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Laphroaig 30 Year Old Single Malt Cask Strength

April 12, 2017 Scotland

Name: Laphroaig 30 Year Old Single Malt Cask Strength

Color: Orange brown

Nose: Sweet mandarin citrus, peat, smoke, reduced iodine

Taste: Citrus, vanilla, peat, smoke, and wood

Review:

“Big boy strong” scotch from the Highlands of Scotland, the Laphroaig 30 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt has arrived from Islay. I am a fan of Islay whisky’s and Laphroaig is one of my go to scotches in the winter. There is nothing better to warm you up after braving the cold weather through the streets of NYC then a glass of Laphroaig as you sit in your tiny-ass 350 sf apartment and warm up.

I got the opportunity to try this scotch at Whiskey Live in NYC and enjoyed a nice sized dram by their brand ambassador. This single malt is 107 proof and has been twice matured in ex-bourbon casks. This whisky has been double matured in first and second-fill ex-bourbon barrels. Those 30 years in the barrels have created a very good scotch, but it comes at a very high price.

Laphroaig 30 Year Old is a very well balanced whisky with great flavor, but at $800 it is not very well balance for my bank account. The thing I find with Laphroaig is this; I can always taste their baseline flavor of smoke and peat and that gets into my head and takes away from what they have created. This is not a bad thing, but I have a hard time separating the flavor from the attempt to create something new versus what I just paid for a bottle. For example, Laphroaig Cairdeas is much sweeter and cheaper, but again has the underlying flavor. Naturally, the 30 year old is far superior to Cairdeas, but that is expected after thirty years of maturing.

Laphroaig 30 Year Old is very good but at $800 per bottle you have to be able to afford it.

If you like it, drink it!

The Macallan Rare Cask

March 2, 2017 Scotland

Name: The Macallan Rare Cask

Color: Amber Brown

Nose: Dried fruit, wood, dark chocolate

Taste: Burnt wood, iodine, dark dried fruit, and a medicine flavor

Review:

I will be as straight forward as I can be; this scotch is far too expensive for the taste.

Macallan Rare Cask is a non-aged statement single malt finish in Sherry casks (sort of) and the flavor is not impressive. Sherry casks are very popular in Scotch and I can think of several that half the price and better in flavor.

I sampled the Macallan Rare in January at the Astor Centers Robbie Burns Tasting and last night at Whisky Live NYC at Chelsea Pier 60.

What comes to mind with this whisky is “What are you paying for when you buy a bottle?” For me, I am paying for flavor. Everything else after flavor is an addition or subtraction to the whisky. When it comes to Rare, I feel I am paying for a fancy box and the marketing/PR work to promote the scotch. (I stole it from the trash bin for the pic)

My motto is “If you like it, drink it”, but price always needs to be considered along with taste and price is the heart of all my reviews. If price is not an issue for you and you need to give a high-end scotch in a fancy box this would be a good choice for the wow factor but not for the flavor factor.

Approximately $300.00 per bottle or $75 per glass in NYC area. Your call…

If you like it, drink it!

Laphroaig 10 Year Old

January 24, 2017 Scotland

Name: Laphroaig 10 Year Old

Color: Dark Gold

Nose: Peat and wood

Taste: Peat, wood and light seaweed

Review: I jokingly refer to this whisky as “big boy” Scotch as it comes from the Islay region of the Highlands of Scotland and Highlanders are not known to make light flavored whisky’s. This whisky is not for everyone. You need to enjoy a very strong peaty wood flavor to swallow this Scotch. Some people have told me, “it is like drinking smoked wood” and do not enjoy it. Personally, I really enjoy it because I prefer big flavors in my scotch.

I can tell you and little life tip I have learned. For me, I find it very difficult not to have a whisky while enjoying a cigar but I have noticed that the more smoky and peaty the scotch the less I taste the smoke of the cigar. The two flavors fight each other. Big boy whisky sometimes takes away from taste of the cigar but if you like it that way you enjoy it that way!

I recommend if you have not tried Laphroaig to order a small 1oz dram to try this type of big and bold flavor from Islay. Priced around $50 and it’s a great value if you like strong peat and wood flavor.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Johnnie Walker – Blue Label

January 18, 2017 Scotland

Name: Johnnie Walker – Blue Label

Color: Medium Brown

Nose: Peat, smoke and perfume esq flavors

Taste: Medium bodied feeling with well balance smoke, peat and spices

I used to live in South Florida and when I was driving to Miami for work I would pass a billboard on I-95 for Blue Label that read, “Not everyone makes it to Blue”. To me, that it sounded a lot like “Fuck you. You can’t afford this.” Blue Label is a well-marketed brand by Diageo that is very recognizable to people and equates its self to the good life. I believe if you like it, drink it, but for me, I struggle to like this whisky based on the price and taste. Please do not get me wrong, it is very good whisky but not good enough for me with respect to the price and I can afford to buy it. In my opinion there are easily a dozen whisky’s that I would prefer to Blue Label that cost less and are better suited to my palate. Blue is a blend, with no age statement, and which particular whisky it is blended with and their ages is very debatable. I could rant for a while on this one but instead I will close with this last comment. If you are a Wall Street type person (translation: you got a lot of money), you should know this whisky, order it at a bar, have it in your office, home, apartment, penthouse, Hampton Estate and give it as a gift to clients and co-workers.

Price ranges from $190 to $225.

Note: See Johnnie Walker 4 Pack Review for a smaller taste of Blue.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Johnnie Walker-Gold Label aka Gold Reserve

January 18, 2017 Scotland

Name: Johnnie Walker – Gold

Color: Light gold

Nose: Honey, flowers, spice

Taste: Toffee candy taste with light flowers. Alcohol taste very reserved and does not over power the balance of flavors.

Review:

A blend of 15 malts and aged 15 or 18 years, Gold Label might be listed as No Aged Statement whisky depending on the bottle you find in the store and how long it has been on the shelf. I like to think of Gold as the cost savings version of Blue Label but the taste between the two is different. I bought a bottle for my mentor for his birthday and we enjoyed it well enough but it is not my style and not at a price that I would spend for the flavor.

Price ranges from $90 to $100.

Note: See Johnnie Walker 4 Pack Review for a smaller taste of Gold.

If you like it, drink it!

Johnnie Walker – Double Black Label

January 18, 2017 Scotland

Name: Johnnie Walker – Double Black Label

Color: Caramel brown

Nose: Strong oak, cinnamon and almonds

Taste: Peaty and smoky with a similarity to an Islay Whisky.

Review:

The 12 year old blend Johnnie Walker Double Black is a more full bodied peat and wood whisky than its cousin Black Label. One cousin is from Islay Highlands (double) and the other is the from the Lowlands (black) of Scotland. They are related to each other but have been raised (distilled) differently in order to provide a separation in flavor profile. Personally, I prefer Double Black and enjoy it on the rocks. I would not state that Double Black is of a higher quality than Black Label but I will let you be the judge. It would make a good gift to someone who drinks Black Label but I would err on the side of caution with buying this for someone if you are not sure if they like peat/wood flavor in their whisky. I would also consider Double Black to be a good introduction bottle to Islay styled whisky’s which have a very distinct flavor.

Double Black Label price ranges from $40 to $45 but is a great value at that price.

If you like it, drink it!

Laphroaig 30 Year Old Single Malt Cask Strength

The Macallan Rare Cask

Laphroaig 10 Year Old

Johnnie Walker – Blue Label

Johnnie Walker-Gold Label aka Gold Reserve

Johnnie Walker – Double Black Label

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