,most say the laddie 16 is their weak link in their laddie series.
i would buy another laddie 10.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll follow your advice and just buy a bottle of the Laddie 10 next time I get something from klwines.

i`m off tonight so i thought i do a quick review of 1 of my favorite sherry whiskys before i go out to nice dinner with my lady.

Glendronach 15 Revival 46%:
100% oloroso sherry casks

nose:sherry,mushrooms,maraschino,some mint,old wine cellar(woods with a dusty note)
taste:big arrival,bananas,wigs,chocolate pudding,capochino,dried oranges
aftertaste:loooong,coffee,some spices(cinamonn and some star anis) and ends in cranberry jam

this version is simular to the old sherry macallan 18 from the nineties.
at a much cheaper price
40-50 euro in central europe.
it`s better than the glendronach 18 in my eyes which is much more oaky with less fruits.


ps:not sure if i haven`t reviewed this 1 a while back,but i allways taste it while i write this and never go for my notes.

hope u get the standart 14 year and not the 100% proof.
they had a much better cask selection in the standart version,the 100% proof was bitter to me.

by the way prices of the lagavulin 16 are going up in europe too,their are rumors that their will be a shortage of it soon.
asians this whisky too.

I really like the 15 Revival, one my favourite sherries as well. Nice review!

Yeah, I heard it too that Diaego is raising/raised their prices by ~15-20% starting march. So Lagavulin, Oban and some others should be going up pretty soon.

Keeping in line with the Bruichladdich theme we have going:



I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets pineapples out of this scotch. I tasted this along side Bruichladdich Rocks which is probably the youngest expression of this brand.

The 22yr old has the same pineapple and sea salt scent while being a bit more mellowed out. Stings the tongue slightly more as it's bottled at a higher abv (50.6% vs 46%.) Same sort of taste except a little more sweet. Seems to linger on the tongue a little longer.

Worth the extra $$$? Probably not. Haven't had the Laddie 10 but I'd say stick with that. The WhistlePig on the other hand is worth every penny.

Toss -

Re: whistlepig. Consider trying it side by side with the jeffersons 10 rye (which is about half the price around here). Until very recently both were from the same source. Its my understanding that jeffersons has dropped the "100% Canadian rye" label recently so likely that new bottles are different juice, but might be worth picking up a jeff 10 w. The Canadian reference on it if you see one and like the whistlepig.

Damn, I had no idea about that. I'll see if I can get my hands on some Jeff-Rye. Kinda tilts me a little.

littlemill was very dainty and delicate and hard to believe was a distilled spirit, seemed as if it had water added when it was still neat, overall it was pleasant to the point of nothingness as it was over so soon.

Macallan sienna was the biggest letdown of the day, catching the back of my throat was the most memorable part!

Highland park was good in all areas, can definitely see why it is in a lot of people's top drams

longrow was great as well with a such a distinctive peaty flavour that initially seemed a familiar taste but in the end was actually very different and like nothing I have tried before

Ardbeg was the star of the show, I reckon I am bias towards the islays, but I really enjoyed this nose, taste and finish, love the power of this cask strength malt. Felt as though my nostrils were bellowing out smoke as I drank it, loved it!