Our Friends of Best of Whiskies have the new Ardbeg Dark Cove committee Release 55% on sale on their website.

Through our outstanding contacts They’re able to offer you this whisky prior to the official release for the very interesting price of € 200.-- ex VAT (while stock lasts).

The legendary Serge Valentin, connoisseur, Maltmaniac and international acclaimed whisky aficionado rates this lovely dram a staggering 88/100 points.

The link to Ardbeg Dark Cove on the bestofwhisies.com website

Invergordon 37 years Old for WhiskyNerds now available at www.bestofwhiskies.com

The Dutch independent bottler WhiskyNerds are true aficionados, well known for their excellent cask selections.

Recently www.bestofwhiskies.com has added their latest edition to our ever expanding stock list.
An outstanding 43 year old Invergordon single grain for an even more outstanding price! A true bang for your buck this is!

Come and check it out at their website:

Link to the www.bestofwhiskies.com website for the invergordon

Brora 37 Years Old Special Release 2015 50.4% www.bestofwhiskies.com

Brora 37 Years Old Special Release 2015 50.4%

Sample provided for www.bestofwhiskies.com

Last week I had the opportunity to taste the Brora 37 Years Old Special Release 2015 50.4% at the Diageo headquarters.

My tasting notes for the Brora:

Nose: Lightly peated. A pleasant smoldering heather fire. A little hay, but not to overwhelming. More grassy with time. You can definably smell old leather and black tea, more like a” Lapsang souchong” black tea. Really pleasant and complex nose. 24/25

Mouth: Don’t we all love licorice? It also contains some herbal notes like laurel and stable tones. Again the pleasant smoldering peat and lapsang black thee. The taste evolves to a more hazelnut like taste. Not too much woodiness, just a little. It’s creamy buttery in the mouthfeel. Oh I do like this very much. 24/25

Finish: Very long and pleasant finish with hay tones and licorice…and then the finish turns into a kiwi fruitiness…oh I love that. 24/25

Balance: This extremely well balanced. At the first sniff you know this a stunner who grabs you in all its complexity. 24/25

Comments: It is a beautiful whisky. This is the reason we connoisseurs live for. Every once in a while a whisky is so outstanding and perfect it makes you smile all day long. This is exactly what this Brora did for me.

Score: 96/100 points...Extremely well done lads!

Link to www.bestofwhiskies.com/ www.bestofwines.com for the Brora 37 years Old

Kavalan Solist Cask Strength Sherry Cask:S090122079 1 Of 559 Bottles 57,8% Sample provided by www.bestofwhiskies.com

Kavalan Solist Cask Strength Sherry Cask:S090122079 1 Of 559 Bottles 57,8%

Sample provided by www.bestofwhiskies.com

Tasting notes:

Nose: Obvious lots of sherry tones and dark forest fruits like blackberries and blackcurrants in the nose. Than it lingers you to the back ground with some nice plum fruit tones. The nose evolves into a somewhat more licorice and laurel spiciness….but not to overwhelming. 22/25

Mouth: Again a full flavored body with lots of sherry tones like mentioned before; blackberries and blackcurrants. It does have some creaminess in the mouthfeel and again the licorice and laurel spices are certainly present. This is very well balanced for sure and its lovely. In the background it turns into a walnut maybe even almond like taste with a subtle little woodiness. Just enough and certainly not too much. 22/25

Finish: A dry and long finish that lingers into a herbal spiciness. 22/25

Balance: Very well balanced. The nose and mouth are almost identical, which is a very big plus! As for the complexity: The background tones are the most complex tones in this dram. 22/25

Comments: Overall a very good dram indeed, that is in my honest opinion a
genuine value for your money dram.

Score: 88/100 points

Link to www.bestofwines.com/ www.bestofwines.com for the Kavalan

Arran 18 Years Old The Single Malts of Scotland Cask:896928 50.5% Sample for www.bestofwhiskies.com

Arran 18 Years Old The Single Malts of Scotland Cask:896928 50.5%

Sample for www.bestofwhiskies.com

Tasting notes:

Nose: Zest and citrus notes on the nose. Lots of grapefruit and lemon (Arran distillery profile in my honest opinion) and a little sweetness to add to it.. Passion fruits Maybe even some almond nuts and wood tones on the background. 22/25

Mouth: A full flavored body with lots of tropical fruits, like passion fruit, Guava and hints of the earlier mentioned grapefruits. Maybe even some mint/Spearmints and laurel. Really nice and complex tones for sure. 23/25

Finish: A long and dry finish with a lots of tropical fruit…Guava! Let’s get really tropical…22/25

Balance: A very well balanced dram it is, with lotst of tropical fruit and grapefruit flavors. All these nice fruit aromas make this a really complex dram.23/25

Comments: What a fruit bomb this is. Something that lingers you into a quest to search for these fine Arran Drams. The chaps at single malts of Scotland did an outstanding job on releasing this baby! Thanks to Billy Abbot for his sample on the Maltstock whisky gathering.

Score: 90/100 points

Link naar BestOfWhiskies.com/ BestOfWines.com

Regio proeverij Leusden 13 Mei 2013

Regio proeverij Leusden maandag 13 mei.

Tijdens de Regioproeverij van de Usquebaugh Society te Leusden kwamen er 14 whisky's voorbij. Naast het oeroude gezelschap van de harde kern en andere gezellige leden, lag de nadruk deze avond op de te proeven whisky's. Hieronder staan de smaaknotities:

Tasting the Ardbeg Galileo "The Space whisky".

Ardbeg Galileo met handtekening André Kuipers

Tijdens Koninginnedag sprak ik met een mede whiskygenieter over Ardbeg Galileo "The space Whisky". Hij vroeg zich af of het verhaal dat deze whisky in het International Space Station is gerijpt waar is. Ingewijden weten hierop inmiddels het antwoord. In de uitgave van de Kiln in december besprak ik mijn ontmoeting met astronaut André Kuipers, die hierover het een en ander wist te vertellen.